When to use it
Use it for reports, recommendations and emails where a busy reader needs the answer before the detail.
How to apply it
- Write your main point or recommendation as a single sentence.
- Identify the question your reader would naturally ask next.
- Group your supporting arguments into three or so non-overlapping points that answer it.
- Support each argument with evidence or data beneath it.
- Check that each level summarises the level below it.
Tip: If you cannot state the top-level point in one sentence, you are not ready to write yet.