Tradecraft > The Craft of Writing

Joy Yamamoto

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Think before you start to write:

What is the basic message you want to convey?

Can you say it in one sentence? In my husband’s first newspaper reporting job, his editor would confront his reporters returning from an interview or a meeting with a simple question that he demanded be answered in a single sentence: What, he inquired, was the story? My husband soon realized that his answer to the editor often turned out to be the gist of the opening sentence of the resulting news story.

For your summary or main paragraph, think of journalism’s 5 Ws: What happened? Who? Where? When? Why is it important?

What information do you think your intended readers need, or want, to know?

Who is your audience?

For the Department?

You are writing for busy people. Most senior officials, if they read cables, read only the first paragraph. Get the action, the main point, or what you want a reader to remember in the first one to three sentences. Do not slowly wind into the substance of your cable or report.

For example: Do not begin, “The Deputy U.S. Trade Representative met on May 2 with the Korean Customs Service Commissioner in Seoul.” Or, even, “The Deputy U.S. Trade Representative on May 2 discussed customs problems with the Korean Customs Service Commissioner in Seoul.” Instead, say what happened: “The Deputy U.S. Trade Representative on May 2 complained to the Korean Customs Service Commissioner that his agency seemed more concerned about generating revenue than in facilitating trade. The Commissioner, Kim Nak-hoe, said he would look into the reports about burdensome customs procedures faced by U.S. exporters.”

Generally, any fact that you knew before attending a meeting or starting research should not be prominent—or possibly even mentioned—in your report’s opening paragraph.

You should view your writing as a mark of respect for your reader. The more senior the person is, the less detail is needed.

Do not tell the Department what it probably already knows. If you find yourself writing, “As you know…” then ask yourself, why are you including this information if the reader already knows it? Also, what if the reader does not know—he or she might think you’re being insulting or condescending by suggesting it’s something he or she should know.

For the Ambassador?

The same guidance applies.

But especially for Ambassadors, do not tell them what they already know. You sometimes should include memory joggers or background if you think they need it—but there’s a fine line between telling them what they already know and what they need to know.

Keep in mind the length of their meetings and whether there will be foreign-language interpretation. For example, for a 30-minute meeting without interpretation, a short briefing memo with no more than four or five topics usually will suffice.

When you write:

Brevity is best; keep it simple. Break your cable or report into short paragraphs. Keep in mind that writing succinctly is more difficult than writing at length, but is more comprehensible. From Henry David Thoreau: “Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.”

Aim for clarity. Do not try to impress with highfalutin language. Avoid jargon and uncommon acronyms. Kurt Vonnegut expressed this advice through two sentences that express the same idea:

“Should I act upon the urgings that I feel, or remain passive and thus cease to exist?”

Or, as William Shakespeare phrased that thought: “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

Remember that you are writing for a reason—to convey important information that others need or will use. We are NOT writing to impress, to demonstrate how much we know, or to show why we’re overdue for a promotion. We do a better job showing how smart we are by what we choose to include in our memos and cables, not by how many factoids we can cram into a report.

After you write:

Please keep in mind that even the best writers need editors. Newspaper articles normally are reviewed by several editors before the public reads an article; at the last newspaper where I worked, a reporter’s article often went through five editors before it reached print. Be receptive to your editor’s thoughts and advice. Sometimes the idea in our head is not expressed well on paper (or electronically). We sometimes may need someone else to point that out.

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