Writing for the public: 10 tips for better prose.
If you want your writing to have impact think about your audience. Writing for the public is very different than writing scholarly essays that will be read only by your tutor. These Top 10 tips (plus bonus one!) were developed to help students think about writing exhibition panels and object interpretation but the lessons also apply to blogs, essays and dissertations. Indeed as George Orwell notes, all writing can be improved by chopping out words, avoiding jargon and clichés and using an active voice. Remember succinct is powerful. Above all good writing demands editing — and lots of it!
And if the images look suspiciously like slides from a PowerPoint presentation — you are quite right, they are!
And finally — a lesson that the tabloids know — the personal story
Writing has most impact when it chimes with the reader. Including universal themes in your prose can help you connect with your audience. Most people can relate to stories around childhood, schooling, first job, first love, marriage, death etc.
You are unlikely to get all 11 tips in one pieces of writing — just try and get a few in — for all types of communication.
Don’t let poor writing get in the way of your message. Writing well is an important life skill that will win you friends and admirers! Its also fun to use playful, evocative language and to entertain your reader.
Additional reading
George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language.” (1946)
You can find George Orwell’s Six Rules for Writing here
Harold Evans, Do I Make Myself Clear?: Why Writing Well Matters, 2017
You can test how readable your writing is by using tools such as the FOG index or readability formula
