Unless they are closely related, do not cover two subjects in one letter. Next, write a rough draft. At this point, don’t worry too much about spelling, punctuation, or other aspects of a finished style. Concentrate on getting all the necessary information in writing. Express your ideas as clearly and effectively as possible. If you can’t immediately think of the right word to use, put down the best one you can think of. Then mark the spot and come back to it later to see if you can find another word that expresses your idea more clearly. As you become more experienced, you will develop your own writing style. As a beginner, you should concentrate on simply getting your thoughts into writing. REVIEWING THE DRAFT. -If possible, allow a little time to elapse after finishing the rough draft before going over it again. If time permits, put the it aside for a while and work on something else. When you resume work on the draft, you will be more objective and see ways of improving it. When you first reread the draft, go through it from start to finish; stop only to make brief notes about how the text can be improved. Read the rough draft with a critical eye to determine if what you have written is correct, clear, and stated as effectively as possible. Then go through the draft again, referring to your notes and rewriting as needed. Ensure the accuracy of any information, such as numbers and dates, cited from the references listed at the beginning of your letter. Correct any inaccuracies. Be sure you mention references shown in the heading of the letter in chronological order within the text at least once. Do not cover two subjects in one letter unless they are very closely related. That practice can result in administrative confusion when replies are required. Often material does not fit smoothly with what comes next. To correct that problem, first check the organization of your ideas. Be sure your ideas follow a logical order. If your organization is good, then you may need to use transitional words or expressions to show the relation between one thought and the next. For example, you could use the transitional word however to show contrast between one idea and another. You might use the phrases to begin with or in conclusion to show a sequence of ideas. If you think a passage may be unclear to the reader, have someone else read it. Should that person have difficulty in understanding it, make changes, even if you must take out your favorite sentence. That happens occasionally even to the best of writers. Be glad you found those areas and had the opportunity to clarify them. Review the draft for useless words. Take out words you don’t need and words that add nothing to the meaning of your sentence. Change long words to shorter ones and take out intensives (extremely, undoubtedly, very much). Take out overworked introductory phrases (it is to be noted, it is a well-known fact that, in accordance with, we call your attention to the fact that). Sometimes you may need one of these phrases; however, if you don’t need it, you should delete it. While reviewing the rough draft, look for words used repeatedly; replace them wit h different words having the same meaning. Likewise, omit repetition of ideas. Although you may sometimes repeat words and ideas for emphasis, most repeti- tion results from carelessness. Unless you have repeated words or ideas deliberately and for a purpose, either change or delete them. While reviewing the draft, keep in mind the preferred style of the person who will sign the correspondence. Most people who sign corre- spondence have certain words and phrases they prefer and certain ones they do not allow. Learning those words and phrases as quickly as possible will eliminate the inconvenience of having to add or delete them each time. ACCEPTING CRITICISM. -Once you have completed the smooth draft, you will probably feel a certain pride in your accomplishment. However, don’t let yourself become fond of the way you have expressed something. If the draft must go through several reviewers before it is signed, you should accept the fact that changes will be made. The minute you permit yourself to become fond of your writing, you become reluctant to change, which can mean trouble in two ways. First, most writing can be improved; therefore, instead of allowing criticism to hurt your feelings, use it to improve your writing. Second, someone else will sign most Navy correspondence; so don’t feel distressed if the signer insists on changing the wording before signing. After all, the signer assumes responsibility for the content of the correspondence. If your wording is misunderstood or your reasoning is overlooked, bring it to the signer’s attention. In such cases, you would be justified in defending what you have written. However, if the signer still doesn’t accept your changes, you 2-38