Proofreading and Copy Editing

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Proofreading

Proofreading consists of reviewing a document for typographical, spelling, punctuation, and formatting errors. This may be done either against an original document or “blind”. Many proofreaders are also required to take on some light copy editing duties, such as checking for grammar and consistency problems. Proofreading is usually the final check of the work before publication.

Copy Editing

The copy editor’s job is summarized in the Five Cs: to make the copy clear, correct, concise, comprehensible, and consistent. It encompasses proofreading and requires a formidable command of the language, a great eye for detail, broad general knowledge, and sharp critical thinking skills. A major part of the copy editor’s job is to preserve the author’s voice or style while making any necessary changes to the text.

The copy editor is expected to ensure that the text flows, that it is sensible, fair, and accurate, and that it will provoke no legal problems for the publisher. Newspaper copy editors are sometimes responsible for choosing which news service wire copy the newspaper will use, and for rewriting it in accordance with house style. Often, the copy editor is the only person other than the author to read an entire text before its publication. Newspaper editors often regard copy editors as the newspaper’s last line of accurate defense.

A copy editor may abridge text, by “cutting” and “trimming” it, to reduce the length of a novel or an article, either to fit broadcast or publishing limits or to improve its meaning. This may involve omitting parts of the text, but sometimes it is necessary to rewrite uncut parts to bridge the missing details and plot; some abridgements are only slightly shorter than the originals, but others may be much abridged, particularly when a literary classic is abridged for the children’s market.

Interestingly, there is no agreement on the form of the term; it is spelled as one word (copyediting), two words (copy editing), or hyphenated (copy-editing). All are correct, the hyphenated version being more prevalent in the United Kingdom.

Simple Proofeading Test Helps You Master Basic Business-Editing Skills

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Introduction

Let’s begin by recalling Mark Twain’s famous words: “To err is human, to forgive devine.”

Trouble is, Twain never wrote those words. Alexander Pope wrote these words: “To err is human, to forgive divine.”

Oops! The writer made two mistakes in a single sentence. It happens. The world doesn’t come to an end when it happens, a very good thing.

Regardless, “catching” this kind of mistake is an important business-proofreading skill. Credit was given where credit wasn’t due — to Twain instead of Pope. Meanwhile, the quote itself was wrong, having used “devine” instead of “divine.” Check quotations closely for mistakes in attribution and wording. It’s common business courtesy.

It is vital that you check carefully for mistakes involving names and quotations.

When Is A ‘Mistake’ Not A Mistake?

Knowing when to let a “mistake” fall through the cracks is another important skill. It’s possible that, in the eyes of the intended audience, a “mistake” is not a mistake at all.

Proofreading and editing errors are virtually inevitable. I’ve been an editor for more than 20 years and have witnessed thousands and thousands of errors. No editor gets it write — I mean, right — all of the time. There are simply too many things about which an editor needs to be right. One of them, reportedly, is never to end a sentence with a preposition.

This often leads to formal, semi-awkward constructions such as this: “There are simply too many things about which an editor needs to be right,“ instead of “There are simply too many things an editor needs to be right about.“

Lots and lots of spoken sentences and written sentences end with prepositions. Plenty of highly skilled business editors would let the preposition “mistake” stand, instead of rewriting the sentence to make it more formal. In many, many writing contexts, rigid adherence to a formal style becomes a deal-breaker for members of the audience. Comprehension is a key. So is knowing the reader.

If you’re a business person — and if your target audience is auto mechanics who know the language of the trade and drink four tavern beers nightly after work to cool off — do you want your ad or web copy to sound as though it’s targeted to martini-sipping members of country clubs?

It is possible to love language and not be offended by informality, an outcome many purists would have you believe impossible. They would have been pleased had Capt. James T. Kirk of the starship “Enterprise” said “to go boldly where no man has gone before,” as opposed to “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

“To boldy go” is a split infinitive, an alleged no-no. Hollywood let Kirk get away with it, a good call.

Below you’ll find three proofreading tests. They are not designed to be “tricky.” The purpose of the tests simply is to raise awareness and help web authors improve their skill sets. More and more business people are taking advantage of online publishing opportunities. At the same time, web authors with no publishing experience are creating eBooks and information products.

