Content

One of the most common faults in many documents is not being clear about the purpose and key message. Where this is the case, readers tend to start skipping through a text to understand the core content before they will commit to the detail.

You can identify the core message by asking 3 simple questions:

• What is the topic the document covers?
• What do you want the reader to do after reading it?
• Why should they do it?

These are the key elements a reader will be looking for when they start reading a text, and if the answers are not clear, they can quickly become frustrated.

Whether you are writing or editing a text, try summarising the core message in 3 sentences by answering these questions. Then make sure you convey that information early in the text.

When a writer is clear about the core message in a document, it makes it much easier to decide on the right level of detail to include.

Simply consider how much supporting detail a reader will genuinely need to understand and act on the core message.

This is where defining the outcomes for a document is so important. There may be a lot of information you can give your readers, but how much do they genuinely need to achieve those outcomes?

For example, if you are writing an email asking someone to attend a meeting, focus on what the meeting is for and why they should participate. You can likely leave out much of the detail about how the meeting came about – or save it for the meeting itself.

Similarly, a web page may focus on the eligibility for a benefit or the way a service works. Readers will be less interested in how these were developed and more focused on the task they want to complete. 

In more complex documents such as reports, you may want to consider the core message for each chapter or section, then look paragraph by paragraph at what information is essential to convey that.

If in doubt, leave it out.

For a document to succeed, it will also need clear logic to support the core message. This will vary depending on its purpose.

If you are writing an informational document such as a procedure, the logic will often follow the steps of the process you describe. A more discursive text such as a web page or a fact sheet might be divided into sub-topics or themes.

In either case, make sure you signpost the logic using a clear structure and headings.

If you are writing an analytical document such as a proposal or a report, you are often assessing a problem and recommending a solution in response. In this case, make sure you develop a clear chain of reasons and evidence to support your recommendation.

For example, you might recommend purchasing a certain piece of software for your organisation because it:

• solves an operational problem
• offers value for money
• is backed by 24 hour support.

Then identify the evidence that supports each reason in turn.

This approach will make a text more persuasive, as well as help you to focus and structure the document. Rather than writing up all of your research, you can highlight the content that supports the decision you are recommending.