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7
Using Graphical Elements
7.1 Breaking up the Monotony
Dull writing can lose the reader’s attention and diminish his understanding.
In Chapter 2 I discussed how humor and allegory can be used to enliven
your writing and hold a reader’s attention. But humor and allegory should
only be used sparingly.
A better way to hold a reader’s attention is with appropriate use of graphi-
cal elements. By graphical elements, I mean anything that is not just text.
Examples include gures, equations, photographs, and tables. I like using
graphical elements liberally because they can enliven the presentation,
enrich ideas, and alleviate the ...