A Common Sense Approach
to Writing
Effective writing is a skill, a craft. Yes, it can be learned, at any age.
Effective Writing
 Good writing has a clearly defined purpose.
 It makes a definite point.
 It supports that point with specific information.
 The information is clearly connected and arranged.
 The words are appropriate, and the sentences are concise,
emphatic, and correct.
About.com
Five Steps of Effective Writing
The Five Steps
 Preparation
 Research
 Organization
 Writing
 Revision
Preparation – Step One
 Establish your primary purpose/message
 Define your audience and context
 Determine the scope of your coverage based on audience
and context
 Select the appropriate medium or channel (Letter, email,
memo)
Research- Step Two
 All communication requires some level of research. You
must know about the subject, the audience and the
context, first and foremost.
 The more complex the subject and/or job, the greater
research is required. ( A memo or thank you letter will not
usually require the degree of research required with a
proposal, or marketing plan.)
Organization- Step Three
Define your key message
 In as few words as possible ask yourself:
What do you want to say ?
Suppose you had :30 seconds to say what you most want to
communicate. (That’s 70 words or less for most people.)
Write it out. Don’t worry about style at this point.
How are you going to say it?
Based on your audience (recipient), context and medium,
choose:
 How much information will you convey? (Will you go into
detail or just provide a concise overview?)
 In what order will the information be conveyed –
sequentially, with a cause and effect method of
development etc?
 What style and tone on writing will you adopt?
 Are there design and layout elements that need to be
considered?
Next? The outline
Outlining
 Breaks large or complex subjects into manageable parts. It
also enables you to emphasize key points by placing them
in the positions of greatest importance.
Writing – Step Four
Points to remember
 Your writing should be straightforward and conversational
in style.
 Write as if speaking personally to the intended recipient.
 The language and tone are dictated by the recipient’s age,
occupation, personality and education, your relationship
to her or him, and the context or reason you are writing.
 (You don’t speak to your boss in the same way you speak
to your friends from high school or college.)
Writing - Step 4 - A few pointers
Pointer # 1
 Many people begin writing without sitting down and
deciding on the key message or point that they want to
get across to their reader (s).
 Little thought is given to what they would use to flesh out
and support that key message.
 Establish your key message first!
Pointer # 2
 Often, writers try to do too much with one sentence. The
result is something that is often far too long, redundant
and, frankly, unintelligible.
 In your initial draft, keep your sentences as short and
simple as possible.
 Make sure that each sentence contains a complete
thought and that the thought pertains to the subject.
 check that each is clear and grammatically correct and has
a clear relationship with the other sentences.
First draft
 Don’t panic. Don’t worry about style or about writing that
perfect sentence. Just be concerned with clarity.
 Start writing as if you are talking to someone about the
content of your communication.
 Separate each sentence on the screen with multiple
spaces.
 Read each sentence aloud and then each paragraph.
 Are you getting your key message across in a simple and
clear way?
Revision - Step Five
Read your entire first draft aloud
to yourself
Pretend you are the intended recipient
reading it for the first time
Can I be simpler? Replace the long word
with the short, the trendy with the triedand-true, the pompous with the plain, the
foreign with the domestic. (Chapter 6 of Words Fail
Me.)
Can I be clearer? Every word, every
sentence, every paragraph should be
as clear as you can make it, with no
chance the reader might
misunderstand. (Chapters 6, 9, 10 of Words Fail
Me.)
Do I make sense? Check for any
contradictions or lapses in logic.
(Chapters 12, 17 of Words Fail Me.)
Do my sentences hang together?
They should follow one another
smoothly. And don’t make them
all the same length or you’ll put
the reader to sleep. (Chapters 12, 13 of
Words Fail Me.)
(The store was big. It was busy. It had new items. It
advertised low prices.) Yawn.
Use strong verbs
Do my verbs pull their weight?
Replace the 97-pound weaklings
and weed out unnecessary
passives. Then move verbs as close
as you can to their subjects. (Chapters 7,
8, 21 of Words Fail Me.)
