Glossary: Better Business Writing

Every key term from the course, in plain English. When a lesson says a word you don't know, it lives here.

The Ugly First Draft

Permission to write badly on purpose. The first draft is raw material, not the writing — ten timed minutes, no editing, no backspacing. Editing needs something to edit.

The Voice Print

The unique fingerprint of how you write — your rhythms, your words, your way of explaining. Built deliberately through the voice print exercise, not left to accident.

The Cut List

Your personal list of filler words and phrases you always delete — 'just,' 'very,' 'really,' 'in order to,' 'leverage.' Built from your own drafts, run against every rewrite.

Everyday business writing

Emails, posts, pages, messages — the writing you do daily for your business. It counts as real writing and deserves real craft.

Clarity

The master rule: the reader understands on the first read. If they have to re-read, clarity failed — and the fault is the writer's, not the reader's.

Active voice

The subject does the thing: 'We shipped your order.' Shorter, clearer, and assigns responsibility — the opposite of passive voice, where accountability hides.

Jargon

Insider words that wall out new customers. Every jargon word must earn its place or be translated into plain language.

White space

The empty breathing room around text — short paragraphs, line breaks. It makes writing feel easy before a single word is read.

Hook (writing)

The opening line's only job: make the second line worth reading. Relevance beats cleverness.

Scannability

How well a piece works for readers who skim — which is most of them. Headlines, subheads, and first sentences carry the story.

Voice

Who you are on the page — consistent across everything you write. Tone is how that voice adjusts to the moment.

Tone

How your voice adjusts to the situation — warm in thanks, firm in reminders, playful in launches. Same person, different mood.

Read-aloud test

Reading a draft out loud before publishing. The ear catches what the eye forgives — anywhere you stumble, rewrite.

Filler words

Words that add nothing and dilute everything: 'just,' 'very,' 'really,' 'a lot.' The raw material of your Cut List.

One-job email

An email that does exactly one thing — one question, one update, one action. Emails with three jobs get zero done.