When writing any type of communication, first outline and organise. Then sequence and structure. Keep in mind the layout. And finally, edit your work.

• Keep the primary purpose of your communication uppermost in your mind before you write. Ask yourself: what do I want the reader to do as a result of writing this?

• Re-read any previous correspondence for background, facts and figures.

• Include all information the reader needs to know. Omit information the reader already knows or that is irrelevant.

• Is there a secondary purpose? Decide how you are going to handle it.

• Maintain a logical flow – start with your reason for writing, the facts you are presenting and what you want the recipient to do for you.

• Make notes as you plan.

• Arrange facts, data, ideas sequentially, using time or logic to sequence. Put in heads and subheads as signposts.

• Once you have developed a sequence, write short paragraphs on each subhead. Each paragraph should ideally explore only one idea/topic.

• If your material is more than ten pages long, include a table of contents.

• Include an executive summary for lengthy pieces.

• Summarise your message clearly and effectively in the introduction.

• Capitalise on effective titles, headings, illustrations and other visual aids.

How your words look on paper can be as important as how they "sound" when someone reads them. What your readers see at first glance will either turn them on or off. If the sentences and paragraphs appear too long and hard to read, the reader will not want to struggle to get the message.

The key is to create lots of white space. Let the reader sees small chunks of material broken up with white space.

• Use lists. Instead of writing long paragraphs, try listing key points. Short lists create white space. Using a bulleted list of items helps people better understand what you write.

• Split dense text into shorter chunks. Decrease both paragraph and sentence length. Try to write paragraphs of seven sentences and sentences of 17-20 words or fewer. When a sentence becomes too long, break it up into two sentences.

• When not using lists, create sub-heads above paragraphs. For example : The Problem. One Solution. A Better Solution.

• Use dashes - such as these - within sentences, to create white space. But don’t overdo them.

• Is your purpose immediately clear? Or will readers have to wade through six or eight paragraphs before understanding why you wrote the piece? Get to the point right away. Don’t write in a mystery-story fashion, saving the main idea for the end.

• Have you limited your subject sufficiently? Or did you cover items that don’t relate to the main theme?

• Did you leave out points that could give readers a better understanding of your theme?

• Are your supporting details adequate? Have you developed each topic fully enough?

• Did you include too many supporting details? Are your sentences and paragraphs weighed down with more facts than your readers need or want to know?

• Is your organisation easy to follow? Did you move from beginning to end in a logical way? Or does your copy ramble and confuse readers?

• Does your copy essentially answer the following questions as they relate to the main theme: "who, what, when, where, why and how"?

• Does your copy also answer the question, "So what"? In other words, do you tell readers why the piece is worth reading? Or what you want them to do after reading it?

Index