The SOFAwriter’s Guide: Streamline Your Writing Tasks

The SOFAwriter’s Guide

Streamline Your Writing Tasks

By Chris Hyde

Copyright © 2015 by Chris Hyde

SOFAwriter Press

P.O. Box 140308

Denver, Colorado 80214

www.sofawriter.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

For the print version:

ISBN: 978-1-4951-2460-0

LCCN: 2014915453

Cover Designer: Kathi Dunn ([email protected])

Interior Designer: David Bergsland ([email protected])

Preface

The purpose of The SOFAwriter’s Guide is to teach people how to start from square one when they need to prepare a written form and then move procedurally and creatively forward to the final draft. Regardless of whether you are writing an essay, an operating procedure, or a job application letter, you use the same format and two-step process to complete your task.

The idea for this book has been percolating since 1993, when I conjured up my SOFA (Situation, Objective, Fulfillment, Addenda) acronym from SMEAC, which is a military initialism for Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and logistics, and Command and signal. I trademarked SOFAwriter that year, extended the trademark deadline, and then let it expire because my book idea failed to take shape.

I first used the SOFA format and process while working for a computer company. On my own initiative, I researched and wrote three articles—past-performance narratives—on successful projects the company had completed. I had hoped to produce more such articles to place in trade journals and to use for other marketing purposes, but upper management saw no benefit to my idea, and I eventually left the company. Years later I used my SOFAwriting method to teach expository and technical writing at a two-year technical college, and that positive experience encouraged me to pursue my book idea again.

As I close, a recollection comes to mind. I was a college freshman taking trigonometry, and by the second week I was headed for failure. My teacher was very thorough, but I could not grasp the trigonometric process. In desperation, I attended a tutoring session one afternoon.

The only available tutor was a graduate student who had gritty fingernails and was wearing a sport coat a few sizes too small. I sat down next to him, showed him my first homework problem, and said: I don’t get it. The tutor studied the problem for a few seconds and said: All you are doing is this. He then gave me some pithy instructions and worked the problem.

I repeated his instructions on the second problem and worked it correctly. A light shone through the darkness. I moved to the back of the room, worked the rest of the homework problems, and presented my efforts to the tutor. He studied my answers, made a few suggestions, and said: You got it. I went on to make an A in trigonometry that quarter, one of the few A’s I would make as an undergraduate. I hope this book will serve you as a pithy tutor, but without the gritty fingernails.

The SOFAwriting Process

SOFA is an acronym for Situation, Objective, Fulfillment, and Addenda, and the SOFAwriting process is a method for organizing and presenting virtually any type of information. Developing the skill does not require memorizing various types of document characteristics or reading any long commentaries on the art of composition. Instead, you will learn how to use the same streamlined format and process to complete all of your writing tasks. You will learn how to:

1. Outline your writing task on a SOFA worksheet.

2. Write your final draft.

1. Outline writing task on a SOFA worksheet.

The SOFA worksheet is composed of eight words:

Date:

To:

From:

Subject:

Situation:

Objective:

Fulfillment:

Addenda:

Each word represents a question that has to be answered:

Date: What are my deadlines?

To: Who is my audience?

From: Who will contribute to this writing task?

Subject: What is my writing task?

Situation: What problem, requirement, or need is my reason for writing?

Objective: What is my objective?

Fulfillment: How will I fulfill my objective?

Addenda: What else do I need to tell my audience?

All writing is creative, and the worksheet warms you up to create by prompting you to first think through and organize your writing tasks.

2. Write final draft.

There is no actual line of demarcation between outlining your writing task on the worksheet and preparing your final draft. Some people will start this step with a scratch outline, others with a detailed outline, and yet others with a rough draft; we all have our own composition habits.

By using the SOFAwriting process, you will learn how to inventory what you know and what you need to know, and you will conceive your structural design before you begin the arduous task of writing, rewriting, and editing—and rewriting. The format and process are simple to understand, but writing is seldom easy.

Samuel Johnson, the 18th century English litterateur, warned us that What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. Read this book, and apply the process to your work. Your effort will be worthwhile.

