IDEAS

•  Clarity

•  Focus—a small, easy to manage topic

•  Good information—from experience, imagination or research

•  A fresh perspective

•  Important, helpful details that go beyond the obvious

ORGANIZATION

•  A snappy lead that gets the reader’s attention

•  Order and logic

•  Clear connections to a main idea

•  In tech or business writing, get to the point

•  Easy to follow—but not too predictable

•  A graceful ending—doesn’t just STOP

VOICE

•  Sounds human—not like technospeak

•  Has the mark of this particular writer

•  Brings the topic to life

•  Is appropriate for the audience, topic, purpose

•  Shows conscious concern for reader’s interests, informational needs

•  In tech writing, doesn’t bore the reader, but doesn’t get in the way either

WORD CHOICE

•  Moments that stick with you

•  Relies on strong verbs and precise nouns—not modifiers

•  Creates word pictures

•  "Just right" language—suits the topic, the audience, the purpose

•  Simple language used well—never tries to impress with jargon or overblown language

•  Minimal redundancy

•  Technical terms are defined, as needed

SENTENCE FLUENCY

•  Rhythmic

•  Easy to read aloud—inviting

•  Varied sentence length—some long, some short

• Tendency toward shorter, crisper sentences in tech/business writing

•  Purposeful sentence beginnings:

• Now, After a while, Because of this, Nevertheless, As a result, Consequently, However, Therefore. .

CONVENTIONS

•  Looks clear, edited, proofread

•  Easy to decode & follow—conventions enhance meaning

•  No BIG, GLARING errors that distract the reader or distort the message

•  Specifically (at minimum)—

  • Spelling correct on simple words, correct or close on difficult words

  • Terminal punctuation correct; internal punctuation not misleading

  • Paragraphs for new topics, new speakers

  • Quotation marks to set off dialogue

  • Capitals on all proper nouns and to begin all sentences

  • No arbitrary shifts in tense

  • Layout has eye appeal