The document provides instructions for installing a sound card but lacks clarity and illustrations. Specifically, it does not clearly explain where to reconnect cables after inserting the sound card and does not show where the PCI slots are located. While each step is organized simply, the explanations are too short and ambiguous, making the instructions difficult for beginners to understand. Suggestions are made to add pictures and figures to better illustrate each step, and to provide a way for readers to ask questions, such as an electronic bulletin board.
Chapter10InstructionsGoals· Analyze your audience’s expect.docxchristinemaritza
Chapter10
Instructions
Goals
· Analyze your audience’s expectations and the steps required for instructions
· Determine an appropriate format for instructions
· Prepare a clear, concise set of instructions
Terms
· cautions, p. 233
· concurrent testing, p. 241
· explanation, p. 239
· field-test, p. 241
· imperative mood, p. 237
· instructions, p. 231
· online instructions, p. 243
· retrospective testing, p. 242
· step, p. 237
· warnings, p. 233
WRITE TO LEARN
Think of the last time you followed instructions. Maybe the instructions were from an instructor, your parent or guardian, your employer, a textbook, or an online help manual. In a short journal entry, answer these questions: Under what circumstances did you read the instructions? Were the instructions easy or difficult to follow? Explain. How did you handle any problems that resulted from poorly written instructions? If graphics were included, what kind were they? Were they helpful? Why or why not?
Focus on Instructions
Read the sample instructions on the next page and answer these questions:
· How does the writer make it clear what to do first, second, and so on?
· How many actions does each step represent?
· How does each step begin?
· Under “Charge the Battery,” besides telling the reader what to do, what other information is included?
· What is the purpose of the two boxed notes, the graphics, and the two headings?
What If?
· The user had previously owned a BlackBerry® phone?
· The user had never owned a cell phone?
· The user was not a strong native speaker of English?
· The instructions were spoken rather than written?
Sample Instructions
Adapted from BlackBerry® User Guide. Reprinted with permission of BlackBerry®.
[email protected]
Aaron Wartner is an application and database administrator for Accenture, an IT consulting firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his role, he is responsible for maintaining a digital planning system used by Accenture’s customers.
Courtesy of Stephen Freas
Aaron’s job creates a link between customers who use Accenture’s technology and the technology itself. He has the tricky task of communicating with both his “techy” colleagues and with clients. “Much of my time is spent e-mailing information to or requesting action from my coworkers. I also write instructions for customers’ scheduled maintenance activities that describe how to perform the work, how to coordinate with other teams, and the timing for each action.”
Writing technical instructions that are easy to follow is not an easy task. “Instructions must be interpreted the same way by every reader to be successful,” says Aaron. “So they must be understandable, and the intent must be clear. Consistency in describing objects and activities and careful use of technical jargon are a few ways I try to meet these goals.”
Aaron begins writing a set of instructions for a certain task by doing that task himself. “I start by walking through the process to understand the flow of steps and to make sure that what I am ...
Chapter10InstructionsGoals· Analyze your audience’s expect.docxchristinemaritza
Chapter10
Instructions
Goals
· Analyze your audience’s expectations and the steps required for instructions
· Determine an appropriate format for instructions
· Prepare a clear, concise set of instructions
Terms
· cautions, p. 233
· concurrent testing, p. 241
· explanation, p. 239
· field-test, p. 241
· imperative mood, p. 237
· instructions, p. 231
· online instructions, p. 243
· retrospective testing, p. 242
· step, p. 237
· warnings, p. 233
WRITE TO LEARN
Think of the last time you followed instructions. Maybe the instructions were from an instructor, your parent or guardian, your employer, a textbook, or an online help manual. In a short journal entry, answer these questions: Under what circumstances did you read the instructions? Were the instructions easy or difficult to follow? Explain. How did you handle any problems that resulted from poorly written instructions? If graphics were included, what kind were they? Were they helpful? Why or why not?
Focus on Instructions
Read the sample instructions on the next page and answer these questions:
· How does the writer make it clear what to do first, second, and so on?
· How many actions does each step represent?
· How does each step begin?
· Under “Charge the Battery,” besides telling the reader what to do, what other information is included?
· What is the purpose of the two boxed notes, the graphics, and the two headings?
What If?
· The user had previously owned a BlackBerry® phone?
· The user had never owned a cell phone?
· The user was not a strong native speaker of English?
· The instructions were spoken rather than written?
Sample Instructions
Adapted from BlackBerry® User Guide. Reprinted with permission of BlackBerry®.
[email protected]
Aaron Wartner is an application and database administrator for Accenture, an IT consulting firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his role, he is responsible for maintaining a digital planning system used by Accenture’s customers.
Courtesy of Stephen Freas
Aaron’s job creates a link between customers who use Accenture’s technology and the technology itself. He has the tricky task of communicating with both his “techy” colleagues and with clients. “Much of my time is spent e-mailing information to or requesting action from my coworkers. I also write instructions for customers’ scheduled maintenance activities that describe how to perform the work, how to coordinate with other teams, and the timing for each action.”
Writing technical instructions that are easy to follow is not an easy task. “Instructions must be interpreted the same way by every reader to be successful,” says Aaron. “So they must be understandable, and the intent must be clear. Consistency in describing objects and activities and careful use of technical jargon are a few ways I try to meet these goals.”
Aaron begins writing a set of instructions for a certain task by doing that task himself. “I start by walking through the process to understand the flow of steps and to make sure that what I am ...
1. Peer Review Exercise # 1
1.
This document is divided into two parts that are the introduction and the instruction. The instruction is
organized into 5 sections and explains how to install a sound card on your computer. The instruction have a
small figure that shows you things you'll need in addition to the explanation by some sentences.
2.
I think that there are some parts hard to understand. For example, after I finish inserting a sound card to PCI
slots, there is no explanation about where I should reconnect a cable. The readers will have less understanding
because the figure which describe where PCI slots are is not on this document.
3.
Step 1 tells you disconnect all cabling and expose the inside of your computer. The next step explains what
PCI is and shows where PCI slots are. Step 3 says how to insert a sound card to the PCI slots. In the
document, it also says how to close the computer case and connect cables. Finally, it insist that if you finish the
process successfully, your computer would begin to communicate with other computers.
4.
I think that the place where the PCI slots are is difficult for me to imagine. Not only this explanation but also
other directions is written ambiguously through all of the page. If I finish the work successfully, the means
which ensure how the computer will work is not written on the document.
5.
Each step organized simply and readable is a good point. In addition, visitors can know whether they are
intended as a reader of this document or not because of the difficulty showing the visitors. If the visitor thinks
too difficult for them, they can return from the document page without wasting of time.
6.
I think that respective steps only has too short explanation as if the writer who wrote this document limits the
range of the readers. The work that pull a cable out may be difficult for a beginner. The shortage of the
explanation about each operation is fatal because this document says the difficulty of there steps is moderately
easy.
7.
My suggestion is to take some pictures to show the reader how to progress these process and make some
figures which express these steps written in the text document. Moreover, I will write some notes which
describe the portion that is hard to understand after I experience the process in the document.
8.
First, we can write a document included the parts which is difficult for us to understand because we have the
member who have little knowledge about the computer system. Second, we are going to include many pictures
which help the reader understand. Last, we will have the place such as an electronic bulletin board so that the
reader can ask a question about our document.