Writing at Amazon: 2 Minute Summary
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Much has been written about Amazon’s legendary writing-first culture including:
Bezos’ outright ban on Powerpoint
Amazon’s press release format
Love for detailed 6-page memos
Kicking off meetings with a silent reading of memos, followed by Q&A
Amazon’s writing culture is special. Whether you’re an Amazonian, a prospective Amazonian, or just an admirer of Amazon’s culture, review the whiteboard summary of the famous "Write Like an Amazonian” document. It’ll make your writing more direct, concise, and effective.
Two more things:
At the end of this article, we’ve included a list of weasel words to avoid in your writing.
Grammarly is amazing. Before you press send on an important document, run it through Grammarly’s free tool.
Hat tip to Danny Sheridan for sharing these images.
Write Like an Amazonian: 2 Minute Summary
Weasel Word List: Words and Phrases to Avoid
I would say that
a number of
a person said
clearly
completely
could
critics say
cutting-edge
exceedingly
excellent
experts say
extraordinary
extremely
fairly
few
interestingly
it is said
just
large
leading
less than
many
more than
most
normally
often
possibly
probably
quite
recent
relatively
remarkably
research shows
several
significant
some
some argue that
strategic
substantial
suddenly
surprising
that being said
tiny
to be honest
up to
usually
various
vast
very
with all due respect
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