Good writing practice is not a formal set of rules about how to write, like the requirements of GCP or GMP. Our aim is to highlight that the focus of all writers should always be on their readers, and that writers should make their texts as easy as possible to understand. We go beyond the classic style guide and provide advice on practical aspects of writing that we hope will make texts easier to write and read. This means that much of what we will be saying in this column will apply to documents written in any language, although most aspects will be specific to English as the dominant language in our field.