Advanced Technical Writing

Hi guys,

First of all, great job on that video – you’ve put togetether a clear and well thought out tutotial so I had no problem following your instructions. If I were to make sutble changes to the video I would:
1. Eliminate the transition at (0:34) when the narrator is describing the type of paper needed. I feel video transitions should emphisize logical transitions (the model you clearly follow in the rest of the video) so the one at 0:34 feels a bit out of place.
2. Revise the narration to match the camera (viewer’s) perspective. “We are going to come up here to our second rectangle” (2:19) – says the narrator, yet his hands are moving down. Again, just a minor detail.
3. Show how to cut out the tissue opening. I feel that cutting this opening out with scissors might be a bit challenging. Since you’ve listed no paper knife among the required items, I would actually show how to do that.
4. Rework the “putting togeteher” part to show the finished box actually holding togeher to assure the viewers that the tutorial does accomplish what it intends to.

Again, great job overall!

If I was writing a step by step guide I would first do the paper plane by myself. I would record myself and attempt to describe everything I am doing. I would try to include close-ups of difficult parts or different angles in a picture in picture manner if necessary.  Once I feel confident that everything is explained correctly, then I would use my family or some friends as volunteers and present the guide to them and see if they can follow along. I would encourage them to ask questions after a number of steps to make sure the are still paying attention and there’s no confusion. Finally, I would encourage them to ask me any questions at the end and if they have any recommendations to improve the instructions.  Giving them a survey to complete after the instruction ends is a good way of getting their feedback and saving it for later reference.

When the class was first given the task our group took a few minutes to discuss somewhat of a game plan.  There were a lot of questions we had since professor Gold was ambiguous about what he wanted.  We gathered around the tissue box to continue our brainstorming.  It was difficult at times because there was some confusion as to what was necessary when recreating the box. Dimensions? Designs? Plastic?  We created a diagram of what the cardboard cut out of our box should look like.  Because we had such a large group we were able to have some people continue working on design plans while others built prototype boxes.  We had someone taking notes as we came up with step by step instructions and needed material.  Eventually, based off of one of our prototype boxes we knew exactly what we needed and how we would the design of our box.  We exchanged email addresses and agreed to meet up on Monday to create our box while providing step by step instruction through an instructional video.  Pictures seemed like a nice method for communicating but some of the steps were too complex and likely to leave a viewer lost.  A video provides audio and visual help so viewers could follow along with what we did with less confusion.

This assignment allowed us to work as a team and show us our own strength and weaknesses. At first we didn’t know what the approach was to building this simple looking tissue box. But once we started gathering around the table where it was placed all of us came up with different ideas and what we needed to finish this task. I think it was a great experience working together as a group.

I helped examining the box. Me and Marc drew the outline of the box. I ran off and asked around the floor for scissors, cut the box out and we all glued it together. If was a fun and highly collaborative experience.

Our group project was to build a tissue box and work as a group to get it done. My roles in our group project was to observe what was being done and complete the steps that were taken to make the box. I did my observation and wrote down all the steps i believe we took to make the box and made a list. I also help to execute the box when we built it.

Marc – Engineering/Design/Execution
Dmitry – Execution
Samantha – Execution/Note taking
Lesean – Photography
Soriba – Supply management
Carol Ann – Note taking/Advisement
Mickel – Assisting/Observing