Plain English Writing Example

Memo Writing

"StyleWriter especially impressed me in flagging only a
handful of false errors that are common with grammar checkers.
Its advice was intelligent, and it came across as a practical and effective aid to good clear writing."
- PC Plus Magazine

When writing memos, follow these guidelines:

Use simple and straightforward language.
Avoid passive verbs - use people's names as much as possible.
Use personal pronouns - I, you, we, my, your, our.
Use short sentences.
Use a conversational style rather than a formal style.
Put the most important information first.
Don't waffle or include irrelevant information.
Target only those people who need to know.

In the typical example shown, the memo is wordy and passive with a high sentence average. StyleWriter highlights 14 ways to edit this memo to make it more concise and readable.

Before Editing with StyleWriter

Click on the image below to see the original office memo.

After Editing with StyleWriter

Click on the image below to see the same office memo edited with StyleWriter.

StyleWriter's advice and analysis help us transform the original memo into a shorter, more readable document. The redrafted memo uses 27 fewer words than the original without any loss of meaning – a sign of good, effective editing.

StyleWriter typically cuts 30 per cent of the words from most documents. Imagine the savings to a typical organization of cutting the time spent on paperwork by 30 percent.

To guarantee all your memos are in clear, concise and easy-to-read English use StyleWriter