proposals and reports. The category organizational structure is also
appropriate for matter-of-fact short narratives, such as announcements
and E-mails.
Proposals
Proposals typically use a category organizational structure to make it easy
for readers to locate specific units of information.
Michelle, for instance, wrote a grant request that ran more than fifty
pages. “It was a huge endeavor. The museum that I work for wanted to
install new lighting, and I wrote a proposal to a private foundation that
provides funds for infrastructure improvements. I chose the category
organizational structure as a way of making the huge amount of information
manageable.
“I ended up with six categories:
1. our attendance figures
2. testimonials from curators about the importance of lighting
3. an engineering report about fine art lighting standards
4. an electrician’s cost estimates
5. background information about the museum and how we serve
the community
6. copies of legal documents proving our nonprofit status
“As I wrote the proposal, I kept discovering new categories. Having
selected the category organizational structure, I was able to easily add
new categories, combine some closely related ones, and eliminate some
that weren’t relevant. I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would
have been if I had been trying to track and revise one fifty-page unit
instead of the smaller, easy-to-identify units.
“We got the money, by the way!”
Reports
The category organizational structure also works well in reports. Using
this structure ensures that each section is short and focused, two standards
of excellence in business writing.
Karl’s boss expected each of his direct subordinates to write a monthly
activity report. Karl explained that he used to use a straight narrative