Most organizations don’t have professional editors on staff. And while many strong writers are also strong editors, editing does represent a unique skill set that not everyone excels at without specific training. When you edit, you want to ensure the document is accurate, is easy for the audience to read and understand, is free of spelling and grammatical errors, and has a layout that enhances readability.
Editing Checklists are useful tools to help you keep your editing tasks on track. A comprehensive checklist helps you focus on all the distinct components that need to be checked so your readers receive an informative and professional document.
Checklists as assessment tools
Checklists also have another use: to assess your employees’ writing. Using a checklist lets you physically record a writer’s challenges as well as their strengths. Writers need to know where they need to improve and what they’re doing well to stay motivated. A comprehensive editing checklist helps you do that.
When assessing your writers, keep these points in mind.
- Use your checklist on three to four different documents for each employee. Assessing more than one document will give a more balanced perspective on the employee’s writing skills. Use the checklist again, after a set period of time (e.g., three to eight weeks), to measure the employee’s improvements.
- Praise the strengths. When evaluating, it’s equally important to highlight good writing as well.
- Avoid overwhelming and discouraging your employees. No one can fix 10 problems at the same time, so pick one or two of the most pressing concerns to start.
- Go over the editing checklist with each employee and set up a development plan. Offer resources, training and coaching to help motivate your employees to improve.