Use this Proofreading Knol to expand your knowledge base. Whether the tests below are “too hard” or “too easy” is your call. In any event, they are designed to help improve business communications.

Take Proofreading Test No. 1

Here is a simple test I created when I was a Moderator at the Warrior Forum, an online business community, to help members improve their proofreading skills. Assume each italicized sentence below is for a general audience, is punctuated properly and is factually correct — but has at least one mistake. Answers are at the bottom of this Knol.

So, what’s wrong with this sentence?

Editors strive to acommodate other editors.

And what’s wrong with this sentence?

Your in for a rough ride if you call yourself a writer but don’t take the trade seriously.

What’s wrong with this sentence?

Rising gasoline prices have a huge affect on disposable income.

How about this one?

Click hear right now and start making money right away. You can’t loose!

And this one?

Mickey Mantle hit one of the the longest homers ever, a 565-foot blast.

Mistakes routinely show up on business websites. Many of them could be eliminated if owners raised their level of awareness and devoted a few extra minutes to proofreading.

Take Proofreading Test No. 2

Proofread this short article I wrote as part of the skill test for Warrior Forum members. Answers are at the bottom of this Knol.

Steven was waiting with baited breath. Would Tiger Woods sink that tricky put on the 18th green to force a Monday morning playoff with Rocco Mediate?

Steven wondered how he’d make the time to watch the 18-hole playoff Monday between Tiger and Rocco. It was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the morning California time, noon on the east coast.

Take Proofreading Test No. 3

Here is the final part of the test given Warrior Forum members. Answers are at the bottom of this Knol.

Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings are my favorite meal. I’ve been known to eat too entire plates!

Nothing ever will top Thanksgiving diner in my family.

Answers For Test No. 1

Editors strive to acommodate accommodate other editors.

Your You’re in for a rough ride if you call yourself a writer but don’t take the trade seriously.

Rising gasoline prices have a huge affect effect on disposable income.

Click hear here right now and start making money right away. You can’t loose lose!

Mickey Mantle hit one of the the the longest homers ever, a 565-foot blast.

Test No. 1 Notes

1.) Accommodate commonly is misspelled. It has a double “c” and a double “m.”
2.) “your” for you’re is a common mistake. So is “you’re” for your.
3.) “affect” for effect is a common mistake.
4.) “hear” for here is a common mistake. So is “here” for hear. Same is true of “loose” for lose and “lose” for loose. The mind reads what it wants to read, which is why it’s important to proofread slowly.
5.) Very easy to miss double occurrences of words: the the.

Answers For Test No. 2

Steven was waiting with baited bated breath. Would Tiger Woods sink that tricky put putt on the 18th green to force a Monday morning playoff with Rocco Mediate?

Test No. 2 Notes

1.) “Baited” and “bated” often are confused. Please enjoy looking them up.
2.) Lots of people forget the second “t” in putt.
3.) It’s often hard to “catch” a spelling mistake such as “gofer” for golfer. The mind reads what it wants to read, which is why it’s important to proofread slowly.
4.) Very easy to miss mistakes such as “presents” for presence and “steaks” for stakes and “their” for they’re and “whole” for hole and “shear” for sheer.
5.) “appeard” for appeared is another example of why it’s important to proofread slowly.
6.) “it’s” for its is a common mistake. Looking it up will help you.
7.) Dr Pepper dropped the period after “Dr” in the 1950s.
8.) DuPont Stainmaster. Getting names right is important.
9.) 9 a.m. in the morning is redundant.

Answers For Test No. 3

Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings are is my favorite meal. I’ve been known to eat too two **entire plates!

I have many happy memories of the flavors of Thanksgiving. Dripping with gravy, Mom served dinner every year. Mom served dinner, dripping with gravy, every year.

Nothing ever will top Thanksgiving diner dinner in my family.

** One could argue that “people don’t eat plates; they eat food.” But is this a “mistake” worth correcting if readers won’t be confused?

