Analytic Writing Guide

Book excerpt: This book is a user's guide for writing papers, short memos, and emails when the objective is to inform a busy reader preoccupied with other tasks. The objective is to make sure that all the information needed to understand the main points is in the paper and in the right order, minimizing or eliminating extraneous information and ideas, and resolving inconsistencies. The guide offers a mix of strategic and tactical advice, ranging from how to get started to how to order information in a paragraph. It is not a book about grammar; nor is it a treatise on critical thinking. Grammar and style are undeniably important, but elegantly written sentences will fail to communicate your conclusions if the flow of ideas and information is flawed. If the flow of ideas and information is muddled, your reader will seldom read the paper in its entirety. The primary target audiences for the Guide are policymakers, intelligence analysts, law enforcement officers, and the business world, but the principles underlying the teaching points are applicable to anyone seeking to communicate ideas more effectively--including high school and university students.