Chapter 21: Preparing Instructions and Manuals
In this chapter Burnett discusses that uses of instructions and why that they are important in our world today. Instructions can be seen absolutely everywhere, there is no way of hiding from them. The topics that are discussed in this chapter are the following: Increasing users' understanding, Using principles of adult learning, Addressing aliteracy, Analyzing the task, Analyzing the audience, Analyzing the Genre, Purpose, Necessary components, Chronological order, Appropriate Diction, Appropriate Details, Rationale for steps, Grammatical and stylistic conventions, Appropriate visuals, Visual and verbal balance, Accurate visuals, Primary Visual Instructions, Safety standards, Liability and finally Adequacy. Needless to say this is a very long chapter that has allot of detail on each and every topic about preparing instructions.
Increasing Users' Understanding:
Burnett explains that there is a problem with people not understanding instructions.
Two examples are:
- Jurors Misunderstand Judges' Instruction - Jurors most of the time do not understand judges' instruction about legal rules or responsibilities.
- Patients Misunderstand Physicians' Instructions - Researchers found that when the Physicians write outpatient prescription the dosing instructions are miss understood by the patient.
Using Principles of Adult Learning:
- Self-concept- being self-directed
- Rationale- reason for doing or learning something
- Experience- prior knowledge and experiences that help them complete tasks
- Readiness- goals
- Orientation-focus on what is practical and useful
- Motivation- internally motivated by certain factors
- Addressing Aliteracy:
- People who can read but chose not to or don't like to.
Characteristics of Alliterate are the following:
- Scanning text but not actually reading it
- Depending on visuals rather than words
- Depending on icons, symbols, and logos rather than words
- Imbuing color, shape, position and size to avoid written language
- Substituting things like TV, radio, Web sites, CDs etc... for printed text.
Analyzing the Task:
Instructions in either shape or form help users complete task, which can fall into these categories:
- Actions/behavior of personnel
- Assembly of objects or mechanisms
- Operation of equipment
Implementation of a processAnalyzing the Audience: Instructions need to pay attention to the audience's needs and experience. Also using terms that are "user-friendly" lets the audience know that the writer is thinking about them when writing the instructions.
Adapting Task to Audience- This means to make it easier for the audience to read by adding things such as labeling and chunking in instructions. If these things are ignored the audience could be very confused.
Considering Instructions for international Audiences- Instructions need to be more available for audiences in the world. They need to be flexible and available in different languages and different degrees or literacy.
This can be done in two ways:
- Provide instructions that are translated into multiple languages.
- Visuals that are likely to be understood by many people.
Analyzing the Genre:There are a number of aspects of genre including context in which instructions could be used, format or design and options for delivery of the instructions.
Range of Options- There are instructions that provide users with both text and electronic visuals and more and more companies only provide electronic devices that will have a help system with the program. These help sites usually require the user to follow a certain amount of steps to actually get to the site that will help them. When selecting a genre to use for a particular instruction you have to look for certain things such as the instructions them selves as well as the situation you will be using them in.
There is a wide range of instructions such as:
- Street signs and building signs
- Packaging inserts that include directions for doing certain things such as taking medicine
- Quick reference guides that provide short cuts
- Electronic help systems
- Procedures for tasks
- Human resource manuals that include policies
- Installation instructions
- Operation manuals
- Tutorials designed for the individual
- Training sessions intended to instruct employees and customers
Purpose andDelivery- Every instruction responds to things that are integrated. For example, when arestaurant employee needs to be reminded to wash his or her hands.
There are other questions that are asked for example:
- Should instructions be in visuals or text or both?
- Should the instructions be in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese or all four?
- Also, should the information be in employee handbook or on a sign?
- Should the instructions be in the whole order of performance or should other minute steps be included?
Effects of Using Genre Badly- There can be many problems that occur when instructions are not used properly. When they are not accessible, understandable or usable, that is where people can run into problems.
Effects of bad genre include:
- Negative effects on marketing
- Negative effects on training staff
- Negative effects on support and field staff
Standard Components- There is no best way of organizing instructions, the best way to do so is to look at what you are writing instructions for and apply it to that user. You should ask your self what readers want to read or see and will they understand this procedure. Basically always meet your user's needs.
