Instructions Instructions
Exercise: Write an Instruction Manual for Opening and Closing of Supermarkets.
Topic of the Manual
The supermarket staff uses the manual to help prevent confusion. Also, the manual helps to remind supermarket workers on their daily roles once they report to work. My targeted audience in the manual is supermarket attendants who need to be guided on their day to day running of their respective work. The attendants require the manual to guide them on their day-to-day duties in the supermarket. The manual thus offers standard procedures to be followed by the workers. However, those attendants who do not follow the manual can be disciplined for failure to follow hence it acts as a disciplinary parameter. The attendants will be reading the manual at work which are spread in paper forms and through online forms on the supermarket website. The attendants will be reading the manual when they are hired and any moment they feel they have forgotten the procedures at work. Alternatively, they will be required to read, when they are transferred in new departments in the supermarket. The two key elements I used in the manual are simplicity of the content and plain language. Simplicity is achieved through use of common grammatical words, the flow of steps to be followed in brief. The plain language applied is understood by majority of the supermarket staff. The choice of words is strictly professional and precise to the intended communication. The manual will be beneficial to other departments of supermarket when it expands.
WRITING
1. Begin each step with a verb
2. Make sure each step is one step only
2a. Divide instructions into sections if necessary to make sure your instructions are clear
2b. Use headings to separate sections
3. Number each step
4. Use different fonts to add notes or warnings
5. Include an introduction and a conclusion with your instructions. As your audience, I want to know why I am doing something and how it will help me.
6. Consider adding visual aids. Some people are visual learners.
ADDING OTHER INFORMATION
In addition to drafting your steps, you need to consider whether to include other information. Answer these questions to help you determine what other information needs to be included with the steps.
· Is there a possibility for physical injury or equipment damage? If so, write a hazard alert.
· Do you have any advice for ways to complete the steps more efficiently? If so, consider adding tips or notes to some steps.
· Are any tools or utensils necessary for completing the instructions? If so, add a list of these items before you begin writing the steps.
· Do any terms need to be defined for your reader? If so, add a glossary before you begin writing the steps.
CHECKING YOUR WORK
· Have you defined terms for your reader?
· Have you included tips or advice?
· Have you included hazard alerts if necessary?
· Have you included all the necessary steps?
· Are your instructional steps developed clearly?
· Do you limit each step to one action?
· Does each step begin with a verb?
· Do you number your steps?
· Have you made use of effective highlighting techniques?
· Are your instructions free of grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors?
Instruction Manuals – An Overview
Many people associate instruction manuals with appliances, computer accessories, and products that require assembly (e.g., furniture). Because we don’t find ourselves using them regularly or we come to expect them only in certain contexts, it is easy to forget how important they are. The quality of a well-designed instruction manual may go unnoticed. Yet, when we encounter frustration with putting together a bookshelf or toy, or with trying to figure out how to change or activate a particular appliance setting, the significance of a well-designed instruction manual becomes clear. NOTE: RECIPES ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT.
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation of Instruction Manuals
Instruction manuals, like other types of texts, are shaped by a rhetorical situation. The choices technical writers make regarding content and form depend on the purpose of the instruction manual, the intended audience, and the context in which the manual is used. When writing your own instruction manual, consider the following ideas and questions regarding the rhetorical situation.
Purpose
In general, the purpose of an instruction manual is to familiarize the user with the product and/or to guide the user through a series of steps that lead to the completion of a task. However, each instruction manual will also have a more specific outcome. Identifying what that specific outcome is will help you make more effective rhetorical decisions about content and design. Ask yourself:
· What are the specific intended outcome(s) of the instructions? (e.g., baking a cake from scratch, installing an air conditioner, etc.)
· In addition to helping users reach the main desired outcome(s), are there other purposes that the manual serves? (e.g., offering troubleshooting advice, teaching users how to accomplish additional, simple tasks necessary for reaching the main objective)
Audience
A thorough understanding of your audience(s) is integral for making thoughtful choices about scope, content, and design of your instructions. Consider these questions about audience before writing:
· What is the audience’s familiarity or expertise regarding the topic of the instruction manual?
· What is the audience’s general comfort level with learning new skills or procedures related to the instruction manual topic?
· What is your audience's "typical" approach to learning? How will your instruction manual address the audience’s learning style, goals, and task-related needs?
Be sure to review the course materials on audience analysis.
Context
Think of context as the temporal, social, and technological situation surrounding the creation and use of the instruction manual. The following questions will help you identify the context:
· How much time will you have to complete this instruction manual?
· Are there time constraints on the user?
· What technological constraints must you consider in creating the instruction manual? Consider your skills with technology and level of access.
· How will your audience gain access to the manual? (e.g., audience can access manual online via a company website)
· What additional tools or materials are you assuming the audience already has? Will they have access to the technology or materials needed to follow the instructions? (e.g., to successfully build a bookshelf, the user will need a hammer, screwdriver, and open work area)
Word Choice
When writing instructions, a careful consideration of word choice is important because in some cases, the user’s safety is at risk. For this reason, strive for clarity and conciseness. To make effective decisions about word choice, consider your primary audience’s level of expertise and cultural background. You may find it necessary to
· Define complex terms. spell out acronyms the first time they are introduced (e.g., digital single-lens reflex camera, DSLR). Avoid using similes, metaphors, slang, or substitutions that may confuse users.
· Use plain language, for in some cases, serious legal consequences can arise when a set of instructions is unclear.
· Use brief and informative headings and subheadings
For more on plain language, see https://www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm
Design
Document design refers to the way information is organized and presented. Because visuals require less time to process, users will typically notice—and respond to—quality of design before quality of content. Even if you choose not to include images or graphics, you will need consider design. Minimally, this includes making choices about layout, order of information, font size, typeface, headings, color, and white space. Design elements should guide the user through the manual smoothly. This means making the document scannable; a scannable document allows users to navigate through the content to locate specific information. As with any document, decisions regarding design should consider the audience, purpose, and overall ease of use.
All instructions steps must be numbered, and all instruction steps must begin with a verb. Instructions may be divided into sections. DO NOT write instructions in a narrative form.
Review the materials on Visual Rhetoric and Basic Principles of Graphic Design for more information and advice on how to design effective instruction manuals (and technical documents in general)