Technical writing
T.J
2SAMPLEAssignment2AnalysisofUserManual.docxWord count = 500 excluding the yellow heighted text.
SAMPLE
Date: January 1, 2015
To: Dr. Nitaigour Premchand Mahalik
Name: Your Name
Assignment 2 – Analysis of a User Manual
The objective of this assignment is to analyze a user manual and determine the document’s intended audience. The manual for a GE Microwave Oven, a household appliance, was chosen. The manual has been written to provide the user with basic usage instructions and quick access to safety information. Consumer support contact information is also listed in case of problems.
Body:
Apparently, we can distinguish three types of user audiences: technical, non-technical, and both. The former and latter expect the answers to three questions in a document: (i) the 'What?', (ii) the 'How?', and (iii) the 'Why?'. On the other hand, the second type of audience expects the answer only to the first and second question – the ‘What?’ and ‘How?’ Consequently, a manual for non-technical users contains instructions for general usage of the device, while a manual for a technical audience also includes in-depth specifications and scientific principles of the devices and sub-units.
The GE Microwave Oven manual is classified into the non-technical category based on analysis of its component corpus: (i) topical content, (ii) organization, (iii) word choice, and (iv) sentence structure.
· The table of contents gives an overview of the topical content of the document. The main headings cover Operating Instructions, Care and Cleaning, and Consumer Support. Thus, usage and basic maintenance are covered in greater detail. The user is asked to contact Consumer Support in case of problems. The user is removed from all technical aspects.
· The topics are organized such that the most important information such as safety and basic operation is presented first, while other, less usage-oriented information such as cleaning, warranty, and troubleshooting tips is covered later. Each section is a self-contained unit. References outside a section are not made to keep the flow straightforward. The text is written in large font for accessibility; warnings and notes are boldfaced. Food-specific information is presented in tables while instructions are bulleted.
· The 40-page manual does not use or describe a technical term throughout. The document’s wording uses simple English style almost exclusively and avoids technical vocabulary. Where such terms are necessary, definitions, and diagrams accompany the term to clarify the meaning. Diagrams detailing usage also accompany each subtopic in the Operating Instructions section.
· Analysis of the word choice leads directly up the hierarchy to sentence structure. The document’s text has succinct sentences with average lengths of 5-7 words for the instructions and 10-15 words for the explanations. The short length is coupled with small paragraphs of 2-3 sentences to provide concise information.
Conclusions:
Based on the table of contents, straightforward organization, lack of inter-section references, plain English syntax, and concise sentence structure, clearly the manual is intended for a non-technical audience. Scientific principles of microwaves are not covered in the short document. Technical terms are not commonly used and in the rare instance when they are necessary, the terms are defined explicitly. Detailed diagrams accompany each instruction set. Notes and warnings are presented in the margins for quicker sighting. The manual answers the 'What?' and to certain extent ‘How?’ questions with the instructions on basic usage and maintenance but it avoids the 'Why?' by sidestepping the scientific principles and technical specifications of the microwave oven, it is intended for general-use consumers.
