Chapter 21: Preparing Instructions and Manuals
In some ways instructions and manuals are my personal starting point in technical communication. I was always interested in putting things together and making them work. I enjoyed agricultural processes like making hay or raising livestock. In 4-H club I learned to keep records and follow instructions.
Instructions, particularly bilingual or multilingual instructions, interest me. I collect examples for my students to learn from. Burnett has some examples on pp. 784 and 785.
Even when I am on a trip to Itasca, the Mississippi headwaters, I like to take note of and collect instructions (even implied instructions--Don't start fires-- as in the third paragraph on this sign at Preachers Grove.)
Instructions, particularly bilingual or multilingual instructions, interest me. I collect examples for my students to learn from. Burnett has some examples on pp. 784 and 785.
Even when I am on a trip to Itasca, the Mississippi headwaters, I like to take note of and collect instructions (even implied instructions--Don't start fires-- as in the third paragraph on this sign at Preachers Grove.)
Writing instructions has become a large part of our profession now as well, with the rise of the hardware and software industries. Many graduates in technical communication find employment writing online help for software or for web applications.
In Chapter 21 Burnett gives us an overview of this part of technical communication field. If you do get a job as a technical writer, you'll find useful information here.
posted by Lee S. Tesdell at 11:53 AM
1 Comments:
I am the type of person that likes to follow instructions perfectly, so I don't make mistakes. But like Tim's experience, I have also had times where figuring out the instructions was almost more work than just figuring out how to assemble things myself. I have always been a bit intrigued by instructions that don't make any sense, and find myself thinking about how I would have written them differently if I had created the document. (Maybe that means I'd be a good technical writer!)
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