WORDS
MATTER
THE WORDSMITHS
​We ourselves have been there and done that. We know the challenges and the demands of written communication. We are passionate about good writing.
We want to impart the skills and improve the quality of writing.
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Founders Judith (left) and Siew San (right).
Chua Siew San
Co-Founder
Clear thinking. Clear writing.
These are critical skills Siew San valued and honed throughout her 45-year career in the civil service, from the day she joined the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) as an analyst to the day she retired after a seven-year posting as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand.
Siew San was an analyst in MINDEF for 21 years. She was head of the Research Department for 12 of those years. Following that, she was Deputy Secretary in MINDEF and then in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). In MINDEF, she was responsible for defence policy, public affairs and national education. In MFA, she dealt with foreign policy issues. In both these positions, she wrote every kind of paper required in the civil service. She was highly regarded for her analyses and policy papers, ministerial speeches, books and whatever her writing produced.
When she was in the civil service, Siew San always considered it one of her primary responsibilities to help her colleagues sharpen their writing. She will bring her many years of experience to teach Clarity’s clients how to write more effectively, as well as help them produce more persuasive written communications. This is right up her alley.
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Contact Siew San at siewsan@claritytwf.com
Judith d'Silva
Co-Founder
Writing, vetting, editing and more writing.
Whether it was for reports, policy papers, speeches, national education materials or news releases, Judith always insisted on clear writing. Over the years, she developed an eagle-eye for catching sloppy writing.
Judith made it a personal mission wherever she went to write clearly and effectively, and to impart her knowledge and skills in writing to her colleagues. She was never one to turn away anybody who wanted some grammar tips or advice on writing, and readily agreed to requests from MINDEF departments, HDB station managers and LTA engineers for short workshops on writing. Judith also gave talks on writing clearly to be understood at the Civil Service College. She was an active member of the Speak Good English Movement from 2006 to 2018.
Judith has also written articles on good writing. She contributed an article to the Civil Service College e-publication entitled How You Can Be Simple and Clear in the Public Service. When CNA came knocking, she happily obliged with two commentaries – Fighting Jargon in the Public Service and When did English Become a Second Language and Jargon our First.
After 44 years in the civil service, 39 of which were in MINDEF, Judith retired as Director (Plans & Content) in Nexus, MINDEF in 2019. Since then, she has continued to do what she is most passionate about – contributing to improving the quality of writing in Singapore.
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Contact Judith at judith@claritytwf.com