Avoid cute unprofessional fonts. A font that might look great on a teenager’s T-shirt most likely is not appropriate for professional use.

Avoid trite or stock phrases. Instead write sentences that have real meaning.

Never substitute a sticky note for a letter or transmittal. Doing so says, “This isn’t important, and I’m too busy.”

Never make hand written changes to a document. Make the correction and reprint the document.

Avoid using exclamation points.

Never use more words than you need to get your message across: be concise.

Avoid passive voice.

Vary the length of your sentences within a paragraph.

Avoid small font sizes, fonts and font styles that are difficult to read. Do not abuse your readers with the over use of italics.

Headings should be formatted and capitalized consistently.

Always explain abbreviations prior to use.

Avoid capitalizing terms in your writing unless you are using capitalization to explain an acronym.

Numbers 10 and below should be spelled out.

When displaying information in columns numbers are easier to read when they are aligned on the right side or decimal aligned.