Plan Before You Write

Four questions first

Most poor business writing is a planning failure rather than a language failure. Before writing anything, answer:

• Who is the reader? What do they already know, what do they care about, how much time will they give this, and what is their likely reaction?
• What is my purpose? To inform, to request, to persuade, to instruct, to record, or to refuse.
• What is the single most important message? If the reader remembers one sentence, which one?
• What do I want them to do? Stated specifically, with a deadline if there is one.

If you cannot answer the fourth question, you are probably not ready to write — and the reader will not know what to do either.

Put the conclusion first

Academic writing builds to a conclusion. Business writing states it and then supports it. Readers are busy, they read the opening and skim the rest, and many decide from the first two sentences whether to read on at all.

Structure most documents as: the point, then the reason, then the detail, then the action. A reader who stops after the first paragraph should still have the essential message.

Structure

• One idea per paragraph, with the main point in the first sentence so the document can be skimmed by reading opening lines.
• Headings that say what the section contains, not generic labels.
• Bulleted lists for parallel items; numbered lists for sequence or where items will be referred to.
• Short paragraphs. A block of twelve lines will not be read.
• White space, which makes a document look answerable rather than daunting.

Plain language

• Use the shorter word: use not utilise, about not with regard to, now not at this moment in time, because not due to the fact that.
• Prefer active voice: “we will send the report” rather than “the report will be sent”. Passive voice conceals who is responsible, which is occasionally the point and usually an accident.
• Keep average sentence length short — around fifteen to twenty words. Vary it, but split anything over about thirty.
• Avoid jargon with readers outside your specialism, and explain any term you must use.
• Cut redundancy: advance planning, end result, completely finished, past history.
• Be specific. “Shortly”, “a number of” and “significant” leave the reader guessing; give the date, the number, the amount.

Plain does not mean blunt

Clarity and courtesy are compatible. Plain language removes padding and vagueness, not politeness. “Could you send this by Friday, please” is both clear and courteous; “it would be appreciated if consideration could be given to forwarding the aforementioned at your earliest convenience” is neither.