How I Mind Map. I’ve been working on a mind mapping post for some time now. It started as a Macworld piece, but I took too long… ▼ Table of Contents Why mind map? When I need to get an idea out of my head, or I need to take that idea and flesh it out, I turn to mind maps. Some people scratch notes, others create outlines, but mind mappers like myself find that the format of a mind map is the most conducive to brainstorming. Outlining is rigid and always makes me feel like things need to be in order. I like mind maps because they let me think non-linearly and because they allow ideas to “grow” in an organic fashion (see Tony Buzan and his “radiant thinking” ideas). With a mind map, scattered thoughts begin to solidify before my eyes. Mind maps are also an excellent overview of my thought process. The terms These are the primary terms I’ll be using throughout this post. Map A single Main Topic and its children.
Main Topic The central concept or subject of the map. Node/Topic Parent Child Sibling Notes/Callouts Sort. Odyssey.js. Resume and CV Optimization | Jobscan. 39 Steps for Writing Plain English by William Lutz -- Plain Language Association International. William D. Lutz, author of Doublespeak Defined and The New Doublspeak Scheduled speaker at our international conference, Nov. 3-6, 2005, in Washington, D.C.
The Writing Process Know your reader, and write with your reader's viewpoint in mind. Organize your text: in a logical sequence, with informative headings, and with a table of contents for long documents Use short sentences Say only what you have to say, avoiding too many messages in a single sentence, and omitting surplus words. Keep equivalent items parallel. Usage Prefer the active voice. Presentation of Material Make the document attractive and designed for easy reading. *Whiz Deletions Subordinate clauses are often introduced by such words as "which is," "who was," "that are," etc. The supervisor wants the report which was written by the Purchasing Office. With a whiz-deletion we get: The supervisor wants the report written by the Purchasing Office. The whiz-deletion makes sentence 2 ambiguous.
Plain English writing tips. These tips come from the specialists who run our Business Writing workshop.Come on our Business Writing workshop to learn more Consider structure, language, and layout Think about your reader and your purpose for writing. Then structure the document by: deciding on your main messages choosing a structure that is clear and logical to the reader using informative headings that clearly signpost the main messages writing paragraphs that focus on one main theme. Think about the language you'll use. Choose precise, familiar words (eliminate jargon and explain technical terms where necessary).
Write mostly short, straightforward sentences with one main idea (average around 15-20 words). Use verbs to bring your writing alive By changing nouns and noun phrases to verbs, you make your writing shorter and more reader-friendly. Hint: watch out for words ending in '-ion', '-ment', '-tion', '-ance', '-ence', '-ancy', '-ency', ‘ism’, and '-ity'. Examples make provision for = provide Back to top.