Daily Wisdom Notes

Knowing When Revision Must End Whenever I return to an article I have written, I find something I could revise. A sentence could be clearer. A paragraph could be shorter. One word could be replaced. An idea could be explained more deeply. Even after making those changes, I can return another day and discover something else. For a while, I believed this meant the article was not finished. I thought careful revision would eventually bring me to a point where nothing more needed to change. That point never came. I began to see that I needed a different way to decide when an article was ready. The possibility of another improvement could not be my only measure. An Article Can Have More Than One Acceptable Version Language offers many ways to express an idea. Two sentences may both be clear. One may sound warmer, while the other is shorter. A paragraph may work with either of two examples. Choosing between acceptable versions is part of writing. But continu...

The Wisdom of Looking Once More Many years ago, I prepared a report for one of my supervisors. I believed the work was complete and expected him to accept it. After reading it, he returned the report and asked: “Is there anything more you could do to make this just a little better?” At first, I did not understand what he wanted. He had not identified a serious mistake or said that the report was unacceptable. He simply asked me to look at it again. When I reviewed it more carefully, I noticed weaknesses I had missed. A few sentences were unclear. Some information could be arranged more logically. Several details needed correction. I made the changes and returned the report. The improvement was easy to see. His question stayed with me because it changed how I examined completed work. Reaching the final page was one achievement. Checking whether the report served its reader was another responsibility. Look from the User’s Side While creating something, we ...