The first part of this tip (Write this) uses a good structure to explain effective paragraphs.
The second part (Not this) uses the same words. However, there are no headings or lists, and it has longer sentences in an illogical order. Paragraphs also appear in the wrong order. The result is a choppy narrative that is hard to understand.
Paragraphs are the basic structural units of our writing. This is because they:
Do you put punctuation marks inside quotation marks or outside them?
It depends:
The punctuation mark goes inside the closing quotation mark when it belongs to the quote.
‘Isn’t hickory a type of lettuce?’ Desi asked.
Write in a positive, affirming way, unless research shows there’s a good reason not to.
When you ask people to do something, they are more likely to respond to a positive sentence. You will also use fewer words. Positive sentences are often shorter than their negative counterparts.
Please enter your email address to receive updates.
A lot of what we write in the APS asks someone to make a decision or do something. Our readers are often very short of time. Don’t make them read a lot of writing before they find out why they are reading it.
A good start is to ask 2 questions:
The answers to these questions should be clear and at the beginning of your document.
We thank the following for their contribution to the handbook:
Footy teams review every aspect of a weekend game and ‘talk about it during the week’. Writing is no different. Review what you’ve written and, ideally, get others to check it too.
With a little self-knowledge, a self-edit can start at the first draft. We all have writing tics. They’re the style habits we pick up and use unconsciously when writing. Granted, they can put the ‘you’ into writing and save it from being drearily bland. But it’s also possible your tics will:
Accessibility is about writing and designing content for equal access. Government agencies must produce accessible content.
Equal access to government services and information is an obligation under Australian law (e.g. the Disability Discrimination Act 1992).
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the baseline accessibility standard for all Australian Government digital content.
We can describe WCAG in terms of user needs:
Structural elements are signposts for readers. Before they read your paragraphs, people will scan headings, tables, lists, images and links.
A successful structure supports:
Let’s focus on bullet lists. They are everywhere in government writing, and
mastering their style will set you free. Well, it will help you to be consistent at least.
Using plain language benefits everyone. It builds trust, improves comprehension and makes content accessible for more people.
Using plain language is not ‘dumbing down’ your writing – it’s opening it up. Using plain language lessens the cognitive load for all readers. This includes people with high literacy levels who are time-poor and have a lot to read.
The most important element of plain language is understanding your readers and their needs (see ‘Understand who you are writing for and why’).
Few people get excited at the thought of grammar. Often, it’s seen as a boring set of rules that isn’t relevant to everyday life.
Despite this, grammar is a vital part of written and verbal communication. It shapes how we use words. Most importantly, grammar determines how people process and react to those words.
There are strong reasons for paying attention to grammar in your writing.
Good grammar respects your readers and their time. It shows them that you’ve made an effort to write something they can understand quickly.
