A project often given by scientific writers is to explain a process. It can range from short product descriptions to detailed documentation detailing complex machine operations.
A few interesting examples that can be thought of from my own experience are the technicians' video on how to use the Rotunda Fuel Injector Tester / Cleaner and the KWAUN 4600 copier installation and maintenance manual. Both require extensive research to determine exactly how the machine works and then carefully consider the best way to arrange the process.
If you don't have much experience with this type of work [sometimes even if you do], you may get into trouble when providing a clear, concise, and complete description. deal with.
You must consider:
- Who is your target audience?
- Their understanding of this issue
- What are their experiences with this process?
- the experience they encountered in a similar process [if any]
- You need to explain with words, illustrations or both
Your job is to explain how to make a piece of toast.
The exercise is divided into 2 parts. They involve the same process, but each process is aimed at a different audience. It is a good practice to determine the exact steps involved in this seemingly simple process. You must also change your content and methods to your target audience.
Toaster details:
The toaster is an ordinary two-piece home kitchen toaster. It has a sliding press to start the baking process. From 0 to 10 there is a "light to deep" dial. It has a separate button that can be placed on one side with bagels and English muffins.
Exercise - Part 1
Write a step-by-step process to turn a piece of bread into a piece of dark bread.
The audience is 18 to 25 years old and they live in cities with a population of over 10,000. These cities are located west of the Mississippi River and north of Kentucky.
Exercise - Part 2
Write a step-by-step process to turn a piece of bread into a piece of dark bread.
The audience are 18 to 25 years old, who have lived on an island in the South Pacific for less than 500 people. They know but are not familiar with electricity and indoor pipes.
After you've written two processes, check out the solutions below to see how your work compares. Find what you missed or what you missed the solution.
solution
The task is to write a short process on how to make toast using a regular toaster. Your target audience is two distinct people.
Part I - Solutions
There is reason to expect that the first group, the young Americans, have never done it for some reason, and they know the knowledge of making toast. This tells you that you can start with a fairly high level of experience and become familiar with bread and toasters. What you need to do is balance what they already know and what you need to tell them.
The basic steps to make a piece of toast for this group look like this:
1. Take a piece of bread [Figure A: take a piece of bread in hand]
2. Place it in a slot on the top of the toaster [Figure B: Insert the bread into the slot at the top of the toaster]
3. Set the "light to dark dial" scale from 0 to 10, depending on how much you want the bread to bake [Figure C: scale icon with an arrow pointing to one of the numbers]
4. Press the slider all the way down [Figure D: Finger slides down, arrow indicates direction]
5. After the toast is completed, it will pop up automatically [Figure E: Toast slices in toast]
Part II - Solutions
The second target audience, young people from the South Pacific islands, presented a completely different challenge. You will not make the same assumptions about experience and familiarity. In fact, you must assume that these people may be completely unfamiliar with the whole concept of making toast.
You need to start at a more fundamental level.
The basic steps to make a piece of toast for this group look like this:
[Figure A: Illustration of a toaster with various components]
1. Toaster is an appliance that must be plugged into a 120v power outlet [Figure B: Electric oven illustration of a socket plugged into a socket and socket]
Bread comes in a variety of shapes and sizes [Figure C: illustrations of many representative shapes and bread sizes]
3. First, select a single piece of bread suitable for the toast slot [see Figure D: Toast Slot]
4. Sliced bread should not touch either end of the groove and should be thinner than the width of the groove [Figure E: illustration of the bread slice in the slot]
Note: If the bread is thick or too wide, it may stick to the slot or be burned off by the heating element.
5. Set the "light to dark dial" scale from 0 to 10, depending on how much you want the bread to be baked [Figure F: the scale of the arrow pointing to one of the numbers]
Note: The toast will be deeper [more baking] and the higher the number you choose on the scale.
6. Press the slider on the front of the oven down to the maximum extent [Figure G: Swipe down the arrow to indicate the direction] and release it
Note: The toaster will become hot during operation. Do not touch the toaster during operation.
7. When the bread is baked, the slices will pop up automatically [Figure H: toast in the toast]
Obviously, the methods and content of the two groups are very different.
In general, the steps in the process must:
- in logical order
- Provide information to tell what to do next
- Provide expected information when the notification step is completed
- Provide graphics and illustrations of supporting text
As a tech writer, you can't assume that everyone knows the same thing or knows how well you understand the process. Not only do you have to think about what the audience knows, but also how to make them respect the process company.
Orignal From: Technical Writing Exercise - How to make toast
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