6 Questions Precise Writers Ask Themselves

George Orwell, in his classic essay, Politics and the English Language, encourages writers to keep six questions in mind when writing. Doing so can significantly improve your writing, as these questions force you to sharpen your message and make it more precise.

Orwell uses the term “scrupulous writer,” but today we would probably say “precise writer.” Scrupulous and precise mean essentially the same thing: both words indicate someone who wants to be exact, to get their task or performance accomplished as clearly and correctly as possible.

Orwell wrote:

“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:

1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? And he will probably ask himself two more:
5. Could I put it more shortly?
6. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?“ [Emphasis mine]

For those writers not interested in such questions, Orwell then warns,

“But you are not obliged to go to all this trouble. You can shirk it by simply throwing your mind open and letting the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you — even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent — and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself.”

In other words, by being casual about what you write, you can easily regurgitate the tons of cliches and other overused words, phrases, symbols, and ideas floating around in the public consciousness–but you risk sounding like everyone else and ending up with a bland style, and perhaps, an unclear meaning.

Reasons Your Business Should Hire a Professional Writer

Plenty of businesspeople are excellent at their particular business skills, whether it’s banking, painting, or baking. But, in most cases, they probably shouldn’t write the copy for their company website, services and product brochures, and advertisements.

Wait–anyone can write, right?

Well, most of us can write, if by that we mean putting words on paper and expressing our ideas. But there’s a huge difference between simply expressing an idea and selling that idea. And of course, selling is crucial to the success of almost any business.

While plenty of businesses generate many of their clients through word of mouth because they provide exceptional quality, those same businesses often still have some written communications that represent them to the public. Perhaps it’s the copy on their website, an ad in the phone book, or a sign hanging on their window.

Of course, there are also many businesses who have extensive amounts of written communication they provide to the public–they may have a large website, with write-ups for each product or service they offer; they may want a regularly updated blog to promote engagement with their customers or bring in search engine results for their main website; they may produce lots of product or services brochures; and they may run regular advertisements on radio or in newspapers.

What am I Getting at?

A banker, painter, or baker knows how to bank, paint, or bake, but chances are they don’t know how to write clearly, correctly, and persuasively–at least, in such a way that will present their business professionally and attractively, as well as generate customer interest and sales.

An accomplished professional writer can write that way. So, if you own a business and want to create a more professional and appealing public image, you should consider hiring a professional writer.

Here are Some Concrete Reasons to Consider

Laura Spencer, a professional freelance writer who runs the blog Writing Thoughts, has written a helpful post entitled Ten Reasons Why You Should Hire a Professional Writer. You should read the entire post, but I’ll list a few of her reasons that jumped out at me:

• “They will take the time to do the job right….If writing is not your full-time career, do you really have the time to write what you need? A professional will make the time for your project.”

• “They can help you avoid cliches and overworked angles and find a fresh way of describing your information….A writing professional can recognize overused and overworked ideas and help you find a fresh and unique slant for your specific needs.”

• “A writer provides a second set of eyes….A professional writer is trained to look for mistakes and for sentences that can be misunderstood. You don’t want mistakes in your copy. Even a single misplaced decimal point can hurt your business. There’s a big difference between $25.00 and $250.00!”

• “A good writer can help you project a consistent image through your writing….A good writer can suggest a unique style that is right for your business. Having a unique voice in your writing can help you brand your business.”

Laura has six more important reasons that are worth checking out.

Yes, you could write your own copy, but should you? It’s your call of course, but if you need some help, I know an experienced writer you should contact–me. Check out my portfolio for examples of my published work, and, if you have any writing needs, contact me.

Classic Case of Needing a Proofreader

I went to see my doctor this morning (I’ve got a pulled hamstring–nothing major, thank God), and as I was closing the door to the office on my way out, I saw this type-written notice taped to the door:

“Our office will be closed from 12 noon until 1:30PM for a meeting today. Sorry for any incontinence.”

That is hilarious.

I looked at it in disbelief for a moment before deciding that this was worthy of being the first picture I take with my new camera cell phone–I can’t wait to show it to my author uncle, who will get a major laugh from it.

Obviously, the person meant to write “inconvenience” instead of “incontinence.” Although the words certainly look similar, I still don’t know how that misprint occurred–you have to proofread your writing.

Although, it could be that it was intentional–maybe they’ve had problems with patients who get so pissed off that they can’t see the doctor that they end up pissing on themselves.

Have You Tried This Grammar Magical Trick Yet?

[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Zoë Westhof, who writes the Essential Prose Blog.]

“Mom, me and Kate are going to the movies.”

“You and who?”

[Ample eye-rolling] “Ugh. KATE AND I are going to the movies.”

