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Chapter 6 Organizing and Drafting Documents

Chapter 6 Organizing and Drafting Documents. Predrafting. Confirm your purpose Analyze your audience Gather your information Develop ideas about the information Organize your information. Drafting. Nearly every workplace document can be divided into three primary parts Front Matter

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Chapter 6 Organizing and Drafting Documents

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  1. Chapter 6Organizing and Drafting Documents

  2. Predrafting • Confirm your purpose • Analyze your audience • Gather your information • Develop ideas about the information • Organize your information

  3. Drafting • Nearly every workplace document can be divided into three primary parts • Front Matter • The Body • The End Matter

  4. Organizational Strategies • Consider audience — to whom the document is written • Consider purpose — why the document is written • Consider logic — how to construct the document to lead the audience • Consider ethics — what information to include and what not to include

  5. bigfoto.com Organizational Strategies

  6. Sequential • Works by placing information in the order that the information progresses or should progress • Asks readers to move through information from beginning to end in a linear fashion • Is usually simple for readers to follow and moves them through a process or procedure

  7. Chronological • Moves readers through a sequential process; however, the sequence is one related to time • Moves from a beginning to an end • Guides readers through the events of a particular time from start to finish

  8. Order of Importance • Presents information in either an increasing or decreasing order of importance • Emphasizes or de-emphasizes particular information • By putting the most important information first in an “increasing order of information” • By putting the most important information last in a “decreasing order of information”

  9. General/Specific • Can be used in two ways • Move from general information to specific information to provide background, scope, and/or context first • Move from specific information to more general information to provide details or examples

  10. Division • Divides — and even sub-divides — a whole idea, object, or phenomena into various parts • Is particularly relevant in documents that include parts lists or describe the parts of a process, procedure, policy, or event • Often includes visuals for clarification

  11. Classification • Groups items, ideas, phenomena, or events together according to their similarities • Often uses categories to determine how various items will be classified • Are particularly useful in feasibility studies that present multiple solutions to presented problems

  12. Cause and Effect • Explains relationships between events • Explains the reasons why something happened • Explains why something will happen

  13. Comparison/Contrast • Lets readers compare possible solutions to a problem • Requires that writers understand the scope of the problem and the scope of solutions • Can present the parts of the whole in a way that allows readers to compare and contrast the whole together • Must consider ethics — all options should be presented in the same light

  14. Spatial Organization • Assists readers in navigating information pertaining to physical space or objects • Can provide information about a distance or proximity, like a map • Can guide readers through a process using a particular object or piece of equipment • Can also indicate movement, like the path of a hurricane

  15. Spatial Organization Example

  16. The Conclusion • Is often drafted before the introduction • Offers summaries of information • Provides analytic predictions based on the information in the body • Makes recommendations to the reader about how to respond or act • Issues a judgment about the information

  17. The Introduction • Is frequently written after the body and conclusion • Forewarns or alerts readers about what is to follow • Is composed differently for each genre of document • Contain generally the same information as the conclusion

  18. Introductions Should Contain • The purpose or objective of the document • The scope of the document • A statement of the problem • Relevant information or background • Key terms or definitions • An overview of the organization • A summary of the body

  19. Web Page Introductions • Are generally more concise • Should be more visually-constructed • Imply information with images, bulleted lists, and linked phrases • Provides writers with different opportunities and rhetorical choices to make • Appears on a home page or index

  20. Write the First Draft • Include all the parts the document requires, including parts in the front-matter, the body, and the end-matter • Include all relevant data needed to convey to your audience • Include a strong statement of objective or purpose to ensure that your audience understands the function of the document • Include information that logically and concisely supports the purpose of the document • Include strong conclusions and recommendations

  21. Electronic Templatesand Wizards • Allow the user to fill in information in a pre-designed document layout • Allow for convenience and ease-of-use • Can be customized and designed • May become boring if used too much • Can overly limit a writer • Should be used sparingly

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