The reading and instructions in Chapter 8: Organizing and Drafting was very interesting. How to put the introduction, body, and conclusion together in different genres and patterns was very informative. To begin the chapter, the memo about the Challenger Space shuttle provided an example of a distinct introduction, body, and conclusion that broadcasted all information needed to make a decision. I actually attended a lecture at Purdue that was held by a NASA engineer. The engineer actually brought this memo up but never presented it. He also said that NASA was trying to blame the company for the shuttle failure but could not because of the evidence that was presented. I thought that this memo was a good example of a well written document that covered a company’s liability.
Looking at the examples of different genres, the patterns for organizing documents seemed very similar. The pattern is a step-by-step method that always leads from the introduction to the conclusion. The steps seem to be very similar but worded different. The pattern for the procedure genre seemed very logical and familiar because of the procedure section in lab reports in classes at Purdue.
Another thing that I found interesting in Chapter 8, was the quote “Never start at the beginning, and never end at the end”. I found this statement very shocking because of normal writing techniques taught in previous years of schooling. This technique definitely makes sense when writing technical document though after reading and following good outlining techniques listed in Chapter 8.
The patterns of arrangements within documents are very good tools when writing a technical document. After reading some of the examples in Chapter 8, the patterns seem to make writing a document easier and more efficient. Once again, the patterns are affected by cross-cultural differences. After reading a few chapters in this class it seems that technical writing is definitely an important thing to master to someone writing an international document.
Start in the Middle
I also found it interesting that the chapter suggests starting a technical document in the middle, instead of the beginning or the end. In writing most of my own reports, I usually start by creating a cover page and drafting an introduction. However, sometimes this can be difficult because it's hard to know exactly what will be included in the body of the report before it's even written. It wasn't until my most recent semester that my classes required some pretty detailed group lab reports, and that's when many of us started to write the bulk of our reports first. In the future I think it would be a good idea to always write the methods, results, and discussion sections before attempting the introduction or conclusion.
Using the body to create an intro and conclusion.
I agree with both of you in terms of how it was interesting that the reading said to start in the middle of a paper and work your way out. I think it is much easier to start writing the body and creating an introduction and conclusion around this body. Sometimes if you sit and think for too long about what you want to include in your intro you get a writers block and freeze up. That is why if you take your thought and start writing them in the body it will be much simpler to base your intro and conclusion on the body which you already have written.