Now I've covered the three steps of the writing process: Planning, Drafting, and Quality controlling. Remembering them is easy if you think Pretty Darn Quick (PDQ)—your goal for writing efficiently—and knowing when to use the complete writing process will increase your efficiency.
Writing at work falls into three levels of complexity: routine, regulated, and reflective.
1. Routine – This writing requires little or no prompting for the writer to compose the message; it is generally brief and a part of the writer’s routine work. Examples of routine writing might be regular reminders, requests, and responses. In routine writing, we generally use just the drafting step of the writing process.
2. Regulated – This writing is more complex and detailed than routine writing; however, the writer can access established templates and retrieve the content from memory or other sources. Examples might be meeting minutes, employee appraisals, and executive summaries. In regulated writing, we don't use the planning step because we already have a plan, but we draft and quality control because our document will reach diverse readers.
3. Reflective – This is the most complex type of writing. It requires a high level of thinking about the purpose, audience, scope, and organization, none of which may be apparent to the writer. Examples might be business analyses, formal proposals, and investigative reports. In reflective writing, we use all the steps of the writing process.
The table below summarizes how we would approach the writing process depending on the level of complexity.
- If the writing is routine, spend as little time as possible on it.
- If the writing is regulated, pull out those templates and fill in the blanks.
- If the writing is reflective, use the complete writing process.
- To write faster, transform as many Level 3 documents as you can into Level 2 documents.
