Structure an explainer: answer first

Answer first

Say the conclusion first, then give the reasons, then the details. Readers who stop early still leave with the point. Three well-known versions of the idea: the pyramid principle (consulting), bottom line up front (military and business email) and the inverted pyramid (news reporting). If you have not chosen a format yet, start with the explainer skill.

The shape

1. The answer, in one or two sentences: what to know, decide or do. This is the first thing under the title.
2. The reasons, two to four of them, each one a sentence you could read alone. They are the next level of the pyramid.
3. The evidence for each reason, in order of strength: figures, examples, sources.
4. The rest, in decreasing importance: caveats, background, how it was found. A reader who stops here lost nothing important.

Two rules from the pyramid principle make it sturdy. Reasons at the same level should be of the same kind (all causes, or all steps, or all options), and together they should cover the answer without overlapping.

Template

Answer:   <What the reader should know or do, in one sentence.>
Because:  <Reason 1.>  <Reason 2.>  <Reason 3.>
Evidence: <For each reason, the strongest facts first.>
Caveats:  <What could change the answer, and the background.>

Example, for a post on a database choice:

• Answer: Use Postgres for the new service.
• Because: it handles the expected load, the team already runs it, and it keeps options open for search.
• Evidence: one benchmark per reason, then the cost comparison.
• Caveats: the case where a simpler store would do, and how to revisit the choice.

How to write it

1. Write the answer as if it were the only sentence the reader will read. Then check it names a decision, a fact or an action, not a topic.
2. List your reasons and test them: can a sceptical reader accept each separately? Merge any that overlap and drop any that are really evidence.
3. Order the reasons by importance, or by the order the reader will act. Say that order in the text ("three reasons...").
4. Give each reason its own paragraph or heading, opening with the reason as a sentence.
5. Put caveats after the evidence, but do not hide a caveat that changes the answer: state it in the opening.

Pair it with a format

• Page furniture suits it best: a summary box carries the answer, and details blocks hold the evidence.
• An annotated walkthrough can follow the opening: say what the thing is for, then walk through its parts.
• Scrollytelling fits badly because it reveals things gradually. Put the answer in the opening text and use the scrolly to show why.
• To make the opening land with a reader who does not yet see why it matters, add Situation, Complication, Resolution in the first two paragraphs. For readers who need to learn a concept first, use Layered instead.

Mistakes

• An opening that announces a topic ("This post is about our database") instead of giving the answer.
• Reasons that are really three examples of the same point.
• Burying the single caveat that would change the decision.
• Starting with the history of how you found out.