Chapter 21 Team 13
Preparing Instructions and Manuals
Andy Isder & Khushboo Shakya
In this chapter, the term "instructions" refers to all kinds of instructional texts including instructional sheets, electronic help systems, print manuals, training scripts, and tutorials.
Objectives and outcomes
-Ensuring Instructions are useable by combating audience misunderstanding, using principles of adult learning, and confronting aliteracy
-Analyze task, audience, and genre
-Effectively use content elements of instructions
-Provide necessary warnings and cautions
Getting People's Attention
Instructions and manuals have an immediate prupose; to enable users to complete tasks. Three critical concerns:Lack of audience understanding, Adult Learning, and aliteracy can influence whether instructions are actually usuable.
-Begin each instruction with general information to help organize and contextualize it, such as "this instruction is in two parts".
-Simplify the language
Principles of Adult Learning
Adults like to be self directed.Instructions can provide tools for users to self-assess their prior knnowledge and experience and then move to any appropriate place in the instructions.
Adults want a reason for doing or learning something. Instructions can provide reasons for using them as a whole as well as reasons for using subsections.
Adults have prior knowledge and experiences that help them complete tasks. Instructions can use metaphors, analogies, and examples that draw on prior knowledge and experiences.
Adults have goals. Instructions can help users decide how the information fits with their goals.
Adults focus on what is practical and useful. Instructions focus on practical informantion-what, why, and how. They can also identify benefits.
Adults are internally motivated by factors such as relationships and intellectual interests. Instructions can provide users with options-how to approach a task, how to use the information, how to manage problems. Instructions can also address users in a way that encourages them to continue because they'll recieve help.
Addressing Aliteracy
Aliterate can read, but they simply choose not to. They don't want to, don't like to, don't want to take the time to, or don't think they need to. Here are some characteristics of aliteracy.
Scanning text as a regular practive rather than reading tex, whether print or electronic.
Depending on visuals rather than words for information.
Depending on icons, symbols, and logos rather than words for information.
Imbuing color, shape, position, and size with meaning to avoid written language.
Substituting various kinds of electronic communication (for example, Web sites, TV,radio, CD's, audio tapes, movies, videos, DVD's) for printed texts whenever possible.
Considering Task, Audience, and Genre
Analyzing task, audience, and genre is critical as you plan and design instructions. Skipping these analysis reduces the accessibility, comprehensibility, and usability of your instructions.
Analyzing the Task has four catagories
-Actions/behavior of personnel
-Assembly of objects or mechanisms
-Operation of equiptment
-Implementation of a process
Adapting Task to Audience
When chunking and labeling are ignored in instructions, users have difficulty differentiating the background information from the task to be completed and may not be sure what they're actually supposed to do.
Considering Instructions for International Audiences
As the global economy makes products available to more people around the works, instructions need to be acessible to a broad range of users who come from very different cultures and have varying egrees of literacy. Two approaces can adaps instructions to international audiences.
-Provide instructions translated into multiple languages
-Use visuals that are likely to be understood in many cultures
Expect the visuals to carry much of the meaning. The conventions in the illustrations make the steps in the process easy to understand with international icons, numbered steps, human involvement, and close-ups.
-Provide an easy-to-use table of contents or common navigation structure as well as introductory visual maps that help users understand how to use the instructions.
-Be consistent in the way that words, links, and visuals are used.
-If words or visuals work equally well to convey information, choose the visuals. Whenever possible, illistrate text with visuals.
Visual elements:
Effective visual s are the critical components of instructions. Combination of verbal and visual component is useful in instructions. Visuals can be used to illustrate a variety of elements:
· Parts, tooling , equipment
· Sequence of steps
· Positioning of the operator and /or equipment
· Development or change of object or equipment
· Screens and pull down menus in software development.
Professionals prefer keeping visuals as simple as possible in instructions. Drawing are preferred than photographs as they are more clear and can be used to high the main important parts.
Visual and Verbal balance:
Having visuals in instruction to complete the task quickly with less anxiety. For example the book Access for Everyone: A Guide to Accessibility with references to ADAAG[Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines] balances visual and verbal information.
