Organization In Writing

Organize Your Writing

Organization in writing means putting the information in an order that the audience will best understand. There are three basic ways to organize:

• Category – putting similar things together in groups.
• Range – chronological or alphabetic order (highest to lowest, top to bottom, first to last).
• Location – spatial placement in proximity to each other.

Sentence Structuring

1. Place the “setting” of the sentence first: On Fridays, the team works late.
2. Begin with positive ideas: We enjoyed the golf outing, despite the rain.
3. Place the object of the verb close to the verb: Send the email to me (Instead of “Send me the email.”).

Strategic Communication

Strategic communication starts with an organized, user-friendly format to show your audience that you care about them and their time. Being brief will ensure that they read your entire message.

To make communication more strategic:

• “Sell” your ideas to others based on the benefits of acting on them. Ask: “How will doing / knowing this benefit the recipient?”
• Use language that is understandable and that speaks to the recipients’ interests.
• At the end of your communication, revisit the call to action.
• Speak to recipient in second-person language (YOU) — remove first person (I, me, my).

This information is from the Effective Business Writing class. If you’re looking for ways to improve your communication skills, register for one of OUR PUBLIC CLASSES.

Photo courtesy of Dimitris Kalogeropoylos