Chapter 10 Flashcards — Reflecting the Pyramid on the Page
flashcards tpp formatting headings page-layout transitions
What are the five main formatting devices for reflecting the pyramid on the page?
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(a) Hierarchical headings, (b) numbered and underlined points, (c) decimal numbering, (d) indented display, and (e) dot-dash outlines. Minto personally favors hierarchical headings but explains all five.
What is the “never use only one of any element” rule in hierarchical headings?
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Since headings indicate levels of abstraction in the pyramid, you can never have only one item at any level. You cannot have one major section, one subsection, one numbered paragraph, or one dash point. A heading signals group membership, and a group requires at least two members.
What does it mean to “regard headings as outside the text”?
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Headings are for the eye more than the mind — they are not often read carefully, and you cannot depend on them to carry your message as part of the text. Your document should be able to be read as a smooth-flowing piece without the headings. (Exception: numbered paragraphs, which are meant to be read as part of the text.)
What is the rule about introducing each group of headings?
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State the main point that the grouping will explain or defend before presenting the headings. Never have a major section heading begin immediately after the title, nor a subsection heading begin immediately after the section heading. To omit this introduction is to present the reader with a mystery story.
What are the three strict rules for the “underlined points” format?
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- Absolute discipline in applying question/answer logic — sub-points must directly answer the question raised by the point above, nothing else. 2. Word each point as sparsely as possible — more than a dozen words or more than one subject-predicate is a red flag. 3. Be totally ruthless about limiting points to the outline of your deductive or inductive argument — max four in a deductive chain, max five in an inductive group.
What is the “dot-dash outline” (lap visual) and when is it used?
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A variation of indented display used by consulting firms for progress reviews given to a small group of client executives sitting around a table, reading one page at a time. Unlike other formats, the rules are looser (less strict than underlined points), but you must still: make short direct statements at each level, limit each level to one statement, use parallel construction where possible, and ensure ideas at each level directly relate to the level above.
What is the “telling a story” technique for transitions between major sections?
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Introduce each Key Line point with a mini Situation-Complication-Question story that leads naturally to that Key Line point as the Answer. The SCQ story must contain only information the reader already knows or will accept as true — its scope is reduced from the overall introduction to match where the reader stands as each new section begins.
What is the “referencing backward” transition technique?
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Pick up a key word or phrase — the main idea of the preceding portion of the pyramid — and use it in the opening sentence of the new section or set of support points. This carries the reader forward while reminding them where they have been. Example: “The problems stemming from lack of full-time leadership are compounded by overlapping or unwieldy responsibility assignments…”
When is a “Next Steps” concluding section appropriate, and what is the rule about its content?
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When you are dealing with actions you want the reader to take in the immediate future, and you are confident the reader will take them. The rule: include only logically obvious, self-evident actions that the reader will not question (“Call the man who owns the company and ask him to lunch”). If an action would raise questions in the reader’s mind, it belongs in the body of the document, not in Next Steps.
What information should a reader ideally absorb in the first 30 seconds of reading a document?
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The entire thinking: Introduction (situation, complication, question), Main Point (the answer), and Key Line points (the major supporting ideas). The formatting must make this structure visible immediately.
Why should headings never be labeled “Introduction,” “Background,” or “Findings”?
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Such labels are generic categories that communicate no ideas — a table of contents reading “Introduction 1, Background 2, Findings 3” is worthless. Headings are meant to show divisions of thought; the “thought” in those sections does not begin until the Key Line level (“Findings”). Only real ideas in the boxes of your pyramid produce useful headings.
What is the key principle when using indented display in a memo?
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Express ideas at the same level in the same grammatical form (parallel construction). This saves words, makes ideas easier to grasp, and forces the writer to check whether they have actually stated a clear message — vague points become obvious when they must be stated in parallel with specific ones.