Concept in Definition ABC

When it comes to communicating ideas, it is possible to do so by dividing the message into different parts. When this occurs there is talk of breaking down. This way of ordering information takes place in different contexts, such as literary or economic activity.

The etymology of the word

The prefix des implies the opposite of something and, on the other hand, gloss means language. Consequently, in its original sense to break down means "to remove or eliminate words that are not understood within a writing."

In literature and in written and oral expression

Many novels are divided into chapters and this arrangement makes reading easier. Theatrical works are also broken down into acts or scenes. The film scripts are organized on a breakdown sheet with all the elements integrated into the script: title, set, characters, technical annotations, description of the sequence, etc.

Some writings also present a classical subdivision: introduction, development and conclusion

. Likewise, in the exposition orally on a topic, the speaker or lecturer usually announces to the audience the different sections that he is going to deal with.

In the media it is common for the presenter to announce in advance what content is going to be discussed. In all these situations the set of information is broken down in order to facilitate the global understanding of a matter.

In economic activity

In the elaboration of a payroll several concepts appear and because of this we speak of the breakdown. Among the most common concepts, the following stand out: base salary, supplements, worker's contributions, income tax withholdings ...

In preparing a budget, the different items are divided into sections and sub-sections. The general idea is simple: differentiate between the income and expenses. The breakdown of a budget for the economy family should be done following some guidelines:

1) account for income,

2) keep track of the documents in which fixed expenses, variables and debts are recorded and

3) establish an amount for savings.

The VAT tax is subdivided taking into account a series of sections: the gross value of a product, the VAT percentage, the tax base, etc. Similarly, the invoices also have a series of duly differentiated sections.

Numerical series appear in bank accounts, the meaning of which can be explained in a disaggregated manner. Thus, the 20 digits of the account number have different sections: the first four identify the Bank, the next four refer to the office code, the next two are check digits and the last ten indicate the current account number.

Fotolia photos: hurca / creattiva

Topics in Breakdown