Think, Simplify, Organize

The TSO Writing System

By Cheryl Stephens

If you want to be a better writer, there is a simple system you can adopt: The TSO Writing System. Use this system for memos, letters, reports, and other documents.

Think

As a writer, you have to think about your reader: What information do you need to convey to the reader? What is the reader's level of interest or knowledge in the subject? In what situation will the reader receive or use this information? What do you want the reader to do?

Giving thought to your purpose, your reader's needs, and the constraints on both of you will help you to focus and format your message.

When you do put pen to paper to prepare your first draft, try to think- out-loud on the paper. Make your first draft a quick one. Don't get side-tracked by thinking about writing style, grammar, and feed-back. Deal with those later, after your thinking is so clear that your message seems effortless.

Simplify

Next, go over what you have written to clarify your thoughts. Simplify the vocabulary: eliminate jargon, legalese, and puffery. Simplify the sentence structures: keep your sentences short (25 words on average) and keep to one thought in each sentence. Simplify the arguments or requests to focus on your best points. Concede anything that you can concede so you can narrow the field of conflict.

Organize

Now, organize your thoughts on paper so your reader can follow them easily. There should be logical or chronological flow to your facts and ideas. Organize your sentences into effective paragraphs: a paragraph should have only one main idea with elaboration, examples, or explanation of that idea. Put your topics and paragraphs in a sensible order so the progression of your logic or argument is readily apparent to the reader.

Organize the entire document so that the information is accessible: use a table of contents for a document of more than 3 pages, use headings and numbering systems to show the architecture of the document and how the ideas are structured. Lastly, be sure you have written a "summary introduction" that lets your reader know what is ahead, along with a "summary close" that refines your whole message and includes a direction as to what should happen next.

If you plan ahead and use a system like TSO, you'll have your document ready in time to bring your client in to review it with you before the deadline for signing it. If the client doesn't understand the document or its vocabulary, you still have time for the changes that make the document work for everyone involved.

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