Writing Skills - how to communicate information quickly and effectively

It will briefly explain how to target your writing, structure an outline and write your piece effectively.

Targeting your writing

It is essential to have a clear idea of who your reader is. You should know why he or she is going to be reading your piece, where and when they will be reading it, and what they will want to get out of it.

Knowing this, and knowing what information you want to convey allows you to decide an aim for the article. You should focus all decisions on content, structure, style and presentation on meeting this aim.

Preparing an outline

Once you have decided the aim of the article, you are ready to prepare an outline. This allows you to start to organise the information in an article into a coherent structure. If you start writing without an outline you are in danger of producing a disorganised, chaotic mess that confuses your reader and fails to make the desired connections in his or her mind.

If you have researched the article by using a Mind Map or by noting conventionally, an effective way of producing an outline is to open up a Word Processor document and to type in the facts that you have decided to include. You can then cut and paste these notes into related groups, and order these groups in a way that supports your argument.

Once you have selected information and organised a structure, prepare an outline of the introduction and summary. The shape of these should be obvious from the structure you have given your information. The introduction should help the reader to prepare an overall structure into which the information in the article can be fitted. The summary should organise the facts in the middle of the article into a coherent whole.

Writing your piece

When you have prepared your outline, it is time to start writing!

The easiest way of doing this is just to let the words and ideas flow. Move quickly through the piece without editing or reviewing it. This will help to keep your creativity flowing without it being crippled by self-criticism.

Only when you have finished a section should you review it. At this stage you may decide to reorganise it, edit it, change it around, and add or delete information. As you review it you should check that what you have written meets the aim you set and gives the reader the information they want.

Style

The style of the article should be completely focused on the reader's needs. Language used should be pitched at the appropriate level for the reader.

People generally prefer information presented in short sentences with little or no jargon. You may be tempted to write in a way that you think will impress your readers, using long words and complex sentences. All this shows is that you are not able to communicate ideas clearly and simply. It is likely that material written like this will not be read at all.

If you need to use technical language that may not be understood, include a glossary.

Remember that you have responsibility for the clarity, effectiveness and focus of your communication. Beyond this, style will emerge on its own without you needing to worry about it.

Summary

It is essential to know who you are writing for, and what they will want from your writing. Once you know this you should know precisely the level you are writing at and what information to include.

Preparation of an outline helps you to give structure to your piece. An effective way of doing this is to transfer notes into a WP document, and then cut and paste words and sections into a coherent form.

Including an introduction and summary helps readers to structure information in their minds.

When you write, try to let words and ideas flow. Only edit and review a section once you have completed its first draft. As you review it, ensure that the material meets the aim you set for the piece.

The style of the piece should be focused on the readers needs. Avoid trying to impress people with your knowledge.

Remember that the responsibility for effective communication lies with you!