Rules of Work, 5th Edition

RULE 23

Write well

We write for two purposes. We write for others to read and we write for ourselves to read. How you write for yourself is immaterial. You can scribble illegible shorthand or write like a 5-year-old. It doesn’t matter, just so long as no one else sees it. But how you write for others to read is of utmost and crucial importance. You will be judged on:

• •what you write
• •how your writing looks.

Ah, but you say you don’t write anything, you type everything. Fine. So what typeface do you choose, and why? What point size, and why? And you must have to sign documents – that’s writing. Your signature is as open to judgement as anything else. I was once told that my signature was that of a very wealthy person. Good, although completely ...