By Dana P Skopal, PhD

Have you had to re-read a letter because you did not easily understand what you needed to do or what decision was made? Organisations write letters or emails to inform their clients about what is happening or to relay a decision.  On the other side, the reader – a client – wants to know what they need to do or how to respond to a decision.

As writers, we plan in different ways, but planning where to place the key information in a letter or email for the reader is important. A reader wants to know your decision first, and not the details that you relied on – that is, a reader usually does not want to read a story before getting to the key point.

In a letter, the decision or most important information links to your key message and that should be up front, which is in line with the principles of plain language. A writer then needs to layer in sections the evidence or data a reader may need next – that is, once they have read that key message.

When you have your data or summary notes, aim to unjumble your information and order it coherently for the reader by:

1. knowing the big picture that you are trying to convey, ie in your message, what must your reader understand
2. knowing the key (say five or six) stages / pieces of evidence that justify your key message
3. linking your reasons (and letter or attachment structure) with word/ discourse markers such as first, second, alternatively etc.

Remember that, as a writer, we need to work through the detail to come up with a recommendation or decision. In contrast, a reader wants to know what the recommendation is, what they need to do with it, and then they may want to analyse the details.

Hence, is it important to organise a letter where the key information is easily accessible. This may also mean using key words in headings (or subject lines for emails), as these can guide your reader through a longer document.

So when writing, step back and make sure the key message is not lost somewhere in the middle of or at the end of your letter or email.

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