Clarity. Accuracy. Style. How do these principles guide my writing?

Three Little Words

Throughout my writing - whatever the product, the client and the audience - I always try to exemplify the principles of clarity, accuracy and style. But what do I mean by those three little words?

Clarity
Good writing needs to be clear in many ways. Sentences need to be easy to understand and unambiguous, but clarity goes much deeper than that. The underlying ideas need to be formulated clearly, with a natural and logical flow from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, and chapter to chapter. Information needs to be presented appropriately for the intended audience, and obvious questions need to be acknowledged and addressed (even if they can’t be answered). Beyond this, a good writer needs to express himself clearly to the client, develop a clear brief and provide clear feedback throughout the project.
 

Accuracy
It is important to ensure that information provided in written materials is accurate, but it is also important to realise that there are different ways of achieving this. Some documents require technical detail and references to scientific publications, whilst others may need to present facts in a simplified, generalised way that is still correct. Familiarity with the subject matter and the appropriate vocabulary must come together to pinpoint the known facts, acknowledge estimates and differentiate degrees of confidence. Accuracy also means hitting the mark – whether it be the word count, the deadline, or the target audience.
 

Style
All writing has a style, whether it is trying to or not. Some styles are well established and defined, such as academic papers, while others are very broad and provide a lot of scope for individual approaches, such as factsheets. Sometimes we want a style to be flamboyant and conspicuous, and at other times we want it to be natural and almost imperceptible. What matters is that the style is a deliberate choice, tailored to suit the topic and the audience, and that at its heart it has consistency, intent and elegance – if you like, a sense of style.