Text & Copy

Finding the words to explain, inform and persuade

Written content helps you share what you know, explain what you offer and guide people towards their next step. You might be preparing an article, writing a product description, improving an email or turning a recording into useful text.

Start with your reader and purpose

Before choosing a tool, decide who you are writing for and what they need from the piece. Are you answering a question, explaining a process or encouraging someone to take action? A clear purpose makes it easier to choose what to include and what to leave out. One useful, focused piece is a manageable place to start.

Give yourself something to work with

Gather your ideas, examples and any facts you need before drafting. A few headings or bullet points can provide enough structure to begin. Writing tools can help you explore an outline, suggest wording or develop a first draft. Your own experience and knowledge give the finished piece its value, so keep those at the centre.

You do not have to write everything in order. Start with the section you understand best, then return to the introduction once you know what the piece actually covers.

Make the meaning easy to follow

Once you have a draft, read it from your audience’s point of view. Use familiar words, explain necessary specialist terms and break long passages into shorter paragraphs. Editing and proofreading tools can highlight awkward wording or possible errors, but review their suggestions before accepting them. A correction should preserve what you meant to say.

Check names, figures, quotations and factual claims against their sources. Spelling and grammar checks cannot confirm that the information itself is correct. Reading the piece aloud can also reveal missing words, repetition and sentences that are difficult to follow.

Build on material you already have

A recorded explanation can become the starting point for a guide. Notes from a demonstration can become instructions, while an existing article can provide the outline for an email or presentation. Transcription tools help turn speech into text; translation tools can help adapt material for another language.

Allow time to review the result. Transcripts may mishear names or technical terms, and translations may need changes to preserve meaning and sound natural to the intended reader.

Check what the plan includes

Free tools can be enough for occasional writing and editing. Before building a workflow around one, check:

• Usage limits: How much text can you work with, and do free allowances renew?
• Saving your work: Can you copy or download the finished text in a format you can use?
• Included features: Are the functions you need free, available during a trial or paid extras?
• Suitable support: Does it handle your language, document format or recording type?

Explore the categories below according to the work you need to complete: drafting, improving existing text, transcribing recordings or translating material.

How we classify our listings

• ✓ Personally tested — We have used the product ourselves.
• ◇ Research reviewed — We have examined available product information and relevant research, without claiming first-hand use.
• ○ Directory listing — A concise introduction based on available information; no hands-on testing or in-depth research is implied.

The directory is developing incrementally. We’ll add research and first-hand testing as we carry them out, while keeping straightforward listings useful for discovery.