Chapter 16
Process explanations: provide an overview or background, regardless of audience’s task. Often embedded in a longer discussion that has already presented a definition and general description.
What is a process explanation? They enable the audience to understand the statement of purpose, explanation of actions, and equipment application. People also find that these process help with curiosity on things you may question.
Defining Process
Process explanations define sequential actions to members of an audience who need enough details to understand an action or process, but not enough to actually completely the given process. Identifying the general nature of a task and overview rather than specific details and small facts. When these steps are inaccurate or incorrect problems can and may come up. These often are the same kind of documents you find technical descriptions.
Common Applications of process applications: manuals, reports, orientation, training materials, marketing and promotional materials, and public information and education.
Reports
These frequently provide an audience with background information and understanding the technical processes.
The following is commonly found in a reports introductory section:
Technical description
Process explanation
Benefits or advantages
Task Manuals
This is one of the most frequent uses of process explanations. Users tend to have to complete complex tasks more accurately and more cooperatively to understand the overall process. This using step by step instructions making it worth the time to prepare and the space to present.
One effect method to present overviews would be the flowchart.
Orientation and Training Materials
Students may often need to use more detailed information because its often they are required to understand reasons behind the sequence of actions even as the information as a summary, these often include, terminology, definitions, and explanations, that could make the material inappropriate for readers interested in just the general information.
Marketing and Promotional Materials
Figure 16.4 shows you an operation for a thermal inkjet cartridge for computer printers. This illustration provides a good idea in which process explanations can often be embedded in writing, such as advertising and promotional materials. The process explanation tends to make more sense in complete information rather than just partial writings. Looking at the figure you can see the paragraphs define, describe, illustrate, and identify the main parts, so the reader is able to understand how the ink in a printer works. This is followed up by a couple paragraphs to describe the sequence and the last three paragraphs show how the process can be controlled to produce better quality.
Public Information and Education
Readers of daily or general papers such as magazines or newspapers are usually interested I technical information, but usually tend to not have the expertise or experience to understand the complexity of what they’re reading.
Take for instance the term “acid rain” it is a familiar term for most people yet the process on how it’s formed is actually quite difficult. Pictures can simplify this confusing by showing the reader what major elements contribute to this rain and an explanation that’s suitable for its reader.
Preparing Processes
The preparing process explanation is that you need to consider the audience and purpose, identify the steps, select of design the visuals, and organize the information.
Audience and Purpose
Identifying members of your audience and their purpose will help you prepare for a process explanation.
Identification of Steps
One of the main parts of preparing is getting the steps in order. This creates the basis for the process of explanation and aids in visual designs.
Visuals
You can choose from several types of illustrations to show the overall sequence of the process. Flowcharts are often a good choice that gives a visual overview in the same way as the introduction shows the actions and steps. Other visuals can include schedules or timelines. Drawings can often show the element of a process, the best choice is often a step by step process that shows the gradual changes like, time lapse photos, drawings that show changes, and final product drawings. Another way is to use sequential drawings showing all basic steps in one fluid motion, the steps are in an action view and using brief captions, the drawing is then able to stand alone.
Diction
The audience and purpose of your process explanation affect your diction, or the language you use. One of the most important decisions you’ll have to make is to use an active or passive voice.
Organization and Format
Due to the fact process explanations are chronological, writers will use headings to show the steps they are taking. These headings help readers signal what and where they are reading. They can be altered according the present audience and fewer complexes for more ease of understanding. Less informed people tend to need more explanation and take up more space than people who know about the topic at hand.
15 comments:
having good explanations is a very important thing to have when you are doing anything. especially if it is directions to putting something together. i have put alot of things together by directions and it can be very annoying when you are having difficulty understanding what to do next becuase of the bad directions. i was thinking about buying a motorcycle kit this summer and putting it together myself, by doing this i am hoping that the companies have put a good amount of time into making the directions very user friendly
I think that task explinations are extremely important becuase it is really frustrating when you dont' understand them. It is very important to assemble them so that they are easy to understand and organized. Another thing to remember is to always make sure that the language is appropriate for you audience and maybe incorporate visuals into the task explanation. I thought that he did a good job summarizing the cahpter but I would try to space things out next time, becuase the blog entry was really hard to read. Otherwise good job!
