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SkillBriefs

Techniques for Writing Clearly

Explore the techniques you use to write clear sentences.

Applying the Techniques of Concise Writing

Discover the techniques you use to write concisely.

Organizing Content to Increase Understanding

Understand the most effective ways to organize content.

Techniques for Writing Clearly

Often the importance of writing clearly in business is overlooked. But poor writing can mean you fail to get your message across, waste readers' time as they struggle to interpret what you mean, and make a bad impression overall.

Clear writing needs to be read only once to be understood. It uses simple, straightforward words. In addition, it presents relevant examples – those that relate to readers' experiences.

Specific guidelines can help you ensure your writing is clear.

Using short, familiar words

Business writing needs to be direct. So you should use short, familiar words that are easy to understand. Whenever there's a choice, use words with fewer syllables. As well as being easier to read, these make more of an impact.

As well as using shorter words, you should choose familiar words – those that most readers are likely to know. Using too many uncommon words can make your writing harder to follow. It can also come across as stuffy, pretentious, or even silly.

So as you write, it's a good idea to replace long words with shorter, simpler equivalents. Remember that using a formal or respectful tone doesn't have to involve being wordy.

Similarly, you should replace uncommon words with more familiar equivalents.

Another aspect of keeping your words short and familiar is avoiding industry-specific jargon, or "corporatese." Within organizations, it can be common for employees to develop acronyms and words that are specific to their work environments. It's best to avoid these in your writing because they might not be understood by people outside your organization, or by new staff.

There are times when you need to use technical terms or jargon. In these instances, ensure that you initially define the terms or provide equivalents.

You should also limit the use of cliches in your writing. These are stock phrases that have little impact because they're overused. In modern business writing, they often add to the length but not the meaning of a message.

As well as avoiding cliches, you should avoid euphemisms. These are indirect terms that disguise or "soften" your intended meaning. In some cases, a euphemism is appropriate because it shows sensitivity to the reader's feelings.

Being concrete and specific

Concrete nouns refer to or name particular things, ideas, or actions.

They vary in how specific they are. For example, you can move from identifying a broad category of entities to being highly specific.

Typically, concrete words answer questions like who, what, where, when, why, or how. In other words, they provide concrete information.

More abstract nouns name entities that aren't easy to visualize or sense. They often refer to qualities and ideas – for example, management, culture, or freedom. Although you may sometimes use them, they can be vague and have less impact. Often replacing more abstract words with concrete ones can make your writing clearer and easier to follow.

Using appropriate connotations

In addition to their literal meanings, words can have connotations – or implied meanings. These often have emotional associations.

Words with similar meanings – like "aggressive" and "assertive" – can have different connotations. It's important to choose your words carefully based on what you want to convey. If you're not sure whether a word has a particular connotation, you can refer to an unabridged dictionary or word usage guide.

Revising noun clusters

Noun clusters are groups of nouns that aren't separated by functional words, such as articles and prepositions.

The aim of clear writing is not simply to convey your message in as few words as possible. Sentences also become clearer when you add functional words.

Using adjectives and adverbs sparingly

Strong nouns and verbs are the framework of well-written sentences. And although modifiers like adverbs and adjectives can help create more accurate and complete images in the mind of your readers, you should use them sparingly.

This is because using too many modifiers can detract from the importance of a message and make it harder to follow. When you take out the unnecessary modifiers in the sample text, its meaning becomes clearer.

Generally, you should use adjectives and adverbs only when they're really necessary to clarify the meaning of your text.

Using transitional words and phrases

Another way to make your writing clear is to include appropriate transitional words or phrases. These make it clear how the ideas in your writing are linked. For example, words like "but" and "however" tell your reader that you're moving from one idea to a contrasting one. Words like "therefore" indicate you're moving from an explanation into a conclusion. Transitional words can come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

And transitional words can be used to indicate several types of connections:

• the addition of one idea to another, showing the reader that you are adding more information to what you have already stated
• a concession about an initial idea, or showing compromise or allowance within text
• a logical relationship, in which one idea leads to another or relates logically to another
• place or direction
• any similarity or difference between elements within text
• time or sequence, connecting ideas and text by means of succession, progression, or time

Sometimes sentences don't make sense or are unclear because they need a transitional word or phrase. Using transitions effectively can help make your writing more clear.

In a business context, it's especially important to write clearly. Techniques to help you do this include using simple, familiar words, being concrete and specific, and choosing words with appropriate connotations. In addition, you should avoid long noun clusters, use adverbs and adjectives sparingly, and include appropriate transitional words and phrases.

Applying the Techniques of Concise Writing

A common complaint from business people about the text they have to read at work is that it's too wordy. Using more words than you have to can bury the core purpose of a message. And it forces readers to work harder to identify what you mean, which wastes time.

In all business writing, it's vital to be concise. Concise writing is clear, focused, and uncluttered. It conveys ideas in as few words as possible, without watering them down.

You can use four simple techniques for writing more concisely.

Write short sentences

Readers lose attention when text contains long sentences. This makes it more likely they'll miss vital information or have to read the same text more than once.

So, ideally, you should aim to include a maximum of 15 to 17 words per sentence.

