Just Say No to These Three Enemies of Clear and Direct Writing | Jesse Hines, Copyblogger

What does it matter if they love the words you use but don’t act on the message those words are intended to convey?

That's a key question asked by blogger Hines at this beginning of this article.

Unless you're writing fiction, perhaps, I agree!

If people can't, don't or won't read your brochure, newsletter, report, letter or website, why publish it? And if people read it but don't do anything as a result, what was the point of publishing it?

Hines emphasizes that you, as a writer, want (or should want) your message to be as clear and persuasive as possible. Hines continues:

Anything that hinders your goal should be eliminated. Thus, you should just say no to the following three enemies of clear and direct writing.

The rest of the article describe how to eliminate these enemies of clear and direct communication:

Metadiscourse: don’t describe what you’re going to say; just say it.
Redundancy: don’t use two or more words to describe something when one word will do.
Pretentious words: use simple, clear words instead of expensive, little-known ones.

For more advice on clear, concise writing, visit Garbl's Plain English Writing Guide and Garbl's Concise Writing Guide.

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The Hines article is featured today, Nov. 13, in my daily online paper, Garbl's Plain English Paragraphs--available at the Plain Language tab above and by free email subscription.