Document Writing Basics
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Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
• Describe common sense writing basics
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Agenda
• Page layout
• Organization
• Writing style
• Word use
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Page Layout
• Use plenty of white space
• Limit paragraphs to 10 lines or fewer
• Keep line lengths short
• Use lowercase letters
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Organization
• Separate information into appropriate document type
• Keep timing clear and in order
• Write lists in parallel form
– Policy Statements
– Responsibility Statements
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Writing Style
• Be concise; limit average sentence length to 17
words or less
• Eschew gratuitous polysyllabic verbiage
• Use ACTIVE instead of passive verbs
• State clearly WHO does WHAT
• Limit document title to 50 characters (or less) with
no special characters
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Word Use: Meaningless Modifiers
• Most Students generally find some kind of summer
work.
• Most students find summer work
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Word Use: Obvious Implications
• Energy used to power our industries and homes will in the years
to come be increasingly expensive in terms of dollars and cents.
• In the future, energy will cost more.
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Word Use: Musty Style
• You must endeavor to facilitate their cognizance of the deleterious
result of excessive sesquipedalianism.
• You have to help them realize that big words can have bad results.
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Word Use: Indirect Negatives
• There is no reason not to believe that engineering malfunctions in
nuclear energy systems cannot always be anticipated.
• We can assume that malfunctions in nuclear energy systems will
surprise us.
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Word Use: Excessive Detail
• A microwave oven that you might buy in any department store
uses less energy that is so much more expensive than a
conventional oven that uses gas.
• Microwave ovens use less energy than conventional ones.
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Crowded And Confusing
THERE IS NO ESCAPING THE FACT THAT IT IS CONSIDERED
VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT A NUMBER OF VARIOUS
APPLICABLE STUDIES IPSO FACTO HAVE GENERALLY
IDENTIFIED THE FACT THAT ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATE
NOCTURNAL EMPLOYMENT COULD USUALLY KEEP
JUVENILE ADOLESCENTS OFF THOROUGHFARES DURING
THE NIGHT HOURS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT ON WEEK-NIGHTS AND/OR 2 A.M.
ON WEEKENDS.
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Minimal And Clear
More night jobs would keep youths off the street.
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Summary
In this lesson, you should have learned to:
• Describe common sense writing basics
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