The importance of electron-scattering on pattern fidelity in electron-beam lithography is examined using computer simulation of the exposure and development of resist images. It is found that electron scattering can be treated in terms of an effective Gaussian half-width which is the quadrature sum of the incident Gaussian half-width and the characteristic width for forward-scattered electrons. Linewidth control is improved by reducing the effective half-width; this is accomplished by using higher beam energies, thinner resists and smaller spot sizes. Developer simulation shows that using 2 pixels per minimum linewidth with a spot size equal to half the pixel size gives better developed images than the more conventional writing strategy which uses four pixels per minimum linewidth and a spot size equal to the pixel size.