Technical Writing Basics Brian R. Holloway Fourth Edition
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Our House to Yours: Using Summaries to Inform Finesse Finishing Papers This specialized fact sheet not only addresses the needs of a restricted market, but also employs many of the strategies we ve been exploring in this technical writing guidebook.a large, bolded caption provides initial focus, and main headings stand in bold capitals. Bulleted short paragraphs break up the text for ease of reading, and the layout leaves enough white space that the reader is not repelled by a solid, unrelieved mass of words.this leaflet begins with a thesis section. It closes with the address of the supplier. State Farm 1995 Annual Report Recipients may resist reading this communication because it accompanies a bill for insurance premiums. Such resistance may begin the moment the envelope is opened by a busy person, or the instant that an agent hands a leaflet to a customer. Here, the company has tried to maintain interest by organizing appearance carefully. Headings and boxed areas in the body of this text supply visual attractiveness and promote eye relief.the report uses a photograph of the company president and the facsimile of his signature to appear personal, yet official, in announcing the latest news. Below the initial summary appears an invitation to the annual meeting of shareholders and the company s address a type of closure implying stability and accessibility.the reverse side contains a financial statement followed by a list of the company s directors. Adhering to standard technical writing practice, this insert also uses short paragraphs rather than densely packed narrative. Such strategy encourages the reader s attention. Of course, this document has little pictorial interest compared to the glitzy, slick investors reports that many companies use.this might be thought a disadvantage, but it is probable that the company wants to convey an image of security without extravagance few would pay an insurance company to be flamboyant. Assignments 1. Check your mailbox, the packets of literature included with new appliances, and the leaflets received at work or at the booth in the front of a discount store. Then, a. Select two informative summaries from these or other sources and compare them, writing down similarities and differences. Which summary is better, and why? Bring the documents and the comparisons to class for discussion. b. Rewrite a chosen informative flyer as a news release, being sure to define the audience of such a release carefully. c. Next, write either individually or in groups in class a pamphlet containing an informative summary. Integrate graphics and color into your presentation. Compare and evaluate the brochures. 56
Our House to Yours: Using Summaries to Inform d. If such a project is a group effort, your group could create a facsimile of an entire packet of material to be distributed by an organization.this packet might contain a news release, pictorial material, a fact sheet for frequently asked questions, and a pamphlet. e. Find and report on an informational site on the Internet that consists of a home page, providing a summary of services or an index of material plus one or more sections referred to in such an index or summary. How is the presentation of summary information in cyberspace similar to and different from that of paper and print? 2. Service-learning option. If your class is affiliated with a service-learning program sponsored by your school, the class can perform the following activities: a. Help a social-service agency by designing an informative document for it. Perhaps this will be a guide to community recycling or a leaflet describing a women s resource center. You ll need to discuss carefully with your supervisor the intended audience and the requirements of the communication. Also, you ll need to study past examples in order to develop a proper frame of reference. b. Help a business by creating an informative brochure. Again, you will be working closely with a supervisor who will clarify the goals and requirements of the document. If your institution does not have such a service-learning program, volunteer your talents outside of class. There are many possible beneficiaries of your informative writing skills your employer or nonprofit organizations to which you belong, for example. The real world is an effective teacher! 57
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Process Explains How Directions and Instructions: Writing About Process Much writing done on the job and much transactional writing involves demonstrating how to do something, discussing how something was done, or showing how an event unfolded. This type of communication, based on narration or time sequence, is often called process writing. Process writing also dominates the nonfiction book market for example, books illustrating the proper way to install a deck on a house, disclosing how to get along with others, revealing how to buy a car, or promising ten quick steps to slenderness all constitute examples of process writing. For our purposes, there are two general types of process explanations: descriptive and instructional. Descriptive process writing discusses the principles behind an event or the fundamentals necessary to achieve an outcome. This description may be organized topically rather than chronologically if the components do not flow in a strictly linear sequence. For example, a report covering what buyers look for when purchasing a financially injured company may include a number of tasks that do not need to be performed in a set order. Descriptive process writing may also be used to explain the history of a policy or program that is, how something came about. Such writing addresses those who need to be informed about an issue but who are not learning to enact a step-by-step procedure. Figure 1 shows an example of a simple set of suggestions that qualifies as a process description. Instructional process writing (or direction writing) is task specific. It shows the sequence of steps one must follow to achieve a goal.the steps must be taken in the prescribed order. Directions for mixing epoxy, recipes for bananas Foster, and charts depicting assembly of lawn tractors fall into this category. Figure 2 illustrates a set of instructions. This kind of writing looks easy to do, but the following exercise may reveal that it is not. From Chapter 5 of Technical Writing Basics: A Guide to Style and Form, Fourth Edition. Brain R. Holloway. Copyright 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 59
Directions and Instructions: Writing About Process Figure 1 Description of Procedures Weatherizing Your House for Winter Before fall becomes winter, you should consider the following strategies to ensure that the cold stays out and the heat stays in! Check the condition of weatherstripping around all exterior door frames; replace defective weatherstripping with new. Replace defective door sweeps with new, flexible ones. Repair broken seals in windows. Replace worn caulking as needed. If you have a heat pump, clean and service it according to manufacturer s directions. Exercise Write a set of directions to perform an everyday task, such as backing up a car, cleaning a sink, paying for a burger, or pouring a bowl of cereal.then read the directions to the class, whose members will attempt to follow the directions and pantomime the operation. Process Writing Concerns Audience One of the biggest challenges with process writing, as you might have just discovered, is knowing what assumptions you can make about your readership. Does everyone in your audience understand how to drive a stick shift? Has everyone reformatted a hard disk in a computer? Does everyone know what materials are necessary to caramelize brown sugar? Do your readers appreciate the need to heed safety warnings? It s important to brainstorm about one s audience and be able to anticipate your readers needs. This is vital to prevent job-related accidents that might be caused by the failure to include safety warnings in instructions. Figure 3 displays a safety alert embedded in a simple set of guidelines. (Note that this text, like that of a recipe or lab report, contains a materials section preceding the sequence of events to be followed.) Figures 4 and 5 depict vivid warnings embedded in process instructions that also use clear graphics. Try to emulate such examples when designing process documents. 60