[Improving the writing style and talking about it]

The "preaching flavor" is often criticized by young people. Some articles are full of "preaching" flavor, and the whole article outputs views in a condescending preaching attitude - it seems to be full of proverbs, but it is actually big and unreasonable; it seems that the truth is in your grasp, but it is difficult to hide logical omissions. This style of writing is very easy to make readers feel discomfort, feel distance and even disgusted, and is even contrary to "seeking truth from facts", "mass line", and "asking advice to the people".

"Use reason to move it with emotion." "If you make a statement with straightforward words, the writing will be formed; if you are so happy, the writing style will be clear." Articles are an important carrier for conveying thoughts and communicating emotions. The style of the article, the tone of reasoning, and the way of expressing emotions will all affect the degree to which it persuads and impresses readers. Therefore, it is very important to improve the writing style to start by removing the "taste of preaching".

The main causes of the "preaching" style are two: on the one hand, some authors default to readers as objects that require guidance and education, and involuntarily adopt preaching and oppressive tone to write imperative words. On the other hand, some authors are good at being teachers and habitually displaying their views, making the article change from equal interaction to one-way output. In this case, even if the viewpoint is correct, it will be resistant because of its arrogant attitude. The common feature of the "preaching" style of writing is that it places readers in a passive position and lacks real value transmission and humanistic care.

To improve the writing style and get rid of the "preaching flavor", the key is to start with the change of thinking style. First, treat readers as friends, treat them as individuals with independent thinking ability, and think more about what readers really need and care about. When writing articles, you should be less condescending, look more straight and empathize. The expression can also be more flexible, replacing serious reasoning with dialogue and discussion, making the expression more down-to-earth and understandable. Neither old-fashioned nor greedy for novelty. Use relaxed and natural language to bring closer distance to readers, and use a more affinity style to achieve in-depth interaction between articles and readers. Second, the article should be as dry as possible and make more information. Start with good stories and real problems, investigate and study more, find the essence and rules of the problems, and use specific and vivid examples to prove them. Only by touching people's hearts, inspiring thinking, resonate with them, and truly become a bridge for ideological exchange.

Author: Zhang Yan (Dean of the Institute of Social Sciences, Zhejiang University)