Is it eccentric to address the reader in non-fiction writing?
I have observed that I often address the reader in my essays to lay down a point. To give you an example, I'll write:
You can utilize every productivity hack that's out there, and still be back to square one when your initial excitement wears off.
which can also be written as:
When the initial excitement for the productivity hack wears off, it often results in being back to the square one.
The above example avoids addressing anyone. Another form could use generic addressing like, "people", "person", etc.
It might be a matter of taste but I get a feeling that talking to reader is something that I don't come across often in the articles I read everyday. Is it something that is frowned upon and should be avoided?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/29431. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
No, it is not eccentric at all. As I am sure you can tell from reading your two examples, the first is livelier and much easier to read -- and that is 95% of the argument in any question of style. But the use of the second person in any work that is discussing things that the reader might do has become very common in recent years.
The initial impetus for this is that the second person is gender neutral, so when people started to raise objections to the use of "he" to refer to any human person, it gave the writer an out without getting into debates about the probity of the singular use of "they". But the use of the second person in these cases also tends to make for simpler, livelier, more personal writing, all qualities that have become increasingly prized over the years.
Finally, it is worth noting that the use of second person is not necessarily a direct address to the reader. There is such a thing as the general "you" as a way of addressing the human condition generally. "When you go to the south pole, it is generally a good idea to wear a hat," does not imply that that reader themselves is going to the south pole, it is simply a way of expressing a general truth about the advisability of warm clothing in cold climates. (We used to use "one" for these cases "When one goes to the south pole ..." but that usage is entirely moribund today.)
So, yes, you should feel free to use the second person whenever it produces simple, livelier prose that is easier to read and understand.
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