However, there are some people who do take rewriting too far.  They go over their piece once, twice, thrice and more, yet never come away satisfied.  For some reason, they always feel like something else can be tweaked, changed and made better.

It’s easy to fall into that trap, too.  After all, we all want our writing to be the best we can produce and rewriting gives you the opportunity to create improvements.   However, make sure to define an end point — a time when you will stop adding changes.  Otherwise, you could be stuck obsessing on revisions, missing deadlines and losing other opportunities as a result.

That end point, of course, will depend on you, but you need to establish one.  You could do it after two full rewrites.  Or 24 hours after the original draft is finished.  Or if your paper receives an 80 or higher score using your readability software.   Whatever arbitrary rule you choose to signal the end point, stick to it — that should help you get rid of the nagging feeling that you might still need a little work done.

Why keep one?

1. To keep a record of ideas for future work.  It’s not uncommon for writers to come up with clever ideas at the most inopportune time.  Keeping a journal is your best shot at making sure those ideas don’t just disappear right when you need them.
2. To write freely.  If you write for a living, then it’s likely that you rarely write solely for yourself.   A journal gives you the opportunity to do write that way — without judgment.
3. To get perspective.  Some writers use their journal to write down thoughts on their development as a writer.  If you do the same, you can accumulate quite a treasure trove of insightful material that you can later read to give you some perspective on your growth (or lack of it) in the craft.
4. To get the gears running.  Because a journal is a free space for you to write, it’s a highly-effective way to get the writing gears going when you’re stuck or struggling.   Try it the next time you’re sitting in front of the computer and the words just won’t come.

Let me explain.  When you write in a natural style, your expression feels more authentic.  You don’t struggle with finding the words, since that is how you can most comfortably convey your thoughts.  Your writing feels loose and relaxed, as that is likely how you feel yourself while you were composing it.

Contrast that with attempting to sound like someone else.   Instead of focusing on your ideas, you split your attention between expressing your thoughts clearly and mimicking a style that’s unfamiliar to you.  Writing on a deadline is stressful enough — having to sound like someone else will just add to your woes.

What if you want your writing to resemble the kind of writing you admire?   If that’s the case, we still recommend doing the same.  Instead of just writing in that natural style, though, try to integrate one element from your target style into everything you write.  Just focus on one, all while doing the things that you normally do otherwise.   That way, your writing can retain the same relaxed and natural feel, all while gradually learning new things that can bring it closer towards your target style.

1. Focus on what you know.     To get started right, you need to write a lot.  The best way to do that is to focus your efforts on the subjects that you already have a decent grasp on.  It’s going to be hard to be proficient on fields where you’re an absolute newbie, so write about what you know to get a firm start.
2. Write about subjects that interest you.  Think of your writing as a present and future career.   What do you want to be writing about in two or three years’ time?  If you intend to be an authority on dating and relationships, then those are the topics you should focus on.  Same if you want to be a respected food critic, a fashion writer or a respected voice on the automotive industry.
3. Develop a system that works for you.  If you’re going to produce output with any regularity, you need to develop a dependable system that gives your work some structure.   You can’t depend on inspiration or a good mood to strike.  Instead, you need to be able to work regardless of what’s going on with other things in your life.  For that, a system will benefit you immensely.

1. Make deadlines.  Failing to make deadlines is a cardinal sin for freelance writers.   Gaining a reputation as a regular tardy submitter can have you shunned, regardless of how clean and polished your copy is.
2. Make your word count.  Never submit copy that’s less than the required word count.  If you go over, never go higher than 10% of the target count.   In fact, 10% over can be ideal as it gives the editor room to trim parts they might not be big fans of.
3. Bring up problems early.  Don’t wait for the last minute to inform editors about problems with your assignment.   Whether you can’t locate a crucial source or you’re having personal problems that’s preventing you from working at a fast pace, let the editor know early.  Just make sure you can justify any problems (i.e. don’t make up stuff just to push a deadline) and suggest a solution.
4. Be respectful at all times.  Sometimes, you won’t see things eye to eye with your editor.   Some of those times, you’ll need to step back and give way.  Other times, you’ll need to stand up for what you believe.  In either case, be respectful .  You can still express a contrarian opinion while recognizing your editor’s position and authority.

