Structuring: probably the best writing tip in the world

Structuring is important for all kinds of writing. This is true for creative writers, especially those hoping to write the next big crime thriller, or an intricately metered poem. But, for business documents and communications, structure is perhaps the key thing that will make your writing stronger and better.

Whatever you’re writing – whether a bid, an email, a report or a blog – structure is at the heart of every successful document. Before you even pick up a pen or put fingers to a keyboard, spending time on putting together a structure will give your document – and you – a sense of where it is going and what it needs to say. As the name would suggest, structuring also lies at the very heart of our Structured Writing Method™.

So what exactly is structuring?

It can be really useful to think of structuring in terms of ‘form following function’. By the time you start thinking about structure, you should have already considered what to write, and what to say. Structuring then becomes the task of working out the best form to communicate that message, in order to achieve that objective.

There are many benefits to using structure in this way, but here are four that are particularly important:

1. Structuring forces you to think about order
   It’s not just about learning to write in a better way. It also shows you a different way of thinking. It lets us make important decisions about the order in which we communicate our messages. We can make those decisions easier by having the material laid out in a way that makes the messages clear.
2. Structuring helps you think about narrative
   By enhancing and disciplining the way that you think, structuring allows you to then guide your reader through the document effectively. A logical and disciplined narrative structure is one of the biggest gifts you can give to your reader.
3. Structuring makes collaboration easier
   A detailed structure enables you to get feedback and input on your proposed document from colleagues and stakeholders at the key point – before you start drafting.
4. Structuring saves you time
   Ultimately, and perhaps most importantly of all, structuring saves you time that may have been wasted in drafting and re-drafting a document. Structuring provides you with a carefully considered blueprint that needs little more than to be ‘filled in’ (we call this stage ‘crafting’ in our method) at the last stage of production, meaning what you get back is right first time.

Structuring, then, serves to make your documents better, stronger, and quicker to produce. It’s a different way of thinking; but it’s one that will discipline your documents and, perhaps, even you.

Read more about structure and the writing process:

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Natalie Wassell is a Marketing Account Executive at Writing Machine.