In my government writing training sessions I often discuss passages of writing with the group.
For example, I’ll put up a PowerPoint slide that displays a piece of writing, and then we’ll analyse it. The ensuing discussion can incorporate many points that relate to good writing – aspects like sentence length, avoiding redundancies, using clear and simple words, using the active voice and so on.
But what often strikes me about the discussion is that often people have geared their minds to search just for unimportant mistakes in the writing. They miss the big picture, lose the wood for the trees, sweat on the trivial – well, you get the idea.
So if there is a typo, or if there is a minor spelling error, they’ll triumphantly declare that they have found the deficiency in the cited passage – “Look, that word is spelt wrongly!”
The trouble is, very often the error they find is of only minor importance.
It’s like a carpenter examining the work on a newly constructed house, and pointing out in a pained voice that a particular woodworking joint is badly made… completely overlooking the fact that the house is missing one of the rooms that was on the plans!
I think that people have become fixated on these trivial aspects because they believe that in fact it is this type of mistake that determines whether or not the writing is successful.
But that’s simply not the case.
Now I have worked as a proof-reader and editor. Spelling errors, apostrophes that are missing or are in the wrong places, missing commas – all are mistakes that should be avoided. But the presence or absence of these do not determine the success or otherwise of the writing.
To put this another way, judging writing on these criteria alone is to take fundamentally the wrong approach.
Instead, here are three criteria that really do govern how good a passage of writing is:
1. Is the writing effective for the target audience? (The target audience will help determine the vocabulary, concept level, order of points, formality and so on.)
2. Does the writing develop a convincing argument for that audience? (The effectiveness of the argument can be determined by aspects such as the structure of the writing, and the strength of proofs that are used to support key premises.)
3. Does the writer know their subject? (Are terms used correctly, are qualifiers minimised, are appropriate emphases placed and linkages made?)
The less you have thought about how writing functions, the less likely you are to consider a passage of writing in these terms.
Or to put this another way, if you don’t know what to look for, it’s easy to be looking for stuff that really doesn’t matter that much.
When evaluating a piece of writing, start with the big picture. Only when that is sorted should you look for little errors.
Julian can be contacted directly or courses in writing can be arranged through training provider Anne Jenkins and Associates.
