Essential writing tips for non-fiction writers - reports, books, newsletters, websites, etc. Slides to support one-hour lecture to Oxford University's Study Skills Programme, 2015.

1. Improve your writing skills
Robert Bullard – Perfect Text
www.perfecttext.org

2. What makes writing hard?
Origins and influences
School / College don’t always help
Nor grocers or employers
Unlike speech …
Any support/training? Or feedback!
The writing process
Anxiety and pressure
Quantity rich, time poor; readers impatient
Reader’s choice
Writing as an ‘art’?

3. GOLDEN RULE:
Think, who is your AUDIENCE

4. Writing Tips ① – For structure and clarity
Structure Clarity
Audience – Purpose – Effect Less is more
Wordcount model POWER
Shapes 5Ws
AIDCA

5. Writing Tips ② – For effectiveness and impact
Topping and tailing – introductions, flow/signposts, paragraphs, endings
‘Brush strokes’ – quotes, questions, senses, similes, metaphors, analogies
Patterns – repetition, word order, 3s, punctuation, subheadings, stories
AVOID turn-offs – jargon, clichés, long sentences ... mistakes

6. “DESTROY some of the grammatical myths…”
1.) You can start a sentence with and, but, because, so or however.
2.) You can split infinitives. So you can say to boldly go.
3.) You can end a sentence with a preposition. In fact, it is
something we should stand up for.
4.) And you can use the same word twice in a sentence if you can't
find a better word.
Of course, this does not mean you should break these so-called rules
all the time - just when they make a sentence flow better.
SOURCE: How to Write Plain English – Plain English Campaign

7. • 17 chapters – from planning your
work, to proofreading
• 10 tips per chapter → 170 total
• Example texts, with commentaries
• Key points highlighted
• References for further reading
• Exercises to cement your learning
• Available from: Blackwells, Amazon
and my website
RRP £12.00 Today, £8.00

8. Any Questions?
Robert Bullard
Perfect Text, Oxford
Copywriting – Copy-editing/Proofreading – Training in Writing Skills
www.perfecttext.org
07765 227 530