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From time to time, you will find yourself wrestling with several points to make about one subject. A useful rule to follow is “from the general to the specific.” Make the main point first, then back it up with specifics. Here is an example:

“Our department is working too many overtime hours. Last month, the staff totaled 102 overtime hours. That is a 10 percent increase over the previous month.”

Helpful with Numbers

Notice how the writer states the conclusion for the reader. Figures then support the conclusion. While not all specific statements in memos use figures, much information in work writing is conveyed by numbers. When you use numbers, especially if you have a complex array of figures, make a general statement before you introduce them.

A common place for going from the general to the specific is when you are writing an example. In the first sentence of a paragraph, clearly state a conclusion you can support by facts. Then use figures, quotes or eyewitness accounts to illustrate the first sentence. The LEB123S format (Chapter Three) follows the general to specific rule.

The following passages illustrate the general-to-the-specific rule. The general statements are underlined. The first example is simple. Others become more complex.

Our department is the most productive in the company. We were the only department to achieve all of our strategic goals last year.

People who eat a light lunch perform better than those who eat a heavy meal at noon, according to Dr. Angus Craig of the University of Sussex.

Dr. Craig, speaking at an American Medical Association sponsored conference, reported that alertness and efficiency reach a low ebb about two hours after one begins eating lunch.

If you write anything—a letter, a memo, a pamphlet, a company brochure, a report—never underestimate the power of anecdotes. If you come upon one in your preliminary research, don’t just smile and go on. Take it down carefully; it’s valuable stuff—in interest, in reader appeal, in forcefulness, in general all purpose usefulness for written presentation.

–Rudolf Flesch

Practicing general to specific

I’ll give you the first, or general, statement, then you fill in the specific. Just like the examples above. You can use the general statement I give you literally, or you can change it a little.

1. General statement: My city is the best in the state.

2. General statement: My city is the worst in the state.

3. General statement: My favorite day of the week is __________. (Fill in the blank.)

4. Now you do a general and a specific.