Criticizing Copy

By Carly

I can be a very narcissistic person, so it’s difficult for me to accept and utilize criticism – however, as a writer, I know constructive criticism and honest feedback of my work will only help my writing become stronger.

I also find it difficult to critique other people’s work at times, but I realize that they are probably just like me and want to strengthen their writing as well.

After the break, learn what steps I use to critique various writing projects.

Take care of spelling and grammatical errors. These stand out to me and can be very distracting, so I always go through writing projects once and just focus on those so I can then move on to bigger issues.
Ask yourself whether or not the piece fits the purpose. For example, if I’m writing for a small newspaper advertisement and my copy is three pages long, there is an issue.
Make sure the copy fits the brand. Some businesses and brands take on a more serious tone while others are a bit cheeky. Tone is important.
Be specific. Writing “awkward” or “too wordy” is not enough. I am very guilty of doing this, but this doesn’t help the writer and can be confusing. If a sentence is “awkward,” explain why. If a sentence is “too wordy” circle what you feel are the unnecessary words.
Have a reason for your critiques. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people critique my work and simply say, “I changed this because I like it better this way.” This doesn’t tell me why, other than the person reviewing my work and I have two different styles. Perhaps you’re using more active wording or have shortened the length so the message comes across much more quickly.
Make sure you actually read. I’m very guilty of skimming and scanning, but even if you feel like you’ve read a piece two or three times, make sure you go through once to make sure you have caught everything.
Make sure nothing is missing. For example, if you’re critiquing copy for an email, make sure a subject line and headline are included. Sometimes I can get so wrapped up in writing body copy that I can forget another aspect of the project. It’s human nature to make mistakes – but that’s why there is a review process.
And read it again. Just one more time.

As a writer, I can say it’s very helpful to come up with a group of core people that you trust and know will provide honest feedback. You don’t necessarily need to correspond with them outside of writing or to even like them that much – but you need to trust and respect them enough to provide honest, helpful feedback.

What advice do you have for someone who is critiquing copy?