Writing Documents Guidelines

Know why you’re writing.
Before you write anything longer than two or three paragraphs, write down the answer to this question: Why am I writing? (For example, To secure funds for the system enhancement, To propose a new approach to employee communications)

Keep this answer in front of you as you write; it’s your objective. Include nothing in your document that doesn’t relate to or support your objective.

Organize your document.
The most basic, and usually the most effective, way to organize any business document is to present the information in descending order of importance.

An exception to this rule occurs when your reader might be reluctant to accept your point of view. In that case, consider presenting information in the opposite order, from least to most important, gradually bolstering your case and ending with your strongest point. The danger with this approach, of course, is that the reader might lose interest and stop reading.

• Chronological order
• Compare-and-contrast format
• Problem-solution format
• Cause-to-effect format (This approach is good only when you want to explain why something happened or what you think will happen in the future.)

When deciding which format to follow, put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Determine how your readers will logically think about the topic, and pick an organizational method that will match their logic. Whatever organizing principle you use, it’s still a good idea to follow the most-to-least-important guideline within sections and paragraphs of your document.

Omit details that will be of interest to only some readers in the main text. Instead, include them in appendix section at the end of the document.

Make it easy on the eyes.
Aside from using correct spelling and grammar, there are several ways to make your document easy to read:

• Use wide margins and ample white space.
• Left-justify your text; that is, align your left margin, and keep your right margin “ragged” for ease of reading and a more inviting look.
• Indent at least five spaces at the beginning of paragraphs. Another option is to separate paragraphs with line breaks (block style).
• Indent lists.
• Use plenty of headings and subheadings.
• Highlight important points with bullets.
• Include a table of contents for documents of ten pages or more.

Headings and subheadings guide your readers through your document and show which topics are more important than others. They help readers find information they need so they can scan the rest. Use primary headings for the main sections of the document and subheadings for sections within those sections. Make the headings at different levels graphically distinct.

Make it easy to understand.
Visual techniques are not the only way to make your document accessible to the reader; word choice can help or hinder readers’ understanding, as well. Here are some tips for making your document easy to comprehend:

• Stay in the same person (first, second, or third) throughout the document.
• Don’t be afraid to use I. First person is common in business documents now. It can keep writing from sounding stilted, making it clearer and more personal. (I distributed the survey is clearer and sounds more energetic than the passive, The survey was distributed.)
• Be consistent with verb tenses within sentences and paragraphs: If you start in the present tense, end in the present tense. If you start in the past tense, end in the past tense – unless there is a logical reason to change tenses.
• Minimize brackets, slashes, dashes, and parentheses. Use contractions unless the document is extremely formal.
• Don’t use words unless you’re certain of their meaning. If you are even remotely in doubt, look a word up in the dictionary – or don’t use it.

Grab and hold the reader’s attention
Use strong openings and closings in any document you write. In particular, the first paragraph should grab the reader’s attention – not by being unusual or outrageous, but by presenting most important information clearly and engagingly.

Adopt a conversational tone. Big words and stilted language turn readers off. The simpler and more conversational you can make your writing, the more likely your audience will want to keep reading. Test your writing by reading it aloud to see how it sounds. If it sounds wooden and artificial to you, it will sound that way to your reader.

Use more you words than me words in all but the most formal documents to show respect and consideration for your reader and to support that conversational tone. When your you words (you, your, yours) outnumber your me words (I, me, my, mine), your readers will more readily accept what you tell them without even knowing why.

By all means, sound adult, but not parental. When you give instructions or make recommendations or suggestions, resist sounding superior or protective. Avoid such words and phrases as should, never, always, remember to, and be (or make) sure. Treat your readers as your intellectual equals.

There are several effective ways to end a document. They include reiterating key points, drawing a conclusion or making a judgment, making recommendations, and suggesting a course of action.

Summarize your ideas.
An executive summary at the beginning of a paper is helpful, particularly for longer documents. Like an abstract in a technical paper, an executive summary presents the key ideas of a document in a few sentences or paragraphs (a page at the most). An executive summary allows people who can’t read the full text to grasp your main points quickly.

For extremely long documents, consider including brief summaries at the beginning or end of each section.

Proofread, proofread, proofread.
Use your spell-check tool, but don’t stop there; it won’t catch words that are spelled correctly but misused (to for two, at for an). If you have time, print the document and proof it in hard copy, as errors are easier to catch on paper. Consider asking a strong writer to review it and give you feedback.

www.luyenanhvan.com