Writing Studio

Using PACT: A framework for writing, speaking, and thinking

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Transcript

Hello and welcome to this video introduction to the PACT framework for writing, speaking, and thinking.

The PACT framework is a series of questions  developed as part of the SpeakWrite initiative in the Eberly Colleges of Arts and Sciences at WVU. 

PACT: A Framework

• Devised by the Center for Writing at WVU
• Asks questions to guide effective writing and speaking
• Helps assess if communication has succeeded
• Connects writing and speaking across disciplines

By framing writing and speaking  around these questions, PACT invites students and faculty to consider elements of successful communication that are common across disciplines, and those that are discipline specific.

Additionally, the PACT framework allows communicators to evaluate their own writing repeatedly to determine whether they are meeting their goals. 

PACT is an acronym that reminds us of the common elements of good communication. All communication should have a clearly defined purpose. It should be written or spoken for an intended audience, and should be able to shift as the audience changes. 

All communication occurs within a set of expected conventions, which vary depending on the purpose and audience. And finally, you have likely seen that successful communication has trouble spots. We will dive into each of these in turn  and then look at several examples. 

The questions: Purpose

• What is the reason for communicating?
• What do you hope the audience will feel after reading/seeing this?
• What do you hope will happen (or not happen!)?

First, when you begin a new speech or composition, you should ask yourself why you were doing it.

What do you hope to achieve, and what do you hope the audience will think and feel as a result? Is the writing expressing an idea, or is it informational?

Are you explaining, persuading, or simply exploring a topic?

In some cases, the same piece of writing will serve different purposes at the same time. For example, a political campaign speech is both informing the audience about the candidates positions, and persuading the audience to vote for this candidate. 

The questions: Audience

• Who are you addressing? 
• Primary audience — the group you intend to influence
• Secondary audience — the group the primary audience turns to for advice
• Tertiary audience — the unintended audience

Second, communication is only successful if it reaches and moves its intended audience. Therefore, it is critical to know to whom you are communicating. You should consider who the primary audience is, and then any other secondary or unintended audiences that might come across your work. For example, when a medical doctor  explains to a child why they need a vaccine, they are speaking to both the child  and the adult guardian. In this example, it would be important to choose words that are accessible to a child and persuasive to the guardian. 

The questions: Conventions

Third, communication exists within predefined contexts and conventions. For example, in all academic writing, we expect that previous work is acknowledged and cited. As you write and speak, you will learn the conventions of typical writing and speaking in your field. Each discipline and genre has specific expectations, though these expectations may differ between disciplines. These include things like capitalizing proper nouns in English writing, or using question marks  before and after a question in Spanish. It also includes where specific information is expected. For example, in a scientific paper, you expect to find separate sections for methods, results, and discussion. 

The questions: Trouble Spots

• What may keep you from effectively communicating?
• Can the audience find the information they need?
• Are you offending your audience with your word choice?
• Is your writing accessible to those that can't see? Is your speech access to those that can't hear?
• Are you undermining your own authority with typos?

Finally, all communication has trouble spots. These trouble spots may be in establishing your purpose, or in communicating clearly to the intended audience. New writers often have trouble avoiding plagiarism and using the correct grammatical conventions. Each communicator will have their own trouble spots that can be avoided with reflection and revision. 

Examples: Reading and Writing

Let's look at a few examples. In this example, we have a 100 word story written for a creative writing course. Pause the video to read it.

Can you determine the purpose, audience, and conventions of this piece?

What cues help you answer those questions?

As a writer, how would you modify this piece to reach the same purpose and audience if you were writing a short story that was five pages instead of a single paragraph?

Examples: Speaking

The PACT framework allows you to critically evaluate the work you are reading as well as improve your own writing. Speaking is both great and challenging because you have the added verbal component.

How you emphasize words can help you establish your purpose. The emphasis and tone also help the listener decide if they will keep listening. For example, in the news story linked here, the word choice, tone, and emphasis signal to the listener both the content of the story and how the narrator feels about it. They will help the listener decide if they are the intended audience. Listen to the first minute of the story.

What words signal the purpose and audience of the piece?

How do the conventions of the podcast both limit and expand the possibilities for communication? 

Examples: PACT Thinking

Finally, you can use the PACT structure to think about project development. 

Here, you can see parts of the UNICEF mission statement. In defining their mission, this organization had to think about what they do, why they do it, and who they do it for. They've had to think about how they do it, and what methods and processes are appropriate and allowed in the spaces in which they work.

View UNICEF Mission Statement

Finally, they have had to anticipate trouble spots, and use this mission statement to signal how they will mediate trouble when it arises. 

In summary, the PACT framework is an invitation to write and speak intentionally. By considering your purpose, audience, conventions and potential trouble spots, you will develop the skills to communicate  effectively and meaningfully in your discipline.