Write the way you speak.

In general, writing intended for public audiences should be conversational, so try to write the way you talk.

Use the active voice.

Active voice is stronger than passive voice. In an active sentence, the person or agency who is taking an action is the subject of the sentence. In a passive sentence, the person or item that is acted upon is the subject of the sentence. Passive sentences often do not identify who is performing the action.
Passive: New rules have been approved by the university.
Active: The university has approved new rules.

Use short words.

Shorter words are more powerful and less pretentious.

Instead of	Use
automobile	car
accordingly	so
reside	live
utilize	use
prior to	before
discontinue	stop

 

Use dense words.

The fewer words you use to express an idea, the more impact it will have.

Instead of	Use
once a week	weekly
all of a sudden	suddenly
prior to	before
subsequent to	after
has the ability to	can
held tightly	gripped

Keep sentences short.

Most sentences should be no more than 20 words, but it’s best to vary sentence length and structure.

Question any word longer than three syllables.

Too many long words can make your writing hard to understand.

Get rid of little qualifiers.

Words such as “somewhat,” “quite,” “rather,” or “very” undermine the authority your writing should show.

Don’t start a sentence with “There are” or “There were.”

There are emergency telephones located throughout campus.
Change to: Emergency telephones are located throughout campus.

Don’t use too many “-tion” words.

He gave a demonstration of the new equipment.
Change to: He demonstrated the new equipment.