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Now that we have looked at the principles of communication, we can expand on our description of effective writing. It is writing that uses the right language to get its message across and gets the correct response. To a large extent, your attitude to the task of writing will be determined by how much thought you give to the principles above.

The actual success of your writing will depend, however, on the language you use. Be aware of the principles of writing in plain English. Nobody in business or public administration has time to wade through English that might have been appropriate in an eighteenth-century novel; and nobody in the general public will bother to read even something as short as a pamphlet if the first sentence is less than totally plain.

What is ‘plain’ English? It is standard English that is correct according to present-day standards of grammatical correctness; it is clear, expressing precisely what you mean as concisely as possible; and it is appropriate for the topic and audience concerned – for instance, it would use simpler vocabulary in a document aimed at children than in one for adults.