Foundation Concepts

The Writing Process

The first concept in the approach to writing persuasive reports is the model of ‘the writing process, which is based on five stages. First of all, it is important to recognize that even though it may be informal or unconscious and may vary slightly depending on the writing task, you probably already do use a writing process. Thus there are a few important reasons to use a formal writing process:

Reduce anxiety and stress. By knowing that you have a series of separate steps you can follow that break the intimidating task of “WRITING” down into manageable parts, you will feel much less anxiety and struggle in writing.

Increase quality.  By focusing on each distinct step individually, you can do each better, increasing the ultimate quality of your final product.

Learn more. Students and other writers often think of writing mainly in terms of producing a product for a reader that shows what you already know or believe. However, writing itself is—or can be, when approached in the right way—and an act of thinking, learning, and discovery for the writer.

Following are the five stages of the writing process and a description of each in more detail.

Arguing

Here you fill in the details of your argument and complete the first draft of the document.  An argument can be seen as comprising three parts: the claim, evidence, and the link between the evidence and the claim.

A claim is an expressed opinion or a conclusion that the writer wants to accept.

Evidence provides support for the claim and comes in many forms – data, facts, or conditions that are objectively observable, beliefs or statements generally accepted as true by the recipients, or conclusions previously established.  Evidence functions as the foundation for an argument or the grounds on which an argument is based.

The third part of an argument, reasoning, connects the evidence and the claim.  Reasoning constructs a logical and persuasive link between the evidence and the claim and authorizes the step we make when we draw a conclusion.  The part of the argument containing the reasoning is frequently called an inference.  Inferences can be explicit or implicit in an argument.

Framing

Here you write the beginning and ending of your document—you ‘frame’ it.

Positioning

Here you start planning the document by considering your readers, the results you want to achieve, the information you need to provide, and the best arguments to convince them of your position.

Visualizing your audience is a pivotal step in the writing process.   Asking the right questions will help you profile your audience.  Profiling your audience helps you make a decision about shaping the message.  You will discover what kind of message is appropriate, whether you are free to use specialized technical terms, whether you should explain everything, and so on.

Analysing

Here you analyze the case that you are working on. You gather data and understand the problem facing you and what solutions you want to put forward.

The Organisational Diamond

The second concept in the approach to writing an effective persuasive document is the ‘Organisational Diamond’, which is a document shaped like a diamond. First, think of the whole document as a diamond shape. At the narrow ends, the information is brief, focused, and concise.

From a precise starting point, the topic opens out into a discussion of the case.  This development attains a broad focus as it moves through the argument.  Then it narrows down again to a precise finishing point.

Like an industrial diamond, your documents must ‘cut’ at the sharp ends. Here is an example.

The Basic Information Frame

The third concept in the approach to writing an effective persuasive document is the ‘The Basic Information Frame’.   Many different kinds of documents can be structured using this basic framework.  Look at an example below:

Principles behind the Basic Information Frame

The document starts with a summary sentence or paragraph, which contains your MAIN MESSAGE.  While not every document starts in this way, you should see this as the default approach.  If you don’t start with your main point you should have a good reason for presenting your position indirectly!

The PROBLEM is the heart of the matter.  Here you present some barrier or hindrance to operations, or an opportunity to be addressed.  You may need to include some historical information to orient the reader to the problem or the document you are writing.  In all cases, however, keep this background as brief as possible.  Omit it if possible.  Get into your problem analysis quickly.

The SOLUTION slot includes any aspects of your proposed action to address the problem or take advantage of this opportunity, including costs, implementation plan, etc.  Here you place your main argument to persuade your reader that your ideas are sound.

The EVALUATION summarises the advantages and results expected from your proposed solution.

The OUTCOME may be in the form of Recommendations, a request for action, a statement of the current situation, or a prediction about the future.

Why put your MAIN MESSAGE at the beginning?

Consider these two approaches to structuring a document.
The direct and indirect approach
Look at these two diagrams:

In the direct approach, the writer puts the MAIN MESSAGE of the document upfront.  The reader’s attention is grasped from the beginning.  Then, the rest of the document makes sense as the reader is led step by step towards the OUTCOME where there is a clear call to action.

In the indirect approach the writer delays introducing the main point.  Instead, the reader is first given background information (possibly in a section titled vaguely Introduction or Background) and then led gradually towards the point which only becomes clear at the end.  This is like a narrative approach, where the writer can rely on building up the tension of a story till a climactic conclusion is reached.

Effective openings and closings

The Basic Information Frame helps you to start short documents, such as memos and correspondence, by getting straight to the main point. It can also help you to devise more effective, action-oriented, endings.
A poor example
Here’s a rather weak letter. As you read it, consider what action is being requested.

The letter has several flaws:

• It starts with a narrative approach describing the background to the case rather than by stating the MAIN MESSAGE
• The OUTCOME, i.e., the action required of the reader, is ‘buried’ in the middle of the letter
• The ending is an empty ‘complimentary close’

Weak openings and closings

When writing correspondence, many writers find difficulty in framing the opening sentence.  There is a temptation to use weak, formal openings such as these.

Weak closing sentences are also an easy, but ineffective, way of finishing off a letter.  Though superficially polite, these examples have zero information content.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Thanking you in advance for your kind cooperation.

A technique for creating effective openings

To quickly draft an opening summary sentence, imagine that you are talking to your reader and saying:

I want to tell you that …

Write the sentence down.  Make sure it expresses your MAIN MESSAGE. You’ll find that it makes a good opener.

Effective closings

The Basic Information Frame helps to define a strong ending for correspondence.

In the information-oriented letter, your OUTCOME will focus on the next stages in the project, upcoming events, or predicted results of actions that have been taken.

I have received approval from the landlord to perform the repairs and a crew was sent in on April 23.  They should complete their work by May 31.

Yours sincerely,

In the action-oriented letter, specify the action you expect.

If this schedule is acceptable, please fax me so that I can send in the repair crew.

Yours sincerely,

NOTE: Exactly the same techniques can be used to write the ending to information-oriented or action-oriented memos.

A revised example

This letter is better. It closely follows the Basic Information Frame.