This chapter discusses how to prepare process explanations effectively. My connection to this chapter is majorly academic work. I have had projects where by I had to build a laptop security system using a microprocessor. As it is the case, microprocessor are controlled by writing a program directing it to specific things when something happen. For example in my project, I had the user of my project use a keypad to activate and deactivate the security system by entering a four digit code. Incase somebody tried to steal the laptop, the microprocessor would activate a siren and also flash lights. This program is like a process. In order to explain the operation of my system, I had to write a process explanation for my program. First, the description of the project, then how the program worked and finally a flowchart of the program. Flow charts are commonly used for process explanations and it is easy to create them using software like Microsoft Office Visio. Well, summarized chapter.
Process explaining is important to explain the whole report. When we do some project , we should explain it through how it can give information.We should use the good language so it can understand my audience.In this process,we should explain the process and what we did and how it can give benefit etc. And moreover, it should control all the area which it has to be.
Task explanations are important for understanding. One way that task explanations are used are in reports like our final report that we are all working on right now. There needs to be a task explanation for every one of our assignments. Along with the explanation we need to give an overview or summary of how we felt about it.
It is important that people understand explanations and put them in words that the audience or readers can understand. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to complete a task but not being able to because you don't understand the directions and what is being presented to you. Good job on summarizing the chapter. Everyone can benefit from it.
Process explanations are a good resources for technical applications. Sometimes using a standard paragraph format does not accurately explain a process, so process explanations must be used. One example of this would be operating sophisticated machinery. If there a various steps that must be followed, the process explanation format in the version of a task manual works excellent. I have had experience working with task manuals like this. They are often worded simply and have very basic steps. That way a wide range of people can pick up the manual and easily understand it.
Process explanations are an important part of technical documents. If done incorrectly, the results can be disasterous. A product could be put together incorrectly or information presented falsely or unclear. This can cause many people to become angry . There have been occurances of this that I have personally ran into before so know of the importance.
I think that Josh did a good job explaining what process explanation is. This is really important to know when you are doing a project or really anything in general. When you are doing something and you really don’t understand what is going on and cannot understand the instructions or what they are asking you when doing a task it can be really difficult and get through the task. The blog would have been better if it was a lot more organized then it was and if he had added space and also headings on all of the main points.
Explanations in general are very important to understand. They are important to have when you are doing anything. It is very important that explanations are understood for your audience to understand. I know when I make explanations for this I make sure the language is appropriate for my audience and I always make sure that my visual is appropriate and it fits my explanation. I would hope that in the future some software programs get templates for explanations for people to use.
I can think of a few teachers I've had that could benifit from this chapter. When explaining a task you have to consider your audience. How simple does your explanation have to be. At the other end of the spectrum you have how in depth can you get without confusing the reader.
i believe that good explanations lead to good work. if a boss doesnt explane something properly to his employees, they might not know exactly what to do and mmight screw it up. even when it is just writing out explanations to a product, you need to use clear language so peopel know exactly what your meaning. i think that this summary was very well written and very useful!
I think we all know the importance of the process explanation pretty well. The process explanation is the core of technical document. A document lacking proper explanation fails to convey the real message to the audiece. Audience should understand the document and i think a prople explanation with proper language is the only way to make document understandable. Otherwise, documents without proper explanation doesn't makes sense.
Explanations are a wonderful thing but they should be tailored to about a fifth grade reading level. Keeping things simple does not insult your audience, it keeps you from looking too technical or like you speak a language that they don't understand.
The team really needs to read into the chapter on information organization to better organize their information to make it more readable. This summary needs to be revised so that it is more easily read. The word run together entirely too much and it makes it very cumbersome to read through. I personally find it hard to differentiate where the topics start and stop. With indentation, bold words, and underlining it would make their topics stand out better. The information is of good value but just a little more organization would improve it greatly. From each summary of the chapters I take a little information that I am able to use in my business and every day life.
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