In all communication, the key to success is knowledge. Write about what you know. If you don’t know the topic, you can’t write effectively. The more you know something, the easier and more effective your writing. Can you explain the subject in your own words to someone who knows less about it than you do? If not, research more. If so, you are ready to write.

Know your audience. Ask yourself: What do my readers know? What do they need to know? What decisions will be based on this information? Am I writing to increase knowledge? Am I trying to urge action? Know what motivates your readers. Effective writing requires knowledge of your topic, analysis of your reader and a plan to achieve your goal. Most of all, good writing always follows the Three Cs: It is Clear, it is Crisp, and it is Concise. The following guidelines will help you follow the Three Cs in your writing:

The systematic approach

Approach writing systematically. Keep separate tasks separate. Break your writing into small jobs as follows:

1.  Research the topic. Study. Read. Talk with informed people. Establish a clear idea of your purpose and an understanding of how the job should be done.

2.  Plan. Even a brief sentence outline clarifies your writing goals. Before writing ask yourself.
A.  Do I know my subject? B.  Do I know my reader? C.  Is this writing necessary?
3.  Draft. Rough-draft a few pages at a time.

4.  Eliminate useless words and sentences. Strive for brevity and concreteness.

5.  Polish. Fine-tune your work so that it is as close to your final draft as possible.

6.  Proofread. Proofread once you’ve arranged your thoughts on paper and edited the unnecessary words and sentences.

Approach writing systematically. Keep separate tasks separate. Break your writing into small jobs as follows: 1.  Research the topic. Study. Read. Talk with informed people. Establish a clear idea of your purpose and an understanding of how the job should be done. 2.  Plan. Even a brief sentence outline clarifies your writing goals. Before writing ask yourself.
A.  Do I know my subject? B.  Do I know my reader? C.  Is this writing necessary?
3.  Draft. Rough-draft a few pages at a time. 4.  Eliminate useless words and sentences. Strive for brevity and concreteness. 5.  Polish. Fine-tune your work so that it is as close to your final draft as possible. 6.  Proofread. Proofread once you’ve arranged your thoughts on paper and edited the unnecessary words and sentences.

Drafting, revising, typing and proofreading are separate jobs that need their own time and attention. Pay attention to one job at a time. How long can you concentrate while writing? Most of us write best if we take a break every 20 minutes. Remember, in writing, activity doesn’t always equal productivity. Some of the best writing comes from sitting back and dreaming. Just as children need rules and structure to be happy, so do writers. Be kind to yourself. Establish specific guidelines for tackling a writing project. Set reasonable deadlines to do a good job.

Learn from mistakes

Learn why you’re making mistakes. Nearly every example of poor writing fits under one or more of the following six stumbling blocks. The writer: 1.  Didn’t know the subject. 2.  Didn’t know the audience. 3.  Didn’t start early enough. 4.  Needs a refresher course in grammar. 5.  Was trying to impress someone. 6.  Was trying to deceive.

If you can correct these fundamental problems, you’ve taken a giant step to becoming a better writer.

Thought patterns

Establish a thought pattern for your writing. Whatever the pattern, it must include: 1.  Information and details about why you are writing. 2.  Information and details about the subject. 3.  Information and details that support your statements. 4.  Remedies, solutions, suggestions, ideas, plans, actions already taken. Remember to include a description of the benefits that result from adopting your suggestions. 5.  When you’ve completed your background research, how do you begin writing? There are several ways to arrange the information:
A.  Chronologically with points arranged in the order they happened or should happen. B.  In order of importance, from the most to the least important. C.  Showing cause and effect, stating what was done and what resulted. D.  From general to specific. Start with broad statements followed by the advantages and reasons. E.  Pros and cons. Give reasons for and against something. This is often best when the decision isn’t yours to make, and you want your supervisor to be able to weigh all the facts before making a decision.

