….or how to write Minutes and respond to Selection Criteria!
Very often in formal business and government writing it’s required that you present an argument. For example, if you are recommending a course of action, it’s important that you mount a strong argument in support of that outcome. If you are addressing Selection Criteria in a job application, you must develop an argument that supports the notion that you are best for the job!
So what are some simple rules to follow – things you can immediately put into effect without ploughing through a whole book on the subject?
Here they are!
State the key argument first
Whenever you mount a written argument, the reader should immediately have a clear idea as to what you are arguing for.
Think of it like this. Your reader is new to your document: they don’t know what it is about. If you present the background or the reasons for your argument before you present the argument itself, the reader will spend most of the time wondering where you are going with your points – rather than understanding the argument!
So state the key argument right up front.
In a Minute or Decision Brief, you might start by asking that approval be given for:
1. The production of a pilot video that address community concerns about the new Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
2. The online distribution of this video occur via our departmental website, YouTube and FaceBook
The reader now knows what you are arguing for. They can then assess the supporting points that you make – all the time keeping these recommendations firmly in their minds.
Always, even in documents not being written to a template, place the key argument (or arguments) first.
Or what about selection criteria?
The criterion you’re answering might require you to demonstrate that you ‘Support Strategic Thinking’ in a web publishing environment. Many people will start their answer by backgrounding a situation that demonstrates this attribute – but again, that’s the wrong way around.
Instead it is better to describe the way in which you showed your strategic thinking and only then back that up with the detail. Something like this:
As a Web Editor within the Department of [X], I developed cohesive and effective strategies for growth in both website content and audience.
Now the reader is looking for points that support this statement.
Provide proofs
Once your reader understands the key argument that you are presenting, they’re then looking for evidence that supports that argument. So what points can you present in a logical order to support your argument?
In the Minute described above, the one recommending that a video be produced and made widely available online, the proofs might be summarised as:
- People are having difficulties understanding the implications of the revised Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
- Other government departments in similar situations have used video with great success
- Distribution costs of the video are effectively free
- By sharing technical production costs with another [named] government department, our production costs will be only staff time
- We can integrate the video with an on-line forum allowing the answering of questions from viewers, thus broadening its function
- The proposed production process and timeline are [X, Y and Z]
These points ‘seem reasonable’ in the context of what you are asking for – the recommendations you stated first-up. (Of course, in a real Minute you’d flesh these Proofs out a little more.)
And what about the selection criteria example? You’ve already said that…
As a Web Editor within the Department of [X], I developed cohesive and effective strategies for growth in both website content and audience.
… so now you need to back it up, perhaps like this:.
I implemented changes in website content. These changes included working with subject matter experts to improve the presentation of statistical data, and co-coordinating the preparation of new educational materials suitable for secondary schools.
I also instigated and supervised a complete website redesign.
These strategies resulted in the following changes over a 12 month period. A 21 per cent increase in page views, a 15 per cent increase in website reader emails and an improvement from 25th to 2nd place in Google search rankings for typical search terms relating to the Department.
(Incidentally, note that this answer is only 125 words long – there’s plenty of room for other Key arguments and their associated Proofs, all without exceeding a 300 word limit.)
As with the Minute, these points ‘seem reasonable’ in supporting your Key argument – that in fact you have demonstrated strategic thinking in a web publishing environment.
Conclusion
By taking the ‘Key argument’ and ‘Proofs’ approach, you not only provide a strong and easily followed structure for your reader, you can also quickly identify inadequacies in your argument. For example, do you repeat Proofs? Or are some Proofs not really relevant to your Key argument? Or does a Proof get lost in the fluffiness of your writing?
It’s hard to go wrong when you concentrate on clearly stating Key arguments and their Proofs!
Julian can be contacted directly or courses in writing can be arranged through training provider Anne Jenkins and Associates.
