I already admitted I’m behind, so we’ll simply focus on Instruction Manuals this week (and I hope you don’t try to do pb&j!) This week is about taking a look at Instruction Manuals, and starting to get a feel for what you might want to do. The assignments are therefore pretty simple. Again, use this time to catch up, work on revising your 500-word summary, and check for my feedback on the Expanded Definition on Monday 3/14.

I’m putting the Instruction Manual assignment below. But the idea is to pick something you know how to do really well, and then create a manual to teach someone else how to do it — text plus images or even video!

Next week, I’ll have you do an analysis of a couple of instruction manuals you like, so take this week to go cruise around and find some. Yes, I mean Google.

For example, I Googled “how to make biscuits from scratch” and turned up written recipes, YouTube videos, even one on how to make biscuits in Minecraft! So you have the whole world to choose from!

This week, it’s all about figuring out what you want to make a manual for, looking at some examples of instruction manuals for that thing (you’ll be working with them next week), and reading about what makes effective instruction manuals.

Here are the assignments:

  • Mon 3/14:
    • Perusall: Read and annotate “Overview of Writing Instructions.”
    • Padlet: After you decide what you might do for your instruction manual, drop that idea on this Padlet and include an image about it. The image doesn’t have to be the thing you’re making, but it should relate. Comment on any you see that you like.
  • Thur 3/16:
    • OpenLab: Do a 5-10 minute search for instruction manuals. Look at different kinds. Then create a new post where you talk about what found — what was weird, what was interesting, what maybe gives you some ideas about what you could do. If you want to link out or add images, feel free, but that’s not required. Category: Manual search

Instruction Manual Assignment

There are obviously all kinds of instruction manuals, each one directed toward specific audiences and specific purposes… and specific rhetorical situations. Here’s a look at some of them. https://medium.com/level-up-web/types-of-manuals-43ba2018f209

But they all generally boil down to one thing: step by step directions rendered in alphabetic text or images or a combination of both, or these days even as interactive texts. And getting those steps right — enough detail, orderly layout, audience-friendly — is what we’ll be playing with in this assignment.

The assignment: You will create a short instruction manual designed to teach someone how to do something you know how to do well. The instruction manual will include graphics as well as text. It will also be accompanied by a brief introductory memo explaining the target audience and the process you went through to get it made.

Procedure: This sounds harder than it is. Here’s the way to go about it:

  1. Think of something you do really really well. For me, I can make biscuits from scratch when I’m half asleep. Maybe you can knit, or tune a car, go through a weight-training circuit, repot plants or grow vegetables from seed, install a piece of software, build a kid’s Lego house… anything.
  2. Do that thing and write down each step as you do it.
  3. Take accompanying pictures to visually demonstrate the process.
  4. Decide who your target audience is (kids, computer engineers, your best friend, etc.)
  5. Create your manual. I say “manual” but it can be an infographic manual, a video manual, an interactive manual, a booklet manual. We’ll look at some examples and some programs to help you create your manual.
  6. Give your manual to someone and have them do what you’re teaching them.
    • Have that person use your manual to build/do the thing, and ask them to keep notes about what happens: what works, what’s confusing, what just crashed and burned. Ask them to write up a set of notes for you about all of that.
    • OR watch them while they build/do what you’re instructing, and take notes as they work.
  7. Revise your manual based on the feedback and/or things you saw.
  8. Write an introductory memo explaining who the audience was meant to be, what you did to create the manual, what your reviewer told you, and how you changed it.
  9. Upload both the revised manual and the memo to the Google Drive.

There are a bazillion templates for creating manuals that you can find by Googling (we’ll look at some starting Week Seven), so feel free to use them. And if you want to do something interactive, feel free. Get creative. Have fun. Check the Weekly Unit schedule for specific assignments.

You’ll be graded on:

  • User-friendliness — how easy it is for a user to follow your instruction.
  • Complete set of steps in logical order — this can be bullet points or numbers, or some other way of organizing, but it should make sense.
  • Use of images — you can use images or video, or create an infographic or booklet.
  • Overall visual impact — this goes hand-in-hand with user friendliness but is about the manual as a whole rather than the step-by-step mechanics.
  • Introductory memo — this is a reflection about what happened when you did your manual. Who was your intended audience? Why did you choose the format you did (static images, video, interactive piece, infographic, etc.)? What problems did you have creating it? How did the usability testing go (giving it to someone else to see if they can follow the steps)? What did you have to revise? How well do you think it worked?