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Writing Business Documents - The power of formatting

Compare the following two documents.

If you had the following two documents on your desk, which one would you read first?

Most would say document 2 because it is easy to read. It:

is open with lots of white space around the words
has tables
has bullet points
has headings which act like sign posts.

Your eye can scan document 2 and you all the sorting and comparisons have been done for you. You do not have to concentrate as much when reading it. Formatting is more than cosmetic in a document, It increases comprehension and encourages reading it.

Document 1

This email is in response to your request for an evaluation of smoke detectors for home use. It presents my recommendation, discusses the criteria used, and provides some details concerning the evaluation. Buy one dual-purpose smoke detector, the Smoke Alert Model A-200, price $60. This model rates ‘above average’ in its detection of slow fires and its alarm loudness, and average in its detection of fast fires. All smoke detectors were evaluated first for speed of response to both fast and slow fires. Slow fires, of the sort caused by a cigarette dropped in bedclothes, are best detected by a photoelectric detector. Fast fires, like those involving flammable liquids, are best detected by an ionization detector. The Smoke Alert model recommended above is a combination photoelectric and ionization unit. It is a dual-purpose detector that provides the best combined detection. The smoke detectors were also tested to alarm loudness, since audibility is an essential feature, Fourteen smoke detectors were evaluated and the overall ratings are presented at Appendix 1.

Regards

Andrew Jones

Document 2 Introduction Thank you for your request to evaluate smoke detectors for home use. I have pleasure in presenting my recommendation, as well as an outline of the criteria used and the scope of the evaluation. Recommendation I recommend you purchase one dual-purpose smoke detector: Smoke Alert Model A-200; price $60. This model rates as follows:
	Criteria	Rating
	Detection of slow fires Detection of fast fires Alarm loudness	Above average Average Average
Criteria considered Speed of response All smoke detectors were evaluated for response to both slow and fast fires. Slow fires, such as those caused by a cigarette dropped in bedclothes, are best detected by a photoelectric detector. Fast fires, like those involving flammable liquids, are best detected by an ionization detector. The Smoke Alert model recommended above is a combination photoelectric and ionization unit. It is a dual-purpose detector that provides the best combined detection. Alarm loudness The smoke detectors were also evaluated for alarm loudness, since audibility is an essential feature. Evaluation scope 1 Number of detectors evaluated: 14 2 Overall ratings: see Appendix 1 Next steps Please call me on 9876 5432 if you would like me to order the recommended smoke detector for you. Kind regards Andrew Jones

Formatting techniques

Keep the following principles in mind when formatting your next document.

Technique	More information
Headings	Helps the reader interpret content more easily. ‘What the mind does not expect, it will not accept.’ Use title case for the name of a document. For example: Business Writing Skills Use sentence case for headings in the document. For example: The power of formatting Do not capitalise words as they are hard to read. Avoid using underling and block italics as both reduce readability.
Bold	Use to give emphasis; however, be selective when using bold. Too much bold can become visually distracting.
Tables	As demonstrated by this table, a large amount of information can be presented clearly and concisely using this technique. Reduce the font size by one within the body of a table. Align text to the left, and figures to the right of a column. Align decimal points. Shade headings. Put units of measurement into the headings. Reference the table in the text. Insert the table as close as possible to the reference. Place the caption of tables, graphs and charts above the item. Place the caption for photographs below the image
Shading	Use to give emphasis; however, be selective or the shading may become visually distracting.
Font	Keep the font consistent throughout the document and select fonts that are easy to read—nothing too fancy or difficult to read. You can change the font in the heading only.
Bullets and numbering	Use a stem sentence to introduce the bulleted or numbered list.
White space	White space gives shape to your documents and helps orient readers. Good use of white space makes a page look uncluttered and more inviting. It also makes documents easier to read.
Short paragraphs (chunking)	Work towards a maximum of 7 – 8 lines. Comprehension tends to drop after 10 typewritten lines.

Formatting guidelines for tables

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