Simple writing is good writing - keep it clear and direct

Simple writing is good writing. It is direct, clear and precise. It is unambiguous.

As a writer your goal is to get ideas to your reader.

You want to do this in a way that is fast and accurate.

The best way to do this is by putting as few barriers as possible between your message and your audience.

Forget what you learnt about writing in school

You may have impressed teachers and exam markers with your grasp of obscure long words and clever grammar. In the real world simple, straightforward language works best.

For many would-be writers this is the hardest adjustment to make.

Keeping it simple applies to all types of writing. It applies to every audience.

Think of your readers

Not all your readers are native English speakers. Not all them are highly educated. It’s unlikely you’ll impress those who are both with fancy words and cleverness.

Not every reader has intimate knowledge of the subject matter. We all have to begin somewhere. Even experts in one area are at a lower level in similar areas. And anyway, they don't want to be challenged all the time.

• If you have something worth saying (or writing) prefer short words over long ones. Words with Anglo-Saxon roots are easier to understand than ones from a Latin background. They are also easier to spell.
• Use the smallest number of words needed. Where possible keep sentences and paragraphs short. A paragraph should contain a single idea.
• Avoid jargon and foreign words.
• You don't need to impress people with fancy language. Impress them instead with your grasp of the information or your insight.
• Try to write in the everyday speech of ordinary people, but don’t overdo the chattiness and avoid slang.
• Most of the time the active voice is better than the passive voice.
• Learn how to punctuate.

Wasteline test

Helen Sword’s Wasteline Test is a great online writing improvement tool.

You cut and paste your writing into a box, hit the button and the software scans your words.

The Wasteline Test counts and highlights the weak verbs, abstract nouns, prepositions, adjectives, adverbs and waste words. It then gives you a ranking from lean, through fit and trim all the way up to heart attack.

New Zealand academic Sword designed her test to help university students improve their writing skills. She has also written a book, The Writer’s Diet.

The Wasteline Test works just as well for most types of writing.