Strong verbs examples
 He was a strong king.
 Revised: He emerged as a strong king.
I was the supervisor of a multi-million dollar advertising
campaign.
 Revised: I supervised a multi-million dollar advertising
campaign.
 She was responsible for managing fourteen full-time
employees
 Revised: She managed fourteen full-time employees.
Other things to check
 Am I getting the key message across as clearly and
effectively as possible?
 Am I writing conversationally?
 Am I using the right tone?
 Could I be more concise?
 How are my grammar, spelling and punctuation?
Number 1
Adopt the "you attitude."
This means looking at a topic from the point of view of your
reader, emphasizing what he or she wants or needs to know.
Draft: I have requested that your order be sent out today.
Revision: You will receive your order by Wednesday.
Number 2
Focus on the real subject.
Don't bury a key word by dropping it into a phrase
following a weak subject.
Draft: The implementation of the new campaign will begin
on June 1.
Revision: The new marketing campaign will begin on June
1.
Number 3
Write actively, not passively.
Wherever it's appropriate, put your subject up front and
make it do something. The active voice generally works
better than the passive because it's more direct, more
concise, and easier to understand. (But not always.)
Draft:Your proposal was reviewed at our meeting on April
1, and it was immediately submitted to the developers.
Revision: We reviewed your proposal on April 1 and
immediately submitted it to the developers.
Number 4
Cut unnecessary words and phrases.
Wordy expressions may distract readers, so cut the clutter.
Draft: I am writing this note because I want to thank you
very much for organizing the open house that was held
last Thursday.
Revision: Thank you very much for organizing last
Thursday's open house.
Number 5
But don't leave out key words.
To be clear as well as concise, we sometimes need to add a
word or two.
Draft: The storage shed is the first step.
Revision: Unlocking the storage shed is the first step.
Number 7
Avoid outdated expressions.
Unless you enjoy sounding stuffy in print, stay away from
words and phrases that are never used in conversation-"attached herewith," "this is to advise you," "as per your
request.”
Draft: Attached herein for your reference is a duplicated
version of the aforementioned deed.
Revision: I have enclosed a copy of the deed.
Number 8
Put a cap on the buzzwords.
Trendy expressions tend to wear out their welcome fast.
For proof, see 200 Words and Expressions That Tick You Off.
Draft: At the end of the day the bottom line is that we
should facilitate opportunities for employees to provide
input on best practices.
Revision: Let's encourage people to make suggestions.
Number 9
Unstack your modifiers.
Stacking means piling up modifiers before a noun--the
verbal equivalent of a traffic jam. Long noun strings may
save a word or two, but they may also puzzle our readers.
Draft: Space telescope wide-field planetary camera
instrument definition team ground based charged-coupledevice camera (from New Scientist, cited by Matthew
Lindsay Stevens in Subtleties of Scientific Style, 2007)
Revision: Huh?
Number 10
And, of course, proofread.
Finally, there's correctness: see Top Ten Proofreading Tips.
Draft: When you're in a hurry, it's very easy to leave words.
Revision: When you're in a hurry, it's very easy to leave out
words.
Review the following:
When to use the objective and subjective pronouns
 Wrong: Let’s keep this between you and I.
 Correct: Let’s keep this between you and me.
The correct way to use “to lie” and “to lay”
 Wrong: The dog lays there. The dog is laying there.
 Correct: The dog lies down over there. (You lie down. The
dog is lying there.
 To lay is to put or place something somewhere. To lie is to
be in or move into a horizontal position.
Other common mistakes
 The difference between affect (verb) and effect (noun) and
less (amount) and fewer (number) etc.
 The difference between misnomer (a name that suggests
something other than what it is or that gives the wrong
idea) and misconception (A wrong interpretation or flawed
reasoning)
 Avoiding misplaced modifiers etc.
(The man with the wooden leg named Smith would lead one to
question: “What’s the name of his other leg?”
What additional pointers?
 Contact John Stack at
www.johnstackwriting.com
Or call 410-889-3327