Posts tagged "business writing"
As Winston Churchill said, ‘the essential structure of the ordinary British sentence... is a noble thing.’ Short sentences communicate powerfully. Writing short sentences is a very good plain language trick. Plain language uses short sentences. If you write short sentences, your meaning is usually clear and your grammar is usually correct.
Rachel answers an age-old grammar question about was and were. Old grammar rules stick in our minds like chewing gum in the hair. The rule you remember is no longer a rule (perhaps it never was) but a choice. Rachel tends to use ‘were’ out of habit, but 'was' is now more than acceptable—it’s the norm.
The phrase plain language (or plain English) is not plain language. The meaning of this phrase is masked and mysterious, known only to editors, content strategists, technical writers and other specialists.
Business writing has changed into something unrecognisable: content. The ironic book title Write me a web page, Elsie! reflects a 20th century viewpoint and a world that has gone forever.
The manager who says, Write me a web page, Elsie! has no concept of the nature of the internet. As content strategy, Write me a web page is disastrous. It generates ROT, it undermines information architecture, it ignores accessibility, it stomps on customer service.