The Reading-Writing Continuum, Step 3: Read to Evaluate the Notes

Welcome to the 600th post of WORDS ON THE LINE, a blog I began on January 4, 2005, as a way to offer tips to on writing at work, school, and home for the more than 20,000 professionals across diverse disciplines who have attended my courses, workshops, keynote presentations, and webinars over the past three decades.

Although I refer to the Reading-Writing Continuum in steps, it truly is a seamless operation. Once we are in the composing process, we are not concerned about whether we are doing one or the other. While we can read without writing, we cannot write without reading. 

In Step 1, we generate inspiration and ideas through reading, and in Step 2, we lay down those ideas on the screen or page to recall them. Let's say in generating ideas for a proposal to purchase Product Y during Step 2, I have created the following random list:

problem

solution

benefit

cause

comparison: Product X and Y

status

impact

Now it's time to answer several questions:

1. Do I need all those ideas? I decide that the status is unnecessary because my boss knows the current situation. Now my list looks like this:

problem

solution

benefit

cause

options: Product X and Y

impact

2. Do I need new ideas? Now I choose to explain how long the problem has existed (history), how I did my research (method), and a comparative analysis of the options (comparison). So my list changes:

problem

solution

benefit

cause

options: Product X and Y

comparison: Product X and Y 

impact

history 

method 

3. Should I combine ideas? At this point, I realize that the problem, history, and impact go together, and so do the solution and benefit. Also, the options and comparison seem repetitive. This is the new list:

problem, history, impact

solution, benefit

cause

comparison: Product X and Y

method

4. Should I reorder those ideas? Finally, I put my list through an internal dialogue: What is the problem? What is the history of the problem? What is the impact of the problem on the business (impact)? What is the cause of the problem? What was my method for researching the solution? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option (comparison)? What is the better option (solution)? What is the benefit of the solution? Here is my final list:

problem, history, impact

cause

method

comparison: Product X and Y

solution, benefit

Now I am ready to write a draft.