Quote of the day
“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.” – Plato
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Quote of the day: words
“The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.”
Quote of the day: mission
We’re not born with unlimited choices. We cannot be anything we want to be. We come into this world with a specific, personal destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we’re stuck with it. Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it. If we were born to paint, it’s our job to become a painter. If we were born to raise and nurture children, it’s our job to become a mother. If we were born to overthrow the order of ignorance and injustice of the world, it’s our job to realize it and get down to business.
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and Shawn Coyne
Reality changes words…
…far more than the words can ever change reality.
A short lesson in political speaking
How to write for the European Institutions
Are you an aspiring non-fiction author, or translator, maybe? Dreaming for a career in the European Parliament and/or Commission?
There you have two useful tools that will help you achieve the EU- English (house) style:
Writing in clear language can be difficult at the Commission, since much of the subject matter is complex and more and more is written in English by (and for) non-native speakers, or by native speakers who are beginning to lose touch with their language after years of working in a multilingual environment. We must nevertheless try to set an example by using language that is as clear, simple, and accessible as possible, out of courtesy to our readers and consideration for the image of the Commission.
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How to write clearly
(16 pages, PDF)
- Think before you write
- Focus on the reader — be direct and interesting
- Get your document into shape
- KISS: Keep It Short and Simple
- Make sense — structure your sentences
- Cut out excess nouns – verb forms are livelier
- Be concrete, not abstract
- Prefer active verbs to passive — and name the agent
- Beware of false friends, jargon and abbreviations
- Revise and check
- Online EU drafting aids
Yours europeanly,
Quote of the day
Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.
Tyrion Lannister – Game of Thrones
AWARDS
Just English 