I go through an interesting writing exercise regularly: I take magazine
articles and write abstracts of them for a newsletter client.



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 to write about it 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. For example, the writer might start with an anecdote, using
the anecdote to illustrate a problem.



She then goes on to explain why this problem deserves our attention.
That's followed by one or several potential solutions, and the pros and
cons of each one, along with a recommendation or two. She concludes the
article by summarizing the problem, the alternative solutions, and her
recommendation then links back to the opening anecdote. That's just one
story development model, but one that works.



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 technique your choose, and that's mostly a matter of your
personal style, your writing will get better results if it has internal
integrity.



  

Robert F. Abbott offers three free chapters from his book, A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results at http://www.managersguide.com/free-sample.html . He also offers free subscriptions to Abbotts Communication Letter, a free newsletter that helps you enhance your career through improved business communication, at http://www.abbottletter.com .