Writing · Growth Library
Structure Dense Writing for Fast Navigation
Use headings and visuals only when they answer a reader question.
Try this
Name the reader's main task, read the current headings without the body, reorganize sections around that path, replace repeated comparisons with a table when rows share the same attributes, use a diagram for relationships or sequence, and keep images only when they show information that prose would make harder to inspect.
Check-in: Can a reader scan the headings and understand the path, and does every visual element answer a question that the surrounding text does not answer as clearly?
Evidence: Practical guidance; no evidence-like claim is detected in the current source record.
Review note: The inherited writing article contained fabricated usability observations, unsupported comprehension and support-ticket improvements, and arbitrary layout thresholds. The effective public record is rewritten as a document-structure review protocol in which headings, tables, diagrams, and images are chosen only when they answer a reader question or make a relationship easier to inspect.
Visual structure is part of the information architecture of a document. The goal is not to decorate a draft. It is to let readers see where they are, what each section does, and which representation best fits the information.
1. Read the headings as a map
Hide the body and scan only the headings. Reorder or rename them until they describe the reader's likely path through the material rather than the order in which the author discovered it.
2. Give each section one job
Decide whether a section explains, compares, instructs, warns, or documents an exception. Split sections that try to do several unrelated jobs and remove headings that add hierarchy without meaning.
3. Match the representation to the question
Use headings for navigation, tables for repeated attributes, diagrams for relationships or sequence, and images when seeing the thing matters. Keep a text equivalent for information that must remain accessible without the visual.
4. Scan the finished document
Review the page at normal reading width. Check heading hierarchy, labels, captions, table clarity, alt text, and whether any visual element creates maintenance cost without adding information.
Questions to consider
When should I add an image?
Add one when the visual itself carries useful information, such as a location in an interface, a physical arrangement, or a comparison that is hard to describe compactly. Decorative images are optional.
When is a table better than prose?
Use a table when several items can be compared on the same attributes. Use prose when the relationships are irregular or the explanation needs sequence and nuance.
Maintenance record
Review history
Current status: Reviewed. An editorial or evidence review is recorded and no later event changes that conclusion.
2026-09-10 · reviewed · Brali editorial agent (AI-assisted) Source: protocol-content-overrides-search-review-wave-2.json
Replace fabricated usability observations, unsupported comprehension gains, support-ticket claims, and arbitrary visual thresholds with a bounded document-structure review protocol.
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Implementation observations can trigger a review, but they cannot change an evidence conclusion by themselves. Commercial relationships do not control review status or outcomes.
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Article versions
Brali keeps substantive article history visible. Later reviews may refresh wording, sources, examples, or boundaries without silently replacing the record.
- Version 2025-10-06: first recorded publication in the migrated Brali corpus.
- Evidence review 2026-09-10: reviewed by Brali editorial agent (AI-assisted); evidence state is
practical.
Canonical source record · Evidence state: practical.