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The “Number One” Goal of All Writing

March 26, 2016 by gomarketing

The Number 1 goal for everything you ever write—from laundry lists to technical reports to resume cover letters—is IMMEDIATE COMPREHENSION. This is the touchstone of good writing. If you don’t “get it” on a first read, the problem is with the writing, not you.
Example: “The IEEE electrical standards referenced by the sponsor in part 3 may be disregarded, subject to the procedures described within the standards, at any time if appropriate guidelines are referenced regarding the strict adherence to common-knowledge electrical procedures for the device in question.”

That’s bad writing. Winston Churchill referred to this type of gobbledy-gook as “terminological inexactitude.” You will find many people—too many, unfortunately—who will fall back on the excuse: “Well, this is technical writing. And it’s complicated. You need a technical background to understand it.”

Bull trout.

The problem is that the writer did not take the time to think and hone down the message. Here’s one possible revision: “You may disregard IEEE standards if you follow and document commonly accepted electrical procedures for your device.” Boom! Done!

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