I can largely credit my mom with making me the grammar geek I am today. Growing up at a time when Valspeak– oh yes, that horrific speech pattern has such a name — was brought back to style thanks to Clueless, proper grammar forms were sliding down the drains. My sentence-forming skills suffered during this period, but I was saved by my mom’s relentless badgering and her magical trick for avoiding the I/me confusion.

Before I introduce you to that magical trick, here’s a quiz to see if you’re an offender of this grammar rule. Which sentence is correct?

1. a) Me and Anthony are baking banana bread!
or
b) Anthony and I are baking banana bread!

2. a) Look at this photo of me and my sister.
or
b) Look at this photo of my sister and I.

If you answered (b) for the first question, you can be proud that you have not fallen victim to faulty grammar. If you chose (a), worry not, because I’m about to (gently) set you straight for future conversations.

If you answered (a) for the second question, I applaud you for not falling in my sly trap! Question #2 is actually an example of overcorrection — when people worry so much about making a mistake, that they actually undermine themselves by fixing grammar that wasn’t broken.

So, What’s the Rule?

If you are the subject of your sentence, use the subjective case — “I.” If you are the object, use the objective case — “me.” If you’re confused, check out this helpful link that Jesse provided last week on the pronoun case.

Who Cares?

I’ll admit — a lot of people don’t care. But in the following situations, it’s very useful to know when to use “I” and when to use “me”:

1) If your job involves writing. If you’re a copywriter, a CEO, or even a lowly intern who writes memos, it’s in your best interests to be grammatically correct. Sure, your reader may not notice the error, but they will probably respect your work just a teeny bit less if they do notice (or a lot less, if they are an editor or grammar geek).

2) If you want to impress your boyfriend’s schoolteacher mom, or that foxy librarian you scored a date with. For the portion of the population that thrives on such grammar quibbles, an I/me mistake will be forever lodged in their minds.

3) If you just like being right. If you learn this rule, you don’t have to worry about some snarky grammar geek correcting you. Or, if you find yourself so inclined, you can even be that snarky one yourself.

Now, on to the magical trick.

Try Out This Grammar Magical Trick

This trick works very similarly to Jesse’s advice in the We/Us dilemma post:

Simply take the other person out of the sentence.

Example: “Look at this photo of my sister and I” becomes “Look at this photo of I.”

Now, that doesn’t sound right, does it?

On the other hand, it is completely correct to say “I am baking banana bread.”

When in doubt, just run this quick test through your head. Pretty soon, I/me usage will become automatic!

What grammar tricks do you have up your sleeve?

[Editor's Note: Special thanks to Zoë Westhof of the Essential Prose Blog for this guest post.]

Grammar Tip: When to Use “We” or “Us”

Which of the following two sentences uses its pronoun correctly? Either one? Are they both right?

“Us guys like to play hard.”

Or

“We guys like to play hard.”

What about these two?

“I think for the most part us small business people are the backbone of the economy.”

Or

“I think for the most part we small business people are the backbone of the economy.”

The answer?

If you answered that the second sentence correctly used its pronoun in each set of sentences, you’re right. If you chose the first sentence in each set, you need to brush up on pronoun case.

To make it simple, we is in the subjective case, which means it functions as a subject in sentences. Us is in the objective case, and it functions as an object.

People mix up we and us a lot, usually using us when they should be using we. Since this mistake doesn’t really confuse one’s meaning, it probably doesn’t matter in casual conversation, or even perhaps, in casual writing.

But if you’re writing professionally, either for publication (newspaper, magazine article, etc.) or for your business (company website, product brochures, marketing materials, etc.), getting the pronoun case right does matter.

The more attention to detail that you display in your writing, the higher the likelihood that you’ll pay attention to detail when creating or selling the product you’re writing about. People like to do business with folks who pay attention to detail and project excellence across the board.

I know for myself that when I’m reading an otherwise good blog post, magazine article, or sales pitch, seeing these small writing mistakes detracts from the writer’s overall credibility. I’m more likely to trust the sales copy that’s written with precise grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

That’s just how it is.

A Simple Trick to Get This Right

Here’s an easy way to remember how to get this right, without having to delve too deeply into grammar textbooks.

Employ the following test the next time you’re not sure which pronoun to use. Simply remove the subject the pronoun is emphasizing and then say the sentence out loud.

For example, say you wrote a sentence that said:

“I think on the whole us cable news commentators take politics way too seriously.”

Remove the subject cable news commentators so that you have:

“I think on the whole us…take politics way too seriously.”

Does that sound right or natural? To most of us, probably not.

It sounds much more sensible to say:

“I think on the whole we … take politics way too seriously.”

In most cases (on this issue at least), what sounds right is right. Thus, you should write:

“I think on the whole we cable news commentators take politics way too seriously.”

Try that exercise out whenever you’re not sure whether to use we or us. It should be pretty clear pretty fast.

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