Increasing Pageviews: Generalizations in Writing and How to Avoid Them

If I wrote that all of these suggestions to increasing pageviews will always work for everyone, would you believe it?

Of course not. Why not? Because generalizations cause skepticism. Generalizations. In the above statement, the generalizations undermine the authority of the writer, and cause the reader to feel the ground on which they are treading is a bit shaky.

While the above example is extreme, it is extreme to prove a point. By using "all," "always" and "everyone" I left reader totally disbelieving my statement. "No way," you may have been thinking.

Problems with Generalizations in Writing

The first problem with generalizations in writing is that they undermine the writer's authority. When a writer's authority is undermined, it's over. Readers will stop reading, and may not return.

Another problem with generalizations is that they can be simply statements of the obvious. Take those statements to a real level, be precise. Do not write about "all mothers" or "all gamers." Tell us which ones, "mothers of multiples who work," or "gamers who use the Xbox 360."

If you cannot come up with specifics or be clear, the generalization may not be obvious, it may be worse, it could be inaccurate.

Generalizations can create inaccuracies. Use of the words always, all, every, everyone, many, never, nobody, none can create inaccurate statements, and even factual errors. These inaccuracies could produce false statements about people, places or things. For example "all commercially-prepared pet food is dangerous," is a generalization, and is flat out wrong.

Generalizations can also overstate or understate a fact. This is a lazy writing tactic used to try to prove a point. Do the research, share real data and research figures.

How to Avoid Generalizations in Writing

1. Be specific. One way to avoid generalizations in writing is to be specific. After reading a piece, the reader should know exactly what the author was conveying.

2. Use facts, data, statistics, and other research. Instead of writing all, always or never about a subject or group of people, do the real research. Find out how many.

3. Use and attribute quotes. Use and attribute quotes by other authoritative sources to make your points.

4. Quantify, don't qualify. Use real quantities and numbers, rather than qualifiers.

5. When you do qualify, select the qualifier carefully. Some is better than all or none.

6. "It seems" is an easy way to present an idea without generalizing. It implies observation, and admits some element of probability.

7. Try not to overstate a situation. Overstating a situation can cause unintended bias in writing.

8. Base the writing on some kind of authority. The authority could be your own, or your research.

9. Break down the topic. The best way to avoid generalizations is to break down a broad topic into smaller topics. This will force the writer to get specific. Try it.