Establish a thought pattern for your writing. Whatever the pattern, it must include: 1.  Information and details about why you are writing. 2.  Information and details about the subject. 3.  Information and details that support your statements. 4.  Remedies, solutions, suggestions, ideas, plans, actions already taken. Remember to include a description of the benefits that result from adopting your suggestions. 5.  When you’ve completed your background research, how do you begin writing? There are several ways to arrange the information:
A.  Chronologically with points arranged in the order they happened or should happen. B.  In order of importance, from the most to the least important. C.  Showing cause and effect, stating what was done and what resulted. D.  From general to specific. Start with broad statements followed by the advantages and reasons. E.  Pros and cons. Give reasons for and against something. This is often best when the decision isn’t yours to make, and you want your supervisor to be able to weigh all the facts before making a decision.

Reflect personal style

Make your writing reflect your personal style. A personal tone makes even the driest subject interesting. To achieve conversational tone, write as if you are talking to the reader. You can achieve this if you: 1.  Drop stiff, formal phrases. Most business people prefer a casual, direct style to the formality of our grandparents’ days. Avoid archaic words and phrases like “institutionalize” and “Upon receipt of your order, our engineering department will be instructed to begin assembly.” Instead try, “Our engineers will assemble your unit when the order arrives.” 2.  Use contractions where they sound right to you. Contractions add a little human touch in your writing, if used sparingly. 3.  Downplay the number of personal pronouns in your writing. Don’t overuse “I,” “you,” “we,” “he,” “she,” “mine,” “yours,” etc. Too many of these weaken your message. An occasional pronoun is fine. But when in doubt, throw it out.

Paragraph power

Practice Paragraph Power. Paragraphs consist of three to five sentences. For significant improvement in your writing skills, focus on the topic sentence and keep the supporting sentences in the paragraph relevant.

The topic sentence generally belongs at the beginning of the paragraph. It is the sentence that tells the reader the main focus of the paragraph. You can increase the dramatic effect of the paragraph if you save the topic sentence till the end. But beware—you may lose your reader. Remember, there are differences between business writing and writing a novel.

Make each subsequent sentence count. Make sure it adds to or explains what you say in your topic sentence. This achieves relevance.

Transitions are also important. Transitions tie your paragraphs together, and establish a sense of unity and flow to your writing. When you want transition between paragraphs:1.  Use a word or words in the first sentence of a new paragraph that are in the last line of the previous paragraph. 2.  Use a word at the beginning of a paragraph that makes sense only when read in relation to the previous paragraph. Transition words and phrases to use at the beginning of a new paragraph include nevertheless, later, of course, for example, therefore, because of this, in the meantime and needless to say. 3.  Use a paragraph heading to announce what the next paragraph is about.

Sentence savvy

Just as paragraphs can be punched up, so can sentences. If your writing is failing, try one of these formulas for better sentences. 1.  Look at 150 words in your writing. Count the number of one-syllable words. Divide that number by 10 and subtract the result from 20. The number you get is the number of years of school your readers need to read your writing easily. The more challenging the subject is, the simpler your writing should be. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are written for grades 8 through 12. The editors know their readers want business information fast and uncomplicated. Your readers want the same. 2.  Your sentences should average 15 to 22 words. None of them should be longer than 40 words. This is a guideline often used by newspapers. Long sentences slow comprehension because they contain many elements that have to be related to one another. 3.  Break long sentences into two shorter sentences. Vary sentence structure. Create a variety of sentences; long and short, simple and complex, active and passive. Use these patterns to create an easy flow to your writing. Make your sentences interlock like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 4.  Eliminate prefixes such as pre-, anti-, and multi-, as well as suffixes such as -ability, -tion, and -ism. 5.  Get rid of anemic introductory phrases such as, “there is,” “there are,” “it appears,” “it would seem that.” These phrases say nothing, and because they are at the beginning of a sentence, what comes after them often seems lifeless. Avoid unnecessary prepositions like, on, up beside, before, behind, between, against, for, off, despite, by, in, into, among, across, toward, without, under, onto.