Structured writing is a form of technical writing that uses and creates structured documents to allow people to digest information both faster and easier.[1] From 1963 to 1965, Robert E. Horn worked to develop a way to structure and connect large amounts of information, taking inspiration from geographical maps.[2] He coined the term "Information Mapping" to describe his method of analyzing, organizing, and displaying knowledge in print and in the new online presentation of text and graphics.[1]
Horn and colleagues identified dozens of common documentation types, then analyzed them into structural components called information blocks. They identified over 200 common block types. These were assembled into information types using information maps. The seven most common information types were concept, procedure, process, principle, fact, structure, and classification.[1] Rather than classifying information through paragraphs, structured writing uses these information blocks that typically include images, diagrams, and/or sentences that always appear under a header.[3]
