Writing Tips: Does It Summarize?
Here's an exercise that will interest serious writers, and enhance their insight: Write abstracts of magazine articles. This is something I do regularly.
The challenge involves taking an article, one that normally ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 words, and condensing it into a few hundred words. That means I need to get the essence of the article squarely in my sights and write about that essence in my own words.
When I go through that exercise, I'm amazed at the number of articles, many from highly respected business magazines, that don't have internal integrity.
An article has internal integrity when the writer started out with a central idea, developed it well, and reached a conclusion involving that idea. Sometimes the writer will launch with a brief story that highlights the problem, and connects it with reader interests.
Follwoing up, she explains the importance of the issue, and perhaps connects it with out interests. That's followed by one or several potential solutions, and the pros and cons of each one, along with a recommendation or two. Wrapping up, she briefly summarize the problem, the options for addressing it, and perhaps makes a recommendation of her own. This is just one approach, but it's time-tested and used by many writers.
As I say, many articles don’t have that kind of integrity. Some miss one or more parts of the model, others get them in the wrong order, and some don’t have a model at all, just the non-fiction equivalent of stream-of-consciousness (a fiction model).
You can ensure your writing has internal integrity — whether for memos, articles, instructions or anything else — by taking measures before or after your write. Perhaps the most familiar strategy is the preliminary outline. Before you start writing, you set out the elements you'll address.
Another possibility is to go back to your message afterward and write a short abstract, and ask yourself whether or not it makes sense. Does the story flow logically and clearly? Do you see any part of your model that might be missing?
A third possibility is just to set aside your writing for a few days, and then look at it later with fresh eyes.
Whichever you choose, and that's mostly a matter of matching your personal style, your writing will get better results if it has internal integrity.
Robert F. Abbott is an online writer and publisher specializing in consumer information sites, including a QuickList on Cuisinart Mixers , and business communication, including articles that help you increase your communication skills and knowledge.
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