137 Putting it in Writing
Generally, short words are easier to understand than long ones.
But your reader will understand
best the words that are
familiar
to
them. If they know the jargon or the long abstract words, use
them. If in doubt, use short words.
Similarly, shorter sentences are clearer than longer ones.
But a page full of short sentences will have a ‘scatter-gun’ effect:
lots of points but no connections.
Sentences also work best
when they are well constructed and grouped together in
paragraphs.
The final golden rule is the most important. Many of us write
in a kind of ‘stream of consciousness’,
putting one idea after
another until we reach our conclusion. This gives our writing
flow. But we should also be distinct,
making sure that our ideas
leap out at the reader and hook their attention. If you have
something to say, always aim to say it as soon as possible. Then
deliver the evidence that supports your idea.
Writing step by step
Writing is best tackled systematically. We all face the temptation
to do everything at once:
working out what to say,
in what order, and how to say it. This is a recipe for disaster:
we get confused and frustrated and the writing that emerges
is a garbled mess.
Like cooking, writing is best done step by
step.
Think in terms of constructing a document rather than
merely writing it. This letter
or document has a job to do; you
must design and build it to do the job. The construction process
has three steps:
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