How to write with clarity and impact
Readers appreciate documents that are clear and concise. No one ever complains that a document is too easy to read. And it’s a proven fact that clarity and impact go hand in hand.
If your writing isn’t clear, its impact will be reduced…it won’t impact your reader’s opinion or convince them to take the action you want them to take.
There are several things you can do to improve the clarity of your writing and ensure that you make an impact on your readers:
- Use a writing structure that fits your topic
- Be consistent in your use of grammar, style, and all other elements of good writing
- Write in a conversational style.
- Make your copy easy to read
writing structure
You need to organize your writing so that your article, essay, paper or whatever is easy to read and understand. To achieve this end, the first thing you should do is choose a structure that fits the theme.
The type of structure you use will vary depending on the type of writing you are doing…a brochure, a short story, a manual, etc.
Choosing the right structure is not very difficult and becomes easier and almost instinctive with experience.
Here are four common ways you can structure your writing:
- Using a chronological order works in most situations, especially stories.
- But posing a problem and then giving a solution is probably the most sensible way to write a case study.
- Alphabetical order makes sense in brochures about things like vitamins and directories.
- A sequential order is vital for manuals that describe processes and work instructions where the reader must follow particular steps.
There are many ways to structure a piece of writing. Look around at all the things you read every day…brochures, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, and so on…and you’ll soon notice how their structure is dictated by subject matter.
Another trick that always seems to work is to organize your writing into short sections and subsections… you can make your ideas easier to scan and digest by using headings, subheadings, numbered lists, and bullet points.
Numbers and bullets make lists more readable. You can use bullets if the order is not important. But use numbering when the information is sequential.
If you are using a numbered list to structure an article (e.g. 5 Ways to Develop Your Charm), put the number in the title or introduction (first paragraph or abstract)…this will pique readers’ interest and it will grab your attention. and forcing them to read your document to find out.
But be careful not to overuse bullet points and numbered lists. Page after page of bullet points and numbers become monotonous and many readers skip over them, instead of reading them carefully.
Another tip about structure…material that interrupts the flow of your document, like checklists and long forms to fill out, is best put in an appendix in most cases.
Be consistent
Being consistent means always using correct grammar… and being consistent in the way you spell words and your writing style, as well as symbols, nomenclature, units of measurement, etc. what do you use
If your grammar is weak, review it. You really have no choice in this matter. Grammatical errors can turn readers off and lead them to doubt their knowledge of the topic. So have someone you trust proofread your writing and, if necessary, take a grammar review course.
Once you’ve finished the first draft of what you’re writing, use your spell checker to look for grammar and spelling mistakes. Above all, check that all subjects and verbs agree and make sure that the use of pronouns is correct. Use your spell checker to get rid of all typos (typos).
Style refers to your use of font and size, bold, italic, underline, indent, and highlight. You must ensure that all of these are used in the same way throughout the document. For example, if your headings are 14pt bold aligned left and your subheadings are 12pt centered, be sure to use this scheme consistently throughout your document.
The same considerations apply to your use of symbols, nomenclature (the names of things in specialized fields like biology), and units of measurement. To avoid confusing the reader, you should use the same symbols for the same things throughout a piece of writing. Do not mix lbs and kg, km and miles, etc. in the same article.
Some readers are distracted by even minor inconsistencies and errors… to the point that they no longer fully concentrate on the valuable content of the document. As a result, what you are saying can become unclear and its impact is reduced.
Minor misspellings, such as “Farnehite” instead of “Fahrenheit,” can give the impression that you are careless. Several of these errors and other inconsistencies in a document can cast doubt on the accuracy or validity of all your work. So check the details and be consistent for the sake of clarity.
style conversation
Using an informal conversational style is often better for clarity and impact.
A conversational style allows your copy to flow smoothly and offers greater clarity to make it easier to understand. Making your sentences sound like natural speech will also give your words more impact.
For example, don’t write:
“Reliable information provided by directly interviewing witnesses to an accident is necessary for the prosecution to result in a conviction for impaired driving.”
This requires some effort to understand. Instead, he writes: “You need reliable witnesses to get a conviction for impaired driving.”
When we are speaking we normally use the active voice. Therefore, using the active voice instead of the passive will help you sound more conversational.
For example, instead of saying: “Control of the direction in which the car is driven is provided by the steering wheel”, you can say: “The steering wheel controls the direction of the car”… which is what you would say if you were explaining the controls of a car to a novice driver for the first time.
Easy to read
You want to make sure your document isn’t intimidating, doesn’t seem like a mountain of work to readers, so they don’t turn off. To make it easier to read:
keep sentences short … use the breath test: read the sentence out loud at an even moderate pace. If you run out of breath before you finish, the sentence is too long.
You can easily fix that…just break the sentence at the point where a new idea begins into two shorter sentences.
Break paragraphs … readers find long paragraphs overwhelming, tiring to read, and even confusing. It takes more effort to understand the ideas they contain.
Long paragraphs invariably contain multiple ideas so you can easily turn them into separate paragraphs, one for each idea.
use small words … as everyone can understand them. For example, write ‘use’ instead of ‘use’; they both mean the same thing but ‘use’ is shorter and sounds less pompous.
Leave out unnecessary words …say what you have to say in as few words as possible and avoid redundant words. For example, “plan ahead” is redundant because planning, by definition, is done ahead.
There you have it… a few simple tricks you can use to make your writing crystal clear and full of impact.
