Powerful English Writing

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• Powerful (English) Writing
• STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD!
• Brussels 2007

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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 1
? How does this project / element help the
donor achieve its aims? ? How does this
element help assure the projects success? ?
Does this (sentence, paragraph, statistic) build
toward the climax?
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 2
? Evaluators are busy people. ? Do not waste
their time by cluttering up your proposal with
only semi-relevant information. ? Be their
friend Make the proposal as easy to understand
as possible.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 3
? Put the most important information in the
first sentence of each paragraph. ? Readers
attention span is limited most read the first
few lines, and some never get to the end.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 4
? Be clear and accurate. ? Dont make them
guess or leave them confused. ? Dont make the
evaluators work any harder than necessary ? Keep
It Simple! (KISS)
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 5
? Keep words, sentences and articles short
and snappy. ?The best way to be boring is to
leave nothing out Voltaire.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 6
? Answer questions directly, clearly and
concisely. Make sure to answer what they
asked!! e.g., Description of the target
group(s) (social category and economic situation,
age group, gender, etc.) and financial
beneficiaries and estimated number ? Be
specific, use statistics and quantify where
possible
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 7
? Writing in the present or indefinite tense
helps the project seem more real, concrete. ?
BETTER This project achieves ? THAN This
project will achieve
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 8

• ? To create a sense of momentum, use active not
  passive voice.
• ? BETTER Belgiums development policy
  contributes to
• THAN The development policy of Belgium is a
  contributing factor in
• ? BETTER The evaluation demonstrates successful
  outcomes THAN Successful outcomes are
  demonstrated by the evaluation

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Exercise
Can we make this better?
Deliverables are intended to be assessable by
stakeholders and by the PHEA.
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Exercise
How about...
Stakeholders and the PHEA must assess
deliverables.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 9
? Avoid use of conditional if possible. ?
BETTER This programme helps ? THAN This
programme would help
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 10
? In general, use short words not long ones
where possible. BETTER poor THAN
impoverished BETTER buy THAN purchase
BETTER make THAN manufacture ? The best
words are the short ones, and the best short ones
are the old ones Winston Churchill.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 11
In general, ? Avoid jargon and bureaucratic
language as much as possible. ? Use the
language of everyday speech. ? Write like you
speak, not like youre drafting a doctoral
thesis. ? Reading it out loud can help you hear
how clear it is.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 12
? Stay clear of euphemisms. ? eg, Call a car
a car, not a modern method of transportation.
? eg, Dont say bad manners when you mean
sexual intercourse The under-privileged may
be disadvantaged, but are more likely just poor
The Economist Style Guide.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 13
? Minimize use of acronyms and abbreviations,
if and when you can. ? Always write the full
words the first time you use an acronym Poverty
Eradication Action Plan UNLESS the abbreviation
is used more often than the full form (PEAP).
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 14
? Put titles and descriptive adjectives before
names and nouns, not after. ? BETTER UK Prime
Minister Tony Blair THAN Tony Blair, the UK
Prime Minister. ? BETTER Ugandas PEAP THAN
The PEAP of Uganda
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 15
? Avoid foreign phrases if there is an
English equivalent. ? e.g., Write per year,
not per annum in place, not in situ.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 16
? Refer to people, not to institutions where
possible. ? e.g., Write Members of Parliament,
not the Parliament ? e.g., Write District
Council Members not the District Council
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 17
? Always re-read your draft and cut out any
waste or repetition. ? Read it out loud if it
sounds boring or laboured, it probably is. ?
You have to learn to kill your darlings.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 18
? Spell-check.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 19
? Punctuate like you speak. Use commas at the
end of clauses, and full stops at the end of
sentences. Leave one space after both. ? Avoid
brackets, hyphens and colons. They are
distracting. Better to use short, snappy
sentences.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 20
? Be consistent. e.g., if you start with
metric, stick with metric. The same for
currencies and English or American spelling. ?
It helps to make a checklist when you find
inconsistencies, that can be search/replaced
later.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 21
? Dont try to be too clever. ?
Over-complicated sentences and rarely-used words
will confuse readers. ? Avoid puns, jokes and
poetry at all costs.
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22 tips for high-powered English writing
Number 22
? Use evidence and data for credibility. ?
Keep philosophical musings and opinionated rants
to a minimum.
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Exercise
Can we make this better?
From past experience, GWP has learnt that
because the Peer Educators are from the target
group, and because the program works directly
with the community, there is a good trend of
sustainability.
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Exercise
How about
20 years experience demonstrates that peer
educators who come from the target group and work
in the community produce lasting results.
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Exercise
Can we improve this?
Community involvement and mobilization is
essential, including linking with existing
services and networking within the community, to
ensure that the community begins to deliver and
accept the information and eventually naturally
self mobilize.
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Exercise
How about
Engaging with community leaders helps empower
local change-agents and problem-solving.
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End
Questions???