Mike McClory has taught writing to people of all ages and backgrounds, from fourth graders to PhDs. In 1983, he began developing Write Smart — a step-by-step program based on the “plain English” techniques used by America’s top professional writers and editors. Since then, thousands of participants in his classes have learned how to make their reports (letters, proposals, legal and technical documents, e-mail messages, etc.) as interesting and easy to read as a magazine article.

After graduating from Northwestern University, Mike began his career with the Congressional Digest, a publication that has earned a reputation — over a span of 90 years — for presenting different sides of complex political issues in lean, unpretentious language. Years later, in a 1996 interview, he recalled the experience:

Working with seasoned professional editors was full of surprises. I found, for instance, that people in the publishing business expend an enormous amount of time and energy applying the fundamentals of grammar and punctuation. In a few weeks, I learned more about writing than I had learned in four years of high school and four years of college.

Academy for Educational Development
Association of American Medical Colleges
Department of Veterans Affairs
U.S. House and Senate (both parties)
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Public Health Foundation
National Association of Homebuilders
Department of Agriculture
Government Technology Services Inc
U.S. Government Printing Office
Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Transportation
Department of Defense
National Audobon Society
American Psychological Association
National Waterways Conference
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Educational Testing Service
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Federal Trade Commission
American Gas Association
American Ecology Corporation
The Smithsonian Institution
American Horticultural Society
National Petroleum Council
American Pharmaceutical Association
National Association of Securities Dealers
Wider Opportunities for Women
American Association of Architects
Social Security Administration
Federal Communications Commission

General Dynamics
Newsweek Magazine
Department of Justice
Group Health Association
Prince George’s County
Research Institute of America
Princeton Capital Corporation
The Nature Conservancy
US West (now Quest)
King & Spalding
Cassidy & Associates
Department of Commerce
State Justice Institute
Wheat First Securities
National Urban League
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Department of Treasury
Chronicle of Higher Education
Library of Congress
U.S. Supreme Court
Baker & McKenzie
Bureau of National Affairs
Marine Corps Institute
The Learning Group
National Defense Magazine
National Public Radio
Phoenix Systems
Fanwall Corporation
National Institutes of Health Life Cycle Engineering
LCC International
Burson-Marsteller