Effective Writing: A Handbook for Accountants, 7th Edition An effective supplement for any accounting course. This text, the best-selling book of its kind, discusses the communication, both written and oral, actually done by professional accountants. It uses real-world accounting situations and includes major sections on Communication Strategies, Business Documents, and Oral Communication. [Find out more ...]Effective writing is a writing skill that can be mastered through practice. You just have to understand a few basic rules. Here are five effective writing rules that can help you write more effectively.
Know Your Topic
Whatever you decide to write, do some research on the topic. It will help you familiarize with the topic and generate writing ideas. It also provides information for your writing that is worthwhile to your readers.
Organize Your Thoughts
It is always helpful to create an outline of what you want to say first. When you are clear about what you want to say, it is much easier for you to write. You just need to find the right words to express them clearly in your writing. When you have
Identify Your Audience
Identifying your audience is important in effective writing. If you do not know who will be reading your writing, how do you think you can communicate with them. Do you know who your audience are? What are their reading and comprehension levels? Will they appreciate the topic you are writing? Are the choices of words appropriate for the intended audience? What do you expect from them?
Keep It Simple and Straightforward
Use simple terms that are familiar to your readers. Those fancy and pretentious words are pointless if your readers can not understand them. Simple sentences are more easily understood. And each paragraph should not contain more than one idea.
Beware of Simple Mistakes
Simple mistakes and errors in your writing are distractions. It is hard for the readers to focus on your writing if you are making simple mistakes. The use of a wrong word may also change the entire context of your writing. Writing is different from the spoken language. When you speak, the other party can hear your tone of voice and see your expressions. But when you are writing, feelings and emotions can only be expressed with words alone.
Not all effective writers are good editors and proofreaders. It is best to have someone else edit and proofread your writing. It is difficult to spot your own mistakes. If you do have to do it yourself, take some time off after you finished writing. You may be surprised by the errors you are able to find after a little break.
