Download Getting your message across

Writing so readers can
understand you
Paul Mundy and Bob Huggan
www.mamud.com
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Good writing
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Arouses the reader’s interest
Stirs the reader’s imagination
Makes the reader feel the text is aimed
directly at him/her
Presents believable evidence
Gives good reasons for action
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KIS MII
 Keep
It Simple
 Make It Interesting
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Easy-to-read writing
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Use short, simple words
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Use short, varied sentences
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Anglo-Saxon,
not French or Latin
Average = 17 words
Use short paragraphs
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3-5 sentences each
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“The best way to
be boring is to
leave nothing out”
—Voltaire
1694–1778
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Easy-to-read writing
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Be conversational
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Write like you talk
Read it out loud
Use personal words
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I, you, we, our (not one, policy makers, scientists)
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Easy-to-read writing
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Write in a logical order
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State the main point in 1 sentence
Say why it is important
Give the details
Check your grammar
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Short words are better than long words
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Numerous
Individual
Remainder
Initial
To implement
Attempt
Sufficient
Referred to as
Many
Person, man or woman
Rest
First
To do
Try
Enough
Called
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Use Anglo-Saxon, not Latin or French
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Facilitate
Utilize
Demonstrate
Initiate, commence
In close proximity to
Despite the fact that
Endeavour
Help
Use
Show
Begin
Near
Although
Try
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Use Anglo-Saxon, not Latin or French
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Exerts a lethal effect
For the purpose of
In view of the fact that
Is equipped with
Magnitude
Prior to
Subsequent to
Until such time as
Remunerate
Kills
To
Because
Has
Size
Before
After
Until
Pay
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Use words the reader can understand
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The region has an annual surplus of water
The region has more than enough water
Women are involved in the disposal of the output of
rice production
Women sell the rice
Long aeroplane trips may lead to transmeridianal
dyschronism
After a long plane trip you may have jet lag
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Cut out words
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The rural poor face multiple problems which are
interlocking in nature
The rural poor face multiple, interlocking problems
He initiated and facilitated in the conduct of
meetings and workshops...
He helped conduct meetings...
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Use short sentences
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This cooperative of vegetable growers in the rural
village of Paliparan located in the municipality of
Dasmariñas, Cavite province in the Philippines, was
initiated as an interest group of 17 vegetable
growers in 1982
(31 words)
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The cooperative is located in Paliparan village,
about 40 km south of Manila, the Philippine capital.
It began in 1982 when 17 vegetable growers formed
an interest group
(25 words, 2 sentences)
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Use active verbs, not passives
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The coop was initiated by the villagers…
The villagers started the coop…
It was decided by the governor that the assistance
to the project was to be suspended
The governor stopped supporting the project
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Avoid weak verbs
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Am, is, are, was, were
Conduct, provide
Promote, implement
Take place
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Avoid weak verbs
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She was a student of Indian history
She studied Indian history
They conducted a study of the movement
They studied the movement
They promoted the sale of medicinal plants
They sold medicinal plants
IIRR implemented a strategy that resulted in the
formation of 22 cooperatives
IIRR helped form 22 cooperatives
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Avoid weak starts
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There is…
There are…
It is important to note that…
Interestingly…
It is self-evident that…
It goes without saying that…
I might add…
It should be pointed out that…
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Turn abstract nouns into verbs
Abstract nouns often end in -tion
 Acquisition
Acquire, get
 Demonstration
Demonstrate, show
 Guidance
Guide
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Turn abstract nouns into verbs
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Clayey soil has maximum water retention ability
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Find the noun that is built from a verb
Turn it into a verb
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Find the Anglo-Saxon equivalent
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Retention ► Retain
Retention ► Retain ► Hold
Clayey soil can hold the most water
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Turn abstract nouns into verbs
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The group plans the acquisition of a new vehicle
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The group wants to buy a jeep
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The aim of the project was to...
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The project aimed to...
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His conclusion was that the funds had been
misappropriated by the cooperative leader
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He concluded that the coop leader had stolen the money
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Avoid inflated prepositions and
conjunctions
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With the possible exception of… Except
For the reason that…
Because
He totally lacked the ability to… He couldn’t
She was unable to give any
information beyond the fact that… She said
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Break up strings of nouns
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The following innovative project
implementation modes were effected
The project tested several new approaches
The vastness, remoteness and endemic
drought have posed severe challenges to the
pastoral production system
Pastoralists range over huge, remote, dry
areas. That makes life for them difficult
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Get rid of prepositions
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Especially of and by
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The implementation of this project was
undertaken by the project within the
framework of the following objectives…
We aimed to do the following…
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Avoid unnecessary modifiers
Adjectives and adverbs often carry no meaning
Delete them, or make them specific
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He ran quickly to the shop
He ran to the shop
The farmers successfully harvested 3 tons of maize
The farmers harvested 3 tons of maize
She earned a good income
She earned Rs 500
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Be precise (1)
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Words without much information:
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Fast, slow, good, bad, unusual, interesting…
Better to say how fast or slow, why
something is good, bad, unusual or
interesting
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Be precise (2)
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Feed your baby frequently
Breast-feed your baby every 2 or 3 hours, or
whenever he or she is hungry
Vegetable consumption rose slightly
People in St Kitts ate 5% more vegetables last year
January rainfall is normally heavy
The mean rainfall for January is 940 mm
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Avoid false precision
Too many significant digits
 The mean millet yield was 4.345 tons per
hectare
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The average worker earns Rs 30.56 a day
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…4.3 tons…
…Rs 30…
The population is 34,965,865
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…35,000,000
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Add details if necessary…
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…to make sure the reader understands clearly what
you are saying
Use words that will build pictures in the reader’s
mind
Construction of health infrastructure has the
capacity to catalyse significant improvements in
rural nutrition
New clinics can encourage rural people to eat better
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Provide enough information
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The cooperative is located in the village of Paliparan
in the municipality of Dasmariñas.
The cooperative is located in Paliparan village,
about 40 km south of the Philippine capital of Manila
It borrows money from Pamana-ILCF and re-lends it
to individual members of the coop at low interest
rates
It borrows money from Pamana-ILCF, an IIRRsupported credit cooperative. It relends this money
to members at 7.5% interest a year
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Remember KIS MII
 Keep
It Simple
 Make It Interesting
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More information
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Wikipedia: Weasel word
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Ten quick tips to improve your writing
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http://tinyurl.com/5wrdw8
http://tinyurl.com/2h5e4h
Improve your writing: Your role as a writer
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http://tinyurl.com/lty2rs
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