CONTENTS

How To Write Clearly

Check out the full contents list for How To Write Clearly.
You can also read chapter 1 online.

Let’s be clear

  • What is clear writing?
  • Clarity is in the mind of the reader
  • Clear writing means easy reading
  • Content and context
  • What clear writing can do
  • Why clear writing can be hard
  • About this book
  • Clarity vs. Poetry
  • Ideas, not rules

Know your reader

  • Who is your reader?
  • Personas
  • What does your reader want or need?
  • What does your reader know?
  • How does your reader feel?

Planning

  • What are you aiming for?
  • Write a mission statement
  • Write a plan
  • Why bother to plan?
  • How wide and how deep?
  • Too many aims
  • Kitchen sink syndrome

Length

  • How much should you write?
  • Your deal with the reader
  • Think minutes, not words
  • The goldfish myth
  • Length limits and their benefits
  • Length targets and their drawbacks
  • Search engine overreach

Structure

  • Why use a structure?
  • The inverted pyramid
  • One line to reach your reader
  • Step by step
  • Group by group
  • Questions and answers
  • Problem and solution

Titles

  • What titles do
  • Descriptive titles
  • ‘How to’ titles
  • ‘Why’ titles
  • Question titles
  • Command titles
  • Doing titles
  • List titles
  • Two-part titles

Research

  • Do your research
  • Ponder or plunge?
  • Interviewing subject experts
  • Write to research
  • The curse of knowledge

Plain language

  • What is plain language?
  • The value of plain language
  • Simple words
  • Why simple language works
  • Everyday words
  • Concrete words
  • Accessible language
  • Measuring readability
  • The limits of statistics
  • Opening up, not dumbing down
  • The courage to be simple

Clear sentences

  • What sentences do
  • Write ideas first, not sentences
  • Basic sentences
  • Keep sentences short and simple
  • Right-branching sentences
  • Make key points stand alone
  • Progressive sentences
  • Passive and active
  • End sentences with significant words
  • End sentences with a stressed syllable
  • Say what is happening, not what ‘there is’
  • Positives and negatives
  • Double negatives
  • When to use negatives
  • Clarity first, grammar second

Clear paragraphs

  • What paragraphs do
  • Basic paragraph structure
  • Put your points in the best order
  • How long should a paragraph be?
  • Signposts for the reader

Talking to your reader

  • Why writing is like talking
  • Answer the reader
  • Write like you talk
  • Write for one person
  • Write for someone you know
  • Listen to your writing

Ten writing traps

  • Padding
  • Abstractions
  • Nominalisations
  • Weak adverbs
  • Jargon
  • Commercialese
  • Officialese
  • Weasel words
  • Hedging
  • Uncertain language

Metaphors

  • What is a metaphor?
  • Thinking with metaphors
  • Mixed metaphors
  • Metaphors have limits
  • Metaphors embody values
  • Metaphors express emotion
  • Metaphors affect action
  • Metaphors at work
  • Proverbs
  • Analogies
  • Should you use a metaphor?

Building knowledge

  • How people learn
  • Certainties
  • Knowledge gaps
  • Hidden knowledge
  • Complete unknowns
  • Conscious and competent

Four pathways to understanding

  • Communication styles
  • The analytical style: ‘Show me the proof’
  • The intuitive style: ‘What’s the big idea?’
  • The functional style: ‘How does it work?’
  • The personal style: ‘People matter most’
  • Combining styles

Empathy

  • What is empathy?
  • Why empathy matters
  • Plain speaking
  • The emotions of learning
  • Acknowledge the reader’s feelings
  • State your purpose
  • Parent, adult and child
  • Tone of voice
  • Own your mistakes
  • Anticipate the reader’s mistakes
  • Pacing

Changing the reader’s mind

  • How minds change
  • Two paths to persuasion
  • Knowledge vs beliefs
  • Motivated reasoning
  • Start where the reader is
  • Get the right response
  • Authority
  • Go to a higher level
  • Let the reader decide
  • Social proof
  • Homophily
  • The facts behind beliefs
  • Flavours of wrongness
  • Show both sides
  • Challenge yourself
  • Calls to action

Making your message stick

  • What makes a message memorable?
  • Link to life
  • Repetition
  • Curiosity and intrigue
  • Borrowed interest
  • Storytelling
  • Humour
  • Perspective
  • Cultural references

User experience (UX) writing

  • What is user experience?
  • What does the user want?
  • Think context
  • Keep it simple
  • Users don’t read in order
  • Users don’t read, they scan
  • No surprises
  • Write for the screen
  • Frequently asked questions (faqs)

Design and format

  • Why looks matter
  • Editing while designing
  • Giving the reader hand-holds
  • Standfirsts
  • Heading and subheadings
  • Lists
  • Panels
  • Pullout quotes
  • Diagrams
  • Images
  • Emojis

Beating the blank page

  • Why writing is so hard
  • Write through the bad to reach the good
  • Write for yourself first
  • Emergent writing
  • Write to learn
  • Leave a gap and circle back
  • Organic writing
  • Take a break
  • Use your energy wisely
  • Sharpen the saw

Editing and rewriting

  • Writing is just the start
  • The awesome power of rewriting
  • How to edit
  • Editing checklist
  • How many drafts?
  • Write first, then edit
  • It’s about time
  • How to cut
  • Learn to love cutting
  • Kill your darlings

Getting feedback

  • How feedback helps
  • Get close to your reader
  • What to ask
  • Ask them to explain
  • Favour first-time feedback
  • Weighing up feedback
  • Feedback and your feelings