I grew up in a household where proper use of English was crucial. The dictionary often joined us at meals as we argued over the correct use of a word or phrase. It was common to gleefully pounce on a slip of the tongue. When I was 10-years-old and riding in a car with my family, I saw a sign and announced to my family that we should watch out for Presbyterians. They howled as they passed the sign that said to watch out for pedestrians. No doubt this story would still make them howl. I choose not to remind them. It took too many years for them to forget.

Many of you grew up with your version of a language patrol. The language patrol helped me develop a fine ear for correct word usage, and that has served me well over the years. I have learned a lot of tips by spending 20 years editing other people’s reports, 22 years writing reports and 30 years writing for publication.

Tips for Checking Your Work Product

Attorneys, paralegals, and legal nurse consultants spend a lot of time writing. Consider these tips as you review your work product:

What is the point of my report? Did I make it?

Is my point credible? Did I supply enough information to establish it?

Did I start with the most important points?

Have I been careful not to assume that the reader knows everything I know about the subject? Have I provided sufficient education to the reader?

If I were the reader, what would be going through my mind right now and after I finish the report? What conclusions would I reach?

Have I mastered the facts? Did I omit or overlook any important points?

Was I clear? Is there any way I can improve the flow or organization of the report?

Did I avoid using passive voice?

Was I too wordy?

Did I ramble?

Did I spell the recipient’s name correctly?

Did I spell other names correctly?

Are my dates correct?

Did I use headers and autonumber each page except the first?

Did I correctly use either block, indented or modified block style in a letter?

Have I been consistent? For example, did I use all numbers for dates or spell out all months?

Is the format of my document consistent in terms of headers, justification, and spacing?

Did I use only one space after an ending punctuation mark and eliminate extra spaces with search and replace?

Did I correctly use singular and plural and possessive words?

Do the sentences flow smoothly, or are they disjointed, run-on, and unorganized?

Are all of my sentences set up with parallel structure?

Are all my sentences complete or did I leave out a subject or verb?

Did I vary sentence structure?

Was I repetitive?

Can I be more precise?

Can I eliminate any words without losing substance?

Are my paragraphs varying in length?

Did I spell and grammar check my document?

Did I read my work product out loud? Did I have to stop to take a breath as I read a long sentence? If so, did I edit the sentence or divide it into two?

Did I include both pairs of items, such as parentheses and quotation marks?

Have I proofread the report, noting my habitual mistakes and words that have been skipped over by the spell checker?

Have I checked my punctuation? Has someone else with a good grasp of writing reviewed my report?

Do you have any tips to share? Send us a comment. Learn more about how to improve writing skills by attending a free teleseminar on 2/25/10. http://www.patiyer.com/lncstandout/index.html for details.