Whatever you do for work or leisure, you likely spend some time communicating via the written word. The digital age may have lowered the standards of what’s acceptable in writing, but that doesn’t mean there’s no value in a well-constructed sentence or properly placed punctuation. Whether posting on Facebook about a recent vacation or dealing with colleagues and clients over email, written words play a major role in our day-to-day lives.
No matter your job or writing ability, there’s always room for improvement. These tips will hopefully make your writing more readable, and, as the purpose of writing is to communicate, readability should be your top priority. That’s why this first rule is arguably the most important but one of the most difficult to follow for writers across skill levels, generations and occupations:
Keep it simple.
I’m not suggesting you write like a child or an illiterate, but rather you follow one of the golden rules from Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style: “Omit needless words.”
The less-is-more principle is championed in everything from architecture to user interfaces, but it’s even more important in writing. As a savvy designer knows to take away elements until there is no element left to take away, a writer should be conscious of superfluous words and unnecessary long-windedness.
From Hemingway to The Hunger Games, good writing is often the result of short, tight sentences. It’s not about appealing to the ignorant masses; it’s about making your writing functional. Before you even consider making it flowery, make it functional.
Rambling complex sentences packed with polysyllabic vocab don’t equal good writing. It doesn’t even make you appear intelligent, especially if what you’re writing could be communicated more concisely with more carefully chosen words. Besides, long sentences can be snooze inducing, particularly if the subject of your writing is highly technical. (And, speaking of technicality, whatever you do, don’t EVER use a word if you don’t fully understand its meaning.)
I’m Ketner Group’s resident rookie. I graduated with my bachelor’s of public relations way, way back in May 2009, and promptly joined the Ketner Group family.
