Basic writing techniques

This is a translation of a Japanese article.

Since December last year, I have been working as a PjM for the Kuroco document site, and at the same time, I have been thinking about which points I should pay attention to when writing.

Why do you need to write well?

Improving your writing skills will not only help you write blogs and documents, but it will also be very useful for exchanging messages.
Especially now that most companies are teleworking, text communication is becoming the main form of communication. Since everyone is busy and needs to communicate, it is important to communicate quickly and concisely in writing.

However, despite its importance, it tends to be neglected as a skill. There are many people around me who have very high technical and conversational skills, but when I look at their writing skills, I find them to be a bit disappointing.

In this article, I’ve put together some tips on how to make your writing easier to understand.

One Text, One Meaning

What is “one sentence, one meaning”?
It is to write only one content in one sentence.

Keep it short.

I often see sentences that are written too politely or with too much care for the reader, or with phrases such as “I’m sorry to bother you, but…” at the beginning of the sentence.

However, what the reader wants is only the conclusion. Try to cut down on preambles, conjunctions, and postmodifiers.

Write the operation clearly.

It is important to keep the text short, but if you are asking the user to perform an operation, you need to clearly state what needs to be done.

In particular, technical terms may not make sense to the reader, even if the content is common sense to the writer. Be aware of the reader and try to explain carefully.

Write from what you want to say.

Unfortunately, almost no one reads a document from top to bottom, word for word. Especially in websites, if the first half of the text is not what you are looking for, you will leave the website.

Therefore, the first half of the sentence needs to indicate that “this sentence is about ・・・”. Write in the order of “What I want to say” -> “The reason why”.

Use bullet points for enumeration.

There is a limit to the number of items a person can remember at one time. However, using bullet points makes it easier to read even if there are multiple items in a row.

[before]
Name, address, e-mail address, and occupation are required fields.

->

[after]
The following fields are required.
- Name
- Address
- E-mail address
- Occupation

Clearly delineate information with headings.

Again, users do not read text carefully. Therefore, it is necessary to make them understand what each paragraph contains at a glance.

This is where headings come in handy. Headings have the following effects

• Users can predict the next topic.
• Users can skip items they don’t need to read and get to the ones they do need quickly.

Let’s elaborate.

Finally, be sure to polish your work.

The main points of polish are
“A whole sentence -> a paragraph -> a sentence -> a word
It’s easier to revise if you look at them in this order.

A Whole sentence
- Is there any inconsistency in the overall flow?
- Is the order appropriate?
- Is it easy to read as a whole?

A paragraph
- Is the headline appropriate?
- Does the headline match the text?

A sentence
- Is the length appropriate?
- Is the punctuation correct?
- Is the grammar correct?
— Is it worded in a roundabout way?
- Are there any spelling errors?

A Words
- Are there any word errors?
- Are there any typos?

It is better to leave some time after writing to review your work objectively. If you have time to spare, we recommend letting the document rest overnight before rereading it.

Also, having a third party review your document can give you advice from a perspective that you may not have noticed yourself. Ask a team member to review it for you.

The art of writing is a necessary skill even for those who do not work in the writing field.

Especially in today’s telework-oriented work environment, it is no exaggeration to say that those who control text communication control their work.

Improving your writing skills may seem difficult at first glance, but as you can see from this note, you can quickly improve your writing skills just by keeping a few points in mind.

I hope this article will help you to improve your writing skills.

-> Japanese：https://note.com/koushikagawa/n/neb5914f9cc8b