ZE a little with the readers and visualize the difficult task you have set for them. Try to recall how difficult it was for you the last time you had to decode a text that confused you. On these occasions, what did you need from the writer that you didn`t receive?

When I write, I often attempt to create a reader in my head who doesn`t know me well and who doesn`t know anything about the subject matter of my text. If I am trying to write about very complicated material, I will actually cut a photograph of a strange, pleasant face out of a magazine, pin it on the wall above my desk, and try to help this person clearly understand everything I am trying to say in my writing. (I have 24 nephews and nieces. For years, until they were all grown up, I used to receive their grade school photographs in the mail from their parents. If I was having a particularly difficult time imagining my reader, I would pull one of these photographs off my refrigerator, tack it over my desk, and write for this young and NEEDY audience.)

But what exactly does my audience need?

This is a tough question to answer because we are usually so deeply IMMERSED in the process of our writing that it is difficult to keep our readers in focus. Over time, you will learn to deftly insert just the right detail at just the right moment to help your reader. While you`re gaining this experience, here is a list of 20 questions you can ask yourself while you are developing and writing your essays which might help you help your audience. You can ask yourself these questions at any stage of the clustering or brainstorming process. If you respond fully to these questions as you fill in each bubble on your map, you stand a much better chance of writing an essay which is rich and clear. Not all of th