Where possible, write some longer sentences as well as short ones to add more variety and rhythm to your writing. Remember, text can become rigid and boring if all sentences are the same length.

The easiest way to keep sentences short and to the point is to ensure you include only one idea in each sentence.

Avoid unnecessary words

Avoiding unnecessary words can help you write concisely. Some words can pad or clutter sentences without adding to their meaning. Removing them makes messages clearer and more direct.

So how do you identify which words can be cut out of the sentences you write? You can delete these types of words because they don't add any meaning:

• long prepositional phrases
• unnecessary repetition, where more than one word or phrase means the same thing
• unnecessary sentence starters, which lead into the message
• unnecessary phrases that can be replaced by single words
• long-winded conjunctions
• unnecessary modifiers, such as adjectives and adverbs that don't add meaning

The trick to avoiding unnecessary words is to identify what it is you wish to communicate to your readers. This will enable you to cut out any words that don't assist in conveying your message.

Once the unnecessary words are identified and removed, the message becomes more direct and concise.

It's also important to eliminate any unnecessary repetition in your text. Including more than one word or phrase that means the same thing just leads to cluttered writing.

Use precise verbs

Choosing precise verbs is another way to make your writing more concise. A verb is a word or group of words indicating the action or state of being of the subject in a sentence.

Verbs tell the reader that something exists, acts in a certain way, or has certain features.

As a writer, you can use fewer words to greater effect when you replace long strings of words containing vague verbs with more precise verbs. This adds force and impact to your writing.

Forms of the verb "to be" – such as am, are, is, was, were, being, and been – are the most commonly used vague verbs. Often you can replace them with more precise action verbs to create more concise sentences.

Other verbs, especially those that don't indicate action – such as "do," "exist," and "perform" – are often used vaguely. If you add more words to clarify the meaning of these vague verbs, the combination may make your document long and lifeless.

Again, it's better to substitute precise verbs for vague ones and their additional terms. In this way, you can be more concise without having to sacrifice the clarity of your message.

It's also possible for verbs that signify an action to be far from precise. For instance, the verb "look" is an action verb, but it's still vague. You may need to add other words to clarify the particular meaning of "look" when used in a sentence. Alternatively, to be more concise, you can replace "look" with a more precise verb, such as "glance," "observe," or "peer."

Precise verbs should also be used to replace vague verbs linked with nouns. Nouns are words that designate a person, place, thing, state, or quality. In most sentences, you can replace verb-noun combinations with one precise verb without losing any vital information.

Use the active voice

In the active voice, a basic sentence includes three main parts in a specific order:

• first a subject, which identifies who or what performs an action
• then a verb that identifies the action
• finally an object, which is the entity acted upon

In the passive voice, this order is reversed.

In business writing, it's almost always best to use the active voice. This is because readers instinctively expect a subject to come before a verb. Reversing this relationship by using the passive voice can slow down a reader's understanding.

Overall, the active voice is more concise, direct, and forceful.

Although it's best to write in the active voice, there are times when the passive voice is appropriate. For example, it might be important to be subtle about who was responsible for an action or you may not know it. Sometimes using the odd passive sentence can help vary your writing style – but using this voice shouldn't become the norm.

To help identify sentences written in the passive voice, you can ask yourself three questions:

• Who or what is the actor? In other words, what is the subject?
• What is the action or verb?
• What has been acted upon? This is the object of the sentence.

Concise writing is succinct and direct. It includes only the words required to convey a message effectively.

Techniques for writing concisely include using short sentences, avoiding unnecessary words, using precise verbs wherever possible, and writing in the active voice rather than in the passive voice.

Organizing Content to Increase Understanding

As a business writer, organizing your content is an essential part of the writing process. It involves combining sentences into coherent paragraphs, each of which has a clear purpose.

The two key benefits of organizing your content well are as follows:

• it's easier to follow – Your sentences may be clear and concise, but if they're not logically connected, or your main point is buried in a third paragraph, they may frustrate and confuse your readers. Organizing content so each element of a document leads clearly and logically into the next helps "lead" the reader through a document.
• it's easier to understand – Organizing content well involves arranging it so that your purpose in writing is immediately clear. Further content should then support or expand on the main idea you're presenting. Doing this makes it far more likely readers will understand what you need to communicate. In turn, this makes it more likely they'll respond in the way you hope.

There's no one best way to organize a business document. Ultimately, this will depend on who you're writing for and on what your purpose is.

Methods of organizing content

Four techniques can help you organize the content of your writing well.

Include an introduction

Your introduction should grab your readers' attention. Most readers are busy and need to be persuaded that it's worth their time to read your message. Include a hook that encourages the reader to continue reading – such as a general statement, a question, or an interesting fact. Your introduction should also include a brief statement of your key message and an explanation of the purpose of your document.

A poor introduction fails to engage your reader with the rest of your text and does not get the message across to your audience effectively. A weak introduction can even confuse a reader and create some doubt as to what they're reading about.

A good introduction serves to set the context for the reader from the outset so that they're clear about what the text is dealing with.

