improve your writing skills
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Improve your writing skills
Robert Bullard – Perfect Textwww.perfecttext.org
What makes writing hard?
Origins and influencesSchool / College don’t always helpNor grocers or employersUnlike speech …Any support/training? Or feedback!
The writing processAnxiety and pressureQuantity rich, time poor; readers impatientReader’s choice Writing as an ‘art’?
GOLDEN RULE:
Think, who is your AUDIENCE
Writing Tips ① – For structure and clarity
Structure ClarityAudience – Purpose – Effect Less is moreWordcount model POWERShapes 5WsAIDCA
Writing Tips ② – For effectiveness and impact
Topping and tailing – introductions, flow/signposts, paragraphs, endings
‘Brush strokes’ – quotes, questions, senses, similes, metaphors, analogies
Patterns – repetition, word order, 3s, punctuation, subheadings, stories
AVOID turn-offs – jargon, clichés, long sentences ... mistakes
“DESTROY some of the grammatical myths…”
1.) You can start a sentence with and, but, because, so or however.
2.) You can split infinitives. So you can say to boldly go.
3.) You can end a sentence with a preposition. In fact, it is something we should
stand up for.
4.) And you can use the same word twice in a sentence if you can't find a
better word.
Of course, this does not mean you should break these so-called rules all the time - just when they make a sentence flow better.
SOURCE: How to Write Plain English – Plain English Campaign
• 17 chapters – from planning your work, to proofreading• 10 tips per chapter → 170 total• Example texts, with commentaries• Key points highlighted• References for further reading• Exercises to cement your learning• Available from: Blackwells, Amazon
and my website
RRP £12.00 Today, £8.00
Any Questions?
Robert Bullard
Perfect Text, Oxford
Copywriting – Copy-editing/Proofreading – Training in Writing Skills
www.perfecttext.org07765 227 530
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