As with all cooking and food preparation, the most important thing is hygiene. Personal and in the kitchen. After hygiene, comes presentation. The finished salad dish should be pleasing on the eye of the soon to be consumer. A mixture of the colours of green and variegated lettuces and other greens, and the red of tomatoes and other red salad ingredients, plus the wide variety of shapes from plain leaves or curly leaves, can add a variety of shapes to the final presentation. Then comes the dressing of choice. I like Salad Cream, others like Mayonnaise, or some like just a sprinkling of Olive Oil (with or without seasoning from various herbs. The list can go on. It is all a question of taste.Apart from the plants that make up a salad, there is also the main item: I like tuna, or grated cheddar cheese, or eggs, thick slices of ham, or beef, and so on. I'm feeling quite hungry now after answering this question!