Proposal & Draft Intelligence Report

WRITING AN INTELLIGENCE PRODUCT IN THE BLUF (BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT) FORMAT Why the BLUF format? Intelligence reports (or products) must tailor to the needs of their customers: policy makers and commanders. Such busy men and women rely on clear, concise and accurate intelligence reporting to make daily decisions that affect national security, policies, and the lives of service men and women. Directly stating the conclusions of your analysis is the best way for analysts to communicate with policymakers and commanders, who are often too busy to carefully digest all the information. Summarizing conclusions for each paragraph at its beginning allows readers to skim quickly the intelligence without sacrificing clarity. BLUF: In the BLUF format, the first sentence of each paragraph will sum up the key points in the paragraph (similar to a topic sentence). A strong BLUF should cover all of the information in the paragraph like an umbrella. If the paragraph contains any information that does not fall under the umbrella, the information needs to move to another paragraph, be removed, or the BLUF needs to be revised. Following the BLUF, the component sentences should be arranged to from MOST to LEAST important. Format Introduction: Your introduction summarizes the 2-3 key points that convey the analytical impact of your report. The first sentence in the introduction should state clearly the conclusion of your analysis, followed by the 2-3 key points to clarify the terms of the result itself. The BLUF sentence should be bolded or italicized. Background: The background follows the introduction only as a means to allow the reader to understand the historical context surrounding the issue and your conclusions. The background section should explain relevant facts and interesting explanations within the issue. By presenting the background immediately after the introduction, the section following the background can focus entirely on analysis without the need to boggle your report with jargon and explanatory details. Do not focus so much on your research or methods of research; the purpose of the report always should remain with the analysis.

Analysis or Substantiation: Usually the longest section of your report, the analysis substantiates the conclusions originally made in the introduction. In other words, this section presents the essentials within the issue, providing meaningful characterizations and relevant facts to substantiate implications for the future. Communicate your analysis in an accurate, clear, and brief way. Remember to think critically and organize your thoughts clearly, avoiding misinterpretations of facts. Analysis DOES NOT OFFER OPINION. Your interpretation and understanding of the implications within the issue demand for you to present a line of reasoning, not necessarily an “opinion.” Everything you write must be based on facts and evidence that have been analyzed LOGICALLY lacking bias (as much as possible, I know you are human after all). Context: Context provides the reader a setting for your analysis (not to be confused with background) by offering additional implications, opportunities, or anticipated consequences about the set of circumstances or facts regarding the issue you have chosen to analyze, while the background section should supply the reader with essential information to understand the issue in general. In other words, the background section allows the reader to acquire the necessary knowledge to understand the circumstances outlined in the context. Outlook: The outlook should sum reiterate the conclusions of your report and sum up the content of the paper, including the final conclusion about future implications and threats to US interests; that is, the outlook sums up the analytical judgement for future implications and possible complications already present in the analysis and context. ACCURACY, BREVITY, AND CLARITY: Intelligence writing demands that the language used is as clear and direct as possible. Carefully chosen language—accurate, brief, and clear—prevents misinterpretation and greatly reduces the possibility that a decision-maker will make a decision that opposes U.S. interests.

NAME OF DEPARTMENT AGENCY UNCLASSIFIED

DATE

MEMORANDUM FOR: Name of your reader (commander, director, or policy maker) Official Title of your reader (i.e. Director of Intelligence, Department of the Navy)

FROM: Your Name Student of Analytic Writing, POS 4784 SUBJECT: Your issue TITLE OF YOUR REPORT Introduction: BLUF sentence begins here . . .