Accurate visuals:
Visuals should be used as a part of direction and not just a decorative addition. Hence writers and artists should work collaboratively to develop an effective instruction. Appropriate visuals at appropriate place can reduce a lot of misunderstanding. However even relevant pictures of inappropriate size can affect user’s ability to interpret. Visuals should always be labeled with an indication if scale.
Too small, user won’t be able to identify the important parts of the subject. Full view drawing should be accompanied by enlargement of a crucial part.
Primary Visual Instructions
Although sign and symbols are easier to understand, they don’t usually have universal meaning. For example the arrow sign in the carton box may indicate the top of the carton or it may indicate the carton’s most stable position. Color coding plays an important role in emphasis and differentiation between two similar parts.
Safety Standard:
Safety signs emphasizes on legibility rather than information. People don’t read all the information on signs. Distinct colors are used. The color indicates the degree of danger.
Warning Labels and Cartoons: Warning labels and cartoons provide a mean of communicating information to an audience. Cartoons can help the audience to visualize difficult steps and help overcome language and cultural differences for international audiences. However technical writer must be aware of varying interpretation.
Adequacy:
Information on a product should be accurate and adequate. Information can be instruction or warning. Technical professionals should be sure that their work satisfies the legal requirements for adequacy. One should be sure that their work contains enough instruction for the usage of the product and enough warning to potential risks and dangers.
23 comments:
In this class was the first time I had ever written instructions for anything. It is a much more involved process than someone may think, without having studied technical communication. I like Ikea's instructions, using only visuals and no text. A far greater audience can understand these than if they were written in just a few languages. I can see how some individuals would have trouble following them, but less than if they were in a language a person couldn't speak. Personally, I enjoy analogies and think that when used correctly, they can make things clearer in many different situations. Using them in instructions can be dangerous, since some cultures may not understand some analogies while others will. This is a good chapter as it forces you to think about a variety of things when writing instructions, not just 'What's the next step?'
This chapter reminded me about the first day of class when Dr. Tesdell told us to prepare instruction for a staple box. As a matter of fact ''instruction'' from my own understanding is a form of communicated information that explain how action, behavior, method, or task are executed, conducted and put into play. Then, the word ''manual'' come into use, basically manual means doing something with your hand, that is not using any form of tools or tools related materials. I like this chapter because it explains how tech-writers and communicators need to prepare intructions manually.
We have done some things in class that have dealt with instructions. I think this chapter just goes over the stuff that we have already learned in class. Like, making sure it is legible and easy to understand, and if other countries or people from other countries are going to be reading it then it should have a couple of languages in it.
Getting the audiences attention and keeping their attention is very important and key to the success of a project. Its like in songs on the radio and movies there is usually a hook which is the attention getter. Television shows usually have an attention getter or hook in the first minute because thats what the people at home are looking for and if they are not interested they will go onto the next program. Getting the attention of the target audience and keeping their attention is a must to be successful.
We have covered some of these instruction methods in class but have not gone this in-depth. It was nice to learn that certain people like instructions written a certain way, like aliterate people. This chapter had a lot of good information
This chapter seemed to repeat most of what we have done in class. It talked about making sure the instructions were clear and understandable with accurate visuals. It also emphasized getting the audiences attention. All of these are things we have talked about in class or previous chapters.
This chapter seemed a lot like a review. We have done a few assignments in class dealing with writing instructions. It did offer some more detailed ideas to help write better instructions, like the section addressing aliteracy.
Getting an audience's attention is very important. However this can be one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. Keep in mind what type of audience you are presenting your material to. When it comes to writing instructions you need to grab the audience's attention and be able to hold it. Instructions are difficult to write in my opinion. Just because they make sense to you does not mean that other people will understand. Directions have to be very generic and to the point. You can't put too much information in them, just what is needed to accomplish the task.
This would have been nice to have read on the first day of class when we made the instructions for the Staples box. It was neat to see how in-depth it goes when you are analysing a set of instructions. I think it would be neat to get a set of instructions that were in the form of a catchy tune. I don't think it would work well for everybody but it would be neat to get a set of instructions like the Hokey-Pokey.
Upon reading this chapter it clearly reminded me of the 'Staples Box' project. I have had to write instructions before for my classes and always find it difficult to get across what you mean. The use of visuals as the instructor mentioned did remind me of the IKEA instructions that we looked at in class. The information provided in this chapter, I can take and implement into what I write in the future. Especially how size, color, text, style, picture location are all important in making directions for all adult audiences.
