This is a transcript of one of the videos in the plain language training course Writing well at work. There are references to slides and visual material that are only available by viewing the video.
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The third big idea about structuring content is to right point first, and in some ways this is related to the idea of layering information as well.
The triangle that you can see on your screen, what I’m trying to convey there is as I write my key point, my word count is pretty small. But as I get to other types of content throughout the document, my word count might expand a little bit.
A point first structure orients your reader
Writing point first is great for just about all document. It’s great because it orients your reader, it tells them what is to come, so it helps them understand your content. It provides a cognitive benefit if you like.
Now, this idea of point first is called different things by different people. There’s a book written by Barbara Minto back in the 1990’s. The title of her book was the Pyramid Principle and she talked about how to structure all sorts of different types of documents. And she called this idea of point first, the pyramid principle. There are some style guides around that I’ve seen in various government agencies that refer to this as a telescoping style, and I think what they’re suggesting there is we need to get that key point in focus before we start moving on to other types of content.
No matter what we call it, having your key point right at the very beginning of the document is really helpful to your reader.
A point first structure is different to a deductive structure
However, you may be used to writing using a deductive structure. And a deductive structure works this way. We’ve got a fact, then another fact, then another fact, and then we form a conclusion.
You might remember deductive thinking from your year 9 mathematics class where you did a topic called deductive geometry. You would have done things like prove that triangles are congruent. And you would have done that by saying, hey, these sides are equal for a particular reason. These angles are equal and so on. Therefore the triangles are congruent.
Deductive thinking is a great way to develop knowledge. I think it is the way we develop scientific knowledge. We observe a fact. We observe another fact and another fact and we draw a conclusion from it. I think it’s also the way we develop policy. This is happening. This is happening. This is happening, therefore we should. It is a great way to develop knowledge.
However, when we come to explain that knowledge, I think the reverse order is superior. And so that’s why I’m suggesting that we write point 1st. The way we think about this is we start with our conclusion and then we’re going to write because, because, because.
So that’s the difference between a deductive structure and a point first structure. And I’m going to suggest that the point first structure is superior for most documents.
There’s also a really good correlation between readers and this structure. You’ve got lots of people, the public and senior managers. Lots of people are interested in your big ideas. Hardly anybody is interested in your specialised data. So organise your document that way.
Now let me read this quote just because there’s so many words on the screen.
Business readers are predictable. They usually read for information, not for pleasure. They’re constantly under pressure from other demands that compete for their time. The thoughtful writer tries to convey as much information as possible accurately and as clearly as possible, in as little reading as possible. Business reading is different to reading a novel. Don’t try to hold your readers in suspense. Get to the point fast. Often a reliable headline is all your readers need. Readers are eager to put your document aside as soon as they have all they need. So think about that one statement, which a writer which you’d be willing to say it’s OK if my readers read nothing else. Put that at the beginning. And it may be truly all right if your reader reads nothing else. In wanting to stop early, the reader is not lazy or irresponsible. They’re only reading for information. They want to get that information and then get out of there out of your document.
A point first structure has a pragmatic benefit
Just because you write it does not mean people will read it.
There is no way that you can guarantee that people will read what you have written. You just can’t do it.
So put the most important idea at the place where they are most likely to find it, and that is at the beginning of the document.
So this idea of writing point first – Yes, it has a cognitive benefit. It does help people understand. But it also has a pragmatic benefit. It’s about getting the job done. It’s about making sure that your document is effective.
Now, if I was rewriting that indoor air fact sheet and I thought we were writing to regulators, I might start with this big idea. We need to establish indoor air quality standards. And then I’d follow it up with because, because, because. If I thought we were writing for the public, I might start with this big idea. Make sure your home is well ventilated – because, because, because. That’s how I would write that point first.
Now, this idea of point first does work at the overall document structure level, but it also works at the paragraph level. Here’s one of the paragraphs that you would have seen in that indoor air fact sheet. And you can see its current structure is more a deductive structure. It starts with a fact. It talks about scientific evidence. Then it presents another fact that talks about how research indicates, and then we’ve got a conclusion. We’ve got the word thus. So we know it’s a conclusion. There’s a couple of conclusions there.
That is its current structure, but I do not think that is the best way of organising that. I think it would be better to rewrite that point 1st. And so I’d want to start with the conclusion that the very young, the elderly and the infirm are more susceptible to illness, and then I’ll follow that up with a because scientific evidence has shown and also another because – research also shows.
So this idea of point first does work at the overall document structure level. It works at the paragraph level and it even works at the sentence level.
Exception – resistant readers
Now I’ve been saying that writing point first is good for just about all documents. Let me tell you the exception. The exception is when you have highly resistant readers. You may want to revert to the more deductive type structure with a highly resistant reader.
And the reason is, if I’ve got a highly resistant reader and I present them with a document and they read my point first, there’s a danger that they’re just going to say that’s rubbish. I’m not reading the rest. So I think it is the exception rather than the rule.
I think most of the time and for most documents we’re going to write point first.
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