Directorate-General for Translation European Commission
HOW TO WRITE CLEARLY
This booklet is intended for all writers of English at the European Commission. Whether your job is d断板龟
电子电工
rafting or translating, here are some hints – not rules – that will help you to write clearly and make sure your message ends up in your readers’ brains, not in their bins.
Put the reader first page 2
U verbs, not nouns page 3
page
4
骑毛驴abstract
not
Concrete,
passive
5
page
not
Active,
Whodunnit? Name the agent page 6
Making n – managing stress page 7
KISS: Keep It Short…. page 8
page
Simple
9 …
and
Fal friends … page 10
人与动交pitfalls
page
11
other
and
…
References page 12
Put the reader first
There are three groups of people likely to read Commission documents:
1. EU insiders (colleagues in the Commission or other institutions)
2. outside specialists
3. the general public.
The third group is by far the largest and most important. As more Commission documents are made accessible to the general public, criticism of FOG will increa.
Always bear in mind the people you're writing for: not your committee, your boss, or the revir of your translations, but the end urs. They are in a hurry. Don't overestimate their knowledge, interest or patience.
Whatever the type of document - legislation, a technical report, minutes, a press relea or speech - you can enhance its impact by writing clearly. Try to e your subject matter from your readers' point of view; try to involve them ("you" is an under-ud word in Commission documents); and try not to bore them.
You can avoid irritating half your readers by replacing gender-specific words (replace "layman" by "lay person"; "salesgirl" by "sales assistant"; "workman" by "worker").
Avoid "he, she/ his, her" by using "they/ their" instead.
粉笔网页版
U verbs, not nouns
One simple step to clearer English is to change ...
< ... to this :
by the introduction of by introducing
for the allocation of for allocating
of the provision of of providing
What are we doing here? Turning a noun back into a verb. English prefers verbs to nouns. Many words ending in "-ion" are simply verbs in disgui. They are called "nominalisations" (yes, another word ending in "-ion"). Look at the:
submit an application for apply for
carry out an evaluation of evaluate
implement an investigation of investigate
电脑字体乱码>德育案例分析and there are others which don't end in "-ion":
conduct a review of review
perform an asssment of asss
effect a renewal of renew
So we can improve an unclear text by turning some nouns back into verbs: The committee came to an agreement to the effect that
a study should be carried out by the consultants into the
feasibility of the provision of national funding.
The committee agreed that the consultants should study
the feasibility of providing national funding.
Sabotage! You can take advantage of this if you want.
If the consultants' report is too candid about the non-feasibility of providing national funding, just effect the nominalisation of all their hard-hitting verbs and the result will be sufficiently soporific to nd your readers to sleep.
Concrete, not abstract
English is a notoriously blunt language. Too much abstract language (FOG) may make your reader suspect that something real and unpalatable is being wrapped up in verbiage.
In general, if you have a choice between an abstract word and a more concrete one that means the same, choo concrete. It will make your message more direct.
Sometimes, instead of this ... : ... you could try this:
establish fix
emphasi highlight
orient steer
out
eliminate cut
determine t
target
objective goal,
initiating impul trigger
employment opportunities jobs
negative evolution downward spiral
decisive innovation breakthrough
Sabotage! You can take advantage of this if you want.青稞的功效与作用
"The countries are asking for dates and facts, but all we can give them is prevarication and obfuscation."
