We were all taught the fundamentals of writing well in school. But how do we write effectively in today's hyper-interactive world?
When The Elements of Style and On Writing Well were published in 1959 and 1976, the internet hadn't been invented. Since then, there has been a radical transformation in how we communicate. The average adult receives over 100 emails and tens of text messages each day. With all this correspondence, gaining a busy reader's attention is now a competition.
Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink, both behavioural scientists, offer practical writing advice you can use today. They begin by outlining cognitive facts about how busy people read, then detail six research-backed principles for effective writing:
- Use fewer words
- Lower the reading level
- Use formatting judiciously
- Make the purpose clear for skimmers
- Emphasise value for readers
- Make responding as easy as possible.
Including many examples, a checklist, and other tools for the most effective writing, this handbook will make you a more effective communicator. Rogers and Lasky-Fink bring conventional ideas about text-based communication into the 21st century's radically transformed attention marketplace.



![Enright, Anne PREORDER FICTION New Anne Enright: Attention [2025] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/enright-anne-anne-enright-attention-2025-paperback-9781787335783-1169751879_{width}x.jpg?v=1780654544)
![Kafka, Franz & Stern, James & Stern, Tania BARGAIN LITERARY CRITICISM Letters To Milena [1992] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/kafka-franz-stern-james-stern-tania-letters-to-milena-1992-paperback-59344463888723_{width}x.jpg?v=1736444057)
![Mckee, Ruth IRISH INTEREST New Ruth McKee: The Irish Writers Handbook 2026 [2025]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/mckee-ruth-ruth-mckee-the-irish-writers-handbook-2026-2025-9781916742833-1204596250_{width}x.jpg?v=1762982116)
![Behan, Brendan & Brannigan, John LITERARY CRITICISM Brendan Behan: Bit Of A Writer A: Brendan Behan's [2023] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/behan-brendan-brannigan-john-brendan-behan-bit-of-a-writer-a-brendan-behan-s-2023-paperback-1133097865_{width}x.jpg?v=1740172456)
![Heaney, Seamus LITERARY BIOGRAPHY Seamus Heaney: The Letters of Seamus Heaney [2023] hardback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/heaney-seamus-seamus-heaney-the-letters-of-seamus-heaney-2023-hardback-1207776843_{width}x.jpg?v=1763657832)