Posting to Irreal everyday means I do a lot of writing and spend a lot of time thinking about how to structure a few words into an intelligible whole. Over at DYNOMIGHT there’s a post that takes an interesting view on how to structure writing that I hadn’t seen before. After reading it, though, I realized that the proposed method is what I do unconsciously, at least for my longer form writing.
Dynamight’s take is that very often—maybe even usually—the best way to structure an essay is as a list. He starts with two hypothetical articles concerning sleep. The first is entitled The Theory and Practice of Sleep. The second is Seven Insights About Sleep. Which seems more compelling? The first seems like it might be more comprehensive but also like it’s going to be a long and hard read. The second seems like it may offer a good introduction while being an easier read. Perhaps it will be all I need but seems, in any event, like a good place to start.
His second demonstration is even more convincing. It consists of two version of ten paragraphs consisting of nothing but “blah blah blah blah …” The first is structured as usual: 10 paragraphs of blahs. The second is formatted as a list. At least Dynamight calls it a list. It looks more like an essay with numbered headings to me but the point stands. It does look more approachable.
Most of the rest of the post expands on this example but pointing out how the second version better meets a reader’s needs and expectations. If you do any writing it’s definitely worth taking a few minutes to read the post. Best of all, it’s structured as a list.