1. Plan.  Read the assignment brief and make a detailed list of things you’ll need to do.  Are you supposed to investigate, analyze, compare, review or perform some other action? Define your work clearly.  Then, make a list of possible sources you will se for your research.   This bit of planning will help you push through the rest of the steps without having to reconsider at every turn.
2. Schedule.  Create a timetable .  Assign more time to preparation (research, outlining) than the actual writing and revision stages.  Getting those crucial first steps right will make the actual writing part go much smoother.
3. Gather data.  When it comes to research data, you want to gather as much as you can.  That way, you won’t end up short on information right when you need it.  Make sure to highlight key data, so you can quickly find them later.
4. Outline.  Organize your data and write down a list of main points in the order you believe they should be presented in the essay.  Refer to your research to find pertinent information.
5. Draft.  Write your first draft, following the pattern and structure you defined in the outline.
6. Revise.  After the first draft, put it down for some time (ideally a day) before returning to it for review and revision.  Make a few passes, starting with big picture changes (e.g. overall structure) before drilling down to the nitty-gritty (e.g. word choice).
7. Put finishing touches.    Once you’re satisfied with the rewrites, time to put the essay through the final phases: run it through your grammar software, double-check facts and numbers, and tidy up the presentation.

While most people will probably prefer a more conversational tone for everyday writing, there always comes a time when sounding more professional will serve you well.  Sure, emails to friends and letters to family always work better when written conversationally.  But how about when submitting a report to your board of directors, preparing a proposal to a group of bank executives or completing a paper for a science journal?

Do note that even “formal English” can vary in degrees.   While a job proposal may require strictly formal language, an expository essay for a History course will work with a slightly less strict tone.  In both cases, however, it is characterized with adherence to grammatical correctness, a neutral tone and more professional-oriented language choices.

Pretty much any situation where you need to make a good impression and paint yourself as a professional, you’ll probably need to write in a formal English.   Some of these include:

Business letters (regardless of whether you’re writing as a business or as an individual that’s part of an organization)

• Government correspondence
• Legal documents
• Office reports
• Job applications
• University papers

Reasoning errors may be intentional. Some authors will engage in it as a way to trick readers when their argument can’t actually hold on its own. Most of the time, though, these types of problems arise unintentionally, either as a result of carelessness or just faulty thinking.

Common logical fallacies you might end up writing include:

1. Hasty generalizations. This is when you come up with a generalization based on too little evidence.
2. False choice. Here, you frame a situation as having only two choices when there are, in fact, a lot more possible options.
3. Non-sequitur. This is when the conclusion isn’t directly in line with the premise.
4. False Analogy. Here, you wrongly assume that similarities in two things make them similar in every other way, too.
5. Ad Hominem. Instead of arguing against the issue, this faulty approach attacks the personalities that support the opposing view.
6. Red Herring. This is when you cite an unrelated issue instead of addressing the issue directly.

• Procedures.  This explains the work that was carried out in order to come to the results, including a description of each task and the equipment used.  Any problems that needed to be overcome will also be covered here.
• Results.  This part offers a brief explanation of the results you got off the procedures, often bearing tables and graphs that show them in detail.
• Interpretation.  Results are often made up of exact numbers or hard facts.  For that data to carry any relevance, it has to be interpreted.  You do that here, giving your reasoning for each interpretation you offer.
• Conclusion.  This section gives the reader the overall findings based on all the work previously done.
• Recommendations.  Normally, readers will peruse a document to be enlightened about a matter that requires their decision.  This section allows you to recommend a course of action for them.
• References.  This section lists the publications referred to, whether in general or particular, in both your technical document and in the work carried out for it.  You can also add a list of materials for further reading to those members of the audience who would like to follow up on the topic.
• Appendix.  Here, you include any additional supporting materials, such as examples, a glossary of technical terms and the like.

The standard technical writing model uses multiple sections, one or more of which will appear in every technical paper.  In these series of articles, we’ll cover the different sections that comprise this model.  Here are the first five:

• Abstract.  This is a brief summary of the document, giving readers an overview of the its contents, including any conclusions or recommendations.   The recommended length for abstracts is 300 words, although this could vary depending on the requirements of the organization or publication you’re writing for.
• Acknowledgment.  Here, you cite all the individuals that directly helped in the work described in the document.
• Introduction.  This section explains the main subject of the document, its goals, and how it fits in with the other work done in that field.
• Objectives.  What results are the document expected to accomplish?  You list those down in this section, elaborating on the reasons for these objectives and who each is aimed for.
• Theory.  Here, you describe and explain any background theory that’s required for the reader to understand your document, ensuring that all your readers are adequately informed of the basic technical details they need.