Rules for Writing Assignment

From my point of view, writing is merely a form of communication, and as such should be clear, concise, and written appropriately when considering the target audience. My two rules that describe my view are as follows:

Rule 1)

Keep things as concise as possible, as appropriate based on context.

A scientific article is different from journalistic writing, which is different from prose, etc. There are times when one when a writer should be indirect. For example, when writing fiction, it’s perfectly acceptable (and often encouraged) to use imagery, instead of merely stating the location, to use similes and metaphors instead of just outright describing a person or place. Then again, the use of such devices should be excluded, or severely limited, in scientific writings, where the idea is to make direct and concise correlations in data. Regardless, the length of a piece of writing should be judged by common sense; it should be long enough to keep the reader interested, but short enough to prevent frustration, and just redundant enough so the reader doesn’t lose track of the “big picture”.

Rule 2)

Take care to ensure that your writing is geared towards your target audience.

A comparison of “en.wikipedia.org” (English Wikipedia) and “simple.wikipedia.org” (Simple Wikipedia) should offer a strong “real-life” example regarding this rule. Wikipedia is targeting those with basic knowledge in a given subject-area, as well as the applicable vocabulary to understand the concepts shown. For example, if one wanted to learn more about the latest in modern theoretical physics, a visit to the Large Hadron Collider would be very informative. But one would need to know “Physics-speak” to fully grasp the full knowledge on the page (and the implications thereof). Simple Wikipedia gives the average Joe a basic overview of the topic, nothing too in-depth.

This long and drawn out example is meant to demonstrate that if you are writing for an highly educated audience, then your writing should reflect this fact. Your writing should incorporate excellent grammar, it should transition from topic to topic eloquently, incorporate higher vocabulary, etc. Vice versa.