I never intended to be a writer and I certainly didn't know about the K.
I.
S.
S.
principle when I was at school.
But then I had no idea what I would do when I left school either.
I didn't have to worry for a couple of years thanks to Britain's National Service; two years in the military before I had to think again.
Not quite true, actually.
You see in the army I was a company clerk and the job required me to do a lot of writing, or rather rewriting.
There were reports every day of one or two pages, then special bulletins or sets of instructions followed by orders of all kinds.
This material had to be made clear mainly to men whose education had ended as early as age 12.
It had to be short with no possibility of misunderstanding.
I learned more than I thought through this daily writing practice.
I followed this up with undergraduate and graduate study at university.
However, it wasn't until I had to write reports for an employer that I learned about The K.
I.
S.
S.
principle "Keep It Simple".
Academic writing doesn't always lend itself to this principle (though I think it should.
) When you're dealing with a business proposal, or developing a sales letter, or writing copy for radio, a newspaper or a website, keeping the message clear and to the point is a prerequisite.
The K.
I.
S.
S.
principle also applies to those of you writing grant proposals.
I've read a few of these whose writers are unable to get to the essence of what they need to say.
How do you learn? By writing a lot of material, and if you're fortunate, as I was, you'll have a mentor to guide you.
It can be galling to have a piece of writing that you're pleased with, sliced up by a mentor who is able to demonstrate how to say the same thing in five words instead of ten and in one sentence instead of three.
However when you start to look for ways to express yourself more clearly, obvious ways start to show up.
Here are a couple of hints: 1.
Use Mind Mapping and Brainstorming Use either of these tools to help you get clear on what you want to say.
So when it comes to the K.
I.
S.
S.
principle it's content first before you start playing with the words.
Know what you want to cover, set the points out for yourself, and then see how you want to express the content in writing.
2.
Read what you've written out loud For me, the very best way to know whether you are applying the K.
I.
S.
S.
principle is to read out loud what you've written.
Or if there's a group of you, have someone else read it out loud.
Yes, this will give you feedback on spelling and grammar.
More importantly it will tell you whether you have gotten across what you wanted to say clearly and effectively and in the shortest space of words and time.
Too many great proposal ideas, or grant applications, fail because the writer couldn't pull it together easily and succinctly.
So please, do me and everyone else a favor.
Keep It Simple.