Test No. 3 Notes

1.) Subject and verb agreement:  “Thanksgiving dinner . . . is my favorite meal.
2.) Lots of “two, to, and too” mistakes out there. These rankle audiences of all types. Even grade-schoolers know these rules.
3.) “Dripping with gravy, Mom served Thanksgiving dinner” means that Mom herself was dripping with gravy — not the meal.
4.) Very easy to miss “roles” for rolls and “through” for threw and “ware” for wear and “cents” for sense. It’s also easy to miss common misspellings such as “squeel” for squeal and “potatos” for potatoes. Ask former U.S. Vice President Dan Quail — I mean, Quayle.
5.) Very easy to miss double occurrences of words such as for for.
6.) “Stufffing”: Very easy to miss an extra letter in a word such as stuffing.
7.) “diner”: Very easy to miss a word that needs an additional letter.

About Patrick Pretty: “Patrick Pretty” is a longtime writer and editor, and owner of the Patrick Pretty line of digital information products. Patrick has worked in offline publishing for more than 20 years. He embraced the power of the Internet for online pursuits in 2005.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Scientific and Medical Writing

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Persuasive and Effective Writing

Scientific writing shares with all expository writing the need to be clear, concise, and intellectually creative, not to mention persuasive. A legal analogy (drawn from my days as a practicing attorney), helps make the point. You are writing a brief, or presenting a case to a jury – quite literally – in the form of a panel of reviewers and editors. You will present facts (the data), and describe how the facts fit (or fail to fit) into the existing precedent. You will argue persuasively, in an evidence-based manner, why your analysis should carry the day and be accepted as part of the canon of accepted wisdom – at least until someone comes along and upends you! Dividing the work of writing into tasks (or aliquots, for you pharmacists and biochemists) is a key feature of being efficient. As importantly, writing in chunks helps prevent wheel-spinning, which virtually always extinguishes the creative process. With this in mind, I’ll be suggesting that you adopt an algorithm that follows a step-wise process, with suggested blocks of time allocated for the various tasks. You don’t need an uninterrupted 6-hour stretch in an isolation tank to get started.

A quick note before getting to the heart of the matter:

Write with a grammar and usage guide (there are many online guides, see, e.g., The American Heritage Book of English Usage, The Chicago Manual of Style Online, University of Chicago Writing Program ), and a scientific style guide (such as the American Medical Association’s AMA Manual of Style, 10th Edition,The Council of Science Editor’s Scientific Style and Format), so that you are always prepared for those niggling issues such as “compared with” vs. “compared to” (here’s a freebie: with is for comparing like items, e.g., the U.S. Capitol with the British Houses of Parliament; to is for comparing or contrasting dissimilar items, as, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”), as well as for weightier matters such as international presentation of measurement, and accepted abbreviations. Also, have your Endnote library or other compilation file of the references you will likely need to have at hand as you are setting up the introduction and background.

The Algorithm

Begin before the beginning.

Scribble or type a list of topics, themes, ideas, or conclusions, relating to your research, in any order. Don’t fret about making it perfect – this is the written equivalent of the “brainstorming” sessions sometimes used to break the ice at meetings. Using the scribble technique allows you to harvest all of your ideas, and then winnow them – some will go to the discard pile, some will be saved for another day (and another paper), but you won’t distract yourself by following ideas (too far) that are not relevant to this particular paper. Do this for about 15-30 minutes, and then relax — reward yourself with a latte or a quick peek at a Tivo’d Daily Show.

Build a scaffold.

Using the “Instructions for Authors” contained on the Web site of every scientific journal, open a new document and set up the section headings of the paper. Voilà — you are now no longer looking at a blank screen. Pull out or bookmark your style manual and grammar guide. You are almost ready to start. Treat yourself to a snack or another latte.

Put on the sorting hat.

With both the scribbled list and the section headings in front of you, begin to fill in the scaffold – penning a meaningful topic sentence for each section and subsection. Note: meaningful means an original idea that sets up an issue that will be discussed in the remainder of the section, subsection, or paragraph.

Fill in the space under the topic sentence with elements from your scribble list – perfect prose is not necessary – of findings, results, and conclusions, noting areas that require further thought or discussion.

A note: the hardest thing to do at this point in the process is to “murder your darlings,” the admonition famously  delivered by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944), and co-opted by fiction editors ever since to reprimand writers who have introduced too many characters or plot devices. As you are probably coming to realize, writing is a continuous cycle of refining the ideas that belong in this paper, and putting the others into a file called “good ideas for another day” (literally, that is what I suggest that you call it), and even consigning some to the scrap heap of investigative history. Virtually every author cuts too little at this stage, and virtually none cuts too much. Err on the side of mercilessness.

