1. Edit. Some of us don’t want others to see rings around our collars or dandruff on our shoulders because we want to leave a good impression. Likewise, the quality of your writing affects your business or organization’s image. Take care to rearrange jumbled words, remove unnecessary apostrophes, add any missing commas, and to downsize letters that shouldn’t be capitalized. It will make your writing easier on the eyes and the ears.
2. Be active. Sentences about actions done “by” someone or something are a sign of the passive voice.
You can’t always avoid the passive voice, but many times, your sentences will be shorter and people will read them more easily if you rework them. Too many sentences in this style can make people struggle to finish reading.
Example: The telephone pole was hit by a car.
Don’t be afraid to enliven and embolden your passages. “A car hit the telephone pole” is shorter and stronger.
3. Omit needless words. Don’t use two words when one will do. These days, for busy customers, the fewer words, the less time it takes them to read. You don’t need to write a novel to get your points across.
4. Junk the jargon. Or, at least, explain it to those who aren’t in your industry; to them, it is like trying to understand a foreign language. Plain English should be the official language of bureaucrats and businesspeople in English-speaking countries.
5. Maintain your balance. Too much information, especially if it’s disorganized, can confuse readers and turn them away. With a length in mind, it’s better to plan the scope of your piece ahead of time. Use headings and bullet points to separate large blocks of text or use a table of contents to guide readers through longer works.
Quotes
“Good sense is both the first principal and the parent source of good writing.” ~ Horace
“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” ~ David McCullough
Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.
Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com