Locating Information in Manuals- Looking for these things can be simple by looking in the table of contents, sections, or even flipping through the glossary. Users need to have an idea of what the document is about and to know how it applies to them. As well as looking up terms that appear more than once in the text.
Content Element:Content elements were supply for producing important instructions by business and industry professional in seminars of technical communication. The following contents elements are:
1.Purpose
2.Necessary components
3.Accurate chronology
4. Accurate
5.Rationale
6.Stylistic and grammatical conventions
7.Warnings anad cautions.
Purpose Instructions - should be more informative with title and supportive objective.
Necessary Compnents
Instructions are overcome by materials, equipments, defintion and parts of listing.
Chronological Order - Instructions should be in chronological order with substep in order.
Appropriate Diction - Instructions should be used diction so that reader can read them clearly.
Rationale for step-
Instructions should have many question which can justify to response for user to understand.
Grammatical and stylistic conventions
Instructions have parallel structure in statement which uses same grammatical structure.
Visual Elements: Instructions should have effective visuals to amek it usable. It should be more technical to reference in each step.
Appropriate Visuals: Visuals are most important in instructions because with the verbal subject. Visuals have follow type of elements:
a. parts, toolong , equipment
b. sequence of steps
c. posting of the operator
d. development or change of object or equipment
e. Screens and pull down menus in the software development.
There should be good combination of visual with verbal context. Accurate visual is imporatant when someone do not understanf his visual presentation. So, Accuracy should be made good direction.Primarily visual instruction Primarily visual is more supportive for instruction like color coding. It gives meaning to text with design.
Safety Standards: Instructions also required safety view to amek it wast to use. Writer also uses waring,caution to reader in some idea without risks.
Adequacy: You should know about adequacy of instruction with warning also. It will make low risk and have good product.
19 comments:
Drietz and Shrestha's blog comment on chapter 21 discussed instructions and manual. The section regarding alliteracy stuck out and was intriguing. I must admit I have been guiltly of this on many occassions. It seems so much easier to just look at pictures when deciphering instructions. The truth is that in order to fully understand sets of instructions you need to understand the text and use visual aids as references only. This is especially true when dealing with very technical instructions. I wanted to make one final comment regarding instructions for international audiences. I recently purchased a pair of cleats for bicycle shoes. These are attached to the bottom of the shoe with two screws. Surprisingly, the instruction packet was enormous - bigger than the product itself. When I opened it up I found that there were instructions for over a dozen languages. After a littl thought, I realized how this made sense- cycling is an international sport, and the product I used is recognized internationally. When it was all said and done, the English instructions took about a minute to read.
This chapter has very well been summarized by Drietz and Shrestha. Instructions and manuals are things we see every time we purchase new items. They are especially useful because they simplify and save our time if they are well written. Whether it's installing computer software, assembling a computer desk or setting up your entertainment system you will probably need to refer to the instructions. I have found how instructions and manuals are important especially this semester in my industrial automation class. This is a new course introduced in the Electronics Engineering curriculum and setting up the labs is impossible without having to refer to the equipments manuals and instructions.
my whole life i have always loved to put things together, using my hand, that type of stuff, so when ever my parents would buy something that needed to be assembled they would just hand it over to me to do it. and since i have assembled so many things in my life i have gotten to be pretty good at reading the directions that are sent out with the product. i know that when my dad tries to put something together he has a hard time and gets frusterated. ill be sitting up stairs and ill just hear him start yelling and he will ask me to come down and finish it.
I never thought about the importance of visual aids in instructions for the illiterate. People who can't read still need directions! These can be even more challenging to convey by figures than by words. This factor as well as translating instructions into multiple languages can make this process more complicated than it sounds. I don't know if anyone else has seen this but there is a list of quotes from directions in English from other countries that became funny when they were translated wrong. Things like that can be very frustrating to a customer and the company's product may lose business and gain complaints because of it.
I thought that this chapter was very interesting to read. I have dealt with an aliteracy problem all of my life. If I am reading over something that doesnt particularly strike me as interesting than i will more than likely just skip it over. I liked this articles because it was well written, easily understood, and organized very well.