Informational Text

Informational text informs readers of subjects and is organized by topics. Most business documents are informational, so being able to prepare this type of text is a crucial job skill that you can develop if you:

1. Outline your writing task on a SOFA worksheet.

2. Write your final draft.

1. Outline writing task on a SOFA worksheet.

Informational text should be organized to allow readers to skim down and find what they need. You can give your writing this structure by first outlining each task on a SOFA worksheet, which is composed of the following eight words:

Date:

To:

From:

Subject:

Situation:

Objective:

Fulfillment:

Addenda:

Each word represents a question that has to be answered:

Date: What are my deadlines?

To: Who is my audience?

From: Who will contribute to this writing task?

Subject: What is my writing task?

Situation: What problem, requirement, or need is my reason for writing?

Objective: What is my objective?

Fulfillment: How will I fulfill my objective?

Addenda: What else do I need to tell my audience?

Let’s examine each of these questions to determine its significance. Remember that you are outlining—thinking through—your writing task.

Date: What are my deadlines? Today’s date or the date you will distribute what you have written goes here, or you can use this space to schedule your work if it will require multiple drafts and reviews.

To: Who is my audience? If you know your readers by name, list them here; otherwise, describe your intended audience.

From: Who will contribute to this writing task? Will you require any information from subject matter experts, reviewers, or research materials to complete your task? If so, write your sources and resources here. Otherwise, write your name here.

Subject: What is my writing task? Write a descriptive subject title here.

Situation: What problem, requirement, or need is my reason for writing? Your situation statement identifies one or more of the following that pertain to your readers:

A problem requires an urgent remedy and may involve difficulties with money, time, projects, products, services, customers, or employees.

A requirement may be a law, an industry regulation, a company directive, or a request from someone senior to you.

A need may be stated as a lack of some sort, the risk of a problem, or information that is useful to know.

Objective: What is my objective? Your objective statement states what is to be done about the above situation statement and previews the topics—such as risks, services, or tasks—that you will discuss below in your fulfillment section. This is where you tell your readers what you are going to tell them. Any informational text that is two or more pages long should usually have a topic preview.

Sometimes you will realize that your situation statement renders your objective statement superfluous, or vice versa. While outlining, go ahead and write both statements. You may delete either or both later. The SOFA worksheet is a writing format for all occasions, and as such not all of its questions need to be answered in all of your final drafts.

Fulfillment: How will I fulfill my objective? Your fulfillment section is the body of your writing, and it is where you discuss the topics that you previewed above. Present this information so that your readers can easily find each topic.

Addenda: What else do I need to tell my audience? During this step, your addenda section is where you make notes on concluding remarks, attachments or appendices, and anything else that you need.

Outlining warms you up to write. This preliminary effort may range from a quick consideration of your writing task to a prolonged brainstorming session requiring detailed notations. You can use the flexible SOFA worksheet as a checklist to help ensure that you include all of the essential elements in your final draft, and it can serve as a reference guide that you create while researching your subject.

Your inability to answer one or more of the above questions is not a sign of writer’s block, but simply an indication that you lack crucial information. There is a big difference between being flummoxed by a seemingly insurmountable obstacle and realizing that your route to completion lies in more research and thought.

Don’t worry about writing style or paragraph transitions at this time. Think of yourself as a news reporter gathering fragments and putting each in its proper place before you sit down to compose your story. Your actual writing process begins after you have a grasp of what you need to say.

2. Write final draft.

Your final draft—whether it requires one effort, several rewrites, a thorough review process, or future revisions—is what you submit to your intended audience. Having determined your structural design, you must then collect and present your content using an effective writing style—a lifelong discovery. All writing is creative, and this is where you exercise your aptitude for presenting a concise, unified message.

Edit each writing task carefully and critically before submitting it, and ensure that your readers can easily find what they need. Eliminate unnecessary words. Just as veteran backpackers pare their gear down by ounces before they head off on a long hike, so should you cut out all unnecessary words. Occam’s razor admonishes us that it is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer. Here are some examples of how to use your editorial razor.

Prepare a personal style sheet. If you tend to make recurring mistakes in your writing—such as a tendency to confuse the possessive pronouns its, your, and theirs with the contractions it’s, you’re, and there’s—note these differences on a style sheet for quick reference.

Use any available professional guidance. The best way to improve your use of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structures is to study and practice using the corrections that a professional editor makes to your work. Developing writing skills is an ongoing process.

