👉 EXUDE CONFIDENCE
Throw out all the “in my opinion” and “I believe that” baloney. Just make the statement, and stand by it. Offering your reader an avenue away from your statement generates a lack of trust in your material. In my opinion, this is a powerful shift to make. (See what I did there?)
Also, do your research. Add statistics and sources to back your material if you can. An article on Aims Community College's site explains, "In addition to allowing a writer to gain additional information about a topic, the correct use of outside sources also lends credibility to any essay." (See what I did there?)
When you are confident in your writing, your reader will feel it. Be bold. Be precise. And be proud of what you're putting out there.
👉 USE TRANSITIONS
Choppy writing will give your reader whiplash!
Book chapters don't always need a distinct transition (though they should be in an order that makes sense). Between sections and paragraphs, however, there should always be a clear link from the previous to the next.
Try to do this as you're writing. But also come back to your finished draft and look for any bumps. It's not particularly difficult to add little links if you still need them. Think of it like icing a cake: you just go back and smooth out the little peaks and missed spots, but the material/frosting is all already there.
👉 MIX IT UP
When writing just about anything, make sure to mix up your sentence length. Too many consecutive short or long sentences gives the piece a plodding and predictable flow. You'll want to keep it dynamic so that you keep the reader's attention and don't bore them. You can do this by adding various types of punctuation. Try periods to split them up, and commas, semi-colons, or dashes to connect them.
(See how a paragraph of same-length sentences feels boring? Try this next one instead.)
When writing just about anything, mix up your sentence length. Too many consecutive short or long sentences gives the piece and plodding and predictable flow and will bore your reader. To make it dynamic and keep their attention, try adding punctuation. Use periods to split up longer sentences. Use commas, semicolons, and dashes to connect shorter ones. This change of pace will give your writing a better flow, and keep your reader interested and attentive.