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COPYRIGHT 1989 BY THE WRITING CENTER, INC., 129 Willowbrook Lane, West Chester, PA 19382-3300. All rights reserved. This article or any part thereof must not be reproduced or used in any form without the written permission of the authors.

1. Give the document separate readings for (1) purpose and organization, (2) completeness and correctness of information, and (3) wording and mechanics. Each of these levels of editing calls for a different focus. For example, it is impossible to look for misspellings and comma errors while keeping an eye on overall organization. Work from general to specific, as listed above, so that you won't waste time correcting grammar in a paragraph that you may eventually remove because it doesn't suit the purpose of the document.

2. Read the document completely before you pick up a pencil. Your goal is to find the main point, purpose, or thesis statement. It should be easily found, clearly stated, and logically supported. If it isn't, you may need to review with the writer what you wanted the document to accomplish.

3. Don't cross out the writer's words. If you want to suggest improvements, do so by bracketing the words or phrases that might be left out or changed; then write your suggestions above the bracket.

4. Phrase criticism as gently and positively as possible.

5. Be flexible. Just because someone writes with a style that differs from your own doesn't mean that he or she isn't communicating clearly. Change someone else's words only with good reason:

   • If information is incorrect or incomplete.

   • If wording is misleading or illogical.

   • If wording is negative or too blunt.

   • If the sentence is grammatically incorrect.

   • If the document is excessively wordy.

6. Don't overwhelm the writer. When working to improve a writer's overall style, offer only a few suggestions at a time, usually beginning with suggestions to improve structure. Sometimes simply asking for a shorter version will eliminate a writer's tendency to be inconcise or redundant.

7. Be positive! Reinforce the writer's strong points. Encourage him or her to reproduce them in future documents.

About the authors: Carol Klein and Sandra Nutting, founders of The Writing Center, Inc., West Chester, PA, provide training in Effective Business and Technical Writing to major corporations and organizations worldwide. For more information about our writing courses, contact us at writing@writingcenter.com or call us at 610-436-4600.