2. Myth 1: I was always taught Never use the passive voice!
Never use pronouns! Do not use contractions! But which passage is
more effective? This? Or this? DO NOT LITTER. If youre caught
littering, youll be fined and jailed. Nothing can break The new the
new multiband multiband radio radio. Nothing can cant be broken. It
hack it. Nothing cant be hacked. It can jam it. cant be
jammed.
3. Myth 2: Nothing is wrong with my style. We are all so
inclined to think that our own writing is clear that if our readers
struggle to understand it, the problem must be not our deep writing
but their lazy reading. Joseph M. Williams, Style
4. Myth 3: By writing densely, Ill impress everyone.We listen
to cops, firemen, andNo, too plain. Accio Obfuscation!There: Our
customer-centric focusMuch better!
5. Myth 4: If I write vividly and clearly, I wont be taken
seriously.Deleting an I or a wedoesnt make a scientiststhinking
more objective. Weknow that behind thoseimpersonal sentence
areflesh-and-blood researchersdoing, thinking, andwriting.Joseph M.
Williams, Style
6. Myth 5: My readers have to read what I wrote. But its so
BORING! And DENSE! Shad-dup!
7. Myth 6: Clear writing is fine and good, but not for my
audience. We are too august to be addressedWhat we write always in
the common tongue!seems clearer to us than itdoes to our
readers,because we can read into itwhat we want readers toget out
of it.Joseph M. Williams, Style
8. Myth 7: Im writing about technology.Fact: Its not about
tools. Its about people!
9. The Turbo Encabulator
10. Myth 8: Its my report, to write as I see fit. Tara says:
Dont waste my time with gobbledygook. Write everything clearly. No
exceptions! Plain Language Act of 2009: Use common, everyday words.
Use you and other pronouns. Use the active voice.
11. Myth 9: My chief goal is to inform.Be clear.Be
compelling.Be credible.BecauseYour chief goal is to persuade!What
really counts, after all,is not what we understand aswe read, but
how well weremember it the next day. Joseph M. Williams, Style
12. Myth 10: My readers care only about facts.Clear and
graceful Spare me your pronouns,writers are so few, analogies, and
metaphors, for I am a DHS stakeholder, withthat when we find no use
for the human touch.them, we aredesperately gratefulfor them. They
donot go unrewarded.Joseph M. Williams,Style
13. Your technical writing can beUBER Fantastic!Understood
Believed Enjoyed Remembered Marc antony eulogizes Julius
caesar
14. UBER Rule 1: Keep it human.Instead of this: Write this:The
cause of our schools failure at Teachers fail to teach basic
skillsteaching basic skills is not understanding because they dont
get howthe influence of cultural background on cultural background
affects howlearning. kids learn.Personnelpersonnel who need
Peoplepeople who needpersonnelare the luckiest personnel peopleare
the luckiest peopleWe, the personnel of the United States We, the
peoplewill assist the law enforcement community will help police
officers (or cops; our men and women in blue)government of the
stakeholders, by the government of the people, by thestakeholders,
for the stakeholders people, for the people
15. UBER Rule 2: Paint a mental picture.
16. UBER Rule 3: Dont confuse. Write not so that you can be
understood, but so that you cannot be misunderstood. Francis Bacon
Whatever can be written can usually be written more clearly, with
just a bit more effort. Joseph M. Williams, StyleInstead of this:
Write this:The camera records imagery. The camera captures a
continuous movie or 1 photo every 15 seconds.ROW-B will enable PTT
calls on broadband At the push of a button, a citizenmobile devices
to connect to Project 25 LMR can use her Blackberry, iPhone,
orsystems, allowing LMR users and broad- Droid to talk with
responders whoband users to be on the same group call. use
radios.
17. UBER Make the doer your subject;Rule 4: make action your
verb.Instead of this: Write this:Dear National Management Dear
NMA,Association: This member no longer I quit.wishes to maintain
his membership.Decisions in regard to administration of When a
patient comes to a traumamedication despite inability of an center
and behaves so irrationally thatirrational patient appearing in a
Trauma he cant legally consent to treatment,Center to provide legal
consent rest only the attending physician canwith the attending
physician. decide whether to medicate him.An understanding of the
causal factors If we understood why some studentsinvolved in
excessive drinking by drink too much, we could treat themstudents
could lead to more effective more effectively.treatment.
18. UBER If your writing bores you,Rule 5: it will bore your
readers.
19. UBER Rule 6:Favor the singular.Instead of this: Write
this:Using LED Incapacitators, law Using the LED Incapacitator,
aenforcement officers can take police officer can take down adown
rioters without injuring them. rioter without injuring
him.TechSolutions: Where first TechSolutions: Where a
firstresponders with ideas can be responder with an idea can
beheard. heard.
20. UBER Lose the PR/Rule 7: Management-speak.Instead of this:
Write this:We are committed to engaging our To protect Americans
better, werestakeholders to enhance the Nations listening to
firefighters, EMTs, cops,security. bomb squadders, and hazmat
crews.S&T leadership has instructed Our Under Secretary, Dr.
Tara OToole,management to has enjoined each division managerOur
customer-focused portfolio has Were finding affordable ways to
helpeffectively facilitated a plan to leverage you work, and talk,
with your fellowresponders resources, fusing disparate heroes, from
fellow agencies, districts,systems at the National, state,
regional, and states.local, and Tribal levels.It is a collaborative
effort between DHS Weve teamed up with people who write,and the
standards community. use, and rely on standards
21. Explaining the benefits of S&Tsairflow tests in the
Boston subway With PR-Speak Free of PR-Speak (WCVB News) (WBZ
News)
22. UBER Use metadiscourseRule 8: to provide guideposts.Use
more qualifiers like this:As we shall see,Ironically,For the most
part,However,To put these numbers in perspective,In other words,By
comparison,
23. UBER Rule 9: Use pictures liberally. Nuff said.
24. UBER Rule 10: Heed the Golden Rule of Style. We write well
when we would willingly experience what our readers do when they
read what weve written. That puts the burden on us to imagine our
readers and their feelings. Joseph M. Williams, Style Write to
others as you would have others write to you. If we dont want
others to impose carelessly complex writing on us, then we ought
not to impose it on others.