Well Written or Well-Written Hubs?

Should I hyphenate or not? It all comes down to placement in the sentence and composition of the words. The following descriptions of a hub are all correct:

• This hub is well written.
• This is a well-written hub.
• This is a superbly written hub.
• This is a family-oriented hub.

Keep in mind the following rules of English grammar and usage when struggling with potential hyphenation situations such as well written versus well-written:

1. Hyphenate the elements of a compound modifier only if that modifier precedes the noun.

• This is a well-written hub. (The compound modifier comes before the noun, so use a hyphen.)
• This hub is well written. (The compound modifier comes after the noun, so omit the hyphen.)
  

2. Do not place a hyphen after any word that ends in "ly", even if the word is part of a compound modifier that precedes the noun it modifies. If the "ly" is part of the core word itself, as in "family", then you can use the hyphen.

• This is a superbly written hub. (The compound modifier comes before the noun, but superbly ends in 'ly', so don't use a hyphen.)
  
• This is a family-oriented hub. (The compound modifier comes before the noun, and the 'ly' is part of the core word, so use a hyphen.)

If you read the last section and find yourself confused about modifiers...

• A modifier is a word or phrase that describes another word. Adjectives and adverbs are both modifiers.
• A compound modifier is a modifier composed of more than one word.

Whether or not you feel this hub is well written, get out there and create your own correctly hyphenated hubs!