Simplicity

The best English is simple English. Writing should be elegant but never ostentatious. The primary consideration should be clarity and comprehensibility.

The first audience for our written material should be the general public. Critical readers such as journalists may sift information, but always assume not everyone is skilled at reading. People don’t want to re-read a difficult sentence. They may care little about the subject. We must make it easy to follow. So, write simply and colloquially but never employ slang directly.

Parenthesis and the subordinate clause should be used sparingly (as in “when it rang” as part of the sentence “she answered the phone when it rang”).

• Professional communicators at the highest level get it wrong, as with this statement from a top TV correspondent: ”The engine, an RB-211C ‘Whisperjet’, designed for the new short-range European Airbus commuter-liner, and said to be twenty-per-cent quieter than equivalent engines, is to be built at Rolls-Royce factories in Derby and Coventry.”
  The information is more easily understood in four simpler sentences:
  ”The new engine will be built in Derby and Coventry. It’s called the RB-211C. But it’s become known as the ‘Whisperjet’ because Rolls-Royce say it’s 20% quieter than its competitors. The engine’s designed for the new short-range European Airbus.”

As a general rule shorter sentences work better.

Another general rule is to put the key point of the ‘story’ in the first line.

• “At a news conference this afternoon, the Leader of the Opposition, Michael Howard, outlining his strategy for the General Election expected to be held in May this year, made a keynote speech guaranteeing that his party would honour the legitimate claim of genuine asylum seekers…”
  The much more effective style is:
  “Britain will continue as a haven for genuine asylum seekers under a Tory Government. The pledge was made by the Opposition Leader, Michael Howard, when he outlined his manifesto for the election expected in May.”

Try taking T.S. Elliott’s advice:

“Write as you would talk. Better still, write as you would hear.”

‘Journalese & Clichés’

Newspaper journalists have developed a style of writing which does not transfer to writing essays, scripts, letters, prepared talks but may help shape effective handouts, news releases, leaflets, notices, web messages. But remember, the tabloid style is to use short, eye-catching, dynamic words in a non-grammatical headline style which soon corrupts clear, creative writing. We should be aware of the crude use of hackneyed language:

• Bid - Probe - Shock - Row - Clash - Plea

The tabloid writer prefers colourful adjectives to ‘sell’ the story

• Dramatic - Angry - Miraculous - Shocking - Alarming

The veteran columnist and author, Keith Waterhouse, identifies two versions of journalese:

1. the endemic form which includes pompous adjectives to denote great significance
2. what he calls ‘tabloidese’ characterised by bolted-together monosyllables
   • “The Prime Minister is actively contemplating a fundamental restructuring of Whitehall departments.”
     Sunday Times
   • “A 20-year-old mother-of-two is making a desperate last ditch bid to save her tots from the evil clutches of their runaway father.”
     Daily Star

The failing of each style is that people don’t speak like that and our written material should be as close as possible to how people talk, without compromising grammar and good practice.

Unfortunately, many writers of material for publication think journalese, or newspaper-jargon, is the proper currency of all news writing. It is not.

Shoddy English riddled with clithés irritates many people. It displays a poverty of original ideas of expression. It is often inaccurate. For instance, not every disagreement is a ‘row’ or ‘clash’ and not every advance or improvement is a ‘breakthrough’.

So…AVOID CLICHÉS LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Selfridge Communications provides practical training courses in

• Avoiding officialese
• Use of The Definite Article
• Avoiding Americanisms
• Accuracy
• Spotting wrong usage
• Imprecision
• Ambiguity
• Titles
• Proper pronunciation
• Collective nouns
• Correct use of the apostrophe
• And an ammusing selection of pet hates