University of Georgia

Planning: Deciding What and How to Write

If you can’t envision the audience, think, “If someone had needed to give you this info 6 months ago, how should they have done it?”

Each section (and sub-section, recursively) should have its purpose.

If stuck on ordering, first write down ideas in random order, and then sort them. Sections need not be planned linearly. For example, the introduction can be last after knowing what it’ll introduce.

The Importance of Clear Writing

In science, tech, or management, you influence people by writing things for them to read.

An essay helps you figure something out. Think of it as an idea graph - at each node, pick the most interesting related idea. Expressing your ideas also helps you form them. Writing them down forces you to think well.