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Student Workbook

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BSBWRT401 Write complex documents
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1st Edition 2015
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Part of a suite of support materials for the

BSB Business Services Training Package
 Acknowledgment
Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council (IBSA) would like to acknowledge HASCOM Pty
Ltd for their assistance with the original development of this resource for BSBWRT401A.
BSBWRT401A 1st edition writer: Andrea Hayes
BSBWRT401A 2nd edition writer: Natalie Coish
Revised for BSBWRT401 by IBSA (2015)

Copyright and Trade Mark Statement

2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
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Council Ltd (IBSA).

Use of this work for purposes other than those indicated above, requires the prior written permission of IBSA. Requests
should be addressed to Product Development Manager, IBSA, Level 11, 176 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne VIC

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3002 or email sales@ibsa.org.au.

Innovation and Business Skills Australia, IBSA and the IBSA logo are trade marks of IBSA.

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Disclaimer
Care has been taken in the preparation of the material in this document, but, to the extent permitted by law, IBSA and
the original developer do not warrant that any licensing or registration requirements specified in this document are

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either complete or up-to-date for your State or Territory or that the information contained in this document is error-free
or fit for any particular purpose. To the extent permitted by law, IBSA and the original developer do not accept any
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liability for any damage or loss (including loss of profits, loss of revenue, indirect and consequential loss) incurred by any
person as a result of relying on the information contained in this document.

The information is provided on the basis that all persons accessing the information contained in this document undertake
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responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. If this information appears online, no responsibility
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is taken for any information or services which may appear on any linked websites, or other linked information sources,
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subject to the applicable terms of use.

To the extent permitted by law, all implied terms are excluded from the arrangement under which this document is
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apply to, that arrangement, then the liability of IBSA, and the purchasers sole remedy, for a breach of the term or condition
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is limited, at IBSAs option, to any one of the following, as applicable:

(a) if the breach relates to goods: (i) repairing; (ii) replacing; or (iii) paying the cost of repairing or replacing, the goods;
or
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(b) if the breach relates to services: (i) re-supplying; or (ii) paying the cost of re-supplying, the services.
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Published by: Innovation and Business Industry 1st edition published: May 2015
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Skills Council Ltd

1st edition version: 1
Level 11,
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176 Wellington Parade Release date: May 2015

East Melbourne VIC 3002
Phone: +61 3 9815 7000
Fax: +61 3 9815 7001
email: reception@ibsa.org.au
www.ibsa.org.au

ISBN: 978-1-925328-24-0
Stock code: BSBWRT4011W
Table of Contents
Introduction .........................................................................................................................1
Features of the training program .................................................................................1
Structure of the training program ................................................................................1
Section 1 Plan the document..........................................................................................2
What skills will you need? ............................................................................................3
PAMS .............................................................................................................................3
Generating ideas and conducting research ................................................................8
Document formats ..................................................................................................... 12
Forms of communication........................................................................................... 14
Document requirements ........................................................................................... 14

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Plan the structure ...................................................................................................... 15
Conservation of resources ........................................................................................ 24

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OHS and workstation ergonomics ............................................................................ 24
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 29

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Further reading .......................................................................................................... 29
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Section checklist ........................................................................................................ 29
Section 2 Write the draft .............................................................................................. 30
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What skills will you need? ......................................................................................... 31

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Write the draft ............................................................................................................ 31

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Writing to design: Microsoft Word 2007 .................................................................. 38

Word fundamentals ................................................................................................... 40
Adding objects in Word 2007 ................................................................................... 45
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Section summary ....................................................................................................... 52

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Further reading .......................................................................................................... 52

Section checklist ........................................................................................................ 52
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Section 3 Review and edit the draft ............................................................................ 53

What skills will you need? ......................................................................................... 53
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Review the draft and ensure approval ..................................................................... 54

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Editing ......................................................................................................................... 55
Style guides ................................................................................................................ 56
Pitfalls to avoid........................................................................................................... 58
Spelling, incorrect words and punctuation............................................................... 60
Grammar .................................................................................................................... 66
Electronic editing ....................................................................................................... 68
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 69
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 70
Section checklist ........................................................................................................ 70

