How to Write Clearly: Write with purpose, reach your reader and make your meaning crystal clear

by Tom Albrighton

Whatever you're writing, you have to make it clear. You could be writing a website, a brochure or a client presentation. You could be preparing a job application, an email or a classified ad. Or you might be writing an article or a book. Whatever it is, the clearer you make it, the better your results will be. How to Write Clearly will help. It's an authoritative yet easy-to-read guide that will make your non-fiction writing more colourful, expressive and precise. Writing is more than just words on a page. It's a process of communication. That's why How to Write Clearly draws on cutting-edge ideas from psychology, education and linguistics to look deep inside the reader's mind and explore the 'why' as well as the 'how' of writing technique. It's ideal for marketers, businesspeople, journalists, educators and anyone who needs to communicate with the written word. You'll Fully illustrated and referenced, with a wealth of examples throughout, How to Write Clearly is the definitive guide to non-fiction writing today. ‘I’ve been a writer for almost 40 years and this book gave me new insight into what writing is all about.’
Doug Kessler, Co-founder, Velocity Partners and board member, CLEAR Global (from his foreword)

‘This is the book I don’t want my clients to read. Because, if they do, they won’t need me to write copy for them anymore.’
Jackie Barrie, copywriter and writing trainer

‘Being able to write clearly is an invaluable skill, and this book tells you exactly how to do it. It's comprehensive, practical and really easy to read. Highly recommended.’
Sharon Tanton and Sonja Nisson, The School of Valuable Content

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Self Help

351 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2021

About the author

Tom Albrighton is a copywriter and author of 'One for Joy', 'How to Write Clearly', ‘Copywriting Made Simple’, ‘The Freelance Introvert’ and 'The Freelancer's Business Brain’.

Tom has been a freelance copywriter for over 12 years. In that time, he’s written about everything from cupcakes and cameras to spectacles and solar panels.

Tom was an original co-founder of ProCopywriters, the UK alliance of commercial writers.

In a 2015 DMA survey, he was ranked the #7 ‘Copywriter rated by copywriters’.

Reviews

[P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely awesome.

I gave this review because this book was funny, intellectual, and provided information on exactly how to be clear with the written word. "Weasel" words cracked me up. :D Actually, this book nearly made me cry, simply because I have always wanted to read material by an author, who takes the printed word as seriously as I do. I felt this book entertained, educated, and validated. My thanks to the author for this valuable piece. I will keep it in my library always.

[Karen Ireland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book does exactly what it says.

The title of this book does exactly what it says. In addition it is laid out in a logical clear way and its many useful points will be veru helpful for me and anyone who wants to improve the clarity and purpose of their writing

[Ben Butterworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is, above all else, useful. If you came to me asking for tangible writing advice that sticks with you, this is the book I'd shove into your arms. Not my copy, though, I've utterly defaced it with notes and highlights; get your own!

It's impossible to deny the credentials of a writer who has made a book so clear, easy to read and as thoughtfully designed as this. This book was written by someone who knows their stuff, and that is demonstrated on every page; Albrighton writes clearly.

You can tell the book was printed on demand and self-published. Albrighton has included several pages in the back of the book for marketing plugs for his other books and an obligatory "please review" page. Now, normally I've got no problem with this (it's your book, why not advertise in it) but you've gotta put those BEFORE your index, not after it! It makes using the index harder >:|

I wish the sections on the writing process itself (§21-23) were more developed. They felt like a rehash of boilerplate advice you could get anywhere - write when you have energy, don't focus on quality in the first draft, you can't edit a blank page, etc. It's totally unlike the rest of the book, which is so original and helpful. It's such a small proportion of the content, though, it's not even worth considering as a drawback.

And to be honest, that's the sign of a good book; wishing the parts you enjoyed the least were longer, because you thought the author had more to say. Highly recommended.

[mort reini · Rating 4 out of 5]

love when an author follows their own advice to the last detail. I also appreciate that examples go beyond abstract cats and databases and touch on past and current social and political issues.
and it's just a pure pleasure to read such a clearly written book.

[ERI · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this advice!❤️

[Kylie Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to read in comp but actually gave really good tips 🙌🙌

[Louise Verkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice overall. Not a book to read cover-to-cover; think of it more as a compilation, where you pick and choose what to read based on your own weaknesses.

If I could take one thing from the book: the concept of topic sentences. A topic sentence is the opening sentence of a paragraph that summarises what the paragraph is about, so your reader has a conceptual ramp to hold onto while you bring out examples and adds details to your thesis. Using topic sentences has improved my writing significantly - both nonfiction and fiction!