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