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 Section 4 Letters, reports and proposals .................................................................... 71
What skills will you need? ......................................................................................... 71
Business letters ......................................................................................................... 72
Reports and proposals .............................................................................................. 79
Report and proposal structures ................................................................................ 80
Formatting a table of contents.................................................................................. 83
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 85
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 86
Section checklist ........................................................................................................ 86
Section 5 Spoken formats ............................................................................................ 87
What skills will you need? ......................................................................................... 87
Writing speeches and presentations ........................................................................ 88

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Persuasive language ................................................................................................. 92
Linking words, signposts and lexical chains ............................................................ 96

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PowerPoint 2007 ....................................................................................................... 97
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 99

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Further reading .......................................................................................................... 99
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Section checklist ........................................................................................................ 99
Section 6 Website text................................................................................................ 100
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What skills will you need? ....................................................................................... 101

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Readers and the web............................................................................................... 101
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Web audiences and purpose .................................................................................. 101

Writing web documents ........................................................................................... 102
Website design......................................................................................................... 106
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About us text ............................................................................................................ 108

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Media release .......................................................................................................... 110

Section summary ..................................................................................................... 111
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Further reading ........................................................................................................ 111

Section checklist ...................................................................................................... 112
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Glossary .......................................................................................................................... 113

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Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 115

Appendix 1: Ergonomic and environmental checklist ........................................... 115
Appendix 2: Style guide examples .......................................................................... 116
Appendix 3: Grammar and editing quiz .................................................................. 121
Appendix 4: Two letters of transmittal.................................................................... 124
Appendix 5: Learning activity: Structure a report .................................................. 126
Appendix 6: Policies and procedures ..................................................................... 128
Appendix 7: Answers to selected learning activities.............................................. 130

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Student Workbook Introduction

Introduction
Features of the training program
The key features of this program are:
Student Workbook (SW) Self-paced learning activities to help you to understand
key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down into several
sections.
Facilitator-led sessions (FLS) Challenging and interesting learning activities that
can be completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you
consolidate and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook.

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Assessment Tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills
and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems.

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Structure of the training program

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This unit provides you with the knowledge and skills you need to produce complex
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documents in a workplace environment.
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This Student Workbook contains additional readings for your review, as well as activities
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to help improve your writing skills. It can be used in combination with facilitator-led
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activities and presentations.
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It is organised using the following headings:

Plan the document
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Write the draft

Review and edit the draft

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Letters, reports and proposals

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Spoken formats

Website text.
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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

Section 1 Plan the document

Possibly the most important stage of writing a document is planning. Planning helps you
to avoid writers block and helps you to produce well organised, readable documents
that persuade readers and build your credibility as a writer. Planning is all the more
important for complex documents, which have many parts to organise. This section
defines the skills and knowledge needed for planning complex documents. This section
covers:
identifying the purpose of the document, the audience, the message and the
appropriate style to use (PAMS)
generating ideas and conducting research

writing an outline

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working to organisational requirements such as the conservation of resources and
safe work practices.

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After completing this section, youll be ready to start drafting complex documents.

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Scenario: The writing task
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You have just started work for a marketing agency. The agency has been approached
by a client, Australian Outback Tours, to do some preliminary market research on their
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behalf.
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The client conducts tours in Western Australia and promises customers a unique
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experience for discerning travellers who wish to experience the natural beauty and
aboriginal culture of the Pilbara and the Kimberley regions. Tours are generally more
expensive than competitor offerings because of the higher quality accommodation and
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need for interpreters and highly-trained and experienced staff.

The client would like to explore potential overseas markets for the type of tour they
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offer in order to determine geographic areas (countries, regions) in which to focus their
promotional activities. Their target market profile includes:
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4570 years old

married or in long-term partnership
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tertiary educated
annual income above US $80,000 or Euro, Yen equivalent
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prioritises environmental conservation

insists that travel be an experience to be enriched by but not a pre-packaged
and mass-marketed holiday
values unique cultural experiences. Will pay more to avoid the beaten track.

Your manager, since the senior marketing officer has suddenly become ill, has asked
you to create a short (three page) electronic document in order to brief the client on
several possible international markets.

