Three years into journalism at a Hong Kong newspaper, I thought I was one of the greatest writers in the profession. My world came crashing down the first day I went to work for a large US newspaper. It was actually the first night when I got a call from an editor. His first words were: "We've got a lot of problems with your story."

My heart sank. Problems? Why, it was only a short, simple earnings story.

He spent more than half an hour going through the story with me, testing my understanding not only about the company in question, but also the essentials of corporate analysis. I was mentally exhausted after the session.

When I read the edited version of my story the next morning, I realized how bad my original writing was. In the ensuing years I worked at that newspaper, I received many more late-night calls from various editors. I still have problems with my writing. But at least I have learned that those problems almost invariably stemmed from my lack of understanding of the topics I was writing about.

As one of my editors told me a long time ago, good writing is all about clarity. This sounds deceptively simple. But not that many people can write clearly.

In my career, I've read countless press releases, annual reports and research materials from governments, banks, stockbrokerages, accounting firms, property consultants and credit rating agencies.

Some of them were deliberately written to confuse and confound readers. It is no accident for a company whose press release was convoluted and full of obfuscating language to have posted a big loss. But in most cases, the writers are to be blamed for the lack of clarity.

Any editor worth his salt can tell you that clear writing goes beyond language skill. If the writer cannot think clearly, he can never hope to make the readers understand what he writes no matter how skilful he is with words.

The newspaper I used to work for requires its reporters to ask themselves one question before they start writing. The question is this: Why would readers want to read my story?

To answer this question, the writer must cut through the jumble of facts, figures and quotes to identify the most significant point of the story he is going to write. Locking into that focus, the writer can present his materials in a logical and easy to follow sequence without requiring the reader to go back and forth the story in search of cues.

This simple rule should apply not only to newspaper writing but also to the composition of speeches, research reports, press releases, company brochures, business correspondence and, of course, resumes. Many students of English have been misled into believing that a few cute words and clever sentences can work wonders. Others try to cover up their ignorance of the subjects about which they write by a liberal use of technical jargon and special terms that are understood only by the people in the profession.

As a business writer, I read the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times regularly. I find their stories are much easier to follow than those in many other newspapers.

That's because the writers at those two distinguished newspapers usually succeed in getting me hooked early on in their stories and never lose me in the narrative. I can't say the same about the two-page press release that just landed on my desk. Whatever the writer of that announcement wanted to tell me is buried forever in the turgid prose.

Email: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/01/2006 page4)