I thought about writing a set of instructions on how to change the oil on an automobile. The way the economy is going these days people are looking for more ways to save money. What better way to do that than change the oil in one's car themselves, rather than paying someone else to do it for them. These instructions are legitimate because changing oil can be an easy process and almost all vehicles are the same. Changing oil in automobiles is pretty much an universal process. So, one set of instructions apply to almost all types of vehicles.
I believe that I am a qualified person to write up this set of instructions. This is because for as long as I have been driving, even before I started driving, I have been changing the oil on all types of vehicles. I have changed the oil on trucks, vans, cars, and sport utility vehicles. I have even changed the oil on many different types of equipment over the years.
The two audiences that I am going to target are the people that do not have much experience working on vehicles and the people that have worked on vehicles. The instructions that are for the people who don't have much experience is going to include a very general overview about what is going on and what needs to be done. The set for experienced people is going to include a more precise set of instructions, more to look for, and more to do beyond just changing the oil.
I am planning to include graphics of the drain plug and oil filter, the filler cap, and the dipstick that is used to measure the oil level inside the engine. These graphics should prove to be helpful in providing a visual reference of the areas that are going to be worked on and the regions around the work area.
Instructor Feedback: Matt2178
There are several things I would like you to reconsider as you begin composing and designing your instruction sets.
The first concerns your assertion that, "Changing oil in automobiles is pretty much an universal process. So, one set of instructions apply to almost all types of vehicles." While we could argue that the process is universal, it is much harder to argue that all vehicles are the same (where parts are, how they are accessed, what oil should be used, etc.). It also works against our assertion that one set of instructions hardly ever applies to all processes: this assertion is confirmed again and again by one-size-fits-all instructions that fail users. Your statement also privileges experienced users. Recall our discussion of the "curse of knowledge" in Instructor Blog #4.
For the individual with experience, changing the oil of a variety of vehicles probably feels and looks very similar. For an experienced user, however, that process is unique to them and their vehicle. This is particularly true when it comes to producing graphics for your instruction sets. What will the car you use for your images look like and how will that compare to the vehicle a particular user is working on?
The second concern is focused on how you are currently distinguishing between your audiences and how this will translate into your instruction sets. As Jeremy and I have been telling the class, it is vitally important to your project's success that you produce two clearly distinct instruction sets. The general worry with this project is that the difference between the two sets will be one of degree (that is, the expert set will simply be either a truncated version or a more detailed version of the novice set); we are expecting a difference in kind (the expert set should be qualitatively different from the novice set). What you have proposed here potentially runs the risk of falling into this trap (for instance, you write, "The set for experienced people is going to include a more precise set of instructions"). However, you also write that the expert set might cover "more to do beyond just changing the oil." This is the direction to pursue for the expert user set. Give them another way of approaching a common problem or a particular process or tool that might change the way they change oil (rather than more of the same).