Principles

1. Decide on who and why

2. Get to know the text

3. Put the best bit first

4. Slash everything else

5. Edit sentences

6. Put "if" before "then"

7. Demolish walls of words

8. Launch and land on the same name

9. Rest it then test it

9. Rest it then test it

It's possible to get too engrossed in your editing.

Rest: leave it alone for a few hours, then review

Your subconsious needs a chance to work on what your conscious mind has been slaving over. Put your writing aside for a few hours and you'll be able to look at it more clearly.

Test: get someone to try to use it

1. Make sure that you have done 1. Decide on who and why.
2. Find someone who will use it.
3. Ask them to try using it. Get them to tell you what they think as they use it.
4. Watch them and take notes.
5. Then think about what they said and make changes.

Tip: swap from screen to paper

If you've been working on screen, try changing to paper.

You'll see a different shape, different flow, and maybe spot errors that you wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Where to find out more

For more techniques for testing content, try How to test the usability of documents by Caroline Jarrett and Ginny Redish

Ginny Redish's book

chapter 14: Getting from draft to final

chapter 15: Test! Test! Test!