Using a Running Example to Illustrate Points in Your Writing

When your writing can benefit from the use of an illustration, we highly recommend looking into the possibility of using a running example. If you are not familiar with the term, "running example" simply refers to a single example that you use throughout the piece, using the same scenario to illustrate various points.

Unlike the benefits of a full-featured writing software, restricting yourself to a running example is probably not applicable to all types of writing. However, it also lends itself very well to many of them. Technical documents, for instance, that attempt to explain a process or an algorithm can benefit from having a single example throughout. Same with many persuasive pieces that attempt to promote an idea, which can use a running illustration to show the ramifications of it being adopted (or ignored, whichever the case may be).

A running example allows you to amortize the time spent explaining it. Since it is kept alive throughout, you can utilize the entire piece to explain it in detail, allowing the reader to have more time to process your ideas. Most of the time, readers will end up appreciating your examples more when you go in this route, compared to some separate illustrations that have nothing to do with each other.

You can introduce a running example either along the end of the introduction or right before the main body starts. Either way, the idea is to create the association early and keep it up throughout, refreshing the reader's memory.