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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

She would also like you to compare and evaluate the pros and cons of the markets and
recommend one or two markets to focus on. She would like you to develop a clear and
convincing argument for your recommendations that will impress the client.
The document will contain:
an executive summary outlining what markets were evaluated and what
recommendation/s were made
a description of several possible markets, including advantages and
disadvantages
a clearly articulated recommendation based on your research for what market to
conduct promotional activities in.
You may or may not fit the target customer profile or know much about
marketing. This doesnt matter, you dont really need to. Your manager needs you

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to find some basic information, readily found on the internet, and create a
skilfully written, convincingly argued and credible document.

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Youll need to analyse this writing task carefully, plan your draft, write, edit and
then produce a professional document for this important client.

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What skills will you need?
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In order to plan effective documents you must be able to:

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identify the purpose of the document, the audience, the message and the
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appropriate style to use (PAMS)

generate ideas and conduct research

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write an outline
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work to organisational requirements such as the conservation of resources and

safe work practices.
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PAMS
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The first step in analysing a writing task and planning complex documents is to identify all
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the elements of a writing task that need to be considered and planned for. The acronym
PAMS (that stands for purpose, audience, message and style) is a useful memory aid.
Lets examine these four elements in more detail.

Purpose
When planning to write a document, you should begin by asking yourself a few
preparatory questions. Why am I writing this document? What does my organisation aim
to achieve by my writing it?

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

Accordingly, lets begin with the purpose of the writing task. Some possible purposes for
your document could be:
conveying research findings

documenting policies, procedures and processes

influencing attitudes, opinions or beliefs

meeting legal requirements

meeting information or knowledge requirements of an audience

proposing recommendations, options and actions.

All of the above require that you create a document for a certain audience to achieve a
desired effect. Your desired effect might be to inform your reader so that they are able to
perform a procedure. You might also want your reader to respond emotionally or convince

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them to act in a certain manner. All of these ultimate effects on your audience are
included under purpose.

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Your purpose should shape the document, from planning to final text. Purpose should
determine, define or influence the message you convey in the documents content, the
tone, the style, the format just about everything that makes a document. For example, if
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the documents intention is to gently persuade, then heavy-handed and abrupt language
would be inappropriate. If the documents purpose is to inform someone of some bad
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news, it may be more suitable to use a confidential letter format, rather than a fax. If the
purpose is to convey information for use by numerous people, it should include relevant
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data and it should not include information or be published and distributed through a
means that may affect someones privacy.
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You may find your document has more than one purpose. Therefore, it is important to
thoroughly analyse writing tasks to identify all that your document needs to achieve.
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Audience
Because the purpose refers to what the document sets out to achieve with respect to a
particular audience of readers, consideration of the readers and their concerns is vital.
Researching your audience before you write is essential. You can use the following
questions to help you:
what is the audiences education/professional background

what do they know

what do they need to know

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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

what do they have to do with the message; are there vested interests

what are the reasons they want or need to hear your message

is the audience public or private

will the audience be reading, listening to or viewing the document?

The language in a document must suit the target audience. For example, a brochure
about a new piece of medical equipment that the general public can buy for personal use
should not contain unexplained medical jargon which is more suited to a medical
specialist. This language must also be consistent throughout the document.
Use a style and tone that is appropriate for your audience.

When you write for a business audience, youll use more formal language
than when you write to a friend. You may use higher-level vocabulary, for

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Style example colleague, instead of work-mate; you may write longer sentences
with more complex grammar; you may begin a business letter with Dear Ms

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Jones instead of Hi!.

Tone is your implied attitude towards your subject and your audience. When

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you write, do you have a clear idea in your mind about who the reader is?
Tone Are you addressing them in the appropriate way to achieve your purpose?
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Do you use the right words and writing style for the right people? Readers
want to feel that the writer respects both them and the subject matter.
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Remember that you need to separate yourself from the target audience. It is often
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tempting to write for yourself, with your own interests and preferences in mind. If you
always write with your audience in mind you should adopt a style and tone that suits the
people you are targeting.
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Another thing to remember about your audience is that they are likely to be diverse. You
cannot assume your reader is a man, woman, or member of a particular ethnic group just
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because of their role or position in a business. If your intended reader is likely to be from
a non-English speaking background, you might plan to write in a way which makes it easy
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to read. Be careful to avoid annoying your reader with your stereotypical assumptions
about who they are. Find out who your reader is. If you cant find out exactly, try to make
the most reasonable and safe assumptions possible.
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Perhaps one of the most important requirements of good business or organisational

