Contrary to what some may believe, efficient organization isn’t just ploy to make things looks nicer on a page…As technical writers, engineers must focus on organization and framing techniques that clearly explain the overall purpose of a communication, who it is for (audience), and how, specifically, it can be used by this audience.

In fact, whether we actually communicate anything at all often depends largely on the logic of the way that we organize ideas. Without a clear and logical progression between one thought and the next one, readers will likely become “lost in the weeds.” As such, accurate transitions are a key to clear organization at the sentence-to-sentence level. Similarly, organizational clarity also depends on logical grouping of ideas into topics and claims at the paragraph and section level. Sections and subsections arranged into paragraphs with headings and subheadings allow writers to create a logical plan. Like a contract, the fulfillment of this plan meets the audience’s expectations and lends to the supposition of logical soundness, strengthening any logical claims that are made. In addition, from a practical standpoint, visual organization is needed to enable readers who are not going to sit down and read the document from beginning to end to move easily through a document and identify the topic(s) of their interest without wasting time sifting through words.

Alternately, the lack of visual elements in spoken communication make arrangement of ideas into topics and clear, direct topic sentences that much more important to listeners, who also have expectations for logical organization. Topic sentences, along with other structural elements such as an overall introduction and overviews of main ideas and supporting points to be included at the beginning of a whole document and of each section make logical connections clear. These guiding structural elements make up what is often called framing information of a the communication. In Presentation visuals, including posters or slides, can also serve to support organization of spoken communications. All together and applied effectively, clear transitions at the sentence level, logical arrangement of ideas into sections devoted to topics, and the inclusion of structural framing information all clarify logical connections and make your communication more accessible to audiences.

The Sentence Level

From one sentence to another, organization in technical document should follow a principal called “known to new.” This means each sentence should act like another link in a chain, connecting the idea that came before with the idea that will come next. For example, consider the following paragraph:

“Such developed and refined modes of communication allow a group of many individuals to function as one organism.These schools are guided by simultaneous reactions to environmental stimuli along with communication between individual fish that is impeccable to humans. Many species of ocean fish swim in schools.”

OR

“Many species of ocean fish swim in schools. These schools are guided by simultaneous reactions to environmental stimuli along with communication between individual fish that is impeccable to humans. Such developed and refined modes of communication allow a group of many individuals to function as one organism.”

In the first example, the paragraph is jumbled, causing confusion. Even if you were able to make sense out of it, it wasn’t easy. In the second example, the sentences are in logical order, and they flow naturally because of the links between older (or known) and new information. Easier to comprehend,  more familiar information is places at the beginning of a sentence, and then newer information is presented at the end of the sentence. The next sentence then picks up where the last one left off, except what was once the “new” information has now become the “known.”

Visual elements can also come in handy for making transitions at the sentence level. Bulleted lists, when done well, can eliminate the need for extra words and make key words in a list of parallel items stand out better to readers. tables, and figures can all

The Section and Sub-section Level

Formatting guides and templates such as IEEE often focus on the appearance of sections, headings, and subheadings because their standardization is so crucial to enabling diverse audiences to understand organizational logic and access information quickly. Beware, though, because the correct visual formatting of these elements is not a substitute for carefully-considered organization of content into topics with meaningful headings and subheadings. To make sense, each section and subsection must work as a cohesive unit, tied together by the logical relationship between the ideas included within it. In turn, its place in the overall order must depend on where it belongs in the flow of logical between sections and its ties to the overall topic/purpose of the communication.

Consider the following section headings for the same example paragraph discussed above:

“Fish Actions and Aquatic Life

Many species of ocean fish swim in schools. These schools are guided by simultaneous reactions to environmental stimuli along with communication between individual fish that is impeccable to humans. Such developed and refined modes of communication allow a group of many individuals to function as one organism.”

OR

“Communication and Behavior

Many species of ocean fish swim in schools. These schools are guided by simultaneous reactions to environmental stimuli along with communication between individual fish that is impeccable to humans. Such developed and refined modes of communication allow a group of many individuals to function as one organism.”

OR

“Significance of Communication for Ocean Fish Behavior

Many species of ocean fish swim in schools. These schools are guided by simultaneous reactions to environmental stimuli along with communication between individual fish that is impeccable to humans. Such developed and refined modes of communication allow a group of many individuals to function as one organism.”

Out of these three example headings, which one does the best job of distilling key information about the contents of the section? Because of its accuracy, readers would be able to understand the logical connection between it and the overall subject of a paper on, say, ocean fish species behavior patterns. The other two headings, on the other, hand, would only serve to create confusion. It is also important for the section to work as a cohesiveness until that all of the contents do actually belong underneath the chosen heading or subheading.

Framing Information 

Framing refers to the structural explanation that is included to present information in relationship to connected topics and audience expectations. For example, an overview of an entire document included in an introductory paragraph or topic sentences at the beginning of sections frame the information in those sections and in the document on the whole so that readers understand why and how that particular information is being given to them. Without this framing explanation, information may seem out of place, disconnected, or confusing.

Both framing and other organizational elements create unity and cohesion in communications. Unity and cohesion come from the sense that the entire communication functions as a whole, belongs together, and accomplishes an overall purpose through a focused set of logically-related steps.

You can think of framing and organization as going hand in hand to support the information that you want to deliver. To offer an analogy, if the information you want to deliver is food (fat, sugar, protein, vitamins, etc), then the  the organization is the form of a chocolate cake and the framing is the plate that the cake rests on and the fork you lay on the table as you hand it to your hungry audience. Without the structured form, it would be quite a bit more difficult to know how (or at least less pleasant, in this case) to consume the sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda etc. Without a plate and fork, similarly, it might not be clear that this cake is meant for us to eat or how we should go about doing it. If your goal is to get your audience to absorb all of the information that you provide and have a clear idea of what you want them to do with it, then organization and framing are key.

In your documents and presentations, you will want to make sure organization and framing are clear by using agreed upon conventions (such as IEEE format for headings) that meet the audience’s expectations because they recreate what has been encountered in the past. You’ll also want to be consistent and be sure to clearly lay out the points your are going to make (overview), why (purpose), and for whom (audience) at strategic points such as the in the introduction, topic sentences, and conclusion. Then you will want to follow through with this overview “setup” by mentioning how each of your points relates to the overall organizational layout and purpose that you identified in the beginning. To do this, you will want to repeat key words and think carefully about transitional phrases used to flow between ideas.

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