Work until you are repeating yourself, then go for a run or a ride. (Another latte and you will put yourself at risk for Atrial Fibrillation).

The Introduction: A promise to the reader.

The introduction is not simply a writing exercise or preliminary matter. The intro guides your PRESENT thinking about the paper – it may evolve; there is always the possibility that you’ll change course entirely, but likely not, as by the time you sit down to write you will have discussed your findings and their meaning with your co-authors, your statistician, your mother- really, whomever is willing to listen.

Content. The introduction is your promise to the reader. The key to convincing a journal that your manuscript is publication-worthy is a cogent articulation of the unique contribution your findings make to the literature. Describe the raison d’etre of the study — recall the deficit in the knowledge base, or interesting question that compelled you to conduct this study in the first place.  Do not reinvent the wheel. If the study is drawn from a funded grant or response to an RFP, return to it and reproduce the reasons the funder of the study was sold on the novel research idea you presented. Review recently published papers in the journal that you are aiming for that pertain to your area of investigation. Note carefully which aspects of the scientific underpinnings of your study are essential to include. It will likely not be the entire history of the human genome project, but rather the most recent work on the use of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to screen for cancers beyond breast and cervical, and incorporate only those elements that are essential to set the scientific scene, citing published work in support. Close the intro with a “road map” to help telegraph to the reader what he or she will find in the paper, and (if you are feeling particularly gutsy) the contribution you believe you have made to our collective understanding of this key topic.

Style. Write the way that you speak, but not conversationally. That is, do not use more words to write something than you would to simply say it. Avoid connectors, descriptors, or transitions that you would not feel comfortable saying aloud or presenting orally (e.g., hence, thusly, etc). Read your introduction aloud to yourself to see if it rings true and sounds sensible. Then call it a day.

Write the easy parts first.

The methodology and results sections are relatively easy to knock off quickly. Carefully track the steps that you undertook to recruit subjects, and what you did with them, or, if one exists, the research protocol. If you repeat or reproduce a part of the protocol as stated in your original proposal, do not paraphrase or change verbiage.

This is also a good time to start noting which data are candidates for a table, and any concepts that are best depicted graphically in a figure. These are all good tasks for a slot of 30-60 minutes while commuting, or during academic senate meetings.

Results: The scribbled list re-rears its head.

Content. Spend some more time thinking about the most interesting and logical way to present your results. Was there an expected or unexpected finding? What grabbed you about your results? If you are presenting something new, build the case in a logical order – e.g., is this study the result of a long line of similar research that is “confirmatory, but…”? Does it present a new theory to explain an old phenomenon? Is it rebutting a long-held belief in the field? Does it have implications for research or social policy? Will it be a useful “tear-out” with pragmatic clinical application?

Style. Using the topic sentences you’ve already drafted into the scaffolding, write stand-alone paragraphs following the “I.A.C.” algorithm: Issue (the topic sentence), Analysis (the clinical, biochemical, social, economic, explanation of the issue or finding), and finally, the Concluding sentence (summing up the analysis of the paragraph), which should serve as a transition to the next paragraph. Get busy murdering those darlings. You will have many findings and results to choose from – choose judiciously.

If you find that you are stuck, particularly if you cannot create an I.A.C. paragraph for a  finding or result, there’s a good chance that you have not been judicious enough. Go back to the topic sentence, and make sure that it is worthy of a paragraph. Some ideas that seem viable when they are drafted, turn out to be insufficiently meaty to stand alone as you move through the process. Another possibility is that this particular finding is not relevant to this paper – open your file of “good ideas for another day” and put the idea away. Ideas like this are not wasted, they are merely waiting to be re-purposed.

Another observation: while journals virtually always ask you to list results and discussion in separate sections, as you are working you will likely elide them a bit, i.e., it is sometimes difficult to simply articulate a result or finding without saying something explanatory about it, and the extra detail you find yourself adding helps to frame and organize the findings that belong together. At these times, I suggest you let your analytic mojo have its way, and later use the cut and paste function to pull out the “explanatory” discussion and place it into the “Discussion” section. You will not have wasted any time, and your creative process will not be needlessly interrupted.

