STRATFOR Writing 101Sept. 2, 2010

STRATFOR Writing 101STRATFOR Writing 101

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words,

a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason

that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.

This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short,

or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline,

but that every word tell.”

-- William Strunk Jr.

What this Presentation is AboutWhat this Presentation is About

• It is not a lecture on grammar.• It is not a sermon about adhering to a rigid set of rules.• It is not a talk about gathering or analyzing intelligence.• It is a presentation about presenting your intelligence.• It is about thinking and writing better.

What the Writers’ Group DoesWhat the Writers’ Group Does

• We edit, rewrite, polish and present your analytical product.

• We clarify what you say and help you sound as smart as you really are.

• We provide the final vetting of your piece in the review process.

• We serve as the surrogate STRATFOR reader.

The ProcessThe Process

• Proposal• Approval• Budget• Comment• Edit• Fact check• Copy edit• Post

Selecting InformationSelecting Information

• Determine your thesis, the salient point you want to make.

• Determine what is relevant to support that thesis.• Think about the evidence and why you are including it.• Know the difference between a data dump and a

STRATFOR analysis.• Remember: The reader does not need to know

everything you know.

Structure of an Analysis as Written

• Summary• Lead• Nut graf• Body• Conclusion

Summary

• One sentence describing what has happened (the trigger).

• Another sentence explaining why you think this event is important (the thesis).

• A third predicting what it might lead to (the forecast).• The summary must truly summarize the whole piece in

75 to 100 words.• Its purpose is to give the busy reader the distilled

essence of the entire analysis. • Analyses with fewer than 500 words do not need

summaries.

Lead

• What is the event or timely topic (the trigger) that caused you to produce this analysis?

• In journalese, we’re talking about who, what, where, when and why.

Nut Graf

• An elaboration on why this is important to our readers, the point of the piece (the thesis).

• What does it mean?• What may it portend (the forecast)?

Body

• Prove/support your thesis.• Do so in an orderly manner using the paragraph as

your basic unit of composition.• Make each paragraph count.

Conclusion

• Wrap it up and tie it together.• Re-emphasize your thesis using different words.• Be conclusive.

Structure of an Analysis as PostedStructure of an Analysis as Posted

• Headline• Teaser• Summary• Analysis

Headline

• We are not a newspaper.• What we’re really talking about are titles.• In most cases, the title should not be the trigger.• It should be the larger concept that the trigger

introduces.

Headline

For example, here’s a newspaper-like headline:

Austin: Man Bites Dog

Headline

At STRATFOR, the analysis would be titled something like:

Austin: Turning the Tables on Canine Aggression

Teaser

• 30 words or fewer• A hint of things to come.• It can be the thesis of the piece.

An Example on Site

Here’s what you see on the front page:

Russia: The End of Bashkir and Tatar Independence

With the resignation of the longtime president of Bashkortostan, the Kremlin has consolidated control over the two energy-rich and semi-autonomous Muslim republics.

22 different words elaborating on the headline and leading readers to the piece. Perfect.

An Example on Site

Here’s what you see inside (along with the headline):

Summary

Longtime Bashkir President Murtaza Rakhimov has resigned, only months after the long-serving president of Tatarstan, another semi-autonomous Muslim republic, left office. Their departures provide an opportunity for Moscow to reconsolidate control over the two regions and integrate their substantial energy resources into larger state-owned firms like Gazprom and Rosneft. They also point to an increased confidence on the part of the Kremlin to contain any outbreak of violence in the country’s restive Muslim regions.

74 words summarizing the whole analysis. Perfect.

An Example on Site

More in the lead graf (trigger, sourcing, relevant context):

Analysis

The Bashkir government will vote July 19 on the nomination of Rustem Khamitov to replace the long-serving president of Bashkortostan, Murtaza Rakhimov. Rakhimov announced his retirement July 13 following a three-hour closed-door meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, according to STRATFOR sources. Rakhimov had led the autonomous Muslim republic for the past 16 years and, along with longtime Tatar President Mintimer Shaimiyev who resigned in April, was one of the last regional leaders left in Russia appointed by former President Boris Yeltsin.

An Example on Site

And still more in the nut graf (context and thesis):

These two regions were some of the last strings the Kremlin had yet to tie up in its consolidation of Russia. With the old leadership being pushed out in both Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, the Kremlin is showing it is confident it can eliminate the last relics of the Yeltsin era, manage the Muslim populations in the country and bring the final pieces of Russia’s mighty economic wealth under Kremlin control….

PitfallsPitfalls

• No clear thesis.• Buried thesis.• Dull lead.• Repetitive points.• Garbled thoughts.• Verb-subject disagreement.• Clichés. • Cuteness.• Too many dashes and parentheses.• Long writing.• Contradictory comments.• Too rushed to do a final read-through.

Pet PeevesPet Peeves

(No names; you know who you are.)

• “This is something that will warrant close scrutiny moving forward.”

• “Shift.”• “Potentially could.”• “Not only…but.”• “That” and “which.”• “As.”• “As such.”• “A” and “the.”• “Only.”• One-sentence paragraphs.• Gratuitous self-praise.

A Sampling from RobinA Sampling from Robin

(Some of her favorites; again, you know who you are.)

• Trying to be so complex as to be obtuse:

“State governors are a crucial piece of the puzzle that explains the complicated interweb of alliances and loyalties which explain the group’s mysterious modus operandi.”

• Writing from the Department of Redundancy Department:

“The four are also largely not geographically critical, although they certainly are important. This does not mean that they are not important.”

“…and was able to choose a time and avenue of approach of its choosing.”

A Sampling from RobinA Sampling from Robin

“…security forces responded sufficiently to quell the attack and that sufficient security provisions -- already expanded and on heightened alert for the jirga -- were sufficient.”

• Duh:

“…the ASWJ representative who physically signed the Addis Ababa agreement [how else would he sign it -- telepathically?].”

• Any sentence of over 50 words should be taken out back and shot.

• One last thing: It seems to have cleared up recently, but for several months we had a “plague” of “quotes” where people put “quotation marks” around things that didn't “need” them in order to sound “snarky” or “clever.” (There's actually a website “devoted” to this “issue,” believe it or “not”: http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/.)

Guidance

• Write your own summary.• Envision a structure and lay it out that way.• Make the paragraph the unit of composition.• Tell it like it is.• Use synonyms.• Use the active voice.• Be specific, definite and concrete.• Keep it tight.• Be willing to kill your kittens.• Listen to the rhythm of your writing.• Read your sentences out loud.• Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again

expecting a different result.