Guidelines for effective writing

Documents of writing are of various types: emails, essays, letters, memos, speeches, brochures, manuals, reports etc... Whatever the situation and text, and whatever the diction, there are a few general guidelines that will make up the message and refine the style of writing:

1 Clarity:

While drafting a content based essay or letter, the purpose is to convey information and details and draw conclusions. But while writing a report, certainly recommendations are to be made for yielding specific actions. Whatever may be the document, the content should be clear without any ambiguity, for getting things done. Keep this purpose in mind always, to avoid deviating from the topic.

2 Choose the right style

In oral communication, one automatically becomes habituated to what one says and how one says it to go well with the people. A person talks to the boss or higher authority in an individual manner, to friends in a different, and so on. It is indispensable to be careful while writing also: choose a writing style and terminology that the readers will feel at ease and react well to. Every document has an exceptional style like academic composition, business writing or blog writing.

3 Have an outline before writing a document

Habitually, people write without an outline, which often leads to unsystematic writing, with parts that don't unite i.e. don't have coherence. Whether it is a volume of a report or a letter of complaint, composing a comprehensible plan and layout is the foremost essential step to getting the message across swiftly and in the most effectual way. Mind mapping or arranging relevant information visually with diagrams, helps in making a draft meaningful and comprehensible.

4 Provide authentic information

The basic intention of writing is to convey ideas and information effectually to other people; hence one must be conscious about the use of every word and sentence in writing. Always ensure the relevance and authenticity of each piece of information in writing.

5 Take the readers along with

While writing, one's task is to make the readers comprehend the message rapidly and exactly. To do this, it is compulsory to illustrate them obviously how the different parts relate to each other.

In a piece of writing, each sentence and each paragraph should be relevant to what comes before and what comes after. One should use words and phrases that attach or distinguish to show these connections, for example, as a result, in this way, in contrast. Informative headings also help readers follow one's flow of thought; hence compose such appealing headings to catch the attention of the readers.

6 Use passive verbs aptly

In certain types of writing, such as scientific contexts, passive verbs are apt and are extensively used. But in more common writing people often use them improperly or overuse them.

The problem is that they can make writing sound impersonal when it needs to be personal because they emphasize the action rather than the person executing it. But generally, the doer of the action is a central part of the message. That's why, it is necessary to understand when the passive verb is helpful and when it is not.

7 Avoid clichés and buzzwords

Clichés are phrases and words which are used so often and so indistinctly that they lose their unique impact. For example, in the nick of time, a matter of time, read between the lines, brave as a lion etc.

Buzzwords are words or phrases that have little meaning but become popular during a specific time. They are stylish in certain contexts, can be inspiring and attention grabbing and as a result tend to be overused and sound worthless. For example, it's up to you, think outside the box etc.

Clichés and buzzwords can annoy readers and either sidetrack them from the message or make them question its weight.

8 Choose suitable words

Selecting and using appropriate vocabulary is an essential part of communication, irrespective of the type of document. Words that are appropriate for the subject matter must be used, so that the message could reach at the right level for the audience for achieving clarity and comprehension.

English language has synonyms in abundance. But very often synonyms do not mean accurately the same idea. They are used in dissimilar styles of writing; some are more positive; some are negative.

For example, dozens of words express the idea childish, but they are all matchless. Just to scrutinize a few of them: childlike is definitely positive, while immature is 'neutral', that is to say it is neither positive nor negative. But juvenile is definitely negative: one would be shocked to find it in a newspaper report of a crime!

In a clear-cut educational writing, it is useful to use only neutral words.