Below are two lists, one of the vices possessed by bad writing, the other of the virtues possessed by good writing. However, to be truly virtuous, writing must have a purpose and address its audience in accordance to their expectations—having these virtues and avoiding these vices will not necessarily make your writing good.
 
 
 

Virtues	Vices
Surface Level	Surface Level
1. Clarity	1. Lack of clarity.
2. Specificity	2. Vagueness.
3. Logic and complexity.	3. Repetition and oversimplification.
4. Concision.	4. Wordiness
5. Strong subject-verb-object core.	5. Excessive use of "to be," passive voice, or "there is" and "there are."
Local Level	Local Level
6. Clear, informative topic sentences.	6. Vague, weak topic sentences, often with "there is/are" or the "Another example of x is y" structure.
7. Clear support and evidence for the paragraph’s claim, organized logically.	7. Disorganized, illogical support, if any, or too many claims in one paragraph
8. Good transition words or concepts in the topic sentence and the concluding sentence.	8. Missing or weak transitions.
Global Level	Global Level
9. Clear, arguable thesis.	9. Missing or weak thesis, truisms, trivial or inarguable claims.
10. Logical organization based on a sound, identifiable principle.	10. Arbitrary or random organization; repeated points.
11. Central, identifiable purpose; answers genuine and interesting question.	11. Pointless or trivial.
12. Unified topic, theme, and thesis.	12. Off-track.