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How to write good English
More than 1,000 million people throughout the world speak and write English: 375 million as their first or main language and almost 700 million as their second or third. If you want to talk to them, influence them or do business with them, it makes sense to learn how to write good English.
Whether we are writing copy to influence or sell, writing creatively to entertain, or just plain writing, our first aim is communication. There’s no mystery about good writing – it isn’t some sort of black art – it’s just an attempt to pass on our message as clearly, simply and unambiguously as we can.
If you want to write good English, start off by speaking your message out loud, then write it down word for word just as you spoke it. For some reason people often see writing as different from talking: they feel pressure to be formal. Compare that with conventions in dress. As recently as twenty years ago, businessmen were obliged to wear a smart suit with a white shirt and tie. Nowadays, I can’t remember the last time I saw someone wearing a white shirt, and even a tie is a rarity. Does that make them lesser businessmen?
This illustrates the difference that style can make. Even in quite formal documents it is commonplace nowadays to see “it’s” rather than “it is” or “can’t” rather than “cannot”. As long as your reader understands exactly what you’re trying to say, then you’ve achieved your objective.
If you would like some help with proof-reading, editing,or copywriting, please call Martin on
