Right Words' services

Right Words writes, edits, proofreads and indexes documents. Examples of the kinds of documents we work on are: articles, manuals, company profiles, newsletters, forms, reports, indexes, style guides, information booklets, theses, marketing copy and websites. We also report on the strengths and weaknesses of existing publications.

We work for all sorts of clients: government departments and cultural groups; small businesses and major corporates; and individuals who get stuck. Some of this work is serious, like procedures manuals and company profiles; some of it takes flair, like profiles and brochures.

We work on the principle that any topic, no matter how difficult, can be understood by anyone of average competence if the writing is clear and appropriate. We put ourselves in the position of the reader and tune in to his or her preconceived ideas about the world. Analysing and understanding the reader's point of view enables us to present material in such a way that it feels natural and is quickly and easily assimilated.

Right Words can help with your project at any level, whether it’s writing from scratch, editing or proofreading. We can also liaise with other professionals such as designers.

We meet deadlines and maintain total confidentiality.

Some of Right Words' work

Police Manual of Best Practice

In 1992, Right Words was contracted by the New Zealand Police to write its Manual of Best Practice. The manual comprises four volumes, each with between 500 to 1,000 pages. Right Words worked from a wide variety of existing material and the contributions of dozens of police members with expertise in particular topics. The manual had to be 'user friendly' so that information could be rapidly accessed and understood by front-line police in their everyday duties. The manual is now substantially written and Right Words' role is now to help maintain it.

Information Mapping

In 2004, the New Zealand Police decided to gradually change the format of the Manual of Best Practice. The information in each chapter is now organised and presented in accordance with the Information Mapping methodology, which involves breaking information into small units called ‘chunks’ and organising these into larger groups to form ‘blocks’ and ‘maps’. Right Words has gained certification in Information Mapping and now rewrites and updates manual chapters using this system.

Case summaries

The Office of the Electricity Complaints Commissioner was set up in 2002 to resolve disputes between consumers and their electricity companies, and has since been extended to cover gas (it is now called the Office of the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner). The office has investigated nearly 1000 cases over the 3½ years the scheme has been operating. Most of the cases have been settled but in a number of instances, the commissioner has made a ruling. The outcomes of the cases are a valuable resource to lawyers, consumers and companies participating in the scheme. Right Words was asked by the commissioner to produce summaries of the important cases. We write these summaries to a given format, including key references for search purposes. They are then checked by commission staff and published on the commissioner's website.

Training materials

In early 2004, Right Words was approached by Peter Gilchrist, of Real Training International, to write a series of training sessions for real estate consultants. Twenty years’ experience in the industry has led Peter to develop a new and revolutionary training system, System 52, which he hopes will supplant the outdated and inadequate training that consultants have traditionally been given. System 52 brings together the expertise that Real Training has developed over the years and presents it in a structured but flexible series of weekly sessions.

System 52 is designed as a year-long programme that companies can run 'in house'. Each session has three resources: a booklet that explains to the facilitator how to run the session; another booklet summarising the session for the consultants and providing other written resources required; and a DVD of Peter presenting the material and demonstrating scenarios with clients. This job introduced Right Words to the basics of scriptwriting.

Advertising materials

Right Words does many small writing and editing jobs for people who need advertising materials of one sort or another. For example, we have written brochures for a sports organisation, a company selling herbal teas and a company that trains in the sale of liquor; promotional letters and personal profiles for real estate agents; packaging text for a company selling toiletries; and advertisements for sports training software. We have also written or edited web pages for a variety of clients.