In conversations with my colleagues, I realized that many of our students do not realize that most of their professional writing is for a busy audience: bosses, clients, community members, other scholars, etc. They have lots to read and do. Or, as a lawyer friend told me: Don't assume the judge will read past the first page of the brief.

So: BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front! Professor Juliet Musso calls this pyramidal writing. We have written articles about this sort of writing, but the essence is:

In your first paragraph, give away your main point. Don't promise, don't motivate (yet), don't tell me what you are going to do. Just tell me what you are sure you want me to know or do.

Often, you discover this main point while drafting your memo or essay or article. The put it UP FRONT. I discover the crucial sentence or paragraph in the Conclusion or somewhere about 2/3 into the piece. BLUF!

This means you have to draft and redraft. It also helps to Proofread and Spellcheck.

Finally, you have permission to ENUMERATE, SUBHEAD, and to USE TOPIC SENTENCES. If you have several main points, number them. If you have several divisions of your piece, use subheads. And each section or division should begin with its main point: BLUF! People should be able to read your piece in outline.

By the way, this is also good advice for talks and and informative speeches. Tell me your findings in the first five minutes. I want to know then, not in the last 1/3 of the talk. No promises, not teasers. Give it all away.

None of this applies necessarily to love letters, novels, or New Yorker essays.

MK
PS Note that my Subject Line gave away the whole email. If I did not have a Subject Line, I would have put that in the first sentence.