Discussion: Actually speak to the reader.

The discussion is your opportunity to argue your case with the facts that you’ve set forth formulaically in the results sections. Repetition in the discussion does not make your thesis more persuasive. Here is where you persuade the editors and reviewers how and why your findings have meaning, fit together to create a story or explanation that has not been revealed before (and that is clinically relevant), or are the start of a re-thinking of formerly received wisdom. Check each paragraph against the next to be certain that you are connecting the dots for the readers, not bludgeoning them.

Limitations: Head off possible criticism with careful, but not defensive, explanation.

Anticipate critique of your methodology or study design and present the reasoning behind your choices. Your design and study criteria were well thought out in the beginning – now is not the time to have a crisis of confidence.

Conclusion: Provide a send-off, not a repetition.

The conclusion is your opportunity to take the bully pulpit, and set a course. This is the section in which to chart a research agenda, get others interested in your field, or create some controversy that flows from your findings. Articulate the thing you most want the editors and reviewers, and ultimately, the readers, to do with this new knowledge. What’s the take-home message?

Some practical advice.

Return to the rules for authors and re-check formatting requirements, word length, formatting of references, suggested number of references, directions about graphics — the works. Make sure you have complied with all of the structural requirements.

Print a hard copy of the manuscript, and proof it for substance by reading it aloud once. You will be amazed at what you will find to self-edit. Then, and only then, spell check. Wait a day, re-read a printed version of the manuscript.  Then, and only then, with a sigh of relief, hit the send key to your co-authors, or other friendly readers.

Article Writing: How To Get Published

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

White Smoke Review

October 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The White Smoke software is available as a download and works with any program. You can paste text in and copy it out, or simply compose in the compose window. I tried the online demo, and there are some minor differences from the downloadable product. However, most of the main features are the same.

So, what does it look like? It’s a bit like Word, Google Docs and other word processing programs. It’s got a simple array of formatting buttons across the top for editing style, font and font size, followed by buttons for bold, italics, underline, creating coloured text and a few more. The second row has buttons for alignment, bullets and numbering, and cutting and pasting. A cool feature is that it will paste text from Word or plain text depending on the button you choose.

The top of the window has three tabs on the left (enrichment, dictionary and templates) plus two on the right for information. The templates window allows you to load one of 600 templates in the commercial, literary, medical or legal categories and customise them for your needs. The dictionary is a lookup window and the main window, where you write and edit text, is enrichment. At the bottom of a window is a WhiteSmoke button, as well as undo, redo and demo buttons. The bottom right allows you to select the type of writing you are doing (great for those interested in business and literary, less so for those of us who blog for a living) If you’re writing a speech, dissertation or letter, you’re covered too. On to the main window.

Grammar Checking

You can use WhiteSmoke with any application, since it works with cut and paste, and you can also set it to check as you type. When you paste some text in, and hit one of those two buttons you get some text underlined in different colours. The colour code is blue for enrichment/thesaurus, green for grammar and red for spelling, cleverly following MS Word conventions. Here is where it gets interesting. Click on or hover over an underlined word and you get suggestions for improvement. So, how did WhiteSmoke do? I used it to check three articles I was writing for a client.

It picked up well on spelling errors. I use UK English, so it tried to convert them to US English. It found no grammatical errors – I had to insert a deliberate mistake to test that. That’s a major improvement over Word, which always finds grammatical errors where there are none. For me, the winner was the enrichments popup menu. That’s in two parts. The left suggests adjectives and adverbs you can add to enrich your writing, while the right suggests synonyms. Just click to add your changes. I liked some of the suggestions and can see where this type of software would help people who struggle with writing.

There are several different WhiteSmoke products aimed respectively at general writing, business writing, creative writing, legal writing, medical writing and executive writing, as well as a language translator that offers instant translation into 20 languages. There are also pro versions with additional enhancements (currently on sale for $1 when you buy the main program).

White Smoke is a useful product, especially for people who are new to writing or who have English as a second language. Even experienced writers will find it useful on a day when the words just aren’t flowing the way you want.

