"How do I know what I think until I see what I say?" E.M. Forster

"Prose is architecture, not interior decoration," Ernest Hemingway

This will help you focus your prewriting efforts. At this stage you want to focus your efforts on determining who your audience is and how you can best persuade them.

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Freewriting allows you to get your ideas on paper without being encumbered by any rules. It is an excellent tool for dealing with writer’s block. It is also a good place to start for generating content as it allows you to "brain dump."

Using a pen and paper or word processor, begin writing. Put down anything that comes to mind, no matter how trivial it may seem. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, mechanics, or other rules. Just get your ideas down as quickly as possible.

Brainstorming helps you efficiently generate a number of ideas for the content of your writing project. Recording these ideas for later use is much more effective than trying to draft from scratch. Later you can go back and begin to organize these ideas into a rough outline for your writing project.

Start by writing out the problem to be solved by brainstorming, for example, "Ideas for memo to boss for getting promotion." Using pen and paper or a word processor, write down any and all ideas that come to mind. Brainstorm until you’ve exhausted all ideas.

This is a more focused brainstorming that helps you think about how you want to approach a writing project. Questions address typical issues a writer must address when preparing to write.

Use freewriting or brainstorming techniques to answer each question. Again, the key at this point is not to be too concerned about rules. Think about the writing project rhetorically, that is, how you can most effectively persuade your intended audience.

Organize logically using whichever of the following methods seems most appropriate:

Blocking helps you group like ideas. It provides a rough blueprint for your writing project.

Don’t be too concerned about word choice as you begin writing. You can always go back and change later. Go with the flow to avoid blocking.

"Good" style means effectively and clearly conveying what you mean. A plain style is preferred. In other words, write as you speak.

	Avoid wordiness.
	Use clear, simple words.
	Avoid pretentious words or phrases.
	Avoid sexist language.
	Avoid jargon and clichés.

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Avoiding wordiness

	Avoid redundancy, for example, illegal crimes.
	Avoid starting sentence with "There are..."
	Turn nouns into verbs when possible, for example, instead of "made a decision," use "decided."
	Get rid of "who are" and "which are."
	Avoid "to be" when possible.
	Delete meaningless words or phrases, for example, kind of, actually, particularly, really, certain.
	Avoid "the fact that."
	Replace phrases with a word, for example, in the event that=if.

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Use clear, simple words and avoid pretentious words or phrases

Often, our inclination when writing is to write in an elevated style, to show off: "In the aggregate, the disestablishmentarianism commenced in the quasipublic sector precludes incremental contingency planning." Eschew such patrician loquaciousness! Er, I mean, stick to simple words. Remember that poets like Robert Frost are able to create layers of meaning using the most common words: "I took the one less traveled by, And it made all the difference."

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Other tips for clear writing

	Avoid sexist language, for example, for chairman, use chair
	Avoid jargon, that is, specialized, technical jargon your audience might not understand
	Avoid cliches, that is, hackneyed phrases such as "hit the nail on the head"

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Writing clear, coherent sentences

Sound conversational

Write as you speak.

	Not: "Pursuant to our conversation, I am forwarding you the proposal."
	But: "As we discussed on the phone, I’m sending you the proposal."

Use active voice

	Not: "Jack Nicholson was the winner of the Academy Award."
	But: "Jack Nicholson won the Academy Award."

Break up long sentences

	Not: "After hearing the report presented by the Operations Manager which indicated that sales were down a second consecutive quarter, the Board formed a subcommittee charged with reviewing marketing strategy and distribution, which will be headed by the director of Marketing."
	But: "The Operations Manager reported that sales were down for the second consecutive quarter. As a result, the Board formed a subcommittee, which will review marketing strategy and distribution. The director of Marketing will head this committee."

Avoid unnecessary shift in tense

	Not: "The crotchety CEO announced his retirement; applause is heard throughout the company."
	But: "The crotchety CEO announced his retirement; applause was heard throughout the company."

Avoid unnecessary shift in voice

	Not: "Employees favor higher raises, and performance reviews are abhorred by them."
	But: "Employees favor higher raises and abhor performance reviews."

Avoid unnecessary shift in number

	Not: "An employee might want better benefits, but they will not find a better package anywhere."
	But: "Employees might want better benefits, but they will not find a better package anywhere."

Use bullets to make items in a list stand out

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Writing concise sentences

Write simple, strong sentences; cut deadwood

	Not: "With reference to your proposal, I feel it is an excellent one."
	But: "Your proposal is excellent."

Don’t use ten words when five will do

	Not: "We propose that the use of force to ensure achievement of foreign policy goals is more effective than the use of diplomatic means."
	But: "Might is right."

Use adverbs and adjectives sparingly

Often redundant. When in doubt, strike it out! "He is currently employed at McDonald’s."

Keep sentences parallel

	Not: "His goals are to expand services, to cut costs, and outsourcing clerical work."
	But: "His goals are to expand services, to cut costs, and to outsource clerical work."

Vary sentence length and structure; combine short sentences and use subordination to break monotony

	Repetitive: "Ted Hughes loves writing. He teaches writing. He is a poet. He edits the local paper. He lives in Chicago. Chicago is in Illinois."
	Better: "Ted Hughes loves writing. He not only teaches writing, but edits the local paper and writes poetry. He lives in Chicago, Illinois."

Watch overuse of prepositions

	"Jack Nicklaus won the first of his major championships at the U.S. Open in 1962 at Oakmont Country Club."
	Better: "Jack Nicklaus won his first major championship at the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club."

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Writing effective paragraphs

Keep short: 3 or 4 sentences

Keep unified

	Focus on single idea
	Might include topic sentences that state main idea; if topic implied, should still be unified
	When revising paragraphs, edit out sentences that do not have the same focus, that wander off the topic or digress

Look at flow

Paragraphs should include signals to readers to show relationships among sentences and ideas: pronoun references, repeating key words, and transitions. Indicate plan of paragraph in first sentence: "There are three reasons you should approve this proposal."

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Types of paragraphs

	Narrative. Tells story, for example, case study.
	Description. Gives details, for example, of product.
	Process. Explains process, for example, for requesting purchase order.
	Cause and effect. Shows causal relationship; for example, reason for failure of process.
	Comparison and contrast. Compares features or characteristics, for example, among competitive products.
	Classification. Defines in terms of category or class; for example, division of a company.

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Transitions

To mark time:

	previously
	in the past
	before
	at present
	nowadays
	meanwhile
	later
	in the future
	eventually
	soon
	after
	next

To mark addition:

	besides
	moreover
	in addition
	again
	next
	and
	also
	finally
	last
	furthermore

To mark contrast:

	nevertheless
	however
	conversely
	on the other hand
	still
	otherwise
	in contrast
	unfortunately
	yet
	nonetheless
	instead
	although
	on the contrary

To shift from cause to effect:

	hence
	as a result
	consequently
	accordingly

To mark likeness:

similarly

To mark numerical order:

	first
	second
	third
	to begin with
	next
	finally

To show spatial order:

	nearby
	in the distance
	below
	above
	in back
	in front

To signal examples:

	for example
	for instance

To signal conclusions or summaries:

	in summary
	consequently
	in conclusion
	in other words
	to conclude
	thus
	therefore
	as a result

To show concession:

	granted
	of course
	naturally

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Need an immediate quote on a writing project? 

Or need an estimate for a customized business writing seminar? 

Send an e-mail message to Kevin Orfield at kevinorf@netwurx.net or call 262-236-0110.

Orfield Communications, 319 Woodside Ln., Thiensville, WI 53092, fax: 262-236-0120.

Copyright 2003 Kevin Orfield