Business Writing
Eliminate “Necessary” and “Unnecessary” for Better Communication in Writing
Get rid of these two major sources of uncertainty and ambiguity for better communication and to become a better writer… I forgot the number of times in private and corporate communications that I came across expressions, directions, or statements that went something like this: “All unnecessary travel requests should be postponed until further notice.” Even…
Read MoreWork from Home Securely with VPN
Secure Way to Work from Home We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which makes it hard to work from a brick-and-mortar office. But as writers we have an alternative: we can work through a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Confidentiality and proprietary rights sometimes emerge as obstacles for writers to work from…
Read MoreThe Politics of Plain Writing vs. Obfuscation — A Textual Analysis
Usually people don’t write in plain English because they don’t know any better. Sometimes a banker, an engineer, a doctor will write a business letter or a technical document in a way that he or she best knows how – by using jargon and long-winded sentences; clauses awash in passive voice and nonparallel construction, with…
Read MoreHow to Break into Non-Fiction Content Writing with Press Releases
If you are · A rookie writer just starting your non-fiction writing career · A student still in college who would like to earn some cash and take that first step towards professional writing · Someone who would like to make a career shift · Currently a non-writer and would like to develop a writing…
Read MoreHow to Write a Great Overview Sentence for an Ordered List
© Ugur Akinci An ordered list is one with numbers for each entry. In technical or business writing it helps a lot if each numbered/ordered list is prefaced by an OVERVIEW sentence. Such lead sentences prepare the user/reader appropriately for what is to follow. For example, here is a great overview sentence for the list…
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7 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
Here are seven time-proven ways to overcome Writer’s Block. They worked for me in the past. I hope they’ll work for you too in the future. Start from any part of your project you like. You do not need to start writing the “Introduction” or the “Overview” first. Try starting from the middle of your…
Read MoreHow to Write a Great Topic Sentence for a Paragraph
© Ugur Akinci A TOPIC SENTENCE is the first lead sentence in a paragraph consisting of multiple sentences. The topic sentence summarize the main idea of the paragraph. It sets the expectation about what is to follow in the rest of the paragraph. You can even say it’s a “commercial” so to speak that “sells”…
Read More2 Methods to Avoid Gender Ambiguity
One of the hardest things in writing English is to avoid using the third person singular pronouns, unless you are writing for an exclusively male or female group. Every time I see a document with a sentence like “the operator must configure his or her machine according to…” I cringe. Some writers switch back and…
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How to Write Cause and Effect Sentences and Paragraphs for Better Documents
Introduction When writing, it’s important to use clear and concise sentences. This includes using proper grammar, punctuation, and organization. Another important aspect of writing is using cause-and-effect sentences and paragraphs. What are Cause and Effect Sentences? Cause and effect sentences are a very helpful tool for the writer to use to tell the story of…
Read MoreAvoid “Double Possibility” in Your Statements
When copywriting, avoid double possibility in your statements. That’s the fundamental rock on which all copywriting stands. George Bernard Shaw once wrote a very long letter to a friend and ended it with the following post script: “Sorry, I didn’t have the time today to write you a short letter.” Clean technical writing is easy…
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