The P.A.T. Principle--A Guide to Preparing a Piece of Writing for Publication or Presentation

The following is a summary and my thoughts on the first chapter in the book entitled WRITING FOR RESULTS, ACADEMIC AND PROFESSSIONAL WRITING TASKS.
The three elements of the P.A.T. Principle are purpose, audience, and topic. When you prepare to write, you decide first what is your PURPOSE? Is it to instruct? Is it to inform? Is it to entertain? Is it to give directions?
Next, you need to consider your AUDIENCE? Who will you be writing (or speaking) to? What is their professional background? How big an audience will it be? Will your writing match their interests? This is where you need to pay attention to the vocabulary that you use.
Finally, you need to consider the topic of your writing (or presentation) Do you define your topic clearly, limiting it to a central issue and narrowing it enough so that you can cover it well. If you make your topic too broad, you can never cover it adequately without writing a book!
Now you know the "P.A.T. Principle" for preparation for writing: PURPOSE,AUDIENCE,TOPIC.
The author of this chapter also discusses having someone else read what you have written before you submit the writing for publication or make your lecture or presentation. This is called PEER FEEDBACK. Well, if you are in a class, this is excellent advice. Two heads are better than one. Even if you are not in a class, find someone who is willing to read and comment on your writing.
The author also strongly recommends editing your writing which we also call PROOFREADING. This is very imporant in all writing although I must admit I do not always follow my own advice when I write a blog.
Another recommendation of the author is keeping an EDITING CHECKLIST. I recommend this only if you have a lot of trouble with English grammar and you are a very organized person with a lot of time. Frankly this would drive me crazy! He recommends that you keep a notebook and write down the mistakes you make in grammar in a list(like a grocery list). By writing down your mistakes, you may remember not to repeat them. Maybe.
Finally, the author recommends this sequence of steps when writing:
1. The P.A.T. Principle (thinking about it)
2. Rough Draft (the first copy)
3. Edit (Proofread)--Peer Feedback
4. Final Copy
5. Publish or Deliver your lecture or presentation
Chapter Two deals with the various types of paragraphs and their structure. One other note. This book is published in Canada, so it uses British spelling rather than American spelling, but that is only a minor irritant. (Example: "practise" instead of "practice", "cancelled" instead of "canceled"