White Smoke ESL Software Review

October 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

White Smoke ESL Software

English is a very difficult language to master , even for native speakers! But writing in English as a second language is now easier than ever with WhiteSmoke ESL software. Our revolutionary technology contains an extremely large database of words and phrases which is tested, improved and upgraded on a daily basis. For you, this means help with your English writing that is always accurate, and that you will learn English at a high level.

The English corrector in WhiteSmoke will be your most valuable tool as a learner of English. It doesn’t matter what kind of text you need to write; we can help you. Within this English checker, there is a grammar checker that will find and correct your English grammar mistakes. If you have trouble with verb tenses, WhiteSmoke can find your errors and correct them.

You will also have proper punctuation in your English writing with WhiteSmoke software. Rules for writing are different in different parts of the world. American English is the standard, and with just the push of a button WhiteSmoke’s proofreading software, will check your work and make sure it matches the rules it needs to so you will have correct punctuation that will be clear to everyone.

When you write in English with WhiteSmoke, you will be sure that your work is high quality and free of mistakes because this grammar software checks for your errors and corrects them. You will come across as smart and professional, and get the contacts and reactions you deserve. Speak English like an American and succeed in the international world we live in.

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software – Editing & Fixing Your Grammar

October 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software is an important tool for both English native speakers and ESL students alike. We can spend hours on writing, rewriting, checking and proofreading our different writing tasks trying to maintain it correct and professional. Looking for new ways that will help you to enrich and correct your English writing without any extra effort? Read this article.

Some background

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software provides advanced grammar and proofreading capabilities that aren’t available with our conventional word processors. The way they ‘fix’ your writing is interesting yet complicated; basically these solutions compare your sentences to their own ‘proper versions’ of similar sentences. These sophisticated software solutions usually provide the following: proofreading for correct grammar, correcting spelling mistakes, and checking on proper punctuation.

Important advantages

Let’s summarize the main benefits and advantages:

- Helping us to avoid embarrassing grammar mistakes.

- Providing extra capabilities which do not exist in conventional word processors.

- Enriching our English vocabulary.

Looking closer on this technology, we could easily find other advantages that were not mentioned in this review, as this technology is constantly moving forward, bringing us fresh improvements that help us on improving our Writing performance.

Conclusion

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software and other NLP technologies (Natural Language Processing) will undoubtedly gain more and more popularity as we all understand the importance of maintaining a high-quality writing level. It is important to keep in mind that this technology is not 100% perfect; however, it provides help for our most common writing problems. Developing this complex technology is challenging, however, we can expect this solution to further develop itself, simply because writing is one of the most important tools that helps us communicating with others.

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software provides advanced grammar and proofreading capabilities that aren’t available with our conventional word processors. Smart proofreading and grammar correction solutions rely on sophisticated engines and dynamic databases. They process your writing, compare it, and finally fix it. If we research these nlp (natural language processing) programs we will notice that most of them provide the following: instant correction for basic grammar mistakes, spelling and typos, and punctuation errors.

What are the main benefits?

Let’s quickly see what is in it for us:

* Improving our writing style.
* Improving and enriching our speech, enabling us to speak correct and better English.
* Enriching our English vocabulary.

If we examine it closer we would probably find additional benefits that aren’t mentioned here, as this innovative technology keeps improving, bringing us fresh solutions that help us on improving our English writing.

Summary

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software can help us correct and polish most of our daily writing assignments – Emails, documents, job applications, and more. Everyone agrees that it cannot completely eliminate our writing problems; however, it can significantly help us on improving our writing skills. Although it is already available, we can expect this tool to further develop itself, simply because writing is one of the most important tools that help us fulfill our daily assignments.

A Guide to Business English Writing

October 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Successful business writing means taking some extra care with grammar and spelling, clearly stating your main point, writing clearly, and giving some thought to your audience.

The Impact of Business Writing

Readers will judge you to some extent based on your writing. Take extra care with grammar and spelling. Sending a message with grammar errors is like showing up for a meeting with your shirt untucked. It gives an impression of sloppiness.

Business English should be reasonably formal. Do not, however, let your writing become stilted. Keep a somewhat conversational tone, without being unprofessional. Be careful with humor, which is easier to miss or misunderstand in writing without the benefit of body language.

Don’t use “smilies” or the casual abbreviations that have become popular in e-mails, like LOL or TTFN.