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writing is ensuring that your reader trusts your credibility. Clearly, your reader must trust
your competence and goodwill or they will either not want to read what you have to say or
doubt your conclusions. For this reason, dont use discriminatory language and always
give the reader the impression of yourself as someone who is reliable and respectful of
peoples privacy. Likewise, if you dont personally know the reader, language or
statements that are too familiar will work against your purpose. It is also important to
consider whether your document should be addressed to single or multiple recipients,
and who else might be reading it.

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

Audiences for complex documents will vary and it is possible you may have to write a
document that suits multiple audiences. For example, a workplace presentation may
target an audience of new workers, experienced workers, as well as all levels of
management. You will need to plan your document to meet or balance the needs of
different audiences.

Message
Your message is the information you want to convey to your audience. Information should
be organised and coherent. If your audience shakes their head after reading a document
you have written and says, What was that all about? or I dont get it then your message
is not clear.
Message clearly relates to purpose. Often you want people reading the document to do
something afterwards. If the information is easy to read and understand because it has

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been clearly laid out and the message is delivered, there is more chance that the desired
action will be taken. Therefore, your task in designing and developing a document is to
convey the communication to the reader as effectively as possible so that actions are

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taken.
Usually if a message is not clear it means that the writers were not clear themselves

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about the message (or their purpose) during the planning stage. The purpose of your
document depends on the message getting through.
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Style
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The style of a business document can be largely dictated by the format in which it is
written, accepted conventions, legal requirements, the level of formality or informality
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required and requirements of the organisation or the specific writing task. A company may
require documents to conform to a specific layout.
Organisational style guides describe specific layouts, and ensure consistency across
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documents in terms of language, letterhead, font style and size, watermarks, figures,
diagrams, and more. Sample style guides are included in Appendix 2 of this Student
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Workbook. Section 3 of this Workbook will deal with style guides in more detail.
Organisations place an enormous amount of importance on the way a companys brand is
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perceived by clients, competitors and the general public. As a writer you need to be aware
of the image that an organisation wishes to project and write accordingly. Remember that
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your personal style of writing may be very different from the expected style of writing in
your workplace.
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Adopt the most appropriate style for the task and keep it consistent throughout your
document.

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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

Learning activity: PAMS

Consider the case study writing task at the beginning of this section. Fill in the chart
below with as much detail as you can in each category. Dont worry if you dont have
enough information to create an outline or write a draft. This exercise only requires a
preliminary analysis of the task.

Document title:

Purpose/s
(Why write it?)

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Audience/s
(Who will read

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it? What
attitude will you

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your reader?
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What style will pu
you adopt to
specifically suit
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the audience?)
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Message
(What does the
audience need
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to know and
what are the
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reasons they
want or need to
hear your
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message?)
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Style
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(What format,
structure,
language and
tone, design
elements
should you
select?)

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

Generating ideas and conducting research

Complex writing tasks often demand more than task analysis. You may need to generate
ideas for content, conduct research to gather content for analysis, or research your
audience to ensure you deploy the most appropriate style and tone and make the best
judgements about what content to include.
Two of the most important writing tools are brainstorming and mind mapping. Writers use
brainstorming to generate ideas for content or research and mind mapping to organise
and structure ideas. These tools, used in conjunction, help writers to overcome the
dreaded writers block by providing content and helping them to write outlines.
After you have brainstormed and mind mapped, youll also have a clearer idea what you
will have to research in more detail.
Lets look at brainstorming and mind mapping in more detail.

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Brainstorming

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Brainstorming is an idea association and thinking activity that writers use to produce a
compilation of ideas around a certain (focused) topic or theme. It can be performed as a

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personal exercise or conducted in a group or team situation.
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You begin the brainstorming process by writing the subject or topic of enquiry in the
centre of a piece of paper, and then use words, symbols, colours, graphics etc. to record
other ideas, topics, resources, writers, theories or anything else associated with the topic.
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When you brainstorm you write everything down, even if you do not think it is very
important information. In a team situation, it is important not to criticise others ideas in
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order to keep the ideas flowing.

