Professional Writing Style Tips

A professional writing style requires language skills, and these will develop as you write more. Eventually you’ll be able to write in many different styles and tones, choosing the right combination for your audience.

Here are some useful tips.

1. Use active voice rather than passive in business and other writing. For example: “Pete wrote the memo”, rather than “The memo was written by Pete”.

Active voice is preferred in business writing because it is more direct. However, there will be times you’ll use passive voice, especially in more formal writing: just be aware of your reasons for doing so.

2. Use nouns as nouns. Do not turn them into verbs. For example, don’t say, Our policies “incent” our staff to work harder. There are many online examples that use such made-up verbs, but don’t do it. Your work will stand out for its clarity.

3. Cut extra words. For example: “The human resources staff affected the implementation of the new procedures at this point in time”. Trim: “The human resources staff implemented the new procedures.”

4. Eliminate the buzzwords and jargon if you’re writing for a general audience.

5. Ensure that you use unfamiliar words correctly. I once had a manager who said, “We must address this with some prevalence”.

6. Check your facts and figures. If you use someone’s name and title, be sure it is spelled and used correctly throughout. Double-check your facts throughout the work. Even one small error creates doubt about the quality of the rest of your work.

7. Use the right tone for a specific piece. Your tone will depend on your audience, and the results you want.

8. Use lists and bullets points. They’re especially effective in Web writing.

9. Make sure everything matches: If you have graphics that are designated Fig. A, and Fig. B, don’t refer to them in the text as Picture 1, and Picture 2.

10. Clearly identify your sources. No matter how trivial you think the information is, cite the source.

11. Write to the project’s specification. When you get a writing assignment, be sure the details of the project are clearly spelled out. Write exactly to those details. If you have a question, ask the client by all means, but don’t make an assumption. By writing to specification, your professional writing clients will be happy to refer you to others.

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