Our 8 principles of good writing

We have many more writing do's and don'ts, but the eight listed below will give you a general idea of our attitude and philosophy.

1. We believe that professional writing is not a personal expression or literary effort, unless the author is the "hero" of the piece and the subject matter is secondary to the author's interpretations, opinions and style. Writing is effective communication, where words are only a part of the exercise. A writer's personal style will, of course, come through—which is only natural and as it should be—but it is not the fulcrum around which everything else revolves.
   
   
2. We encourage and laud inspired brilliant creativity (which is obviously the most effective for a given purpose).
   
   
3. We encourage and laud wit, humour and the light touch—as long as it is integral to effective communication in a given context.
   
   
4. We discourage puns, clever word-play, verbal gimmicks, irrelevant and forced wit and humour, round-aboutness, flippancy and facetiousness—and generally a school-level tone—in our writing.
   
   
5. We expect our writers and researchers to show initiative in setting up and reviewing research, writing and creative bench-marks.
   
   
6. We expect our writers/researchers to see a solution to a given problem as a process of evolution and discovery, debate and dissent.
   
   
7. We expect our writers/researchers to carefully check the authenticity and reliability of sources and to acknowledge them in the finished article.
   
   
8. Good writing does not come out of thin air, but from an understanding of the subject, the background, the client, the purpose and the target audience.