Business writing is a type of writing that seeks to elicit a business response. It’s a purposeful piece of writing that provides relevant information to help a reader know something or do something. It must be substantive, clear, correct, and easy to scan.
The Principles of Clear Business Writing
Principle 1: Use clear, familiar words
When choosing words use them so that you cannot be misunderstood. Try not to use a long word when you can say exactly the same thing with a small simple one. Why write: “I have endeavoured to ascertain …..” when you could easily write: “I have tried to ascertain……”
Principle 2: Keep most sentences short and simple
Remember that you should try and average between 15 and 20 words per sentence. you can mix them up.
Principle 3: Use active voice verbs; avoid passives
You can use verbs to express action in three ways:
- ACTIVE: “You questioned him”
- PASSIVE : “He was questioned by you”
- VERBAL NOUN: “You conducted his questioning”
The active voice is the more natural way. The subject performs the action and the object receives it.
Principle 4: Use the first person when appropriate
There is a widespread superstition that good business writing must be impersonal. Some call this the “Third Person” style. What it really means is “no person” style. People are an important part of writing, so, by all means, refer to
them when writing when relevant.
You should refer to people and companies by their names, you can call people “He”, “She”, or “They”. And you can refer to yourself as “I” with one exception. You should try and avoid repeating I. I. I. over and over again. Unthinking repetition of the third person encourages pomposity (“The writer”, “The undersigned”, “Your correspondent”) and often leads back to the passive.
You can also mix “I” and “We” in the same document, you should use “l” for the things you did personally, you should use “we” where You are stoting, for example, your team’s, department’s or Company’s conclusions.
Generally, referring to people will make your writing sound more polite and pleasant. The writing will also be more informative and precise.
Principle 5: Use a conversational style
This does not mean that you should write in slang or in a careless way. Writing should be more precise than conversation. When you are having trouble finding. Just the right approach to express an idea, ask yourself the question: “How would express this in a relaxed conversation?” If you do this, then you are getting close to the best way of writing it down.
Principle 6: Gather all information before starting to write
There are many techniques for planning and structuring documents. Starting off with a “brainstorm” or a “mindmap” will often get the creativity flowing, If you have a PLAN, you can build a STRUCTURE, Only then will your writing have any IMPACT.
Clear and readable writing
Two key factors affect the readability of a piece of writing
- the number of words in a sentence
- the number of difficult or unusual words used.
Rudolf Flesch in his book The Art of Readable Writing’ gave the following relationship between average sentence length and understanding.
If a sentence contains on average:
- 30 words or more – 4% of readers
- 8 – 19 words – 75% of readers
- 7 words or less – 95% of readers
Be Clear & Concise – Increasing Readability
Avoid cliches, jargon, ambiguous words or meanings and unnecessary technicalities.
- At this moment in time, In the not too distant future, A substantial proportion
- you dispense with accuracy – pity the poor chemist who takes that for his slogan.
- Faulty punctuation such as “She likes coffee, and rolls in bed
Be specific
If you write of a “Communication facility’, do you mean a telephone? A road network? A television station? A telex machine? A bicycle? A piece of notepaper?
One paragraph, one point
Paragraphing is the basic way of grouping material. Each paragraph should deal with a specific point this will prevent paragraphs from becoming too long.
Short paragraphs are readable, but you should avoid too many short paragraphs, every change in the direction of your thought gives the reader some mental effort.
- Average – 7 or 8 lines
- Readers like a break – 10 lines
- Comprehension drops off – 15 lines
Write in a simple, precise and human style
Formal, impersonal writing is not efficient – whether in letters, memos, or reports. It is difficult to read and usually long-winded and vague; and it does nothing for good human relations. Aim for a style that is simple, precise and human.
Headings
Probably the most important consideration in a piece of writing is the use of headings. They immediately add a touch of professionalism. you should use headings in documents such as reports, and the longer the document, the more important they are.
Spacing
The next thing you can do to improve the appearance and readability of your writing is to use plenty of white space.
Graphics
Graphics can be an important part of your documents. Put images at the point in the text where they are referred to whenever possible.
Adding emphasis
It is often useful to add emphasis to written work.