Your writing must matter to you and to your reader. By starting with a clear idea of where you are going, your writing should have a significant point. Sometimes, though, you lose our way. As you write about your experiences or observations, remember to tell what they mean to you; tell about an experience’s importance/significance in your life. If it doesn’t interest you or is too obvious or general, it won’t interest your reader.
SO WHAT? is a question that helps you create meaningful writing--the purpose of your writing. The Rule of So What? is a great technique to determine if you have written an interesting and focused essay. Ask yourself, "I wrote about this point and told about this and that and this: SO WHAT? What’s my point?" If you don’t know the significance, or if it is too general or obvious, revise until you have a point worth making.
The Rule of So What?
· Good writing has a purpose, a point, a reason for the reader to want to read it.
· The good writer states the meanings and the implications of the subject he or she has chosen.
· A good piece of writing has a point that is not obvious, common, general, or vague.