GREG MANKIW’S BLOGRandom Observations for Students of Economics
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2006How to Write WellWhen I was CEA chair, I sent the following guidelines to my staff as they started drafting the Economic Report of the President. A friend recently emailed me a copy, and I thought I would share them with blog readers. They are good rules of thumb, especially for economists writing for a general audience.ERP Writing GuidelinesStay focused. Remember the take-away points you want the reader to remember. If some material is irrelevant to these points, it should probably be cut.Keep sentences short. Short words are better than long words. Monosyllabic words are best.The passive voice is avoided by good writers.Positive statements are more persuasive than normative statements.Use adverbs sparingly.Avoid jargon. Any word you dont read regularly in a newspaper is suspect.Never make up your own acronyms.Avoid unnecessary words. For instance, in most cases, changeo in order to to too whether or not to whethero is equal to to equalsAvoid of course, clearly, and obviously. Clearly, if something is obvious, that fact will, of course, be obvious to the reader.The word very is very often very unnecessary.Keep your writing self-contained. Frequent references to other works, or to things that have come before or will come later, can be distracting.Put details and digressions in footnotes. Then delete the footnotes.To mere mortals, a graphic metaphor, a compelling anecdote, or a striking fact is worth a thousand articles in Econometrica.Keep your writing personal. Remind readers how economics affects their lives.Remember two basic rules of economic usage:o Long run (without a hyphen) is a noun. Long-run (with a hyphen) is an adjective. Same with short(-)run.o Saving (without a terminal s) is a flow. Savings (with a terminal s) is a stock.Buy a copy of Strunk and Whites Elements of Style. Also, William Zinssers On Writing Well. Read themagain and again and again.Keep it simple. Think of your reader as being your college roommate who majored in English literature. Assume he has never taken an economics course, or if he did, he used the wrong textbook.permanent link<< HomeABOUT MEGREG MANKIWUNITED STATESI am the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University, where I teach introductory economics (ec 10). I use this blog to keep in touch with my current and former students. Teachers and students at other schools, as well as others interested in economic issues, are welcome to use this resource.VIEW MY COMPLETE PROFILETIMELESS WORDS OF WISDOMI don’t care who writes a nation’s laws, or crafts its advanced treaties, if I can write its economics textbooks.– Paul A. SamuelsonNAKED SELF PROMOTIONMy Harvard WebsiteOld Columns and TalksGoogle Scholar CitationsThe Best Way To Learn EconomicsPREVIOUS POSTSSpeaker PelosiWomen in ScienceNobel PredictionsThomas SchellingHome Runs, Base Hits, and Nobel PrizesIg Nobels of EconomicsHow to Ration Flu VaccinesEpstein on Intellectual BreadthCowen on U.S. Health SpendingCan growth in China be bad for the U.S.?ADVICE FOR STUDENTSAdvice for Aspiring EconomistsWhere do economists come from?Choosing a Graduate ProgramWorking Before Grad SchoolAdvice for Grad StudentsAdvice for New Junior FacultyWhich math courses?Why Aspiring Economists Need MathLove Econ, Bad at MathSummer Reading ListJD vs PhD: My StoryMy Life as a StudentPhD or not?Education Beyond the ClassroomAn engineer seeks career adviceA Question about Learning EconomicsGood Academic, Bad Human BeingAre B-school economists different?How to Write WellPRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICSTranslatedAnimatedRap VersionAcrostic VersionARCHIVESMarch 2006April 2006May 2006June 2006July 2006August 2006September 2006October 2006November 2006December 2006January 2007February 2007March 2007April 2007May 2007June 2007July 2007August 2007September 2007October 2007November 2007December 2007January 2008February 2008March 2008April 2008May 2008June 2008July 2008August 2008September 2008October 2008November 2008December 2008January 2009February 2009March 2009April 2009May 2009June 2009July 2009August 2009September 2009October 2009November 2009December 2009January 2010February 2010March 2010April 2010May 2010June 2010July 2010August 2010September 2010October 2010November 2010December 2010January 2011February 2011March 2011April 2011May 2011June 2011July 2011August 2011September 2011October 2011November 2011December 2011January 2012February 2012March 2012April 2012May 2012June 2012July 2012August 2012September 2012October 2012November 2012December 2012January 2013February 2013March 2013April 2013May 2013June 2013July 2013August 2013September 2013October 2013November 2013December 2013January 2014February 2014March 2014April 2014May 2014June 2014July 2014August 2014September 2014October 2014November 2014December 2014January 2015February 2015March 2015April 2015May 2015June 2015July 2015August 2015September 2015October 2015November 2015December 2015January 2016February 2016March 2016April 2016May 2016June 2016July 2016August 2016September 2016October 2016 Attachments: img_1181.jpg