Good vs Bad Writing

Good Writers make sure to: Bad Writers, on the other hand:

1 Always consider their audience before beginning a writing project.

Give little thought to why they are writing, who they are writing to, or what they hope to accomplish.

2 Never “bury the lead.” Torture their reader by not making their point until late in their writing, if at all.

3 Always take a position when writing persuasively while also addressing counter arguments.

Either never get off the fence or become so entrenched in their opinion that they fail to adequately address other points of view.

4 Organize their writing by effectively using headings, subheadings, and topic sentences.

Present their reader with no ‘sign posts’ signaling where their argument is heading or why the reader should care.

5 Use transition words and phrases to tie their argument together.

Don’t take the time to make sure that their argument flows.

6 Organize the structure of their argument around their reader’s likely questions.

Use a boilerplate structure usually revolving around their authoritative cases.

7 Ruthlessly cut needless words. Fill their writing with passive verbs, prepositions, adverbs, and bloated phrases.

8 Use colorful words like “plunged,” “pluck,” and “thwart.”

Fail to bring their story and argument to life by using wilted and shriveled prose.

9 Understand grammatical rules and conventions but are not entirely beholden to them.

Are unreasonably pedantic for someone who doesn’t know what pedantic means.

10 Realize that good writing takes hard work. Don't realize that their writing is bad.