Archive

Now, we’re no fan of the huge tender documents that companies have to complete when bidding for public sector contracts. But we do like it when tenderers (or tenderees?) turn to us to help them write the darn things.

Clients we’ve worked with writing and editing tenders, bids and proposals include two of the country’s largest construction and infrastructure companies and several major law firms.

And we’re delighted to be able to add to that list, having just picked up a commission from a major European security firm to help them complete a government tender. It’s not the most interesting work, granted, but it’s a writing challenge – and we love writing challenges.

The New Year has got off to a good start with another client win from the legal services sector.

We’re working with barristers’ set Henderson Chambers to write a new suite of practice brochures. We were recommended to Hendersons by London design agency Soukias Jones Design, who we’ve worked with on a number of previous professional services  projects, including work for Baker & McKenzie, Ince & Co and JP Morgan.

They obviously like what we do – and so do Hendersons. So thanks again guys!

photo credit: Steve Punter

We came across this fantastic website about English grammar recently: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm

It’s been developed by University College London, but appears to be open to everyone (at least it was when we wrote this). If you need to brush up on the active and passive voice, remind yourself when to use capitals or learn more about the difference between the subject and object of a sentence, check it out. 

It is firmly on our Bookmarks list.

Nominalisation is one of our pet hates. It’s also one of the commonest ways in which writing falls down – which is why we bang on about it so much.
 
Nominalisation means turning a verb into a noun. So instead of using a construction with ‘to terminate’, you use ‘the termination of’; instead of ‘to discuss’, you use ‘discussion’; instead of ‘to negotiate’, you get ‘the negotiation of’, or instead of ‘to implement’, you end up with ‘the implementation of’.
 
e.g.

1. We proceeded to the implementation of the project.
2. We had a discussion about the proposals
3. We worked with stakeholders on the negotiation of the new contract.

The problem with nominalisation is that is removes the action from the sentence (verbs, after all, are doing words) and replaces it with something static (a noun), which makes for writing that risks being bland, vague and dull.
 
So try and hold on to your verbs:

1. We implemented the project.
2. We discussed the proposals.
3. We worked with stakeholders to negotiate a new contract.

It makes for livelier, more engaging and more ‘human’  writing.