Business Writing
Writing Reports and Proposals
Reference Guide
Nine Rules of Writing The Rules of Evidence
1) Use familiar words
2) Prefer short, simple words
3) Use concrete words
4) Prefer active to passive verbs
5) Avoid camouflaged verbs
6) Arrange sentences for emphasis and clarity
7) Keep sentences short
8) Ensure modifying words and phrases relate to nouns and pronouns
9) Use words economically
Rule 1: Look at the evidence and follow where it leads.
The trick here is not to let your own bias lead you into selecting only the evidence you agree with. If you aren’t careful, you can unconsciously start forcing the evidence to fit the design that seems to be emerging. When fact A and fact B both point toward the same conclusion, there is always the temptation to make fact C fit.
Rule 2. Look for the simplest explanation that accounts for all the evidence.
When the lights in the room go out, the sudden darkness might be taken as evidence of a power failure. But a quick investigation turns up other evidence that must be accounted for: the streetlights are still on; the refrigerator is still functioning. So a simpler explanation may exist, and a check of the circuit breakers or fuse box would be appropriate.
Rule 3. Look at all likely alternatives.
Likely alternatives in the example just discussed would include such things as burned-out bulbs, loose plugs, and defective outlets, so all alternatives should be examined in the investigation stage. During the writing stage, however, do not overload the reader with a detailed examination or eight or ten alternatives. If there are more than three, reduce the number for discussion to three, or perhaps four, alternatives. The others can usually be discussed and dismissed in one brief paragraph.
Examining alternatives has two other major advantages: it saves the reader raising the question in his or her mind, “Didn’t the writer of this report look at anything else?”, and it gains credibility for the writer’s objectivity.
Reference Guide
Nine Rules of Writing The Rules of Evidence
1) Use familiar words
2) Prefer short, simple words
3) Use concrete words
4) Prefer active to passive verbs
5) Avoid camouflaged verbs
6) Arrange sentences for emphasis and clarity
7) Keep sentences short
8) Ensure modifying words and phrases relate to nouns and pronouns
9) Use words economically
Rule 1: Look at the evidence and follow where it leads.
The trick here is not to let your own bias lead you into selecting only the evidence you agree with. If you aren’t careful, you can unconsciously start forcing the evidence to fit the design that seems to be emerging. When fact A and fact B both point toward the same conclusion, there is always the temptation to make fact C fit.
Rule 2. Look for the simplest explanation that accounts for all the evidence.
When the lights in the room go out, the sudden darkness might be taken as evidence of a power failure. But a quick investigation turns up other evidence that must be accounted for: the streetlights are still on; the refrigerator is still functioning. So a simpler explanation may exist, and a check of the circuit breakers or fuse box would be appropriate.
Rule 3. Look at all likely alternatives.
Likely alternatives in the example just discussed would include such things as burned-out bulbs, loose plugs, and defective outlets, so all alternatives should be examined in the investigation stage. During the writing stage, however, do not overload the reader with a detailed examination or eight or ten alternatives. If there are more than three, reduce the number for discussion to three, or perhaps four, alternatives. The others can usually be discussed and dismissed in one brief paragraph.
Examining alternatives has two other major advantages: it saves the reader raising the question in his or her mind, “Didn’t the writer of this report look at anything else?”, and it gains credibility for the writer’s objectivity.