• Clear

Clarity is the most important thing I aim for at Editwrite. I put myself in your readers’ shoes and think carefully about how they will receive your text. Will they understand it? Will they act upon it? So I can do this most effectively, I will ask about the purpose of your text and who your intended readers are.

• Consistent

By consistent, I mean using the same spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation preferences throughout, making sure things like headings are styled in the same way, and checking terminology is used to refer to the same things consistently. I will aim for consistency within your text, as it helps to achieve that clarity we’re looking for. Consistency is about looking after your readers, guiding them and making them feel safe and confident in the message you are trying to convey.

• Accurate

Accuracy is about applying what some people call the ‘rules’ of spelling, grammar and punctuation. I prefer to call them ‘conventions’ because I think they are more flexible than sometimes we are led to believe! They help us to achieve consistency and, in turn, clarity. I will work to the strictest of style guides if you need me to, but otherwise, I will prioritise clarity over hard-and-fast ‘rules’.