Writing deliverables

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Technical Communication Fourteenth Edition John M. Lannon Laura J. Gurak

Chapter 10
Organizing for Readers

Because students already have studied decisions about purpose, audience, and content, they can now appreciate how decisions about organization can help writers connect with their audience—how decisions about what to say are related to decisions on how to organize.

The intention here is to show that a well-organized document doesn’t just happen—it evolves from a careful plan. Students will recognize the typical shape of workplace documents—introduction, body, conclusion—since they are essential to the kinds of academic writing they have encountered previously.

Learning Objectives

Work from an introduction-body-conclusion structure

Create informal and formal outlines

Prepare a storyboard for a long document

Shape effective paragraphs

Chunk information into discrete units

Provide overviews of longer documents

Organize information for global audiences

Organizing

Instead of forcing readers to make sense of unstructured information, we shape this material for their understanding. Consider the following:

What relationships do the collected data suggest?

What should I emphasize?

In which sequence will readers approach the material?

What belongs where?

What do I say first? Why?

What comes next?

How do I end the document?

The Typical Shape of
Workplace Documents

Useful documents typically follow this pattern:

The introduction attracts the reader’s attention, announces the writer’s viewpoint, and previews what will follow.

The body delivers on the introduction, explaining and supporting the writer’s viewpoint, achieving unity by remaining focused on that viewpoint and coherence by carrying a line of thought throughout.

The conclusion can reemphasize key points, take a position, predict an outcome, offer a solution, or
suggest further study.

Outlining

Even basic documents require at least an introduction-body-conclusion outline done in your head and/or a few ideas jotted down in list form. This is an informal outline.

Longer documents require a more detailed outline so that you can visualize your document overall and ensure that ideas flow logically from point to point. This is a formal outline.

Outlining (continued)

Start by searching through the information you have gathered and creating a random list of key topics your document should include.

Then reorganize the list into an introduction, body, and conclusion and decide how to divide each of these parts into subtopics.

The Formal Outline

In planning a long document, an author or
team rarely begins with a formal outline. But eventually in the writing process, a long or complex document calls for much more than
a simple list. It calls for a formal outline using either alphanumeric or decimal notation:

Alphanumeric notation refers to the use of letters and numbers in an outline.

Decimal notation refers to the use of numbers only, separated by decimal points.

The Formal Outline (continued)

In alphanumeric notation, the introduction, body, and conclusion use Roman numerals (I, II, III); major topics use capital letters (A, B, C); major subtopics use Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3); and minor subtopics use lower-case letters (a, b, c). Each level is indented:

The Formal Outline (continued)

In decimal notation, the introduction, body, and conclusion use a section number and a zero (2.0), major topics use the section number and a major topic number (2.1), and so on, with an additional number to indicate each level. Each level is indented:

The Formal Outline (continued)

You may wish to expand your topic outline into a sentence outline, in which each sentence serves as a topic sentence for a paragraph in the document.

Not until you finish the final draft of a long document do you compose the finished outline. This outline serves as a model for your table of contents, as a check on your reasoning, and as a way of revealing to readers a clear line of thinking.

Guidelines for Outlining

List key topics and subtopics to be included in your document.

Set up a standard outline.

Consider using your word processing program’s outlining tool.

Place key topics and subtopics where they fit within your standard outline.

Use alphanumeric or decimal notation consistently throughout the outline.

Guidelines for Outlining (continued)

Avoid excessive subtopics.

Refine your outline as you write your document.

Storyboarding

Another method of organizing (usually used to organize Web sites) is to use a storyboard, a sketch of the finished document:

Paragraphing

Paragraphing means that each supporting paragraph within the larger introduction, body, and conclusion structure is similarly structured:

Each paragraph must contain an “introduction,”
or topic sentence, which introduces an idea, judgment, or opinion.

The “body” of each paragraph consists of sentences that are logically connected to each other to create unity and coherence.

The “conclusion” of each paragraph is a restatement of the topic sentence or a smooth transition into the next paragraph.

Chunking

Each organizing technique discussed in this chapter is a way of chunking information: breaking it down into discrete, digestible units, based on the users’ needs and the document’s purpose.

Web sites especially rely on the concept of chunked information. When writing for the Web, use smaller chunks than you would in print, because readers expect to read smaller pieces of information online.

Providing an Overview

For longer document, consider giving readers an immediate preview, or overview, of its contents by answering their initial questions:

What is the purpose of this document?

Why should I read it?

What information can I expect to find here?

Organizing for Global Audiences

Different cultures have varying expectations as to how information should be organized. Keep these considerations in mind:

Digression: North Americans usually do not
tolerate digressions that interrupt the logical flow of paragraphs, but some cultures consider digression a sign of intelligence or politeness.

Directness: Especially with bad new messages, North Americans prefer to gently lead into bad news, but some cultures prefer to get the bad news over with immediately.

Review Questions

1. Why is organizing information important?

2. What are the three main parts of workplace documents, and what is the function of each part?

3. How do you create an informal outline?

4. What is a formal outline?

5. What is the difference between alphanumeric notation and decimal notation?

6. What is a storyboard?

Answers

1. It shapes complex material for reader understanding.

2. The introduction (attracts the reader’s attention, announces the writer’s viewpoint, and previews what will follow); the body (delivers on the introduction, explaining and supporting the writer’s viewpoint, achieving unity by remaining focused on that viewpoint and coherence by carrying a line of thought throughout); the conclusion (can reemphasize key points, take a position, predict an outcome, offer a solution, or suggest further study).

3. Start by searching through the information you have gathered and creating a random list of key topics your document should include. Then reorganize the list into an introduction, body, and conclusion and decide how to divide each of these parts into subtopics.

4. A formal outline is a more detailed outline that helps writers visualize a document overall and ensure that ideas flow logically from point to point.

5. Alphanumeric notation refers to the use of letters and numbers in an outline. Decimal notation refers to the use of numbers only, separated by decimal points.

6. A storyboard is a sketch of the finished document.

Review Questions (continued)

7. What is paragraphing, and how should paragraphs be organized?

8. What is chunking and how is it useful?

9. What is an overview and when should you provide one?

10. What are two ways you might organize a document differently for some global audiences?

Answers (continued)

7. Paragraphing is structuring each supporting paragraph within the larger introduction, body, and conclusion structure similarly.

8. Chunking is breaking down information into discrete, digestible units. It considerably helps with a document’s readability.

9. An overview gives readers an immediate preview of a document. It is typically only used for long and complex documents.

10. You might consider allowing digressions and writing more indirectly.

Answers

1. It shapes complex material for reader understanding.

4. A formal outline is a more detailed outline that helps writers visualize a document overall and ensure that ideas flow logically from point to point.

5. Alphanumeric notation refers to the use of letters and numbers in an outline. Decimal notation refers to the use of numbers only, separated by decimal points.

6. A storyboard is a sketch of the finished document.

Answers (continued)

7. Paragraphing is structuring each supporting paragraph within the larger introduction, body, and conclusion structure similarly.

8. Chunking is breaking down information into discrete, digestible units. It considerably helps with a document’s readability.

9. An overview gives readers an immediate preview of a document. It is typically only used for long and complex documents.

10. You might consider allowing digressions and writing more indirectly.