Principle 2_Break Things Down

 Break your subject into two or four major parts and use a lead sentence.

Assuming that you know what you want to write about, you must decide what basic building
blocks will comprise your work. You can break your subject into two or four major parts. Three
parts are typically recommended, but for the sake of simplicity, no more than four categories
should be introduced.

Lead Sentence VS. Topic Sentence

Whereas a topic sentence summarizes the contents of a single paragraph within an essay or
report, a lead sentence summarizes the contents of an entire essay or report. Placed at the
beginning of a piece, it foreshadows what is to come, highlighting what items will be discussed
and, typically, the order in which they will be discussed. Each item in the lead should be
developed into at least one separate paragraph within the body of the essay or report.

Ex1) I would like to show who I am through a discussion of three special turning points in my
personal and career development: when I went to university on a lacrosse scholarship, when I
spent a year with the Peace Corps, and when I joined a commodity trading firm in London.

Ex2) Based on information taken from a recent survey, this report summarizes the three biggest
problems that our company faces: namely, employee turnover, store thefts, and poor customer
service.

 The number three is a magic number in writing. Think of building your writing around
three key ideas or concepts.