You can use the brainstorming method to identify what you already know and what you
need to find out in order to produce documents.
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Learning activity: Brainstorming

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Consider the writing task at the beginning of this section.

Take five minutes to brainstorm all you can think of about your audience.
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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

Take another five minutes to brainstorm all the possible markets for Australian Outback
Tours.

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You should now have a good idea about what your research focus should be.

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Mind mapping
Mind mapping is a process of identifying relationships between ideas that you have

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brainstormed. Like brainstorming, this can be done individually or in teams.
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You may group ideas together under common headings, and use lines or arrows to link
ideas etc. When you mind map you may decide that some points or ideas are irrelevant
and discard them. You can use your mind map as the basis of the plan or outline for a
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document you want to write. See the example below for a mind map format template:
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Learning activity: Mind mapping

Consider the writing task set out in the scenario at the beginning of this section.
1. Write the document title in the centre of a piece of paper, for example, AOT
potential markets.
2. Draw lines radiating from the title to link with associated ideas.

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

3. For example, use the requirements of the task and write three ideas: Executive
summary, Markets, and Recommendations. Each of these ideas links to
associated ideas in turn. For example, connected to markets, write all the
markets you generated in the brainstorming activity above. Connected to these,
write income, average age, lifestyle, etc.
4. Continue until you have included all the ideas and arguments you need to include
in the document.

At the end of this exercise, you should have a clearer sense of all the ideas that need to
be included in your document and how all the ideas relate.
Doing the activity above should help you when it comes time to writing an outline
organising your document into a logical and cohesive structure later in this section.

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Research

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Writers are very often required to be researchers. It is important for building credibility
that you have command of the facts and have clearly considered a range of information in
order to draw convincing conclusions. You need to research the topic, audience and

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existing documents, in order to find out what you know and what you dont know.
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Once you have brainstormed or mind mapped your ideas, you may have identified areas
for further research. To conduct research you need to:
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Clarify the Brainstorm and identify key words and associated words for the
information topic/document, audience and existing documents.
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Find appropriate Use the audience questions, the internet, magazines (print and
resources online), experts, your own knowledge, manuals, style guides from
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other workplaces, samples of existing documents, friends and

colleagues to find relevant information for producing complex
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documents.
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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

Select relevant Scan and skim (see explanation following) through resources and
information note any relevant information. Write your own ideas and points
based on that information. Identify questions for further research if
needed. Ask and keep asking experts from various related fields.
Scan: read a text superficially, looking for key words and
phrases. After scanning a document, you may decide there is
suitable information for your purposes. Go on to skim read
the document (highlighting any key information you
encounter).
Skim: look quickly over a text to get a general idea of what it
is about. When you skim you dont read every word, but you
do read the first and last paragraphs, look at pictures and
headings, and highlight any key words, sentences and

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paragraphs that look to be of interest. From this process you
can determine whether the text can provide you with any
relevant information, as well as return to it later and locate

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essential information quickly (if you make concise notes and
highlight relevant material).

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Once you have conducted your research you may need to add to or modify your mind
maps since you may encounter new facts or new information that doesnt fit your original
conception of the writing task. False starts, making changes to your plans, and
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reformulating your ideas on the basis of new facts or discoveries are all natural parts of
the planning process. Nevertheless, you need to have done some thinking, brainstorming
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or mind mapping before you start to research in order to focus your research on activities
that are the most likely to help you complete your writing task.
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Learning activity: Research

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Again, consider the writing task set out in the scenario at the beginning
of this section. Look at the brainstorming ideas and mind map you have
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created.
1. Identify areas for further research, such as countries you think
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might be good markets for Australian Outback Tours promotions.

2. Search the internet and conduct initial research in libraries deploying your
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skimming and scanning skills to identify the best sources of information.

A good place to start is the Austrade website. This site contains country profiles
of use to Australian businesses looking to expand overseas.
3. Make notes that focus only on the information you need.
(You know what you need because you have conducted a PAMS analysis of the
writing task elements and created a mind map of the writing task.)
4. Reread your notes and make changes to your mind map to prepare for creating
your outline later on in this section and drafting your document in the next
section.

