| Technical Writing Instructions and User's Manuals - Instructions and user's manuals are important in technical writing. Every manufactured product comes complete with either a short instruction booklet or with a more detailed user's manual. Include instructions or user's manuals whenever your audience needs to know how to: Operate a mechanism Restore a product Install equipment Correct a problem Manufacture a product Service equipment Package a product Troubleshoot a system Unpack equipment Care for a plant Test components Use software Maintain equipment Set up a product Clean a product Implement a procedure Monitor a system Construct anything Repair a system Assemble a product Highlights - 1. To organize your instruction effectively, include an introduction, a discussion of sequenced steps, and a conclusion. 2. Be sure to number your steps and start each step with a verb. 3. Hazard alerts are important to protect your reader and your company. 4. In the instruction, folow a chronological sequence. 5. Your readers do not know how to perform the procedure; that's why they are reading the instruction. Therefore, be precise. 6. Graphics help your reader see how to perform each step. 7. Highlighting techniques emphasize important points. 8. Don't compress several steps into one excessively long and demanding step. 9. The writing process, complete with usability testing, will help you construct an effective instruction. Activity - Write an instruction. To do so, first select a topic. You can write an instruction telling how to monitor, repair, test, package, plant, clean, operate, manage, open, shut, set up, maintain, troubleshoot, install, use software, and so on. Choose a topic from within your field of expertise or one that interests you. Follow the writing process techniques to complete your instruction: prewrite, rough draft, final copy. Reports - At one time or another, you'll be asked to write a report. Your reports will satisfy one or all of the following needs: 1. Supply a record of work accomplished 2. Record and clarify complex information for future reference 3. Present information to a large number of people 4. Record problems encountered 5. Document schedules, timetables, and milestones 6. Recommend future action 7. Document current status 8. Record procedures Longer reports often come in the form of proposals - Proposal checklist Have you included the following in your proposal? 1. Title page (listing title, audience, author or authors, and date) 2. Cover letter (stating why you're writing and what you're writing about; what exactly you're providing the reader(s); what's next -- follow-up action) 3. Table of contents (listing all major headings, subheadings, and page numbers) 4. List of illustrations (listing all figure and tables, including their numbers and titles, and page numbers) 5. Abstract (stating in low-tech terms the problem, solution, and benefits) 6. Introduction (providing a statement of purpose and a lengthy analysis of the problem) 7. Discussion (solving the readers' problem by discussing topics such as procedures, specifications, timetables, materials/equipment, personnel, credentials, facilities, options, and costs) 8. Conclusion (restating the benefits and recommendation for action) 9. Glossary (defining terminology) 10. Appendix (optional additional information) |