Editing a paper I wrote is one of my least favorite things to do after I have just written it. Part of me just does not like reading what I wrote even though I know I did a good job at it. I guess it could be compared to actors who do not like to watch the movies they are in. Something about seeing yourself on screen as someone else just does not sit right with them.
That is what the reading was about, editing your paper to match the needs of your user. By the time you are ready to publish your paper the time you spent editing and proofreading it will exceed the time spent writing it. With good reason as you want your users to be happy when they go through their steps. There have been times where I have gotten headaches from going through computer manuals with steps that were missing or just did not match up with the system I am working with.
Some ways I plan to make sure that my user manual works is to either give it to someone who does not know what they are doing with the given subject. Give it to my mom, a younger brother or sister of one of my friends, or even that cute co-ed student I have been keeping my eye on. Actually I do not plan to do that last one as I would come off as a stalker. Basically give it to a basic user and have them test it out. A second opinion is always a good thing. Another way is to go through it edit it myself. Does it look too cluttered? Do the pictures represent good information? Is there technical jargon the average user will not know? Answer all of these and I am off to the right start. No document will be perfect but I can get close to it. By doing this type of test I can see how the average user responds to my user manual. Also from the Instructor Blog I plan to add a few more headings so that my manuals can be easily scanned to find the proper section to fit the user's needs. From performing these user tests I hope my guide will become more usable than what it would be without them.
Usability
Make sure you turn your discussion to specifics about how the readings can help us with our current project. The prompt asked students to select a usability test, make a case for why it is the most appropriate one for his/her instruction, and to describe in some detail the specifics of the usability test that will be produce. Jeremy and I focused the prompt in this direction so that students could use the reading response to begin drafting their usability tests.
Reading your own papers
I'm with you on the subject of reading your own work. I often time have a hard time actually reading and comprehending what is on my paper even though I was the one who wrote it. This is why I am grateful for peer reviews. Generally after I get some feedback during a peer review, I tend to agree with what the person said and am grateful for the constructive criticism because I wasn't able to remove myself from the situation enough to see that for myself. Peer review seems to be the best way of proofreading your paper because then you are forced to go back and look at a specific part rather than just drudge through reading the whole thing.
Reading your own work can be bad.
I also understand how redundant and frustrating it can be to proofread your own paper after you are done reading it. When I write documents I end up reading it about a hundred times because I will write a few lines then end up reading the whole thing over again to make sure it sounds right. There can be a problem with this though, especially if you just got done writing it. A lot of times while proofreading your own work your brain may automatically fill in what you want something to say even if that’s not what it really says. That is one of the main reasons having peers look over your work can be beneficial because they may be able to spot mistakes more easily.
Filling-In
I have also noticed that proofreading right after you finish something usually doesn't work out very well. Obviously, if I have just written something, it makes sense to me; even if it is incomprehensible to everyone else. I usually find myself skimming over most of the paper because I had just written it and I know what it says. Then I turn the paper in, and when I get it back a week later I end up asking myself "What was I thinking when I wrote this?" I have found the best thing to do is to just get the paper done a day or two early and set it aside. Then the night before it is due, pull it back out and make sure it still makes sense. For this project, we will all get the opportunity to do this, since our rough drafts are due before spring break and most of us won't think about revising until the following week.
Preventing Filling-In
I have a very good solution to the filling-in problem you mentioned. Computers are powerful enough these days that they can read text out loud through the speakers. The voice does not sound very good, but it is understandable. You would be surprised by how many errors you can find by having the computer read your work to you. You can do this on Windows Vista by opening notepad, launching a Vista program called Narrator, then pasting your text into notepad, and selecting it. Narrator will then read it out loud.