Writing and Editing Basics

I was wrestling with some writing and editing at work and chatting with a colleague when I blurted out four statements: 

• The main point of a document should show up in the opening paragraph.
  
• The supporting points of a document should show up in the structure of the document.
  
• The main point of any paragraph should show up in the topic sentence. 
• The main point of any sentence should show up in the subject and verb positions. 

I hadn't spend time consciously articulating any of this; it just came out. But it accurately summarizes my stance on writing and editing--for technical or business or academic audiences, that is--it's no treatise on poetry or creative writing.