Ensure the body of the document supports the main idea

The body of a document is where you present the most information. It's important to remember that all this information should support or expand on the main idea outlined in your introduction.

The body may include background details, supporting facts and statistics, anecdotes, or any other information readers need to understand the main idea of the text.

The most important information should come first so it gets the reader's attention.

If the body of a document must contain anything more than a few sentences, you should divide the text into paragraphs. This will make it easier to read.

However, it's common for writers to start new paragraphs as soon as it appears as if there's a big enough chunk of text on the page. This is a mistake. Instead, paragraphs should group ideas logically. Using them should be a conscious part of how you get your message across.

A good paragraph starts with a topic sentence. This provides the reader with a core point. Further sentences in the paragraph then expand on this point.

As well as grouping sentences into logical paragraphs, you should consider how best to order your paragraphs. These are like the building blocks for a message. It's important they flow in a logical order to build an overall structure that will make sense to readers.

These are some of the ways you can choose to organize content in the body of a document:

• in chronological order, if you're outlining a sequence of events or steps in a process
• divided according to advantages and disadvantages, if you're presenting an argument
• according to level of importance – for example if you need to outline recommended actions
• in categories, if you need to present, contrast, or compare different information types

Provide a clear conclusion to close the document

After the body of a document, it's important to add a clear conclusion. This provides closure.

It should also draw the reader back out from details in the body to the core purpose of your message. It may restate the message, discuss its implications, or request action.

Use design and layout features to improve clarity

Several aspects of a document's layout and design can affect readers' comprehension of text:

• white space – White space helps readers "breathe" as they navigate text. It makes text less dense and easier to digest. One good way to include white space is to ensure there's a large enough margin – generally of at least 25 millimeters – between your text and the edges of the page.
• graphics – Appropriate graphics add visual interest and convey information, sometimes much more clearly than text alone. However, adding unnecessary graphics can detract from your message.
• short lines – Short lines of text that don't all end at the same point are easier to read than long sentences of uniform length.
• bullets – Bulleted lists are useful for presenting logically related points clearly and concisely. Use them for when they assist in the logical flow of information.
• headings – Headings contribute significantly to the structure of text. They make it clear how text has been grouped and help break it into sections that are easy for a reader to identify. Once you've grouped points logically, you'll be able to identify where headings are required.

Ensuring the content in business documents you write is well organized will make your writing easier to follow and understand.

Techniques for doing this include using an introduction to grab the reader's attention and outline your main message, following this with body text that supports the main message, and ending with a suitable conclusion. In addition, you should consider how the layout and design of a document can make it easier for readers to understand.

Glossary

A

abstract word

A word describing an entity that can't be visualized or sensed.

adjective

A modifier that describes or qualifies a noun or pronoun.

adverb

A modifier that describes or qualifies a verb, adjective, or phrase.

apostrophe

A punctuation symbol. It can be used before an "s" to indicate possession, as in "John's umbrella." It can also be used to signal that one or more letters have been omitted from a word, as in "we've" in place of "we have."

C

cliche

An expression or phrase that has lost its original meaning through over-use.

comma splice

A punctuation error in which only a comma separates two clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence.

concrete word

A word describing an entity that can be visualized or sensed.

conjunction

A word used to link other words, phrases, or clauses. Examples are "and", "but", and "or."

connotation

Implied meaning, which may be either positive or negative. Many words have connotations as well as literal meanings.

contraction

A word or joined words in which one or more letters has been left out. A missing letter is typically marked by an apostrophe. Examples are "it's" in place of "it is" and "haven't" in place of "have not."

corporatese

Similar to jargon, terminology that is specific to a company or industry.

D

dangling modifier

A modifier that appears to be associated with a different word than the writer originally intended.

draft

An early version of a written document, before it has undergone revision.

E

editing

The review stage during which you examine a document critically and improve or refine its content and structure.

euphemism

An indirect expression designed to soften or conceal the nature of another word or phrase. An example is "passed on" in place of "died."

F

function word

A word that serves to clarify the role or relationship between other words in a sentence.

G

grammar

The rules according to which sentences are constructed.

I

informative messages

Messages designed to transfer information to the readers.

J

jargon

Terminology that's specific to a particular field, profession, or group.

M

modifier

Any word or phrase that qualifies the meaning of other words or word groups. Adjectives and adverbs are both modifiers.

N

noun

A word that identifies a person, place, thing, idea, or quality.

noun cluster

In a sentence, a group of nouns. Including too many nouns in a cluster can make text difficult to understand.

P

persuasive messages

Messages designed to motivate readers to support an idea or take action.

preposition

A word that describes the relationship between other words. Examples are "on", "at", and "above."

pronoun

A substitute for a noun. Examples are "he", "she", and "they."

proofreading

The review stage during which you focus on correcting superficial, or mechanical, errors in a written document. The focus during proofreading is on identifying grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, as well as style inconsistencies.

R

responsive messages

Messages designed to respond to previous communications.

run-on sentence

Where two or more independent clauses are joined without punctuation.

T

target audience

The individuals to whom a communication is directed.

tone

The style or manner of expression, in speech or writing.

V

verb

A word that expresses an action or a state of being.