Be particularly careful with the names of companies and people. You don’t want subordinates, colleagues, or clients to get the impression that you don’t care about them.

Bad writing will do more than give a bad impression. A poorly-written document will fail to achieve whatever objective you had when you wrote it. If you write a long, rambling document with dense blocks of text, many readers will skim it briefly and discard it. If people don’t read your letters and e-mails, then writing them is a waste of your time.

Write Clearly

To write clearly, keep the following points in mind:

• Use simple, clear words
• Get to the point
• Format the document appropriately

Use Simple, Clear Words

Most of us can speak fairly clearly, but somehow when we write, an unhelpful complexity often creeps in. People use words in writing that they would never use in conversation. Often we use written words that are less clear, because they seem more official or more formal. The result is stilted, stuffy, unnatural writing that is more difficult to read than it needs to be.

Here is a list of fancy words and their simpler equivalents. Try to use the words in the second column instead of the words in the first column.

commence begin
prior to before
furnish give
proceed go, continue, walk, drive
anticipate expect
implement start
utilize use

Try reading your documents out loud. They should not sound clumsy, awkward, or pretentious. You should write more or less the way you speak, although with more strict attention paid to grammar.

Get to the Point

There are two questions you must answer before you begin to write. What is your message? What are you trying to achieve? Answering these two questions will make the writing process easier, and the quality of the writing higher.

In your document, you should immediately state the main point or key piece of information. Don’t make your readers dig through a long letter or e-mail, trying to figure out why you wrote it. State your conclusions or key message up front. Add further details after you’ve gotten to the point.

Avoid unnecessary words. Don’t bury your message in pointless phrases. Trim meandering sentences that add nothing to your message. Consider the following example, with two versions of the same paragraph.

In the event that the purchaser is not fully satisfied, the company warranties and guarantees that the purchaser shall be eligible for a full and complete refund, subject to the following conditions: that the product is returned in a reasonable condition; that a receipt is presented at the time of returning the product; that the receipt shall correspond in every way to the product being returned. Customers not fully satisfied with the product must bring both the product and the corresponding receipt to the service desk on the second floor.

You must have a receipt to get a refund. See the service desk on the second floor.

The first paragraph has no useful information that is not found in the second paragraph. It is harder to understand, and that is all.

Format the Document Appropriately

Make your documents reader-friendly. The main point should appear close to the top of the document, and it should be easy to find. The document should not resemble a marathon, or a maze where you’ve cleverly hidden your information.

Avoid extremely long sentences or very long paragraphs. It is intimidating to search for information in a large, dense mass of text. Use whitespace to break up the document and to emphasize key points.

Use headings to make it easy for readers to find information, and to keep track of where they are in the document. Use bulleted and numbered lists so that key facts are easy to find.

Here is a basic model for clear, accessible documents:

• start with your main point
• organize your writing into blocks of information
• label those blocks with headings

Consider Your Audience

Keep the reader in mind as you write. Think about your reader’s vocabulary and education level, and write appropriately. Only use abbreviations or jargon that your audience will understand.

Ask yourself what your readers are interested in and need to know. What is in it for the reader? Don’t write out every fact that you know. Put in the information that the reader needs.

Sometimes, considering your audience means deciding not to send out a document. Many workers feel inundated with e-mails, especially corporate communications sent to too many recipients. Many people learn to delete e-mails with only a cursory glance.

If you send out too much information, you can create a situation where less and less information is actually being received. If your co-workers expect to receive irrelevant and long-winded e-mails, they may not recognize an important message. Be selective about the messages you send, to avoid training people to delete your messages unread.

Give all e-mails an appropriate and descriptive subject line. It is the first step in making your message clear.

Good business English means more effective communication. It is simple, clear, and straightforward. It is easier to read, and when you get used to it, easier to write.

The Essentials of Writing in English

October 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Good writing in English has several key components. Good writing is clear and unambiguous, with descriptive words that are easy to understand, proper grammar and punctuation, and careful use of pronouns and modifiers. Good writing is concise. Unnecessary words and repetitious phrases are removed. Good writing is focused, with every sentence contributing to the purpose of the document.

