This is something people like me bitch about a lot, and if you’re not the kind of person who’s been eye-deep in this sport for over a decade you may have zero idea what we’re even talking about. So here’s a little crash course in factors that contribute to good routine composition. Obviously, not every one of these is super essential, and even the more hard-and-fast rules have their exceptions. It’s also possible for a routine to satisfy most of these and still not be particularly special. But, they’re a good benchmark. (Also note that many of these principles have evolved as gymnastics has evolved, so using them to pass judgment on a much older routine may not be warranted.)

On all events (except vault):

Skill choice should play to a gymnast’s individual strengths within the rules and guidelines set out by the FIG.

If an entire gym, or an entire country (looking at you, Italy UB ca. 2012), has nearly the exact same routine, the coach is probably not devoting enough energy to exploring his/her gymnasts’ abilities.

Additionally, the skills chosen should not be way too hard or way too easy for the gymnast - something slightly challenging or a moment of rest in a routine is fine, but someone like Simone doing routines with only B & C skills or a gymnast performing a skill she cannot land in training are both inappropriate choices.

Skill choice should be interesting and unique, presenting a variety of the different movements possible on the apparatus.

Skills shouldn’t be repetitive, or if they are it should be to form a unique combination. Three unconnected tkatchevs in a row on UB is inappropriate, as is performing a jump out of every floor pass.

This is related to, but not quite the same as the last principle: it’s also best not to do too many of the same sort of skills in a row - for example, a beam/FX routine should not be all the dance skills, then all the acro skills, and a bar routine should not have five transitions in a row. Alternating between the different sorts of skills (not as a strict A B A B A B - just... vary it) is a better choice.

Unique choices of skills to connect is often a better decision than taking the simplest possible way to satisfy the CB requirement that 90% of the world’s top gymnasts are using (eg. the nearly compulsory BHS-LOSO-front tuck flight series on beam from 2012)

in general, if so many people are doing it you feel like it’s tempting the FIG for a rule change, maybe try something else

Difficulty should be evenly balanced across the exercise - all of the most difficult skills/connections should not occur in one or two isolated parts of the routine

this does not mean every skill in a routine has to be around the same level of difficulty

but it does mean you shouldn’t do an E+ mount, a .2 connection, six A-B skills in a row, and then an E+ dismount

Connections should allow one element to flow naturally into the next, or they will look stilted. Connections that make it nearly impossible to perform one of the skills correctly are particularly discouraged.

Unique and original skills and connections are often a good choice, particularly if they also look spectacular (this can be as complicated as a Podkopayeva tumble or as simple as a Valdez on beam). This particularly applies to mounts on beam and bars - basically anything besides a jump to kip on bars and a simple leap, stoop/squat through or stoop/thief vault onto the beam is appreciated at this point.

Speaking very generally, any choice that makes a routine very unattractive or a good performance unattainable is probably bad composition.

Bars:

Do real work on the low bar - not just transition down, immediate transition back up; an actual skill or two between transitions is better.

Avoid skills that result in automatic empty swings. (I would love to see someone connect a Gaylord/Mo to like a straddle back or an Ezhova sometime, though.)

Try to construct the routine to minimize the number of kip-cast handstands necessary. Each of these breaks the rhythm so much it almost feels like a restart to the routine. If you can do a connection or an uprise instead, it will usually be a better, more natural-feeling choice.

Changing the direction your body is facing multiple times during the routine (ie. doing skills both inside and outside the bars) isn’t imperative, but it adds a nice touch

The FIG (well, Bruno Grandi anyway) is of the view that most current bar routines are too long; I personally don’t really agree, but your routine should use time wisely so you’re not on the bars longer than you’re conditioned to handle.

by the way, there was nothing wrong with jams to high bar (admittedly rough example here) from a composition standpoint, and I resent the fact that they were outlawed under the “support of feet/legs on bar” rule as if they were the same thing as a toe circle jump hb ngl

Beam:

The biggest rule here that isn’t covered in the general rules (and gets broken all the time) is actually work the beam in both directions. Face one way, do some skills, do a half (or 1.5) pirouette when you get to the end, and work back the other way. Modern beam work tends to be forward pass - backward pass - forward pass - backward pass and... ugh, yawn. Mariya Livchikova is a good example of what a beam routine can be when it breaks out of that rut. (Why did she have to get injured so much? The fact that she had to retire without ever having competed at a WC or OG is absolutely tragic.)

Timing and rhythm are very important on beam - long empty pauses and rushing from skill to skill are both discouraged. This is as much on the performer as the choreographer, though.

Floor:

The entirety of the floor area should be used, not just for choreography but for skills with difficulty (ie. leap passes, turns, etc. should not just be done down diagonals and in corners, and in a routine with four passes, they should start out of at least three different corners. I like to see all four, but that is really rare.)

get your random trash aerial off my lawn (i.e. even in the new Code, front/side and back tumbling requirements should ideally both be satisfied with a skill that will actually be used for DV, not just an afterthought A-value connection randomly thrown in there.)

Choreography is a part of composition; it should be unique, interpret the music well, and look natural for the gymnast. Tumbling runs and dance elements should be blended seamlessly with choreography - no long pauses to set up, no awkward walking from the end of the choreography to the start of the tumbling line or vice-versa.

Skills (jumps, punch fronts, etc.) should only be connected out of tumbling passes if they can be truly rebounded and performed well.