Now let’s look at how you can use the SOFAwriting process to prepare various types of informational text.

1.0 Directives

Directives are used to guide people in performing tasks and conducting themselves during various activities and operations. The types of directives discussed in this chapter are:

1.1 Security Briefing Guides.

1.2 Orientation Worksheets.

1.3 Project Assignments.

1.4 Agreement Memos.

1.5 Employee Guidelines.

1.6 Course Syllabi.

1.1. Security Briefing Guides

Calvin Vickery works in the Security Department of the Javold Corporation, and he has decided to prepare a security briefing guide for new employees that is more concise than the current guide. Calvin will:

1. Outline his guide on a SOFA worksheet.

2. Write his final draft.

1. Outline guide on a SOFA worksheet.

Calvin begins outlining the briefing guide using the SOFA format. Outlining warms him up to write, allows him to inventory what he knows and needs to know, and helps him to conceive the briefing guide’s structure.

Date: What are my deadlines? Calvin will work on the guide during his lunch breaks, and he prepares the following schedule:

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: Read the security materials and highlight essential information.

Thursday: Prepare detailed outline of guide.

Friday: Write first draft.

Monday: Write second draft and submit draft to reviewers, who will have a deadline of 11 a.m. that Thursday to submit comments.

Thursday and Friday: Incorporate the reviewers’ comments and prepare the final draft.

To: Who is my audience? Calvin writes the following:

My audience is new employees; most if not all are undergoing investigations for security clearances.

From: Who will contribute to this writing task? Calvin makes the following notes on gathering the information he needs:

Refer to the company security manual and to government rules and guidelines on security.

Collect review comments from Tom Jenson, Angela Stone, and Winfield Tucker.

Subject: What is my writing task? Calvin writes a title for the briefing guide:

Javold Corporation Security Briefing for New Employees

Situation: What problem, requirement, or need is my reason for writing? Calvin’s reason for writing the briefing guide is the requirement that new employees be briefed on their security responsibilities; also, there is a need for a more effective guide. He writes:

All new Javold employees must be briefed on their responsibilities concerning classified information during their first-day orientation. The current guide is just photocopies of security regulations.

Objective: What is my objective? Calvin’s objective is to meet the above requirement by specifying what the new employees’ responsibilities are. He previews those responsibilities:

To meet the above requirement, new employees will be briefed so that they:

a. Understand what classified materials are.

b. Know how to safeguard classified materials.

c. Know how to report any violations.

d. Surrender classified materials if they decide to leave the company.

Fulfillment: How will I fulfill my objective? Calvin makes the following notes on how he will discuss each of the above topics:

a. Understand what classified materials are.

Discuss the differences between top secret, secret, confidential, and proprietary information.

b. Know how to safeguard classified materials

Discuss need-to-know requirements, how not to compromise classified information, the different types of secure communication components, and when to contact a security officer.

c. Know how to report any violations.

Define suspicious actions, security infractions, adverse information, change of status, and foreign travel or connections.

d. Surrender classified materials if they decide to leave the company.

State how to surrender classified materials before leaving the company.

Addenda: What else do I need to tell my audience? In his conclusion, Calvin lists the names of the security officers to contact if the need arises:

Contact one of the following security officers if you have any questions:

Calvin Vickery

Tom Jenson

Angela Stone

Winfield Tucker

2. Write final draft.

Calvin writes his review draft, submits copies to his reviewers, and incorporates their suggestions. He then checks to ensure that he has answered all of the worksheet questions before he distributes the briefing guide.

Date, To, From, Subject: The date of the briefing is in the upper left corner of the guide, and the title provides the rest of the information.

Situation: The briefing requirement is stated in two sentences.

Objective: The objective statement previews what will be discussed.

Fulfillment: The information is presented so that it is easy to find.

Addenda: The briefing guide is concluded with a listing of the company’s security officers and their contact information and a statement re-emphasizing the employees’ responsibilities for properly handling classified information.

June 20, 20--

Javold Corporation New-Employee Security Briefing

As new Javold employees, you are required to be briefed on the obligations that you must comply with when you are eventually allowed access to classified materials. You will be instructed further after you are cleared for access.

This briefing is being presented to ensure that you:

a. Understand the levels, significance, and forms of classified materials.

b. Safeguard classified materials.

c. Report