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Good Copy, Bad Copy

Doris and Bertie’s blog dedicated to helping you find and keep your business writing mojo!

Ovarian cancer: "Those words still haunt me"
Ovarian cancer: "Those words still haunt me"

We often talk on this blog about how having real people tell their stories can be a great way of getting a message across.

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How to writeClare LynchMarch 1, 2013Comment
Writing about diversity? Then keep it real
Writing about diversity? Then keep it real

Here’s how McKinsey's women’s networking group describes itself.

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How to writeClare LynchFebruary 25, 2013 Comments
"Advise", "revert" and the importance of empathy
"Advise", "revert" and the importance of empathy

The phrase “advise and revert” is not standard English.

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How not to writeClare LynchFebruary 20, 2013 Comments
The dangling modifier and muddled thinking
The dangling modifier and muddled thinking

Can you spot what's wrong with this sentence?

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Grammar and punctuationClare LynchFebruary 12, 2013 Comments
Could you say it more simply?
Could you say it more simply?

This online tool challenges you to describe an idea using only the most common 1,000 words in English.

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How to writeClare LynchJanuary 28, 2013 Comments
Are jargon-weary investors ditching Apple?
Are jargon-weary investors ditching Apple?

Investors, it’s been claimed, are out of love with Apple.

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How not to writeClare LynchJanuary 24, 2013investor relations Comments
Guest post: LG’s smart advertising
Guest post: LG’s smart advertising

I doubt anyone’s really going to misinterpret it, but LG invited me to be smart.

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How not to writeClare LynchDecember 18, 2012 Comments
How self-important corp-speak could lose you sales
How self-important corp-speak could lose you sales

We spotted this van outside a building site across the road from Doris and Bertie towers.

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How not to writeClare LynchDecember 10, 2012 Comments
Don't use that tone of voice with me!
Don't use that tone of voice with me!

On finishing a delicious Doris and Bertie power lunch from itsu yesterday, I was confronted with this image.

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How not to writeClare LynchNovember 30, 2012tone of voice Comments
Who wrote this pompously ponderous prose?
Who wrote this pompously ponderous prose?

If you can bear to, take a look at the following paragraph. It's from a PhD submitted to the University of Cambridge in 2000.

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How not to writeClare LynchNovember 19, 2012 Comments
Windows 8: how not to sell it to me
Windows 8: how not to sell it to me

The autumn 2012 issue of British Telecom’s TechKnow plopped through my letter box yesterday.

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How not to writeClare LynchNovember 12, 2012selling Comments
Discover the ultimate cliché experience!
Discover the ultimate cliché experience!

The copywriter entrusted with this ad from Bombay Sapphire clearly wasn’t feeling “infused with imagination” on the day she dredged up from her psyche this sorry piece of work.

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How not to writeClare LynchOctober 30, 2012clichés, experience Comments
Now here’s how you write an apology…
Now here’s how you write an apology…

Nigel’s letter thoroughly delighted her – and we can see why.

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How to writeClare LynchOctober 23, 2012apologising Comments
Here's what's wrong with internal comms - and the simple thing you can do about it
Here's what's wrong with internal comms - and the simple thing you can do about it

But every summer we had a problem. The markets slept.

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How to writeClare LynchOctober 17, 2012comms Comments
36 tips for lean writing
36 tips for lean writing

Here’s how we think lean principles apply to writing.

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How to writeClare LynchOctober 11, 2012copywriting, writing Comments
Three free tools for better business writing
Three free tools for better business writing

Wouldn’t it be great to get professional feedback on every document you write?

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How to writeClare LynchOctober 9, 2012business writing Comments
We’re sorry we’re sorry
We’re sorry we’re sorry

Today we have an example of how not to write an apology.

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How not to writeDavid PollackOctober 2, 2012apologising Comments
Editor required!
Editor required!

Apparently, 34 people have already applied for the chance to “define key taxonomy and contextual in-line journey content across all key touch points of the customer lifecycle”.

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How not to writeClare LynchSeptember 28, 2012editing Comments
JJB Sports: were investors put off by their bad business writing?
JJB Sports: were investors put off by their bad business writing?

Yesterday, the retailer JJB Sports went into administration after it failed to secure a buyer.

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How not to writeClare LynchSeptember 25, 2012investor relations Comments
Lessons in powerful writing (from a lawyer, of all people!)
Lessons in powerful writing (from a lawyer, of all people!)

Lord Denning, one of the most celebrated judges of the twentieth century, was renowned for his way with words.

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How to write, EditorClare LynchSeptember 18, 2012writing Comments
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