By Dana P Skopal, PhD
Each document has a specific purpose. A writer working in an organisation should step back and understand this purpose.
Organisations, such as companies or government departments, produce many documents. One common issue is whether a writer truly understands the text’s purpose as required by the organisation. We use this abstract noun ‘purpose’ in different ways, which means that each person can have a different interpretation of what the word means. This can impact on the quality of a written text.
Understanding a document’s purpose is the key to writing a clear text. So let’s step back and focus on the purpose of the document that you are about to write. A writer may be a technical expert in their field, but before planning a document each writer should aim to:
- clarify the purpose of the document (eg to inform technical details or to analyse risks)
- understand the readers’ requirements (who is the final reader and what do they need to know).
Understanding these two points can guide a writer and minimise the number of drafts.
When writing, a writer may often just place all the technical details in their documents, similar to a ‘brain dump’. That list of technical details, however, may not be the actual purpose of the document. A document can be looked upon as a written record of the required information, but this written record and its final purpose sit among the many documents within that organisation. A writer needs to know if the document that they are writing is to inform, to recommend, to justify, to persuade, or to analyse information. A writer should also be told how the organisation’s management team may use the document. These explanations before starting to write are very important.
When a writer understands the actual purpose of the document, together with the reader’s needs, it is easier to draft that required message. If a writer has access to and understands where the document sits within the organisation, it is easier to produce the main message for their reader. Once a writer has a final draft, the document should be edited to ensure that both the logical flow of information and sentence structure are clear for the reader. Writing in the workplace may not be a simple process, but taking time to focus on the document’s purpose and understanding the principles of clear communication certainly do help.