Lists, Tables, Drafts, Outlines, Memos, and Checklists

Unit ID: PAW-M05-U01 Estimated active time: 20-25 minutes

Six formats worth knowing well

Most everyday requests fit one of six shapes. Knowing them by what they are for saves choosing by habit.

• List — items with no order that matters.
• Numbered steps — order matters and each step is an action.
• Table — several things compared on the same dimensions.
• Outline — structure of something longer, before writing it.
• Draft — the finished thing, in the reader's hands.
• Checklist — things to confirm, each answerable yes or no.

The commonest mismatch

Asking for a draft when you needed an outline.

You get 600 polished words built on a structure you would not have chosen, and editing it is harder than starting again.

For anything longer than a short message, ask for the outline first, approve it, then ask for the draft.

Specify the shape inside the format

"Give me a table" is not enough. Name the columns.

> A table with one row per option and these columns: option, cost, effort in days, main risk, how reversible, who decides.

Unspecified columns are chosen for you, and they tend to be the flattering ones.

A format specification

OUTPUT SPECIFICATION

Format:        table
Rows:          one per supplier being considered
Columns:       supplier | annual cost | lead time | main risk | exit difficulty
Ordering:      cheapest first
Length:        no cell over 15 words
Missing data:  write "not supplied" -- do not estimate
After table:   three bullets on what the table does not capture

That last line is worth adding to almost every structured request. Formats hide what they have no column for.

Checklists need a subject

A checklist item must be answerable about something specific.

Weak: "Consider accessibility."

Better: "Every image has alt text — yes / no / not applicable."

If an item cannot be answered yes or no, it belongs in the guidance, not the checklist.

Mini practice

Take one request and write output specifications for it in three different formats.

Decide which you would actually use, and write one sentence on what each of the other two would have hidden.

Mark complete