Are you a good writer?

In my experience, most people are poor judges of their own writing. Some of the most competent writers seem keenly aware that they could be better, while others who self- describe as strong writers consistently send emails with illogical content. Not judging, mind you, just saying.

Earlier this week I spent an enjoyable evening at a regional book awards ceremony, watching writers in a variety of genres collect accolades for their hard work. Seeing their genuine delight at being recognized reminded me that writers frequently toil in solitude, perhaps unaware of how much or whether they’re improving at their craft.

If you’re writing for work — and especially if the writing itself isn’t your company’s product — you might be in the same boat. When writing is the product, multiple levels of checkpoints tell you how you’re doing. Editors, proofreaders, coworkers and clients are all part of the formal or informal team of critics that let you see your work through someone else’s eyes.

But when writing is simply the tool or the conduit for information, your only critique might be a tersely worded email asking for clarification, with silence substituting for an accolade.

In itself, lack of feedback on a communication tool is pretty normal. It’s not like we commend colleagues for speaking clearly or for matching their subjects and verbs in a report. We expect a baseline of ability from co-workers, and no further comment is required.

So what to do if you’re interested in improving your writing, beyond the basics of grammar and spelling? Hang on, because I have some tips. Having taught writing sessions for more than 20 years, I’ve learned that the real struggle isn’t usually with the grammar, but in building and then fine-tuning the content itself.

Here are six tips for this:

1. Tell the back story. For effective writing, context is everything. For longer reports and memos you can use several sentences to place the content into proper perspective, while a shorter email might need only brief reference to a bigger picture. As an example, “Because I’m out of the office tomorrow, I’ll need your report by noon today” is better than “Noon is your deadline” because it provides the context to influence the desired response.

2. Think like a poet. No need for rhyming, but precision and brevity are always welcome. Consider how a poet might revise this introductory phrase: “Due to the fact that …” If the word “Since …” comes to mind, then you’re a poet too!

3. Match the audience with the message and purpose. To do this, start each writing process by asking, “Who needs to know what, in order to proceed how?” As a general rule, the lower down the rung the recipient is, the more explanation that’s needed (or tolerated). That is, colleagues with less information at their fingertips or more responsibility for the outcome will need lengthier instructions or data, while C-suite executives are famous for wanting only the bullet points.

4. Develop a writing process. Here’s an easy one to use: Write a rough draft, read it aloud, revise and send. When the writing is more complex or carries more consequences, it’s smart to incorporate a second reader. Adding a resting period to let you review the writing with fresh eyes is also a good idea.

5. Reduce passive voice. Sometimes there are valid reasons for hiding behind a passive sentence, but they don’t come up very often. “Mistakes were made” sounds like PR spin for a legal issue — is that really the right way to explain errors in the inventory count? Using active phrasing is part of telling the story, which is needed if you’re going to keep the ball moving on whatever problem you’re trying to report or solve.

6. Experiment with form. While it’s logical to just write until you’re done, that’s not always the product you should send out. Upon review, you might find that section headers will make the content easier to navigate, or that adding a chart will illustrate your data. Indeed, when you consider the ideal format, the writing could morph into something else entirely, perhaps turning into a short training video, for example, instead of a process sheet.

Will adopting these six steps make you a better writer at work? That’s hard to say, but doing so will certainly make you more intentional — and that alone is likely to improve what you send to others. Try it yourself and see what you think.

Amy Lindgren can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.