Write with a top-down approach - Structure

The little red writing book - Brandon Royal 2007

Write with a top-down approach
Structure

Structure

Principle 1. Write with a top-down approach

Principle #1: Write your conclusion and place it first.

Writing done for everyday purposes falls into the category of expository writing, which includes newspaper articles, college essays, and business memos and letters. Expository writing explains and often summarizes a topic or issue. Strategically, the summary or conclusion should come at the beginning of an expository piece, not at the end. The reader is first told what the writing is about, then given the supporting facts or details. This way, the reader is not left guessing at the writer’s main idea.

Whereas the primary purpose of expository writing is to explain, inform, or persuade, the primary purpose of fiction or creative writing is to enlighten or entertain. As far as fiction and creative writing are concerned, it is fine (even desirable) to delay the conclusion, as in the case of a surprise ending. But the hard-and-fast rule in expository writing is that we should not keep our conclusion from the reader. We should come out with it right away. When our purpose is to explain or inform, don’t play, “I’ve got a secret.”

Experienced writing instructors know that one of the easiest ways to fix students’ writing is to have them place their conclusions near the top of the page, not the bottom. Instructors are fond of a trick that involves asking students to write a short piece on a random topic and, upon completion, walking up to each student without reading what he or she has written, circling the last sentence, and moving it to the very top of the page. In a majority of cases, instructors know that the last lines written contain the conclusion. This technique is known as BLOT, or “bottom line on top.” It is human nature, and it seems logical, that we should conclude at the end rather than the beginning. But writing should be top-down, structured in the inverted pyramid style. The broad base of the inverted pyramid is analogous to the broad conclusion set forth at the beginning of a piece.

Favor the top-down approach to writing:

Avoid the bottom-up approach to writing:

The newspaper industry depends upon the top-down technique of writing. Reporters know that if their stories cannot fit into the allocated space, their editors will cut from the bottom up. Therefore, conclusions generally cannot appear in the last lines, which are reserved for minor details.

Errors of writing often mimic errors in conversation. When we write, we should think about giving the reader a destination first before giving him or her the directions on how to get there. If we fail to do this, we will not get our message across in the most effective way. The value of a top-down approach in real life conversation occurs in the following dialogue.

POOR VERSION

Dialogue between two coworkers:

“Alice, can you do something for me when you’re downtown? If you’re taking the subway to Main Street, get off and take the first exit out of the subway and walk down to Cross Street. At the intersection of Cross Street and Vine, you’ll find Sandy’s Stationery Store. Can you go in and pick up a pack of Pentel 0.5mm lead refills?”

BETTER VERSION

Dialogue between two coworkers:

Alice, can you do something for me when you’re downtown? I need a pack of Pentel 0.5mm lead refills. The best place to get them is Sandy’s Stationery Store. You can take the subway to Main Street, get off and take the first exit out of the subway and walk down to Cross Street. The store is at the intersection of Cross Street and Vine.

The conclusion is underlined in each version. Note how annoying the first version can be from the listener’s perspective. If you have encountered a similar situation in everyday life, you may have felt like screaming. Once you finally find out what the speaker’s point is, you might have to ask him or her to repeat everything so you can remember the details. The same holds true for writing. It is just as frustrating when you are reading a piece of writing and you do not know where the discussion is going.

Conceptually, we want to think in terms of a descending writing structure — one in which we move “downhill” from conclusion to details rather than “uphill” from details to conclusion.

Compare the following two versions of the same piece of business writing. In evaluating the two samples, we find that the second one is more top-down in its approach. The conclusion is at the top: “Asia and Africa represent the biggest future international market for basic consumer goods if population is used as a measure.” Also, the second version uses statistics solely as detail.

LESS EFFECTIVE

Three-fourths of the world’s people currently live in Asia and Africa — from South Africa to the Sahara, from the Middle East to Japan, from Siberia to Indonesia. This population statistic is quite revealing. If we selectively and representatively choose four persons from the entire world, here is what the probable outcome would be. One person would be from China, one would be from India, and one more would be from somewhere else in Asia or Africa. The fourth person would have to be chosen from all of North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania!

Basic consumer goods represent durable and nondurable daily necessities, including food and cooking utensils, clothing and textiles, toiletries, electronics, home furnishings, and mechanized and miscellaneous household products. Hence, Asia and Africa represent the biggest future international market for basic consumer goods if population is used as a measure.

MORE EFFECTIVE

Asia and Africa represent the biggest future international market for basic consumer goods if population is used as a measure. Basic consumer goods represent durable and nondurable daily necessities, including food and cooking utensils, clothing and textiles, toiletries, electronics, home furnishings, and mechanized and miscellaneous household products.

Three-fourths of the world’s people currently live in Asia and Africa — from South Africa to the Sahara, from the Middle East to Japan, from Siberia to Indonesia. This population statistic is quite revealing. If we selectively and representatively choose four persons from the entire world, here is what the probable outcome would be. One person would be from China, one would be from India, and one more would be from somewhere else in Asia or Africa. The fourth person would have to be chosen from all of North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania!

Now review this piece:

Hundreds of people packed into the auditorium seats on the evening of December 29. Being one of twelve opening performers, I was granted the opportunity to dance on stage for the first time in my life. Although my part only lasted five minutes, those five minutes became a significant moment in my life. Ever since rehearsals began two months before, I had spent many hours practicing on my own, in addition to the normal rehearsal sessions. Whether on a bus, waiting in a doctor’s office, or walking to work, I always had my MP3 player on, listening to the music and trying to go through the steps in my mind over and over again. I was determined to do my best. Despite my best preparation, my nervousness caused me to slip during the performance. All of a sudden, my mind turned blank. I stood there, not knowing how to react to the music. Fifteen seconds seemed like 15 hours in a normal day.

The conclusion as underlined above is either well placed or ill placed depending on the writer’s purpose in writing the passage. If the purpose is to inform the reader, then it is ill placed because the conclusion should be placed nearer the top. But as this is likely a creative writing piece, meant to entertain, the conclusion can be delayed. Just remember the rule of expository writing that governs everyday writing: Your conclusion should be at or very near the beginning of your written piece.