Course text:  Write Smarter, Not Harder            Participants:  maximum of 15

Introduction:

• What you learned in school---and how it keeps you from writing well
• The reader is overloaded: ways to ease the burden
• The reader is also lazy: what to do about it
• How to carry your speaking strengths onto paper
• Choosing the right battle: separating imaginary from real writing problems
• Exercise: diagnosing miscommunication

Readability:

• A third way of looking at writing: is it readable?
• Readability yardsticks: what they are and aren't, and how to use them
• Separating language complexity from subject-matter complexity
• Exercise: readability measurement, using the Fog Index

Short Words and Long Words:

• How to ruin big words through overuse
• Legitimate reasons for big words: a formula for using them
• The most common reason (an illegitimate one) for big words
• Impressing versus expressing an idea
• Exercise: rewriting complex language

Long Sentences and Short Ones:

• Losing the reader in long sentences
• How do sentences get so long?
• Legitimate reasons for long sentences
• The sentence sandwich and why it's indigestible
• How do talking and writing differ?
• Filler words vs. content words: how to choose the proper balance
• Exercise: editing excess words

Organization:

• Why rough drafting always fails
• Why A,B,C outlining and mind mapping usually fail
• So, what to do about it? A far better way to organize
• Exercise: using the Diagnostic Outline

Persuasive Writing:

• Writing with muscle
• The ladder of force and how to climb it
• The Motor/Weight ratio: the writer's most valuable measurement tool
• Conciseness, persuasiveness and liveliness all through verbs
• Exercise: using forceful language