How can you reinforce the use of good writing skills in your staff/team’s on-the-job documents?  Use these five tips:

1.   To ensure complete content and logical organization, encourage writers to list a document’s key ideas before writing. If you’ve asked for a report, for example, ask to see a list of key ideas or a preliminary outline before they start to write.  Also, to ensure complete content and an appropriate level of detail, discuss how the information in the report will be used.

After the report is finished, explain what the writer did that helped you access information, what content was especially valuable, and provide one or two suggestions for improvement, as necessary.

2.   When you review a document, don’t cross out the writer’s words.  Remember that your goal is to produce not only a better document but also a better writer.  Poor writers can’t be expected to learn anything if you rewrite documents for them.  In fact, rewriting others’ documents only reinforces their perception of themselves as “bad” writers.  Instead, as you review each document, bracket the words or phrases that might be left out or changed; then write your suggestions for improvement above. Read more ›