Section 1.2.1

Explicit Purposes

Most scientific documents have as their principal purpose one or more of the following actions:

Whatever the general purpose of an overall document, certain sections of a document always have a specific purpose. The followingtable outlines the principal purpose usually associated with common document types and with sections in technical documents.

Explicit Purpose	Document Types	Sections in Document
To provide information	Reports, literature reviews, specifications	Background, theory, materials, results, graphics and tables, résumé sections
To give instructions	Instructions	Procedures, work plan
To persuade the reader	Proposals, recommendation reports, job application letters, résumés	Discussion, conclusion, recommendation
To enact something	Acceptance letters, regulations, patents, authorization memoranda

Examples of Explicit Document Purposes

To provide information

This document will discuss the genetic basis of muscular differentiation of theMediterranean fruit fly.

To give instructions

This document outlines a procedure for isolating the mechanisms of musculardifferentiation in the Mediterranean fruit fly.

To persuade the reader

This document proposes a study of the mechanisms for blocking muscular differentiationin the Mediterranean fruit fly.

To enact (or prohibit) something

NOTICE: Mediterranean fruit fly quarantine area: no fruit allowed beyond thispoint.

## Explicit Purposes ##


[ Home | Table of Contents| Writing Timeline | Index |Help | Credits]