I work at minnkota assembling motors, and ocassionaly i stop to look at the manuals we send with the motors, i am so amazed everytime, that someone had to sit down and describe how to use it. Hitting every detail and pictures to go with it. Very similar i often read my car manual and it is very important to understand the audience and your intent to make it clear and consise for all to read and understand
While I may not actually read instructions as much as I should, I do know that there are a lot of bad instructions out there. For instance, I have been trying to learn some bits of JavaScript for websites and it has been difficult to find a site that gives a clear and effective method on how to do something without going off on a tangent about various other topics. Also, there is a lack of examples. The instructions were most likly written from a professional in the field with no usability testing whatsoever. If more people would get second and third opinions on instructions they have written, things would be much easier to understand everywhere.
Creating writing instructions is and can be challenging to even the most intelligent people. Writing instructions on how to assemble a table or any other object is not only technical, but you have to write them so any person can understand and put the object together.
I look back on some of the documents I have read to put entertainment cabinets or putting new parts on a car. Too many of the documents are written for people that do these things on a daily basis or who are well rounded individuals. You almost have to put in a technical set of documents plus a manual for those who do not understand technical terms.
Instruction and manual are the things that all of us have seen in our daily lifes. Every time we buy new stuffs we go through instructions, they are intended for all the customers national or international so its improtant to present in eligible way for all type of customers. I agree to the summery that for a good instruction, visual elements also plays a vital role.
preparing instruction is important for technical communication. chapter 21 breaks down the process for writing instruction. this can be more difficult than it seems because you have to keep in mind all the audiences that will be reading the instructions. may people read instructions and dont understand them and use products in the wrong way. this was a good summary of the chapter and highlighted all the key notes.
This chapter is very useful for us as student because I think that because we usually have so many things going on, we have a tendancy to skip over long instructions which may even make things go quicker.
This is a very well summarized article and well though out. Instructions are very important. For example, I bought a stand the other day for a TV, there would be no way I would be able to put that together. Instructions show us how things need to be done, without that most things in homes would not be put together the right way. A lot of things would be built wrong and could hurt people.
The blog written by Mr. Drietz and Shrestha is clear and short. Once in a volunteering opportunity, while preparing a instruction manual, I was suggested to think people as a ‘dumb’. Dumb in a sense that one knows nothing about something. So, we should know about our targeted audiences before we prepare the instruction manual. Addition of visual instruction aids audience to go on easy with the procedure. Each step should be a command and there should be a brief introduction of what’s going on. Also a preparer should know about paragraph style, formatting and bullets.
Instructions and manuals are located nearly everywhere you look for most any product on the market today. Being able to effectively communicate orders / directions to the consumer is invaluable. Ordering and clarity in the instructions are needed if you want to have any chance of your consumer of understanding and being able to complete these instructions. Visuals in instructions can also be a great tool, because like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
"A picture is worth a thousand words". Never has there been a truer statement, especially when it comes to instructions. As a professional aircraft mechanic I used tech manuals everyday. The best manuals had good pictures and lots of names. Every year the manuals were reprinted with changes to the instructions. The name of the mechanic(s) who submitted the change got their name in the manual. A manual with many signatures meant that it had become user friendly.
Taking a little more time to figure out and adjust their input would have made the layout of this blog more user friendly too...
I think that this topic is a very important one for us in this class. So many times in life we have to sit down and try and figure something out and the only thing that we have to guide us is an instruction manual or directions. I feel that sometimes instructions are written in expert language instead of a language that everyone can understand. I think that we need to take this into account when we are giving directions in the workplace, and acknowledge that some people might not understand the first time you explain something to them and be willing to work with them.
Creating instructions and manuals is more difficult than it seems! There are a lot of factors to put into consideration. Instructions and manuals almost always need to be written so that anyone can follow them. I find visuals to be especially helpful when trying to follow a set of instructions. Pictures are so much easier than words for me, however, I can follow any well written instructions.
Instruction manuals are something that is everyone uses to put anything new together. i personally have used many different instruction manuals to put stuff together. i have used manuals for anything from a tv cabinet to the 89 Honda Civic car/parts manual(which i tend to use quite often) This HOnda manual is close to 450 pages with little pictures and directions! that must of took someone a long time to write!
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