Know Your Purpose

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

🗣 "Knowing what your purpose is, not only makes the document better; it helps remove ego problems—because then you know what your job is, to get something done, not to make yourself look better."

• Oliver E Nelson Jr

Guiding question: What is my purpose for writing? What do I want to accomplish?

📺 Watch the following video about identifying your purpose when writing.

Selecting your general purpose

As mentioned in Lesson 2, technical professionals write all the time. However, we can categorise the writing that they do into four main types based on the general purpose:

1. Informational Writing
   • Purpose: To provide the reader with helpful knowledge and insight.
   • Examples:
     1. Product documentation
     2. Internal reports (e.g., product reports, quarterly reviews)
     3. Blog posts
     4. Meeting minutes
2. Instructional Writing
   • Purpose: To teach the reader how to do something or provide them with the information they need to complete a task.
   • Examples:
     1. User manuals
     2. Onboarding instructions
     3. Training materials
     4. Technical specifications
3. Persuasive Writing
   • Purpose: To convey information and convince the reader to do something.
   • Examples:
     1. Job application cover letters
     2. Scholarship application essays
     3. Proposals (e.g. business proposals, grant proposals)
     4. Marketing communications (e.g. sales emails)
     5. Marketing materials
4. Conversational/Transactional Writing
   • Purpose: Everyday communications to solicit some direct action from the reader or build a professional relationship.
   • Examples:
     1. Emails
     2. Texts
     3. Direct Messages (e.g. Slack, Discord, WhatsApp)

Sometimes your writing will involve more than one of the above purposes, but it's essential to identify which ones are most important for a given piece of writing.

Identifying your specific purpose

Once you have determined your general purpose for writing, it is time to get specific. Knowing precisely why you are writing allows you to customise your writing to achieve your desired outcome. For example, if you are writing an internal product report, your broad aim is to provide the reader with helpful information and insight. But beyond that, what specifically do you want them to do or think after reading your report? Determining this will make it easier for you to shape the report's content to meet that purpose.

When determining your specific purpose for writing, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I want my audience to know after reading my writing?

• What do I want my audience to think, feel, or do after reading my writing?

• What do I want my audience to think about me after reading my writing?

Think about how your answers to these three questions are reflected in the content and structure of your writing.

Check Your Understanding

Source 1, Source 2

References

Grammarly. (2021) Understanding the Different Business Writing Styles and When to Use Them.

Davis, Kenneth. (2010). The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Business Writing and Communication, Second Edition. McGraw Hill.