Sucky writing

Does your writing suck? It might, because in corporate America a lot of writing sucks.

There was a time when bad writing just manifested itself in the occasional memo or letter. But that was before e-mail and instant messaging. Of course, you might think bad writing isn’t really a big problem for corporations.

You’d be wrong.

Here’s one example received by R. Craig Hogan who runs an online business writing school. This is the verbatim text: "i am writing a essay on writing i work for this company and my boss want me to help improve the workers writing skills can yall help me with some information thank you"

Punctuation, capitalization, grammar, oh my, where to start? And it's not just this writer. A study of 120 companies conducted by the National Commission on Writing found that one-third of employees at blue chip corporations write poorly—and that the companies were spending up to $3.1 billion annually on remedial training, according to a December 2004 New York Times article.

"E-mail is a party to which English teachers have not been invited," Hogan says. "It has companies tearing their hair out."

Even when grammar, capitalization, and punctuation are passable, the writing can still be hysterical. Here's another verbatim note forwarded to Dilbert creator Scott Adams:

"This change will allow us to better leverage our talent base in an area where developmental roles are under way and strategically focuses us toward the upcoming Business System transition where Systems literacy and accuracy will be essential to maintain and to further improve service levels to our customer base going forward."

Now just what the hell does that mean?

The truth is that plain English is always better than jargon – and plain English plus good grammar, spelling, and punctuation is better still. A lot of writing problems come down to poor structure – especially in e-mail messages. Here’s a suggested skeleton for e-mail:

1. Grab - Get your audience's attention immediately. Imagine they have 10 seconds; chances are they have far less.
2. Explain - What are you telling them? Be clear. Be concise. Be direct. Be specific.
3. Close - If you have a clear result in mind, tell them. What do you want them to do?

It isn’t complicated. But it is remarkably rare. Another rarity is writers who take the time to scrub through their copy. Does it have a clear point? Are all the words absolutely necessary? Would it be better to just pick up the phone and call the recipient – or walk down to her office?

Also, E-MAIL WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS IS A NO-NO, UNLESS YOU REALLY DO MEAN TO SHOUT. Figure that you get one word in ALL CAPS per day. Use it judiciously.

Finally, no exclamation points – ever. Really. "People think that throwing multiple exclamation points into a business letter will make their point forcefully," Linda Landis Andrews, who teaches at the University of Illinois told The Times. "I tell them they're allowed two exclamation points in their whole life."

That’s a good model to follow. Good writing isn’t out of reach for most people—and it’s worth adhering to a series of simple steps to make sure you get your point across.

Otherwise your writing could suck.

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