Revise Polish your writing

Headline | Whitespace | Fonts | Graphics

Imagine yourself about 10 feet away from a printout of your work—or zooming out your screen view to about 30% of full size. What do you see? Layout, spacing, headings—and not much else.

From this distance, you can’t read the document. Instead, you get a sense for its overall design: colors, fonts, alignment, white space, graphics, contrast, etc. Readers form their first impression based on the document’s design. More than ever, good design = professional credibility.

Ask yourself these questions about the document's FORMAT:

• Does the document look professional? More specifically, does it follow the rules discussed in Chapter 5?
• Does it have a clear and compelling headline or title?
• Would color add interest or draw attention to key points?
• Are the fonts easy to read? If more than one font is used, do they work well together?
• Is the document left justified?
• Does sufficient white space prevent the document from seeming crowded or claustrophobic?
• Are graphics clear, uncluttered, labeled, and anchored?
• If this will be viewed online, is it readable on a mobile device?

Story | Main Idea | Agenda

Once satisfied with the design, readers will look for quick evidence that the document is well organized. Use the first three elements of SMART documents to win readers over.

Story Does the document immediately capture readers’ attention? Does it provide the context of the message and tell readers why they should care?

In a report, the title and opening sentence are your most important attention-grabbing tools. In a letter, your opening sentence serves the same function. In an email, focus on the subject line: keep it short, descriptive, and interesting enough to stand out from the dozens (or hundreds) of other emails the reader receives daily.

Main Idea Does the document clearly state the main point or key idea in the first paragraph?

Agenda Can readers easily locate a clear agenda that previews the content of the message?

Your agenda is usually the last line of your opening paragraph. It previews the organization of your message and prepares readers’ minds for what’s coming.

Reasons | Task

Examine the substance of document’s message. Make sure it exactly matches the stated agenda. At this level of FOCUS, check the remaining two SMART document elements.

Reasons Does the document make a convincing argument? Do the “reasons” reflect solid reasoning? Use the following criteria to evaluate the document’s content:

• Complete. The document covers all agenda items and each agenda item is supported with evidence.
• Clear. The agenda items and supporting evidence are easy to understand.
• Concise. The information is succinctly stated and avoids redundancies. For online documents, hyperlinks provide easy access to additional (but nonessential) detail without cluttering up the document.
• Coherent. Each paragraph features a topic sentence and everything in the paragraph is guided by that sentence. Remember, busy readers skim documents by reading only the topic sentences. If someone did this to the document you’re reviewing, would they catch the main points of the argument? If not, rewrite.
• Convincing. The document supports assertions with examples, data, and illustrations tailored to the audience’s inclinations and knowledge.
• Credible. All evidence is from trusted sources, which are correctly cited. Writing is free from logical fallacies.

Task Does the conclusion include a call to action, reminding readers why they should care? Are next steps easy for readers to follow?

Grammar | Punctuation | Spelling | Style

Syntax refers to the construction of sentences. Scrutinize the document at the sentence level to catch grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors that interfere with the message. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, you’re likely to miss errors if you’re proofreading your own work. Try reading the document aloud to force yourself to slow down and hear the words. To catch spelling errors, read backwards so you see each word instead of its meaning.

Style refers to tone, word choice, sentence variety, word play, and the ability to turn a phrase. Everything you write has a style. As an analogy, think about what you decide to wear each day. Your wardrobe choices communicate something about you; they reflect your personal style or fashion sense (deliberate or not).

So it is with your writing. The way you use words, the rhythm of your sentences, even whether you use a semicolon or a dash—these subtle choices constitute your style.

Evaluate the document’s tone. Is it too stuffy if the message is a quick check-in on Slack? Too chatty for an update to the vice-president? If something in the document sounds clunky or off-key, a style problem needs to be fixed.

More generally, style refers to the ability to write with grace, which elevates the message from useful to delightful, from informative to compelling. The best way to develop good style is to read, read, read. Get the voice of great stylists in your head so you can imitate their cadence, nuance, wit, and flair. The recommendations for further reading at the end of this chapter include Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style. That’s a great place to start.