Diplomats, like many other professionals, have to write many different types of documents. Whatever the type — legislation, a technical report, minutes, a press release or speech — a clear document will be more effective, and more easily and quickly understood.
The European Commission (Directorate-General for Translation) has published a few years ago a simple guide titled with many useful and practical hints (not rules) on “how to write clearly“.
Here are the 10 hints included in the publication:
1. Think before you write
2. Focus on the reader
3. Get your document into shape
4. KISS:Keep It Short and Simple
5. Make sense
6. Cut out excess nouns
7. Be concrete, not abstract
8. Prefer active verbs to passive
9. Beware of false friends, jargon and abbreviations
10. Revise and check
The guide is available in all 23 official languages of the European Union.
You can find the online version here (choose the preferred language)