Emphasizing important information

Clear, Informative Titles

• subject and purpose of the document (i.e. "Snowboarding Injuries" vs. "How to Prevent Snowboarding Injuries")
• be precise ("Offering Free Health Screenings" vs. "Offering Free Cholesterol Screening at Thrall Associates: A Feasibility Study")
• readers should be able to paraphrase the purpose of your document from the title

Clear, Informative Headings

• create a hierarchy of information (primary, secondary, subordinate)
• distinguished by content and design
• purpose and subject of the section
• avoid back-to-back headings (use an advance organizer after main section headings)

Clear, Informative Lists

• effective for conveying information that can be itemized or expressed in a sequence
• paragraph lists: list in which the bulleted or numbered items are paragraphs
• sentence lists: list in which the bulleted or numbered items are words, phrases, or single sentences

Company/Country Culture

• How does the writer make the information accessible?
• How does the writer show the relationship among types of information?
• How does the writer communicate to readers the organization of the whole document and of the parts making up the whole?
• How does the writer make transitions?

Clear, Informative Paragraphs

• A body paragraph is a group of sentences that is complete and self-sufficient and that contributed to a larger discussion
• A transitional paragraph helps readers move from one major point to another

Paragraph Structure

• Topic sentence: states, forecasts, summarizes the main point of the paragraph
• Supporting information: explanatory details that make the topic sentence clear and convincing