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Q&A How to improve my skill at writing a question?

I gave you an upvote for your question: I wish more on SO would ask it. Good SO questions and answers are hard work. I try to improve my questions by finding and studying good questions. I think t...

posted 13y ago by Pete Wilson‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:08:29Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4787
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Pete Wilson‭ · 2019-12-08T02:08:29Z (about 5 years ago)
I gave you an upvote for your question: I wish more on SO would ask it.

Good SO questions and answers are hard work. I try to improve my questions by finding and studying good questions. I think that good questions have been edited and worked over to share some attributes:

1. They are succinct: not too wordy or overlong.

2. They are free of lazy jargon and ill-used shortcut words.

3. They get to the point without unneeeded discursion.

4. They are careful to stay on the point and on topic.

5. They follow the rules of spelling and grammar.

Professor Strunk's advice is best, imo:

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.

"This requires **_not_** that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2012-01-10T16:37:41Z (almost 13 years ago)
Original score: 7