This chapter sounds a lot like a previous one, but does have a few differences that make it unique. Writing instructions and manuals, especially for different cultures and countries, would be difficult. To be able to cater to everyone, and explain how to do something so that everyone understands is no easy task. Something that can help is the use of visuals. In my mind, I thought the Ikea instructions were very good, and probably work much better then printed text. As they say, pictures say 1000 words. Also, I believe that when using analogies to relate, although it can be helpful, should be limited. When it comes to international instructions, analogies could be confusing, or not make sense at all. When writing instructions for the bi-lingual assignment, I found that the use of pictures, along with captions for the pictures, were the best way to relate the information to the reader.
Writing instructions is not as easy as one might think. When writing instructions you have to be very detailed. I think that one of the most important parts is mixing visuals with text. I think that a mix of the two makes for the most useful instructions. I think that if you use just text or just pictures it is still better than not having instructions at all but not as easy to understand if you had both.
Several times I have had to help write instructions aimed at Cub Scouts, and a common problem with these instructions in this chapter is aliteracy. More often than not, the kids will not want to read the instructions, especially if they are wordy, and rely more on pictures or watching somebody else. Due to the unwillingness of the kids to read through all the instructions, pictures and examples are extremely valuable when dealing with this particular audience. Any text put in the instructions must also be simple enough for a kid to understand and unambiguous; the kids can often misinterpret things which adults comprehend easily.
This chapter explains that using the directions is going to make putting something together the most successful. I think that having images is always the best way to explain how to put something together. Also having the directions available in other languages is going to make them even more successful for a variety of people. We have discussed so many times in class how important every detail is for a task to get accomplished. One of the main things you should remember is always being constant with every detail.
The in-class projects we worked on have helped teach me some valuable skills as far as instructions go. I have created some "how-to" documentation for the Helpdesk and these skills definitely help when figuring out how to word and format things to benefit the user/audience. The instructions we created for the staples box was a good beginning assignment that I think got us all to think about how important structure and style plays a part in instructions. This chapter seems to go over and reinterate the important parts of creating instructions. The most important part, seems to be the part of making it easy for the audience to understand, so that they can do whatever it is that is being explained.
This is the only class I have written Instructions for, none of them have gone as in depth as this chapter has described. I liked the section about Aliterates, Many people don't want to sit and read the instruction manual when putting together something If they don't have to. It was a refresher to see the Ikea manual with all visuals as opposed to completely words, I think some sort of mix of the two of them would be perfect
Writing instructions can be hard, but making sure you are consistent, adequate, and adapt to your audience, things should run smoothly. I think visuals do benefit the consumer to really understand how to do what is intended for the instructions. Also, having instructions in several languages will help more of the global population.
Writing instructions can be hard, but making sure you are consistent, adequate, and adapt to your audience, things should run smoothly. I think visuals do benefit the consumer to really understand how to do what is intended for the instructions. Also, having instructions in several languages will help more of the global population.
I find that this chapter is very useful. We have wrote instructions in this class multiple times and I feel like this chapter relates to what we have discussed. I believe that visuals are important to include in instructions. Many adults don't want to read through all of the instructions. They often think they can figure it out by themselves; by including visual, it will help direct the people who prefer not to read the text. Also, as mentioned, when the product or procedure will be done internationally, including visuals and several languages would be beneficial.
This chapter deals with writing instructions for things. We dealt with some of this in class like the instructions to assemble the staples box and lid and the ikea instructions we went over. People that write instructions have to make sure that they are easy to read and understand. There are some people in the nation that are pretty much illiterate when it comes to following instructions so the writer has to make sure that EVERYONE aacan understand them.
This chapter goes over what we have done in class. Basically your instructions need to be understandable to a wide range of audiences. This means finding a balance between pictures and written directions. Also making sure that if people from other countries are going to use your directions that there is directions in different languages.
I thought this chapter was explained a little loosely. I saw a lot of similarities with this chapter and a couple of the other chapters we have done already. The "Adults" section was a little confusing to me as well. It seems by that paragraph that adults do everything and its hard to expect what they want. The aliterate paragraph was a little harsh as well. I could see how I don't want to read when i'm doing instructions, but i'm not aliterate, it just goes quicker when you want the task to get done.
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