: Re: 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

@Alves689

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You have to ask two questions before you start to write: who is the audience, and what effect do you want to produce in them? In nonfiction, your audience wants to learn something, so the goal is to inform.

Before the Internet, you could get away with dry, passive prose, as long as you covered the material. Today, though, another goal for nonfiction is to draw in your readers. Call it entertainment if you must, it's what can set you apart.

With second person, you are addressing the reader directly. You are involving him/her in your subject matter. The reader becomes an active part of the process of sharing information rather than a passive recipient--or at least gets the illusion of it.

On the other hand, your audience may be administrators or scientists. They could perceive that you're talking down to them, so second person is not recommended.

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