Copy Writing Agency - Wordsworks Followers of Fashion

Followers of fashion

It’s funny how certain words or phrases become fashionable. I’m not talking about obvious mots du jour like groovy or wicked, but more discrete verbal fashions. Iteration, last month’s word of the month, for example, seems to have been popping up all over the place in the last few months, as people presumably try and find a more high falutin’ way of saying version.

Take fit for purpose. Ever since John Reid, then Home Secretary, condemned the immigration service as ‘not fit for purpose‘, it’s become a phrase of choice for everyone from politicians to small business owners. A quick Google throws up, among millions, Sequence diagramming that’s fit for purpose and a cover sheet for small guest accommodation businesses to use as checklist when applying to be ‘Fit For Purpose’. We’ve even received press releases about ‘fit for purpose compost’.

Now, we’re all for rediscovering new words and improving our vocabularies, but it does become a bit annoying (not to say cliched) when everyone suddenly starts using the same phrases. Not to mention that there are numerous single words that could make the same point more concisely and just as, if not more, clearly.

Spoonfed is the longest word with its letters arranged in reverse alphabetical order.

Archived in the category: General musings, Writing tips
Posted by: Gareth Chadwick on Friday, May 30, 2008

Good Writing Tips

Clear or cloudy?

No, not a comment on the weather, but one of the main considerations for anyone trying to tighten up their writing.

Good writing is all about clarity - getting your message across clearly and concisely. But in the wrong hands, words can often cloud, rather than clarify, the intended message.

Have a read of what reader Julian Critchlow had to say in a recent letter to The Times:

Sue Whiting, a “retired special educational needs co-ordinator”, asserts in her letter (Oct 10) that “there are likely to be 20 per cent of children in any classroom with specific learning differences”.

My initial reaction on reading this was that, surely, all the children would have learning differences: that is the human condition. However, on closer analysis I deduced that what was stated was not what was actually meant. Surely Ms Whiting’s unadorned meaning was that 20 per cent of the children would, for one reason or another, have learning difficulties.

Orwellian usage of this kind debases the language as a tool for expression. It leads, at best, to lack of clarity and, at worst, it is downright misleading and stifles legitimate debate. It needs to be rooted out.

Julian Critchlow, Savage Club, SW1

Hear, hear for Mr Critchlow. It’s not always easy to be honest in your writing. But if you can manage it, you’ll usually be rewarded with better understanding and more engagement from your readers.

PS We’ve no idea what the Savage Club is, but shall be applying for membership immediately!

Another Train Grumble - Copywriter

Another train grumble…

Not that we’re obssessed with the relationship between transport and language (there’s a PhD in there somewhere, surely?), but the mangled language used by our public transport companies just gets odder and odder.

I was surprised yesterday to hear the station announcer refer to the train arriving to Platform 5.
Now, I know there can be a little bit of flexibility with certain verbs and the prepositions they take, but arriving to? What’s the matter with the good old-fashioned (and correct) arriving at?


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Spoken like a President

Spoken like a President

Archived in the category: General musings, Write words

Nice to see that Barack Obama - lauded as the most powerful public speaker in American politics for a generation - has been using some of our favourite writing tips in his speeches.

Remember three’s company, where we talked about grouping your points into three to create more impact? Well they don’t get much more power full than these three:
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy - tonight is your answer.”

They are the opening lines of his victory speech in the November presidential election - widely regarded as one of the finest speeches in modern US politics.

Here’s another bit:
“It’s been a long time coming, but today, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.” And just to show he’s not a one-trick pony, he uses another technique to great effect, the power of pairs. This is a favourite politicians’ trick of not saying one thing if you can equally say two, adding emphasis to the message.

So he says, “people who waited three hours and four hours…”, instead of saying the less powerful, ’people who waited hours…’

There’s also a lesson there about being specific. By specifying three hours and four hours, rather than a vague ‘hours’, it resonates more strongly with the audience and the impact is that much greater.

Let’s hope his policies are as effective as his speeches…

Posted by: Gareth Chadwick on Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Copy Writing Agency Wordsworks has a New Writer

Wordsworks Has a New Writer

Copy-writing agency Wordsworks has taken on a new writer following a busy summer, bringing its team up to four.

Stockport-based Wordsworks has employed Catherine Dolman as a copywriter to help look after the company’s growing client list. Catherine is a former freelance copywriter and has spent the last four months writing the content for the NUS’ new website.

Said Catherine, “it’s a great opportunity for me to apply my skills and experience as a freelance copywriter to a wide range of clients. I’m looking forward to helping firms in different sectors communicate their message in the clearest, most engaging way possible.”

Wordsworks is a specialist copy writing consultancy, with a particular focus on copywriting for the professional services, environmental and larger corporate sectors.

It was set up by journalist Gareth Chadwick in 2003 to provide outsourced copywriting and copy-editing services to businesses. Typical projects include copywriting for firm brochures, web sites, case studies, recruitment brochures, client newsletters, reports, and in-house magazines.
Explained Gareth: “companies need to communicate their expertise and their brand in a way that reinforces their credibility, not detracts from it. So much written material is badly written and poorly presented. It’s not so bad it goes straight into the bin, but it’s the missed opportunity that it represents.”

Wordsworks’ copywriting client list includes KPMG, Savills plc, Baker & McKenzie, JP Morgan, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, 3i corporate finance, Addleshaw Goddard, The College of Law, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, Ince & Co, Cobbetts and TLT Solicitors.

Prior to setting up Wordsworks, Gareth was a journalist specialising in small business and professional services. His credits include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Independent, Manchester Evening News and Growing Business magazine.

For further information, please contact:
Gareth Chadwick
Wordsworks
Tel: 0161 443 4135
Email: gareth.chadwick@wordsworks.co.uk
http://www.wordsworks.co.uk/

January's 'Word of the Month' - Spoken like a President Article

Write headlines that entice, not mystify

A great post over on the main Wordsworks business copywriting blog here, about how to write headlines that pull your readers in. Check it out.

 

Who are you trying to impress?

I had an interesting discussion recently with a lawyer I was writing an article for. It illustrates one of the key lessons of good writing that all of us, not just lawyers, can learn from.

He'd asked Wordsworks to help write an article a general business magazine. It was about current sentiment in the corporate finance market. In the notes the lawyer gave me and in our conversations, he insisted on using complex terminology and industry jargon.

I suggested that it would make more sense, given the audience, to ditch the jargon and instead explain the issues in simple, easy-to-understand language.  He responded that, "I have to use jargon to show people I know what I'm talking about."

This shows a common but dangerous confusion about the purpose of business writing. You're unlikely to impress your readers (often potential clients) by using jargon and terminology that they may not understand.  You are in effect saying, look how well I understand my business. But what is more relevant to your readers, is how much you understand their business. And that means using clear, simple language; language that shows that not only do you understand the issues well enough to explain them in plain English, but more importantly, that you understand how those issues relate to their business and the challenges they face.