Real Clear Markets provides advice, modified by me, on
writing[1]:
1. Scarcity: Time is a scarce resource, especially the time
of a student. Thus, there is no reason to tell the student everything you know,
albeit organized in some fashion.
2. Specialization: There is a great difference between a
professional paper for a select group, often critical, and what one writes for
a student.
3. Preparation: Some writers can write with ease, yet
organize with difficulty and others the opposite. The skill of good
organization and good clear writing is critical.
4. Clarity: All too often one sees an author set for a
complex equation with no details as to what any of the terms mean. There may be
the compulsory figure but no nexus.
5. Efficiency: Deal with the principles, define them
clearly, keep notation simple but complete, and never assume.
6. Skimming: Write in a manner where the key facts are
evident, do not make the reader search for a key element that you have hidden
elsewhere.
7. Competition: There are many other writers who want to
convey their understanding of what one is writing about. The writer must
understand that they are in a competitive market and who the customer is and
how to meet the customer's needs. All too often one sees the "one
star" review which states, "my instructor made us buy this book but
none of use could understand it."
8. Individuality: Writing so as to clearly convey one's
understanding and at the same time one's intent to convey it to the reader. The
document should be a written lecture, engaging the reader not terrifying them.
9. Punchlines: The classic approach of telling what you will
say, say it, then tell what you said has merit. Framing and outlining what and
where you mean to take the reader is essential.
10. Knowledge: Understand your reader and what they may or
may not know. Balance the presentation and avoid assuming facts not in
evidence.
11. Responsibility: Ultimately the writer is responsible for
the document.
12. Feedback: If you are fortunate to have critical readers
that can be the most useful tool available. Having someone say, "what does
this mean" opens doors to explanations that not only help the reader but
also the writer.
13. Editors: There are good editors and bad editors. A good
editor can take your book and give you visibility to its weak points. The
improvement is up to you. The bad editor tells you how to write.
14. Self-Assessment: It is easy often to be critical of
others while being blind to our own poor attempts. I can go back over my books
and tell you what are good and what are not so good. The real question is; what
does the reader think. Any form of self-assessment must be grounded in the old
dictum; "if all else fails listen to the customer".
15. Endings: I have mixed feelings on endings. On the one
hand they may be a summary, on the other a discussion of trends, what you did
not cover, or even opportunities for future research. Often few read the
endings, yet they can be a platform for new ideas.
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