Join Ann Wylie for her in-person training session, “Writing That Sells — Products, Services and Ideas,” on June 22 at 9 a.m.–4 p.m. EDT in Boston, Mass. 
Writers usually say that they use the inverted pyramid because readers stop reading after the first paragraph.
Meanwhile, readers typically say that they stop reading after the first paragraph because writers use the inverted pyramid.
Before you pound out your next pyramid, check out the following three trends in story structure:
Join Ann Wylie for her online training session, “Anatomy of a 2.0 Release: Write Releases That Get Posted on Portals, Help Google Find Your Site, Reach Readers Online and More,” on June 28, 2012 3–4 p.m. This public relations writing training sesssion is free to PRSA members.
Fourteen percent of Americans can’t read well enough to search for programs in a TV guide, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL).
Meanwhile, more than four out of 10 Americans have basic or below-basic prose skills, according to the study. That means they can sign forms or compare ticket prices for two events. However, they have trouble finding places on a map or calculating the cost of office supplies from a catalog.
So how well are they reading your blog post, Web page or news release?
