Style and content

Style and content

Questions you must ask yourself when you read your own writing are:

have I organised my thoughts logically?
am I writing to my reader?
is my meaning clear?
do I make the point quickly?
are my words precise and familiar?

Defining, designing and writing the document

There are three main steps you must follow for effective and efficient writing:

define the purpose, scope and reader
design the structure, content and layout
write and edit.

Each is a separate part of the writing process and must be completed in the order shown above.

Defining the purpose, scope and reader

Before you begin writing you must analyse your purpose and your audience (your readers). This process defines your document. It involves answering the following questions:

who am I writing to?
why am I writing to them?
what am I telling them?

Write down the answers. They give you a definition you can use to ensure that you meet each audience’s needs.

After answering these questions you will have a good idea of the size of the document and the type of information you must include.

Designing the structure, layout and content

After defining who, why, and what, you can design the structure and look of the document.

The most important design step is to write an outline or table of contents. This will:

identify the information to be covered (and what can be ignored)
organise the information into a structure of sections and topics
help you estimate the extent of the task and the time needed
identify areas for other people to provide input
show your audience if you are on track or not.

The table of contents will probably change as you write the document, but it is needed from the beginning to guide your writing.

You should design the physical layout of the document to best meet the needs of your readers.

Layout standards and style guides

As a contract technical writer, I always hope to find that the client has already developed a document layout standard. Even if I may disagree with some of the decisions made, it is so much easier to have something to work with. It also means that my work can fit into the total set of documents.

However, most companies do not have any guidelines set up. I usually find that I have to start from scratch, designing the document for each client.

I don't want you to think I'm complaining about this. Designing a layout that makes the document more useful and attractive is definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of technical writing. It also often gives me the opportunity to try out something new.

So, where do you start?

Writing and editing

After you have defined and designed your document you can begin to write it.

Work section by section, in whatever order seems best. It is usually best to leave the introductions, summaries and overviews until you have finished. Only then are you likely to know enough to summarise effectively.

Don’t worry too much about the spelling, grammar or layout of your first draft. Concentrate on the information you are writing and make your corrections in subsequent redrafts.

First drafts are rarely concise. Most of the work you do will be during the editing phase which follows the first draft and which will be repeated a number of times. When editing, use the same guidelines you followed when writing the document.

Give yourself a break of at least one day between writing and editing. You will read with a fresh mind and increase your chances of finding errors. Better yet, get someone else to check the content and highlight any unclear words, sentences or sections.