Writing Personality: Model Efficiency
The upward course of a nation’s history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.
I: Introversion preferred to extraversion
ISTJs get their energy from the internal world of thoughts and ideas. They enjoy interacting with small groups of people but find large groups draining. They generally reflect before acting.
S: Sensation preferred to intuition
ISTJs are concrete thinkers, placing more trust in experience than in flashes of insight. They’re more interested in sensory data than in the patterns perceived by the unconscious mind. ISTJs tend to be intellectually content—they want to enjoy the world.
T: Thinking preferred to feeling
ISTJs prefer to use their thinking function when making decisions. They place more emphasis on the rule of logic than on the effect that actions have on people. They tend to be skeptical in evaluating ideas, whether their own or someone else’s.
J: Judgment preferred to perception
ISTJs are drawn to closure. They feel satisfied after finishing a project or reaching a decision. They think in terms of likelihoods rather than possibilities.
Writing Process of the ISTJ
ISTJs may approach a writing project in the following ways:
ISTJs may experience the following pitfalls:
The upward course of a nation’s history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.
— Elizabeth II of the U.K.
ISTJs prefer to write about demonstrable facts. They like to follow a template that has worked well in the past, rather than seeking a new approach. They think through their ideas extensively before committing them to paper. Once they begin, they tend to write quickly from the draft developed in their head, making them very efficient.
I: Introversion preferred to extraversion
ISTJs get their energy from the internal world of thoughts and ideas. They enjoy interacting with small groups of people but find large groups draining. They generally reflect before acting.
S: Sensation preferred to intuition
ISTJs are concrete thinkers, placing more trust in experience than in flashes of insight. They’re more interested in sensory data than in the patterns perceived by the unconscious mind. ISTJs tend to be intellectually content—they want to enjoy the world.
T: Thinking preferred to feeling
ISTJs prefer to use their thinking function when making decisions. They place more emphasis on the rule of logic than on the effect that actions have on people. They tend to be skeptical in evaluating ideas, whether their own or someone else’s.
J: Judgment preferred to perception
ISTJs are drawn to closure. They feel satisfied after finishing a project or reaching a decision. They think in terms of likelihoods rather than possibilities.
Writing Process of the ISTJ
ISTJs may approach a writing project in the following ways:
- View writing as a means of disseminating information. They often excel at business and scientific writing. They organize and present data sequentially. They like to include statistics to prove their point, and to illustrate it with visuals such as charts and graphs.
- When starting a project, want clear instructions or a model to work from. They find it helpful to know what approach has succeeded in the past so they can use it as a framework. If instructions aren’t specific, the ISTJ may be at a loss, so it’s best to ask for clarification.
- Generally work hard and meet deadlines. They prefer to write alone and in a quiet environment. They tend to be succinct and analytical. They are unlikely to use a thesaurus to add variety to their writing—instead, they focus on getting to the point.
- Have a large mental database of facts to draw on. These include sense memories, such as the taste of their grandmother’s zucchini bread or the smell of oil in their grandfather’s garage. In a creative project, you can draw on these memories to personalize your writing and bring it to life.
ISTJs may experience the following pitfalls:
- May produce a report, article, or paper that reads like a dry listing of facts. To combat this, avoid overusing statistics or citing too many experts. Instead, incorporate real-world examples to engage your readers.
- May fail to develop a unifying theme. To orient the reader, be sure to include a thesis statement or some other statement of purpose in the opening.
- May be too rigid, resisting the idea of adapting their work to an audience. They tend to view revision as unnecessary if expectations are established up front. However, showing your work to a colleague or writing friend helps you ensure that the concepts in your head made it onto the paper as you intended. Revision sharpens your message and makes your work stronger.