Why Is Credibility Important In Writing

Jamie Goodwin

How to Establish Credibility in Your Writing

In terms of writing, credibility is the audience's perception of the author. In other words, to earn the respect of your audience and ensure that they will listen to your ideas, you need to establish credibility. But how? Here are 5 ways you can do this:

Provide Evidence

Whatever claims you make in your writing, you need to be able to back them up. Whether you use statistics, expert testimonials, facts, figures, or results from studies, you need to use these as evidence to support any claims made throughout your writing. Then, be sure to cite your sources. This helps readers find the evidence if they choose to check your facts or learn more about the studies that you cite.

Show, Don't Tell

Don't just tell your readers that you have the best product or that they should side with your opinion of an argument. Rather, you need to provide them with the details that they need to come to their own decision. Your readers may be quick to dismiss you if you come right out and make an assertion. However, if you list the facts and let them draw their own conclusions, you can lead them to the inference that you're hoping for them to make. For more information about how to "show, don't tell" in your writing, check out our blog post or video exercise.

Use Active Voice

Instead of using passive voice, purposefully choose to use active voice throughout your writing. Active voice tends to seem more authoritative and confident. It can also help you communicate clearly and effectively. Just be careful not to talk down to your readers. You don't want to insult their intelligence and turn them off from your writing in the process.

Share Personal Stories

If you're an expert on the subject, don't be afraid to establish credibility in your writing by sharing personal stories. As you speak from experience, your readers will learn from those stories and see that you're someone that is worth trusting on the subject because you've experienced it firsthand.

Use Solid Writing Skills

Have you ever read something chock full of spelling and grammatical errors? It's difficult to believe that it's a credible source when it's riddled with errors. To prevent this from happening and diminishing your credibility, be sure to read through your writing several times. Also, have someone look it over to correct issues before publishing your writing.

It's important to establish credibility in your writing. As you do so, your readers will come to trust what you have to say and listen to the point that you want to make. Using these tips can help you establish credibility in a way that will make your writing more powerful and effective, too.

Jamie graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho with a degree in English Education. She spent several years teaching and tutoring students at the elementary, high school, and college level. She currently works as a contract writer and curriculum developer for online education courses. In her free time, she enjoys running and spending time with her boys!

View all posts