_This article is written by Andrew Wear, Director of Economic Development and International, City of Melbourne, Australia. Andrew has worked for local, state and national governments over two decades. He is also the author of two books exploring the best of public policy: ‘Solved. How other countries cracked the world’s biggest problems (and we can too)’ and ‘Recovery: How we can create a better, brighter future after a crisis’. _

  • The problem: Poor public sector writing is painful for everyone involved — the writer and the reader.
  • Why it matters: Writing is how public servants get things done.
  • The solution: The tips and tricks presented here can help public servants to master the art of writing.

Writing underpins everything we do as public servants. It is our principal means of communicating and the way in which we exert our influence. It’s how we get things done.

Writing then, is a core public sector skill. It doesn’t matter if you’re a great programme manager or a superb analyst. Your public service career won’t get very far if you can’t string a decent sentence together. Yet mastering the art of the briefing paper, report or letter will take you a surprisingly long way.

Start with the reader

Good public sector writing is an act of kindness. Executives and elected officials have to read a mountain of material every day, much of it turgid and dull. Delivering writing that is a pleasure to read makes their life much less painful. Given how rare such writing is in the public sector, it’s also a way to endear yourself to decision-makers.

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The public too have sadly come to expect soulless, management speak from government reports and letters. This is likely a factor behind the long-term decline in trust in public institutions. Writing clearly in plain language – perhaps even with wit or warmth – can radically enhance the public’s experience of government.

Remember to enjoy the process, even when it’s tough.

Good writing starts with the reader, not the author. Contemplation of who the audience is and what they need to hear has to be at the heart of the process. How do they think? What questions might they have? What might they do with this information? How might they feel when they read it? Answers to these questions really do need to precede your first draft.

5 writing hacks to follow

Writing is a craft, an art. As such, it develops with practice and time. Nevertheless, there are a few ‘hacks’ that can accelerate this process. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way.

  1. ‘Storyboard’ your ideas before you start. “Good writing is clear thinking made visible” is a quote by journalist Bill Wheeler that elegantly sums up the writing process. Rather than start in prose, kick off by organising your thinking, broadly sketching out the arguments and narrative. A helpful way to do this can be on a whiteboard – potentially with teammates. One bullet point per paragraph is broadly analogous to the ‘storyboarding’ process used by film makers to sequence movie scenes. Half an hour spent getting this stage right will save you hours later on. If you can, it’s ideal to do this together with your manager (who will, after all, probably need to sign off the product after you’ve finished your draft).
  2. Use all available tools and tricks to get unstuck. Procrastination is part of the writing process; it bedevils the best of us. Yet the sooner you can move past this phase, the better. If you find yourself stuck, don’t wallow. Instead, move quickly to try something different. Artificial intelligence can be a helpful way to get started. Provided you’re aware of your organisation’s policies for the use of AI, why not ask ChatGPT to sketch you out a first draft? Along similar lines, giving yourself permission to do a first draft that is fast, bad and wrong can often be a helpful way of building momentum.
  3. Never ship your first draft. The best writing always emerges after multiple revisions. This ‘hack’ is perhaps not a shortcut, but relentless revision of your work is the only way to ensure you deliver something of quality. Cut out words or sections that aren’t contributing. Rewrite clunky phrasing and remove jargon. Consider whether your work would be coherent for a lay audience. (Would your mum or dad understand it?) Reflect on it overnight. Then revise again.
  4. Get other people to read it. Another set of eyes on your work helps you to see things you aren’t able to. Get at least one person to read it for structural feedback – preferably someone without direct knowledge or expertise in your area of work. They should consider whether the logic is coherent and whether the content is structured in a way that makes sense. Another person should give it a detailed copy edit, checking for appropriate spelling, punctuation and formatting.
  5. Read what you’ve written out loud. Get out of your seat and onto your feet. Clearly sound out the words, testing the sentence structure. Your writing should sound pleasing when spoken out loud. It’s particularly helpful if you can read it to someone else, but if you’re embarrassed, find somewhere you can be vocal without being interrupted.

When the time comes, ship your work. Perhaps with trepidation, hopefully with satisfaction. If you’re part of a larger organisation, there’s a good chance it will come back to you for further revisions. At this point, embrace feedback constructively. After all, it means you have another opportunity to incorporate someone else’s ideas into a revision that makes your piece even better.

As public servants, we write for a living. But, as author John McPhee writes, “writing has to be fun at least once in a pale blue moon”. Remember to enjoy the process, even when it’s tough. You’re creating something, leaving behind your words. That’s a beautiful thing.

Done reading? Make sure to share your own thoughts on the author's hacks as well as your own writing tips by leaving a comment below ⬇️

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