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An explainer, with its method attached
The strongest argument against us is on this page, written properly.
Most explainers give the other side one weak sentence and then knock it down. Section four does the opposite, and it is written by somebody who actually holds that view. If you read only one part of this, read that one.
1 · How this brief is written — Two minutes. Start here if you don't trust explainers, which is reasonable
2 · The strongest case for — Three minutes, including the weakest part of it
3 · The strongest case against — Three minutes, written by somebody who holds it
4 · What nobody knows — Two minutes. The most useful section and the least read
5 · Plain words — One minute. Six terms this debate is gatekept by
6 · Sources and who paid — As long as you want it to be
2 · The strongest case for — Three minutes, including the weakest part of it
3 · The strongest case against — Three minutes, written by somebody who holds it
4 · What nobody knows — Two minutes. The most useful section and the least read
5 · Plain words — One minute. Six terms this debate is gatekept by
6 · Sources and who paid — As long as you want it to be
How this brief is written
No number without a source — A figure with no link beside it comes off the page rather than staying up unsupported
Both cases written to persuade — Each one by somebody who holds it, not summarised by somebody who doesn't
What isn't known gets its own section — Rather than being left out because it weakens the argument
Corrections stay visible — Struck through and dated, with what was wrong. Quietly editing a page is how a brief stops being worth reading
Who paid is on the page — By name, below, along with whether they saw it before it went up
What won't appear here — An unnamed source, or a statistic whose original question we can't show you
Both cases written to persuade — Each one by somebody who holds it, not summarised by somebody who doesn't
What isn't known gets its own section — Rather than being left out because it weakens the argument
Corrections stay visible — Struck through and dated, with what was wrong. Quietly editing a page is how a brief stops being worth reading
Who paid is on the page — By name, below, along with whether they saw it before it went up
What won't appear here — An unnamed source, or a statistic whose original question we can't show you
The strongest case for
Replace this with the best version of the argument you hold — not the version that is easiest to defend. Three paragraphs is usually right, and the last row below is the one people skip.
The claim — One sentence. If it takes three, it is more than one claim and they need separating
The evidence — Two or three sources, linked, and what each one actually measured rather than what it is used to say
What it would cost — Money, time, and who carries it. An argument with no cost in it is a wish
Who benefits most — Name them. Every policy has a group it helps most, and saying so is not a concession
The weakest part of this case — Written by you, about your own argument, before anybody else has to point it out
The evidence — Two or three sources, linked, and what each one actually measured rather than what it is used to say
What it would cost — Money, time, and who carries it. An argument with no cost in it is a wish
Who benefits most — Name them. Every policy has a group it helps most, and saying so is not a concession
The weakest part of this case — Written by you, about your own argument, before anybody else has to point it out
The strongest case against
Ask somebody who holds the opposing view to write this, print what they send, and show them the page before it goes up. If they tell you it has been softened, it has been softened.
Their claim, in their words — Not your summary of it. A summary of an opponent's argument is always kinder to you than to them
Their evidence — Linked, held to the same standard as yours. Where it is better than yours, say so in the next line
Where they are right — There will be somewhere. Naming it is the thing that makes the rest of this page believable
Where you think they are wrong — One paragraph, specific, and about the argument rather than about the person making it
What they would say to that — Ask them, and print it. This is the exchange most explainers stop one step short of
Their evidence — Linked, held to the same standard as yours. Where it is better than yours, say so in the next line
Where they are right — There will be somewhere. Naming it is the thing that makes the rest of this page believable
Where you think they are wrong — One paragraph, specific, and about the argument rather than about the person making it
What they would say to that — Ask them, and print it. This is the exchange most explainers stop one step short of
What nobody knows
Where the estimates disagree — By how much, and why. A range of 2% to 40% is not a fact, and printing the midpoint hides that it isn't
What has never been measured — Some of the important parts of most questions have simply not been studied anywhere
What is contested by people who agree with you — Those disagreements are the honest ones, and they belong on this page rather than in a footnote
What would change your mind — Written down in advance and specifically. If nothing would, this is an opinion page and it should say so at the top
What you got wrong before — Listed, dated, and left up. A brief with no corrections on it is a brief nobody has checked
What has never been measured — Some of the important parts of most questions have simply not been studied anywhere
What is contested by people who agree with you — Those disagreements are the honest ones, and they belong on this page rather than in a footnote
What would change your mind — Written down in advance and specifically. If nothing would, this is an opinion page and it should say so at the top
What you got wrong before — Listed, dated, and left up. A brief with no corrections on it is a brief nobody has checked
"What would change your mind" is the hardest line on this page to write and the one that tells a reader the most about whether to trust the rest. Do not leave it out.
Plain words
Replace these with the six terms this debate is actually gatekept by. The test for each line: could somebody who has never read about this before use the word correctly afterwards?
The acronym everybody uses — Spelled out once, then explained in a sentence containing no other jargon
The word that means two things — Say which one you mean here, and note that the other side may well mean the other
The technical threshold — What the number is, who set it, and what actually happens on each side of it
The law or the scheme — What it does in one line, and when it started. Not its full title
The body that decides — Who they are, who appoints them, and — the useful half — what they cannot do
The word doing the persuading — Every debate has one. Name it, and say plainly what work it is doing
The word that means two things — Say which one you mean here, and note that the other side may well mean the other
The technical threshold — What the number is, who set it, and what actually happens on each side of it
The law or the scheme — What it does in one line, and when it started. Not its full title
The body that decides — Who they are, who appoints them, and — the useful half — what they cannot do
The word doing the persuading — Every debate has one. Name it, and say plainly what work it is doing
Sources, and who paid for this
Every figure is linked — To the thing it came from, not to a news story about the thing it came from
Found one with no source? — Tell us and it comes down the same day. That isn't a courtesy, it is the rule this page is written under
Who funded this brief — Named here, with the amount. If it was nobody, say that as well — that is also information
Did the funder see it first — Yes or no, in one word. If yes, say what they asked for and whether you did it
Who wrote it — A person, with a name. "The team" is not a name and everybody knows it isn't
Using this elsewhere — Take it, quote it, argue with it. Say where it came from, and don't cut the section you dislike
Found one with no source? — Tell us and it comes down the same day. That isn't a courtesy, it is the rule this page is written under
Who funded this brief — Named here, with the amount. If it was nobody, say that as well — that is also information
Did the funder see it first — Yes or no, in one word. If yes, say what they asked for and whether you did it
Who wrote it — A person, with a name. "The team" is not a name and everybody knows it isn't
Using this elsewhere — Take it, quote it, argue with it. Say where it came from, and don't cut the section you dislike
Tell us what we got wrong
Corrections are the point of publishing the method. This page is better after a stranger has been through it than it was before, and the ones that sting are the useful ones.
Tell us what we got wrong
"The case against is too weak" is the most valuable thing anybody sends, and it gets checked the only way it can be — by asking somebody who holds that view to read the section again.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.