English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

The first link in the following set will load a splash page to the list of tutorials that I have prepared. Each link thereafter will load the specific tutorial, however, the website contains navigation between tutorials as well.

Purdue University iPhone Services Tutorials

Configure Purdue University Mailhub Email Service
Configure Purdue AirLink(PAL) 2.0

I have prepared 4 thorough tutorials for configuring Purdue University's iPhone capable services on the iPhone. The novice instructions contain considerably more detail than those for the expert. Also, each step is accompanied by a screenshot, taken with a native iPhone utility, with the appropriate action outlined in red, so as to prevent confusion. The expert instructions are more straight forward and have fewer screenshots. The primary difference between the novice and expert users is which aspects of the services are being configured, as well as the degree of detail provided.

Considering the project at hand, I will strive to follow a “Level 1 edit” which begins with revision, covers substantive editing, then copyediting, and concludes with proofreading. This method of document revision will prove most beneficial for my technical instructions as it is thorough and unanimously recommended when possessing a sufficient time schedule. However, depending on how well I progress and in what length of time, I may be forced to adopt a higher level of editing that begins at a later phase, i.e. omitting revision and starting with substantive editing.

My instructions will be presented as an ASP.NET website, primarily formatted via CSS. Each individual service that I cover will reside on its own page. The name of the service will represent the page's title and leading header (the 'Headers' section in the attached PDFs). Each individual process will have a screenshot (provided by a native iPhone utility) and its own header similar to the 'Subheaders' section. The separate steps of each process will be enumerated and any sub-steps will be indented below the number.

Throughout this week’s readings, I’ve gathered a number of new composition methods to utilize, and guidelines to follow, to produce more clear and effective documents. I found The Thompson Handbook to be a real asset in covering this material, as it is rich with effective design.

I recently attended a meeting with Calvin Clark, a representative from Apple, regarding the plans and direction for the future of the Purdue University Macintosh Users Group (PUMUG), for which I am the webmaster. In this meeting, Calvin informed me of an interesting fact, that Purdue has the second largest university iPhone user population in the world.

     The majority of the information presented in chapter 19 of TCT is fairly new to me, at least from a low level perspective. Although the aspects that are outlined throughout the chapter are common, the ways in which they are utilized to produce clear and effective descriptions for users are relatively new in concept. For example, chapter 19 presents formatting and structure guidelines as well as how to relate the descriptions to users through the use of senses, similes, analogies, metaphors, and graphics.

Please answer the following:

1. Do I provide sufficient detail in regard to my academic and professional careers?

2. I've elected to use a different header format than was suggested by this weeks readings, which was to use the same from the resume. Is the format that I've chosen still effective and professional?