Principles of Effective Writing (including techniques for writing precisely)

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Organizing principles of paragraphs in documents

A. Using the right words in the right context:

 Prefer simple, familiar words to obscure, unfamiliar words.
A sentence such as The conclusion ascertained from a perusal of pertinent data is
that a lucrative market exists for the product would be more easily understood by
writing it thus: The data studied shows that the product has good demand.

The writer must keep the target readers in mind and cater to the lowest common
denominator of this group.

Whereas using simple language and short sentences is the best way to communicate
to all your readers, you could run the risk of irritating some of your audience who
might feel you are ‘talking down to them’. You will always have to finetune your
judgement of what your audience needs and understands.

 Prefer concrete and specific words to abstract and general words.

Instead of saying ‘The company suffered a tremendous loss in the second quarter of
last year’, it would make more sense to directly say ‘The company suffered a 70 per
cent loss in profits in the second quarter of last year’.
As another example, consider this obscure instruction written on a bottle top:
‘Pierce with pin, then push off ’. Here too, the ambiguity inherent in the sentence
mars the communication.
Abstract Concrete

Substantial amount Rs 1,98,00,000

In the near future By Thursday noon
The majority 73%
Good attendance record 100% attendance record
An industrial worker A welder

 Use acronyms and abbreviations carefully and sparingly.

An acronym is a word formed by combining the first letters of the words that make
up the name of something. For example, WHO is the acronym for World Health
Organization.
 Abbreviations on the other hand are short forms of words, such as ‘St’ for ‘Saint’,
‘av.’ for ‘average’, etc.

o Certain acronyms and abbreviations are domain specific. Hence, may be difficult to
be understood by all readers. Thus, their use should be done carefully and minimally.
o Introduce acronyms the first time you use them by defining them in full,
parenthetically.
o When addressing non-expert readers, try to avoid using more than one
acronym in a sentence.
o Nevertheless, many acronyms are familiar to the layperson and can be freely
used. For example, RADAR (radio angular detecting and ranging), IIT (Indian
Institute of Technology), AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
o Acronyms common in informal conversation (especially in online chatting and
sms) should be strictly avoided in official mails.
Brb Be right back
U You
Ttyl Talk to you later
LOL Laugh out loud

Gr8 Great

Cu See you

Btw By the way

 Avoid clichés.
Cliches are overused words and phrases that have lost their appeal. For example,
‘food for thought’, ‘last but not the least’.
 Avoid excessive use of jargon.
Jargon is often used due to the false assumption that complex ideas cannot be
expressed without the use of highly technical language.
 Avoid foreign words and phrases.
o It makes little sense to use words such as vide supra or raison d’être in place
of better understood English equivalents such as ‘see above’ and ‘the
justification for’, respectively.
o Some foreign words are unavoidable and are also universally understood and
accepted; for example, etc. (et cetera), e.g. (exempli gratia), a.m. (ante
meridiem), p.m. (post meridiem), and so on. It is not wrong therefore to use
such words or phrases as long as the reader is able to grasp the message
being conveyed.
 Avoid redundancy and circumlocution.
Redundancy is the part of a message that can be eliminated without loss of much
information. Some examples of redundant words: ‘basic fundamentals’, ‘return
back’.

 Avoid discriminatory writing.

Example:
A sentence such as ‘A student in BITS does his homework well before coming to
class.’ shows gender bias, considering the fact that BITS is a co-educational
institute.
The use of masculine pronouns can be eliminated in three ways:
1. Rewording the sentence: ‘A student in BITS does the assigned homework well
before
coming to class.’
2. By making a dual reference: ‘A student in BITS does his or her home work …’
3. By making the reference plural ‘Students in BITS do their homework …’

Words that stereotype by race, nationality, or sexual orientation must also be

avoided.

Terms such as ‘deaf and dumb’, ‘mentally retarded’, and ‘handicapped’ can be
replaced with gentler and more humane words such as ‘physically challenged’ or
‘mentally challenged’.