I'm discovering that while i know seemingly exactly how to do the task i am writing instructions for, i am still struggling slightly. For me the ultimate problem, i think, is truly defining the audience. I don't know quite how much background/teaching to include. If i assume a very skilled audience then its easy but most likely i'm dealing with an audience somewhere between beginner and expert and that a broad range to write instructions for.
The other major issue i have come across is simply writing down every action that goes into the process. Certain movements or thoughts i take for granted while i'm acting out the task must now be clearly and concisely communicated to the reader.
My task is one that i essentially learned how to do by simply doing it, normally that makes the instructions easier but in this instance it means going through the process several times and identifying exactly what is needed and in which order; eliminating my own learning curve from the instruction set is proving more difficult than i had initially thought.
Anyone else running into similar issues?
Seems kinda silly but this little assignment is really grinding my gears lol
I am having similar problems defining my audience. Writing for a general audience with no experience seems too daunting of a task while a very well informed audience seems too easy. Finding a good median is what I am after but its hard to know what information to exclude. What I consider fundamental knowledge might not be to everyone. Hopefully we'll figure out how much to include.
ReplyDeleteIve been grinding a few gears my self with trying to balance the depth to go in my instructions. Since my topic is covered in the civil engineering curriculum, I am trying to write it assuming the readers have taken the class, and have a firm conceptual grasp of the topic, however I am also trying to address an unskilled person who might have to perform the test in the field and might or might not have gone to college. Its definitely a challenge, but perhaps with enough two syllable words and pictures I can bridge that gap.
ReplyDeleteI had the same issue with audience. But I thought about the people that would actually use the instructions and decided to relate to a more experienced audience.
ReplyDeleteNice background by the way.