WRITING WITH POWER

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WRITING WITH POWER
Geoff Barton Headteacher, King Edward VI
School www.geoffbarton.co.uk
July 5, 2016
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WRITING WITH POWER
Churchdown parish magazine would the
congregation please note that the bowl at the
back of the church labelled for the sick is for
monetary donations only
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Keep it brief. Aim for one side of A4. If you
must write more, provide a summary box of key
points
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
See everything from your readers viewpoint
what will help them to absorb your ideas as
efficiently as possible? Eg bold, boxes,
bullet-points, spacing, sub-headings
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Dont overload your sentences. Several short
sentences will do the job better than an
over-long one
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WRITING WITH POWER
2 sentences
Seven of the 33 buildings in St Jamess Square,
in the heart of one of the most expensive parts
of the West End, display For Sale or To Let
signs. The sight of some of the capitals most
exclusive business addresses languishing empty
when not long ago they were snapped up as
corporate headquarters brings home the impact
of the recession as financial controllers cut
costs by letting out spare space vacated by staff
who have been made redundant or exiled to less
costly locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
3 sentences
Seven of the 33 buildings in St Jamess Square,
in the heart of one of the most expensive parts
of the West End, display For Sale or To Let
signs. The sight of some of the capitals most
exclusive business addresses languishing empty
when not long ago they were snapped up as
corporate headquarters brings home the impact
of the recession. Financial controllers cut costs
by letting out spare space vacated by staff who
have been made redundant or exiled to less costly
locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
4 sentences
Seven of the 33 buildings in St Jamess Square,
in the heart of one of the most expensive parts
of the West End, display For Sale or To Let
signs. Some of the capitals most exclusive
business addresses languish empty, when not long
ago they were snapped up as corporate
headquarters. This brings home the impact of the
recession. Financial controllers have cut costs
by letting out spare space vacated by staff who
have been made redundant or exiled to less costly
locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
5 sentences
St Jamess Square is in the heart of one of the
most expensive parts of the West End. Seven of
the 33 buildings in display For Sale or To Let
signs. Some of the capitals most exclusive
business addresses languish empty, when not long
ago they were snapped up as corporate
headquarters. This brings home the impact of the
recession. Financial controllers have cut costs
by letting out spare space vacated by staff who
have been made redundant or exiled to less costly
locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Use short sentences at the start and end of
paragraphs they give the reader clarity
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WRITING WITH POWER
Another concern is cost. Whilst there are many
external factors that can affect costs, we do
have some control. We should be putting pressure
on our suppliers to show greater market
awareness, and to engage in a realistic dialogue
with us about fair prices. At the moment there is
often confusion about costs. It is important to
change this.
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Use connectives to signal the direction of your
ideas
Therefore In contrast In summary In addition For
example Similarly
On the other hand Despite this However Also Althou
gh
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WRITING WITH POWER
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. hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh
ghg hghgh g
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WRITING WITH POWER
Firstly . Ddghdghgdhghgdhghghdghghdgh ghg hgh
ghgh ghghg hghg hghg hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh
ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g Another strong
idea is hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh
ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g It could also be argued .
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hghgh g A different approach is hghg hghg hghgh
ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g Finally
. hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh
ghg hghgh g
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Be clear about punctuation ? Full stops to
signal the end of a sentence ? Commas to separate
items in a list or create islands of
words ? Dashes in pairs to create
emphasis ? Colons signal something to
follow ? Semi-colons allow you to link related
ideas they add balance to a sentence
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WRITING WITH POWER
?

• Avoid clichés (ready-made phrases)
• Come on stream (get under way / start)
• A hands-on approach (practical)
• The jury is still out (is not yet decided)
• Meet with (meet)
• Put in place (prepare)
• Take on board (accept)
• User-friendly (easy to use)

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WRITING WITH POWER
?

• Avoid unnecessary repetition (tautology)
• Absolute certainty (certainty)
• Added bonus (bonus)
• Added extra (extra)
• Quite distinct (distinct)
• End result (result)
• Past history (history)
• Really excellent (excellent)
• Revert back (return)

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WRITING WITH POWER
Dr Bartons Surgery
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WRITING WITH POWER
Geoff Barton Headteacher, King Edward VI
School www.geoffbarton.co.uk
July 5, 2016