English version
German version
Spanish version
French version
Italian version
Portuguese / Brazilian version
Dutch version
Greek version
Russian version
Japanese version
Korean version
Simplified Chinese version
Traditional Chinese version
Hindi version
Czech version
Slovak version
Bulgarian version
 

Dreading the writing assignment? outlines to the rescue

Writing tips RSS Feed







Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded by reams of research, notes and interviews. Where do you start?

Remember 5th grade English? You start with an outline.

Outlining has fallen on hard times lately. Mind mapping and brainstorming are much more fashionable. These techniques are great when generating ideas, but once you've got your ideas germinating you've got to outline them. Without an outline, your article will:

1. Be an unstructured mess.
2. Take three times as long to write.

Don't let this happen to you ? outline. If it's been a while since 5th grade ? or if your ?progressive? school didn't stoop to teach you actual English skills ? let me remind you why it's important and how to do it.

* Outlining keeps you from writing an unstructured mess. Readers, especially American readers, prefer distinct sections in their media. For example, look at American screenplays. Movies invariably have three acts, and anything that doesn't have them is considered an art film. Effective speeches often contain three parts, and readers like three points because the structure makes easier to retain information.

* Outlining shrinks your writing time by a third to a half. How do you whittle down that pile of research notes and interviews into an article or white paper? You guess it ? outline it. By assigning sections to your notes before you start writing, you'll categorize, simplify and clarify. Not bad before you've even written an introduction. For example, let's say you're writing an article about mirroring. You can divide such an article into several different sections depending on what your client wants to get across. Here are some examples of different outlines:
1. 1) Explanation of mirroring 2) Differences between local and remote mirroring, 3) Contrasting mirroring with other forms of replication, or
2. 1) Define mirroring 2) List environments that require mirroring 3) Decision matrix for assigning different mirroring levels.

Once you've done your research it's simple to assign pieces to different sections. Believe me, it'll light a fire under your writing time.

Christine Taylor is president of Keyword Copywriting, which helps marketing and PR pros leverage their relationships with technology clients. E-mail her at chris@keywordcopy.com, call her at 760-249-6071, or check out Keyword's Website at www.keywordcopy.com
About The Author

Christine writes technical marketing communications for data storage, networking and pharmaceutical clients, including:

* EMC
* Commvault
* Quantum
* StoneFly Networks
* Sybase
* Maranti Networks
* ClariStor
* Fujitsu
* AES
* Obagi Medical Products

She specializes in trade journal articles, white papers, press kits and online content. She serves as a contributing editor to Computer Technology Review and acts as editor-in-chief for Storage Inc. and Storage Management Solutions.

Before moving into technical journalism and marketing she served 20 years in the IT trenches, including systems administration at Avery Dennison's Research and Development division.
chris@keywordcopy.com

This article was posted on January 28, 2004



?2005 - All Rights Reserved

Article Source: Messaggiamo.Com





Related:

» Credit Secrets Bible
» Cash Making Power Sites
» Home Cash Course
» Automated Cash Formula


Webmaster Get Html Code
Add this article to your website now!

Webmaster Submit your Articles
No registration required! Fill in the form and your article is in the Messaggiamo.Com Directory!

Add to Google RSS Feed See our mobile site See our desktop site Follow us on Twitter!

Submit your articles to Messaggiamo.Com Directory

Categories


Copyright 2006-2011 Messaggiamo.Com - Site Map - Privacy - Webmaster submit your articles to Messaggiamo.Com Directory [0.01]
Hosting by webhosting24.com
Dedicated servers sponsored by server24.eu