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Atricle Dump - Technical Writing in Plain English
The stresses of long working days are getting to Australian employees, with 25% saying they would like a plug-and-play room at work in order to partake in a bit of escapism during the work-day, A further 25% say they would like to see the introduction of a meditation room in the office in order to bring a bit of peace and balance back to their life. (1731 respondents to a survey by Australian human resources recruitment firm, Talent2).I’m all for anything that eases workplace stress and makes life at work more enjoyable. It’s also good to see the emphasis on achieving peace of mind to relieve stress, instead of the usual focus on physical activity, important though that is.However, putting recrea
Consider: ‘The Lotus management team has decided to re-structure to meet changing business demands.’
The following example appeared in The Age newspaper, April 18 2002:
‘The company continues to commute cedant r
To begin with, we need to get something straight. Word-of-mouth advertising is a misnomer. The dictionary definition of “advertising,” according to Webster is:“The action of drawing something to the public’s attention with a paid announcement, often through a printed notice or a broadcast.”Therefore, WOM is NOT advertising. It is neither bought nor controllable, to any large extent. Spreading WOM advertising is more akin to allowing the wind to control a kite. Sometimes it goes up and often times eventually, comes down. When a consumer uses your product or service, your job is done. Then the person has a variety of choices. They can (a) tell a friend or relative ho
VERBOSITY
Many people have the idea that writing has to appear ‘technical’ and academic-looking. They sprinkle long words into long sentences, thinking that this is good writing. Many professionals, including lawyers, teachers and university dons do this, and as a result write poorly.
Consider this statement that appeared in the Australian press in March 2001:
'The Lotus management team has made the determination that evolving market needs, and continuing to effectively meet customer demand require us to restructure. We are evaluating all resources and processes that are market-facing and customer-facing to enhance and improve those areas and drive performance levels higher.'
Not particularly clear, is it? Much more of this and the reader will quickly switch off, become frustrated and may form an idea about the competence of the writer – and their organisation! Much of the above is verbal treacle. We should aim at brevity.
Consider: ‘The Lotus management team has decided to re-structure to meet changing business demands.’
The following example appeared in The Age newspaper, April 18 2002:
‘The company continues to commute cedant r
Refinancing your mortgage can be a stressful time for many homeowners. You want to find the best Albuquerque refinance mortgage and avoid overpaying, but with so many mortgages to choose from how do you know which one is best? Here are 3 tips to help you qualify for the best loan when shopping for your Albuquerque Refinance Mortgage.I. Do Your Homework FirstWhen your parents applied for their mortgage they had very few choices as to the types of loans available. Today, there are literally dozens of choices for your Albuquerque refinance mortgage, a loan for every financial situation. Choosing the right type of mortgage will save you thousands of dollars; choosing the wrong loan could cost you
Consider this statement that appeared in the Australian press in March 2001:
'The Lotus management team has made the determination that evolving market needs, and continuing to effectively meet customer demand require us to restructure. We are evaluating all resources and processes that are market-facing and customer-facing to enhance and improve those areas and drive performance levels higher.'
Not particularly clear, is it? Much more of this and the reader will quickly switch off, become frustrated and may form an idea about the competence of the writer – and their organisation! Much of the above is verbal treacle. We should aim at brevity.
Consider: ‘The Lotus management team has decided to re-structure to meet changing business demands.’
The following example appeared in The Age newspaper, April 18 2002:
‘The company continues to commute cedant r
Approximately 70% of all adults have one form of life insurance or another. Normally, a person in their 20s or 30s purchases a life insurance policy for a monthly premium that provides a death benefit should the policy holder die prematurely. Assuming that the person is insurable, most insurance companies are able to offer relatively cheap life insurance premiums.Peoples’ needs change throughout the various stages of their lives. As a result, the young married person just starting a family has different insurance needs than someone who is approaching retirement. People’s responsibilities lessen as they age, and they may want to reduce or even eliminate some of their life insurance coverage. So, besides
'The Lotus management team has made the determination that evolving market needs, and continuing to effectively meet customer demand require us to restructure. We are evaluating all resources and processes that are market-facing and customer-facing to enhance and improve those areas and drive performance levels higher.'
Not particularly clear, is it? Much more of this and the reader will quickly switch off, become frustrated and may form an idea about the competence of the writer – and their organisation! Much of the above is verbal treacle. We should aim at brevity.
Consider: ‘The Lotus management team has decided to re-structure to meet changing business demands.’
The following example appeared in The Age newspaper, April 18 2002:
‘The company continues to commute cedant r
One of the biggest challenges of affiliate marketing is the problem of traffic. Affiliates often times are not privy to information that the promoters often have which is relative to what is currently working and what is not.. Like any business that is going to be around for the long term you need to develop a customer base in other words a list of people who you can develop a relationship with.. To do so you will need a presence on the web.On the other hand you can directly send traffic to given web pages for a return however you must understand that this requires constant management and does not give you the leverage of having your own customer base.As a result lots of folks get disheartened wi
Not particularly clear, is it? Much more of this and the reader will quickly switch off, become frustrated and may form an idea about the competence of the writer – and their organisation! Much of the above is verbal treacle. We should aim at brevity.
Consider: ‘The Lotus management team has decided to re-structure to meet changing business demands.’
The following example appeared in The Age newspaper, April 18 2002:
‘The company continues to commute cedant r
If you're reading this article right now then I'm sure you are
interested in making money on the net. I decided to write this
to save you the pains I suffered sometime ago.Yes, I made a silly mistake at the start of my online marketing
career and I paid dearly for it. Now as I said I'll want you to
avoid it. So if you're really interested in making your living
from the net, spare some time and read this through.Here is my story.When I started, being the newbie I was, (I think I'm still - frankly)
and wanting to make some quick buck in affiliate programs, I picked
on some well paying ones and with every ounce of zeal I could
muster, I steadily promoted them. My expectations wer
Consider: ‘The Lotus management team has decided to re-structure to meet changing business demands.’
The following example appeared in The Age newspaper, April 18 2002:
‘The company continues to commute cedant relationships. One commutation has settled legal disputes with a major cedant resulting in a substantial reduction of the company’s liabilities. Due to the inherent uncertainties remaining in the companies’ business directors consider that the prudent course is to use commutation gains in excess of known adverse developments to establish a prudential margin.’ Company Secretary, Reinsurance Australia Corporation
How many people would understand this pompous gobbledygook?
It has an average of 24 words per sentence, and has 25% long words (three or more syllables). We can measure the clarity of the writing if we wish, and this can be measured. Two examples of commonly-used measures using these criteria (words per sentence and percentage of long words):
Gunning index = (24 + 25) * 0.4 = 19.6
Flesch reading index = 20.3%
Your word processing package can produce these statistics for you.
Most bad writing can be improved by shortening the sentences and by using simpler words. Sometimes the writing has to be re-structured. If your writing demands the use of long words or technical
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