English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

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.

Audience
For these sets of instructions there are some key differences between the expert and novice audience. The main difference is the technical experience of the user. The expert audience should have prior experience configuring networking equipment using a terminal application such as HyperTerminal. Ideally they would have previously set up a commercial grade wireless access point in the past but this is not a requirement. The Novice audience is the group of people who do not fit into the expert audience but do kaznow how to perform basic actions on a computer.

The layout of the novice ebay instructions is a typical 8.5 X 11 inch paper. I chose this layout because it is my hope that the user will be able to print out the instructions on a home printer which normally doesn't have any larger print option. I placed pictures where I thought they would be most effective in relation to the instruction steps. The novice instructions contain a more step by step approach that can be followed consecutively from beginning to end.

My two instructions sets are very different. My novice instructions are catered to an audience that knows virtually nothing about InDesign or how the program works, but has basic computer skills. The advanced instructions are catered to an audience that knows the basics of InDesign, but may not know how to use this particular feature (Master Pages). The novice instructions, thus, are much longer as they contain detailed explanations about features and are ordered sequentially.

The main difference between the novice set and the expert set is the novice set contains additional information on side bar, and the expert set is less detailed and skips a few intermediate steps. For some reason, when I save my file as a PDF, the text in the side-bar does not show up. I'll have to figure out why this is and fix it for the final draft. The instructions are also incomplete as of now, as I'm missing one of my Windows install discs and won't be able to complete the installation until I get a replacement disc over break.

Edit: I attached the "completed" novice rough draft.

Both of my instructions give the necessary steps to successfully play Call of Duty 5: World at War on the XBOX 360 console. My novice instruction set tells the reader how to hook up, turn on, and to play a single player game of Call of Duty 5. It gives all of the necessary steps with pictures needed to accomplish its task in the simplest manner. My expert instructions instead shows the reader how to play a game of Call of Duty 5 on XBOX Live and it gives them information on many of the different options that come along with playing a Live game.

These instructions are for installing CentOS. The expert guide has added features like how to use samba and create backups.

For my instructions please read through the document and perform the steps on installing CentOS if you can. I know downloading 3.5 GB of data all at once can be troublesome. You will also have to download VMware and install that so you do not have to get rid of your current operating system. There are instructions on how to do that as well. Please identify any areas where you may get confused.

Usability Test – To take my usability test, please do a document markup while performing the task in the instructions. As you read through the instructions, make note of any areas that you find to be confusing or inaccurate. An easy way to make notes on my documents may be to print them to Microsoft OneNote 2007. To do this, go to File > Print. Then select “Send to OneNote 2007” as the printer. Marking the document in red text will make it easier for me to find your corrections. Also, please answer the attached survey questions.