Structure

Telescoping is the most reader-friendly structure for workplace documents. This is because it sequences information in a way our brains can easily process. We read a text more effectively if it starts with a summary or overview before moving into the details.

This structure is called telescoping because it expands in layers of increasing size, much as a telescope expands from its viewing lens to the magnification lens. Telescoping works best in short documents as a 3-part structure:

The most common telescoping structure we read is a newspaper article, which starts with a 'lead' paragraph that summarises the piece, then unpacks the key parts of the story, before ending with the supporting detail and background history.

In the workplace, an email or letter works best in a telescoping structure. These start with the purpose and request, explains the reasons for it, then adds extra detail if needed.

Short decision documents such as briefs and submissions increasingly use this structure as well. They start with a short summary, followed by the key reasons supporting a recommended action, and only then outline the supporting detail.

This approach helps to balance the needs of different readers. Those who are short on time can get what they need straight away, including the key content they need to make a decision. Those who want more information also benefit from the summary, but can read as much supporting detail as they need.

The most traditional structure in workplace documents takes readers on a chronological journey through the writer's research process. This tends to make documents longer than necessary and places the key information towards the end.

Narrative structure is useful for some documents, such as formal research papers where the readers are as interested in the research methods as they are in the results and recommendations. It also works well in informational documents such as procedures.

But where your readers are time poor and you need to persuade them, narrative is not the most effective structure. They will end up skimming the text looking for the key information, and they can miss key content.

The third common structure is the 'essay' model that we all used at school. This has the classic introduction-3 points-conclusion structure.

While a simple exposition structure is useful in an educational context, it tends to put too much of the key information toward the back in workplace documents. 

Exposition structure works best in longer workplace documents, where the telescoping model does not have enough sections. 

In longer reports, for example, it is often best to divide the main body by theme-based chapters using the exposition model. But unlike the old school essay, try to bring the conclusions and recommendations to the front of the report as part of an Executive Summary.

Exposition also works well in short informational documents such as web pages or FAQs, where you need to capture a related range of information. But avoid exposition in short decision documents such as briefs and submissions.

Understanding the common structure models can help you select the best way to sequence your content for a given context.

When we don't think carefully enough about structure, many writers tend to fall back on narrative and exposition models because that's what we learned at school. Yet in an increasingly online world, telescoping models will work better for readers – particularly in short texts.

In longer documents, the trick is to combine different structures within a document.

A longer letter, for example, may use telescoping to summarise the key points at the start, but then break the main body of the letter into expositional sections.

Similarly, a report may have expositional chapters, but each chapter may then use a telescoping or a narrative structure. And a comprehensive summary at the start of the report adds another telescoping element.

The key is to think carefully about the structure of each document, and consciously choose the right combination for your readers and the outcomes you are trying to achieve.