Good Writing Is Clear and Unambiguous

There are many ways for writing to be unclear. Esoteric or unusual words will confuse many readers. Poorly chosen words can make your writing less clear. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes make writing harder to understand. Pronouns are inherently ambiguous, and pose a constant threat to clarity. Misplaced or clumsy modifiers can also distort the meaning of a sentence.

Obscure Vocabulary

Eschew obfuscation. Very few readers will understand this gem of advice. However, if you say, “avoid making things unclear,” almost any reader will be able to understand.

Try not to use obscure or unusual words which many readers will not be able to understand. This includes needlessly fancy words like “pulchritude” or “anthrogogue,” and technical and scientific terms. Be wary of abbreviations. Most people know what a CD is, but they may be less familiar with an MRI or an SOP. Not every reader will be familiar with the casual abbreviations often seen in e-mail, like “LOL” or “OMG.”

Be careful with slang expressions, especially words whose meaning has changed over the years. Readers over the age of 30 are likely to consider the word “pimp” an insult, while younger readers might consider it a compliment.

Descriptive Words

Use the best word for the situation. Usually a more descriptive word is better than a less descriptive word. Instead of “dog,” write “collie” or “poodle.” Instead of “vehicle,” use “pickup truck” or “sedan.”

Resist the temptation to use vague words because they sound official or serious. Never write that someone was “proceeding down the street.” If they were driving, say so. If they were walking, say that they were walking. Don’t make your readers guess.

Grammar

Grammar is a subject too complex to be summarized here. Poor grammar may do nothing worse than irritate your readers. Sometimes, however, poor grammar can make your writing confusing or impossible to understand.

Be careful with spelling, and especially with homonyms (words which sound the same but are spelled differently). You may have correctly spelled a word that you didn’t mean to use. “Joe is a little horse” is a very different statement from “Joe is a little hoarse.”

Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. “My brother’s money” belongs to my brother, but “my brothers’ money” belongs to my brothers. A misplaced comma can turn one modifier into two different modifiers. “He arrived for his appointment, late yesterday afternoon,” suggests that he arrived on time for an appointment in the late afternoon. “He arrived for his appointment late, yesterday afternoon,” suggests that he was late for his appointment.

Failure to understand the parts of speech can also cause confusion. If, instead of “I feel bad,” you write, “I feel badly,” it sounds as if you are not very good at feeling.

Pronouns

Every pronoun risks confusing your readers. Consider the following example:

Andy and Bob tried to install a new carpet in the hall, but he said it was too wide.

Who did the talking? Was the carpet too wide for the hall, or was the hall too wide for the carpet? Your guess is as good as mine.

Every time you write “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” or any other pronoun, you need to double-check for any chance of misunderstanding.

Modifiers

A modifier is a word or phrase that describes or modifies something in a sentence. The modifier should be placed as close as possible to whatever it is modifying. Consider the following examples:

Tom had some chicken that he thought was greasy, with his friend.

Tom had some chicken with his friend, that he thought was greasy.

In the first example it sounds like Tom thought the chicken was greasy. In the second example it sounds like he thought his friend was greasy.

Good Writing Is Concise

Brevity, according to Shakespeare, is the soul of wit. Most of us write documents that are somewhat bloated and repetitive. If you can learn to remove unnecessary words, phrases, and sentences, your writing will improve dramatically. Here are some examples of trimming the fat:

Right now, gasoline is expensive.
Gasoline is expensive.

Mr. Smith, who is my lawyer, wrote this document.
Mr. Smith, my lawyer, wrote this document.

I was not aware of the fact that the car was stolen.
I was not aware that the car was stolen.
I did not know that the car was stolen.

The truth is, I don’t like your hat.
I don’t like your hat.

Egg whites are low in fat. Egg whites are also high in protein. Egg whites are more healthy than whole eggs.
Egg whites, low in fat and high in protein, are healthier than whole eggs.

Good Writing Is Focused

A well-written document should have a point. If you are not sure what you are trying to say or what it is that you are trying to accomplish with your writing, then your writing will be vague and meandering. Take the time before you begin to decide what your essential message is. If you don’t know what you’re trying to say, you’ll have a hard time trying to say it.

After the document is finished, go back over it, keeping your theme or purpose in mind. Anything that doesn’t contribute to your central message or goal should probably be removed.

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