Credibility — Are claims backed up with quality, relevant evidence?
Conciseness — Is the piece as concise as it can be?
Reader-friendliness — Is the piece easy on the eyes? (headings, paragraph breaks, bullets, short words, and short sentences, etc.)
Lower-order concerns SPAG — Spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues
Syntax issues — Individual sentence structure, specific phrasing, etc.
Minor stylistic issues — Word choices, wordiness, use of passive voice, etc.
Pick your battles, and unless you’re specifically doing a proof or you’re an actual editor, don’t sweat the small stuff.
6. Give specific and actionable feedback A mountain of feedback, no matter how constructive, can be overwhelming. Pick your battles and choose a handful of key changes the writer can make for the biggest improvement.
For each suggestion you offer, be as specific as possible and explain why you’re suggesting each change. Whenever possible, offer an example or parallel to help illustrate your point.
Make sure your feedback is actionable, ie. that each comment gives the writer a specific objective to achieve. Avoid making vague comments like “this doesn’t work” or “elaborate” — explain precisely what isn’t working, why, and how the writer can make the text more effective.
7. Point out what works Don’t just offer critique. Only receiving “negative” feedback can be disheartening for even the most seasoned writers.
Make a conscious point of sincerely complimenting on what the writer did well, but don’t do that sh*t sandwich thing where you wedge your critique in between two compliments. Pretty much everyone agrees that that doesn’t work because human brains tend to latch onto the compliments and forget the criticism.
8. Don’t be too prescriptive Avoid being too prescriptive. It’s their writing, not yours — so don’t try to make it read like your own work. Your goal is to help them develop their own writing style and use their own voice more effectively.
Think about your gut reaction to the copy in question, try to identify what prompted this reaction, and then ask yourself whether this helps or hinders the writing’s overall effect.
For example, if a sentence makes you pause as a reader, identify what feeling accompanies the pause. If you feel confused, it could be because the sentence structure is placing emphasis on the wrong part of the sentence, or because a word choice is creating ambiguity.
Depending on the context, this could have a positive or negative impact. Making the reader do a double-take might be useful in the context of an advert but in other contexts, this can negatively impact the clarity and effectiveness of the message.
You might also ask yourself whether the copy that made you pause is a legitimate error or a matter of individual writing, and how other readers might experience and interpret it.