Pyramid Principle: Substructures

Vertical Relationships

Each level in the pyramid represents a different level of abstraction and summarizes the level below it. In addition, it naturally creates a question/answer relationship:

Making a statement to a reader that tells him something he does not know will automatically raise a logical question in his mind – for example, Why? or How? or Why do you say that? You as the writer are now obliged to answer that question horizontally on the line below.⊕ (Minto [1996] 2018, p 14)

Good writing pays attention to this question/answer relationship:

A great value of the pyramid structure is that it forces visual recognition of the vertical question/answer relationship on you as you work out your thinking. Any point you make must raise a question in the reader’s mind, which you must answer horizontally on the line below.⊕ (Minto [1996] 2018, p 16)

Horizontal Relationships

In deciding what to say on the line below, not only must the points you include answer the question raised by the point above, they must also answer it logically. That is, they must present a clear inductive or deductive argument, or or the other, but not both at once. These are the only two types of logical relationship possible in a grouping.⊕ (Minto [1996] 2018, p 17)

Introduction

Introduce your document using the SCQA format to get the reader interested:

The introduction tells the reader, in story form, what he already knows or could reasonably expet to know about the subject you are discussing, and thus reminds him of the question he has to which he can expect the document to give him an answer. The story sets forth the Situation within which a Complication developed that triggered the Question to which your document will now give the Answer. Once you state the Answer (the point at the top of your pyrami), it will raise a new question in the reader’s mind that you will answer on the line below.⊕ (Minto [1996] 2018, p 19)

Interesting antipattern

The way to ensure total reader attention, therefore, is to refrain from raising any questions in the reader’s mind before you are ready to answer them. Or from answering questions before you have raised them. For example, any time a document presents a section captioned “Our Assumptions” before it gives the major points, you can be sure the writer is answering questions the reader could not possibly have had an opportunity to raise. Consequently, the information will have to be repeated (or reread) at the relevant point in the dialogue.⊕ (Minto [1996] 2018, p 14)