Government Documents - The Title & The Foreword

How to Write Government Documents

Mandarin Lessons 6-10 will provide you with the basic writing skills needed to survive in Whitehall.

Lesson 6 - The Title

This is normally written at the last minute. Bland titles such as “Environment White Paper” are now out. So use this table to create your own title.

Better
Sustainable
More efficient
Cleaner
Healthier
Even Better
Sustainabler
More competitive
Greener
Stronger
More natural
Higher
Better Still
Broader
Sustainablerer
Unbelieveably Better
Best
Perfect

Opportunities
Places
Schools
Hospitals
Roads
Technology
International Relations
Government
Engagement
Communities
Transport
Life
Universe
Everything
Nirvana

 

Lesson 7 – The Foreword

Always a bit of a problem. Why do we need new action when all our policies are working perfectly? The following template may help.


Issue “A” matters deeply to every member of the human race.

Since [date of last change of administration] we have invested mega dosh and achieved a stunning amount. We are well on the road to Nirvana. People are starting to walk around with huge smiles on their faces, overjoyed at the prospect of a world entirely without problems.

But we are not complacent (oh no!). Too many people (well don’t get the idea it’s that many, just one is too many) are enduring conditions that fall slightly short of paradise. So we must act. Not that we haven’t been acting. Oh no. Just we need to act a bit more. I mean, er, intensify our efforts.

This document sets out how we are getting to make perfection even better.

We will be fully consultative, work with everyone under the sun etc etc, so long as we meet our Treasury targets, carry out Treasury policy, etc.

 

Click here to read Lesson 8.

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