Great article. While I agree that writing skill is incredibly important, I disagree with Mr. Tan's advice to just 'write lots and keep reducing your text' as the best way to go about writing clearly.<p>I certainly didn't learn how to write clearly at University and I had to write loads of reports and essays for 5 years.<p>I actually owe a great debt of gratitude to my first job out of University where I worked as an analyst for a finance and economics consultancy. The CEO was fanatical about making everything Plain English writing style. It was a trial by fire.<p>Anyway, my advice is to go on a Plain English writing course. The course instructors usually critique your writing and offer helpful insights on how to improve. If that's not possible, go through the guides on the Plain English website (<a href="http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-guides.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-guides.html</a>). I also highly recommend applying the writing principals in Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Style-Clarity-Chicago-Writing-Publishing/dp/0226899152" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Style-Clarity-Chicago-Writing-Publis...</a>). This book is worth its weight in gold.
Odd title. It's sage advice but I struggle with the inclusion of "last minute". There's nothing "last minute" about this IMO - if you're having to figure any of this out at the last minute, you aren't the YC type, I would guess.