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

After you have determined your purpose, researched your audience and gathered the raw
data you need to convey, you will need to consider such things as document formats,
means of communication and document requirements before planning your outline.

Document formats
Documents can be presented in a range of formats including:
business letters procedures reports

emails presentations proposals.

media releases speeches

Often the format you use will be dictated by the task itself. You might be asked to write a

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letter to inform, request information, etc. You might be asked to produce a market report.
On other occasions or for other tasks, you also might have to decide yourself what format
would be most appropriate to the task. This decision is made much easier by the fact that

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certain document formats are associated with certain types of content and particular
styles and levels of formality.

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Lets compare a few formats:
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Email is usually the most informal method of communication, so style and tone can be
a bit more relaxed.
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Letters are more formal, but can adopt a tone to suit their purpose. If you wish to
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express pleasure or disappointment with an outcome, it is fine to say I am very

pleased, or I am very disappointed.
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Presentations are, like reports and proposals, generally factual documents, but
because they are meant to be delivered live and orally are often less formal than purely
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written formats. Presentations are simpler and more concise than written reports or
proposals and rely on formatting such as bullet points to summarise ideas. Writing
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presentations will be covered in more detail in Section 4 of this Student Workbook.

Proposals are, like reports, formal and factual documents, but their main purpose is to
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persuade the audience to take a certain action. Proposals generally follow a specific
format. Writing proposals will be covered in more detail in Section 5 of this Student
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Workbook.

Reports are factual documents which should be formal and impersonal. They are
generally set out in a specific format but can be modified to suit specific tasks. Reports,
like proposals can be aimed at persuasion, but are generally more tentative or
balanced. Writing proposals will be covered in more detail in Section 5 of this Student
Workbook.

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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

Websites may serve a range of purposes: to persuade, to inform, etc. Generally, web
writing is less formal than reports or proposals but not as informal as speech. Web
writing is highly dependent on hierarchy and headings to organise text visually and
contains lots of images. Web writing is chunked into short, meaningful blocks of
information, rather than set out in long paragraphs. As with presentations, bullets are
common. Hyperlinks are used to allow readers to drill down to the level of detail
required. Writing for the web will be covered in more detail in Section 6 of this Student
Workbook.

Learning activity: Document formats

Consider the writing task in the scenario at the beginning of this section.

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What document format or formats would be best suited to this task? Outline your
reasons.

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Consider how the task could chang e. For example, as a follow-up, imagine if your
manager wanted you to meet with the clients and personally explain your ideas. What
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format might be more appropriate then?

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

Forms of communication
As with document formats, the means you use to record your ideas and communicate
with your audience is dependent on the writing task at hand.
Pens and paper may be more appropriate than other means for recording your first
impressions of the tasks, brainstorming and mind mapping. Some people prefer to
research using notepaper; however as computer research becomes more prevalent,
people are tending to make electronic notes. Having notes in electronic form can actually
help some people mind map by allowing them to move text and images around freely.
There are also software programs such as SmartDraw to help people create editable mind
maps.
Naturally, certain software tools align more closely to certain writing tasks. An email
program such as Outlook is appropriate for emails. Word is appropriate for most business

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documents including, memos, letters, and reports. Excel is appropriate for presenting
information in spreadsheet form. If you are asked to write a document for a presentation,

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PowerPoint is preferable to a Word document as it is designed to display information in
the context of meetings, where people are time poor, require summarised information
and need to discuss information that everyone can see in front of them. Adobe

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Dreamweaver may be appropriate for website design.
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Writers need to choose their tools well and keep up-to-date with their writing tools. New
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websites, software programs and other tools are being developed all the time. The best
writing tools are practical and easy to use and integrate well with your work processes
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and the tools you use already. As a writer you need to choose the tools that work best for
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you and the task at hand. There is no point having an expensive and sophisticated new
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software program if you do not know how to use it. Professional development for writers
means being up-to-date with technology and includes learning about new or related
software packages.
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On the other hand, some things may never change. No matter the form, electronic or
print, writers will always require good reference texts. Consider the example reference
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tools below:
a decent dictionary and thesaurus, like the Macquarie Dictionary
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a copy of the Commonwealth style manual.

