5 Tips for Writing Better English

The significance of the English language in the modern business world cannot be denied; as a lingua franca, English connects businesses as well as people across nations. Below, you will find five tips for writing better English in a business context, courtesy of Hannes Snellman’s Translation Service Team.

1. Variant & consistency. Since there are multiple variants of English (e.g. American English and British English), it is important to choose one variant and use it consistently. In fact, consistency is important in any text, but even more so in legal texts, and this applies not only to language variants but also to terminology. Thus, always remember to be specific in your use of terminology and stick to your chosen variant.

2. Grammar rules. Another important point to remember is that all languages have their own grammar rules. Consequently, when writing English, you should forget Finnish grammar and its rules because they differ substantially from those of English when it comes to aspects such as punctuation and word order.

3. Clarity & unambiguity. When writing legal texts, it is good to remember that although one of the characteristics of legal language is its heaviness and complexity, you should not intentionally use difficult words — on the contrary, it is usually wiser to use simple, familiar, and unambiguous alternatives.

4. Connectors (e.g. furthermore, subsequently, however, in fact) make the text flow and tie sentences together. Although connectors are widely used in English, they are not as common in Finnish, which is why Finnish writers often forget to use them. However, connectors should be used when writing English, as they are a way of demonstrating your language skills and command of the Anglo-American writing style.

5. Considering the target audience further demonstrates your knowledge of the Anglo-American writing style. For example, as opposed to the Finnish style of writing, the Anglo-American reader expects the most relevant part of each sentence, paragraph, or text to be expressed right at the beginning and the details to follow after that.

Even though there are countless grammar rules and exceptions in the English language and using the Anglo-American style of writing may seem difficult at first, always remember that writing is a skill and everyone can become a better writer through practice.