Read Me

words are ideas in another form.

A meme, Dawkins wrote, is much like its biological cousin the gene. Like a gene, a meme is a selfreplicating unit of information. However, memes don’t replicate biologically; instead they’re passed around in the form of ideas. Dawkins described memes as the ‘basic unit of cultural transmission’. He notes: ‘Just as genes propagate themselves by movi

escaped your notice there’s plenty of poor writing

a slogan as: ...a statement of such merit about a product or service that it is worthy of continuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and is phrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it.

Find a piece of copy that really makes your toes curl, then write a short analysis of why it’s so bad – a couple of paragraphs is enough. Justify your criticism as objectively as possible. The copy you choose can come from any source – packaging, advert, website, brochure and so on. To keep things simple, pick something reasonably brief – say under

One of the most important things the brief should tell you is who you’re writing for. We’ve dedicated a whole lesson to this later in the book, but for now we’ll just say you must know who your readers are in order to write effectively for them.

The Planning stage is where you clarify the problem your readers are facing and the solution your product/ service/brand is offering.

Past>present>future Explain how something came to be, what the current situation looks like and where it could go next.

It also pays to keep your paragraphs tight – in most situations five sentences are plenty. If a paragraph is running away with you then divide it in two.