When you are drafting a document, you will likely make some notes as you prepare. These notes both shape and reflect your thinking.

Your document will be designed for your reader, to shape their thinking and influence their response.

Never feel obliged to include all your thinking notes in your final document. You will usually have explored ideas that may be interesting, but perhaps not relevant, to your user. Including everything you have thought about will often result in a cluttered document that readers may get lost in.

Carefully selecting content, deciding what to include and what to leave out, is the key to crafting an effective document. Include only what is necessary to a) meet your readers’ needs, and b) achieve your purpose.