Educational resource for members of the Burnet News Club - a club for young journalists run by The Economist Educational Foundation. www.burnetnewsclub.com

1. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
Writing and
Speaking Guide

2. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
RULE NUMBER 1
BE CLEAR
The point of writing is to tell people
something, so make sure your writing
is easy to understand.

3. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
WAYS
TO BE
CLEAR
Try not to use clichés
(common phrases).
Use your own words instead.
Pick the words that best
express your meaning,
not the ones that you think
sound most impressive.
Don’t use a word if you are
not sure what it means!
Keep sentences as short as
you possibly can.

4. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
Clear writing usually comes
from clear thinking. If you fully
understand the thing you want to
say, you will probably be able to
write it clearly. If you are a bit
confused about what you think,
your writing will be confusing too.
So:
First, think what you want to say,
work it out until you’re not
confused about any of it, then
say it as simply as possible.
WRITE
CLEARLY
BY.
THINKING
CLEARLY

5. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
MEANING
MATTERS
MOST
The point of writing is to tell
people something.
So what you have to say is more
important than how you say it.
It’s better to
be the person with
something really
interesting to say than
the person who sounds
good but isn’t really
saying anything

6. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
Good reasons are always
the best way to win a debate or
prove your point – not being rude!
If you have good reasons you will
USE
never need to be rude in an argument.
GOOD REASONS
TO WIN
ARGUMENTS

7. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
It helps readers to
understand you if you
group similar points and
arguments together.
If you mix them up, it can
get confusing.
So, put separate points,
arguments or ideas into
separate paragraphs. It can
be helpful to group similar
paragraphs together too. You
could even break your writing
down into mini chapters.
KEEP YOUR
WRITING OR
SPEAKING
TIDY

8. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
SIMILES AND
METAPHORS
These can be great to help your readers imagine
and understand what you are trying to say.
WATCH OUT:
Lots of similes and metaphors are clichés. It’s best to avoid using
clichés, because you will usually be able to make your point much
better if you put it in your own words rather than using common
phrases. If you use similes or metaphors, make them original.

9. The Burnet News Club
WRITING AND SPEAKING GUIDE
FOR WHEN YOU WRITE…
A CHECKLIST
 What am I trying to say?
What words are best to
express it?

Have I taken out any
clichés and used my own
words instead?

 Could I put it more shortly?
Have I always provided
reasons for the standpoints
that I expressed?

Have I been tidy and
organised my points in
a good order?
