English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

The main thing that I took from these long readings was the fact that the writer of technical instructions needs to keep in mind what their audience’s needs and expectations are when they read their instructions. When you create your instructions you need to ask who, why, what, where, when, and how the reader will be using your instructions.

The main point of this weeks reading seems to be that you should always be aware of the audience and context when you are writing your instructions. This is an important aspect of the writing process because your main audience affects the depth and vocabulary of your writing. I know that if I was writing some instructions for my Grandma for instance, I would not use terminology and concepts that were beyond here general understanding. This ties into the idea of writing your instructions as if your main audience were “idiots”.

The reading responses this week were about how to use what we have already learned about knowing your audience, and how to apply that to writing technical instructions. The readings focuses on how you can make sure you instructions are "user-centered" instead of them being "system-centered." Making the mistake of having your instructions "system-centered" will only frustrate the user and probably cause the instructions to be ignored.

This weeks readings, including chapters 19 and 20 from TCT, discussed the various aspects of constructing a thoroughly developed instructional document. One of the most important parts analyzed was the research that should go into creating such a document, including a solid identification and awareness of all audiences involved. An understanding of the user and the context in which the instructions will be used allow for the writer to gain a strong understanding of the writer’s perspective and speak in an appropriate, fitting tone.

As I started to read though these articles, I began to think of the same impressions the last time I had to follow documented instructions. I, like most mechanically raised individuals, ignore them for as long as I can and try to understand the objective myself. The reason many people choose to do this is not because they want to prove they are smarter than the apparatus (however I may be guilty of this), but because the instructions that are provided are so unappealing to the type of audience that typically read them.

This week’s reading response covers chapters 19 and 20 and is about writing technical instructions. The main focus in these chapters is tailoring your documents to your audience and their needs. This seems to be an emerging theme between all technical writing—audience analysis and context.

This week’s readings focus on what needs to be included in written instructions and technical descriptions. Chapters 19 and 20 reiterated the fact that when you use writing to convey any kind of message you need focus on your audiences needs. It stated that you should use the 5 W’s and H questions to help you include the proper information. I think that the video from Common Craft shows a very well put together presentation on how to use Google docs.

In Instructor Blog #4 they warn us about treating the user reading the instructions as “idiots.” The drawback to this is that when you are writing your manual you would be talking down to user.

Instructions are a funny thing. We like to claim that we can do without them, but the reality is sometimes they are necessary. However, when you actually crack open the user’s manual it’s hard to find what you are looking for. Thankfully, I have the internet and more importantly, Google. If I ever find myself in need of an answer or directions, I just search on the internet. No point in wasting time looking for the user’s manual.

These chapters offered interesting pointers about technical descriptions and instructions. I found the most helpful part of the chapters in Chapter 19, where the reading gave tips on the style you should use when writing technical descriptions.