Typewriter moving image
Credit: Julian Koschwitz (applies to all images below)

Journalists are often told that they should write for their audience as if they were telling a story to a family member or a friend – in a clear, concise way and avoid using technical terms or complicated language.

But it can be easy to get wrapped up in the writing process and forget to give context or explain the meaning behind such terms or more complex topics, which might confuse readers or push them away from an otherwise significant story.

Catherine Gicheru has put together a quick list of recommendations on IJNet, worth remembering in order to prevent this from happening.

Her advice includes understanding when your audience wants to receive information or data, explaining how this data affects people who are reading about it and making it easy for people to give feedback or take action based on the data.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).