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In Australia, the reference tools you use need to be appropriate for Australian audiences.
Reference tools will be crucially important during the editing stage, dealt with in detail in
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Section 3 of this Student Workbook.

Document requirements
Document requirements are formally recorded in style guides. Many organisations have a
style guide that shows employees their preferred way of setting out documents. A style
guide can indicate how to set out a specific document, how to spell certain words and,
sometimes, what sort of font and headings to use. It will include information about how
the organisations logo, logotype, and letterhead are to be used. If an organisation has a
style guide, then all employees should follow it.

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Student Workbook Section 1 Plan the document

Organisational requirements that can be described in detail in most organisational style

guides are listed below:
compliance with format

compliance with proformas, standardised reporting requirements or undertakings

made by the organisation about reporting
file types and sizes for online documents

languages other than English requirements

legal or traditional requirements for the particular document format

organisational policy, procedures and guidelines applying to writing documents,

including house style
point numbering systems

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requirements for illustrations, photographs, graphs, charts, maps and other
illustrative material to explain texts

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standards for references, footnotes, citations, acknowledgements

word length

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writing styles, including simplicity of English and use of technical language.
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Other organisational requirements not included in style guides could include such things
as deadlines or other legal, ethical or task requirements.
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Plan the structure
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Planning a document is a vital step in the writing process. It can be a very individual
process and you need to choose a way of planning which works for you and one that is
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effective. You may also be writing in a team which means that you plan in a team.
At this point, you should feel comfortable that you have all you need to start to consider
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the structure of your document and plan the outline of a draft.

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Structure
Structure includes the organisation of material within the format, including the
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appropriate use of layout and signposting of key points and their relative importance.
Structure also includes the appropriate treatment of attachments and hyperlinks within
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the document.
You will need to organise key points within the format. The number and complexity of key
points is important to consider. If you need to communicate one or two simple key points
of information, then a short document is appropriate. For larger amounts of information, a
longer document with dot points and subheadings, and possibly diagrams and a table of
contents, may be suitable.

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Section 1 Plan the document Student Workbook

You may need to structure larger documents to include attachments, which support your
key points in the form of appendiceslike this Student Workbook has. Electronic
documents can incorporate hyperlinks to attachments, which are electronically available
on the internet, or within an organisations intranet. Hyperlinks save you from having to
deal with volumes of paper or electronic attachments to an email. You may also want to
consider whether to place hyperlinks and attachments in the body of your document or at
the end.
Structure also includes how you set out your text logically or chronologically and how you
make your point or argue your case. Some things to consider as ways of structuring your
text are:
Arguments and rebuttals You may choose to outline the case against your
position and then systematically show why it is wrong using logic and evidence.
Categories and sequences A type of document may have particular categories

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and sequences that are traditionally used for that form of documentation. Scientific
research papers, for example, are usually set out in a very similar structure, with
information being included under particular headings in a particular order. The

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format or task may have a strictly defined pattern that you need to follow.
Pros and cons Compare advantages and disadvantages.

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Logical, chronological, alphabetical or operating sequences Obviously you need to
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choose the most appropriate ordering system for the task. The different sequences
you will plan for in your draft suit different kinds of content: logical for arguments,
chronological for case studies and operational for procedures, for instance. Stories
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and case studies tend to follow a chronological or time order; procedures in user
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manuals tend to follow the operating order in which the reader is expected to carry
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out a procedure.
These structures and sequences also have certain linking words associated with
them such as therefore, so, then, next, for example. We will revisit this idea in
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the next section when you draft your document.

Facts, observations, conclusions and recommendations Reports often follow this
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order of presentation.
Illustrative case studies and other examples.
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Linking and summary statements Words such as therefore, in conclusion, etc.,

signpost the structure of your argument to help readers understand it.
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Recommendations and supporting arguments Keep your recommendations and

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the arguments that support them together in order to reinforce your logic and make
your argument clearer for your reader.

In the following sections of this Student Workbook, you will get a chance to practise
actually using these structures to draft texts. For now it is sufficient that you decide upon
what structures you will use to emphasise your main points.
Lets plan your document structure. Do the following learning activity.

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