Defining Objectives
II +
Appropriateness
In this lecture you will learn to
•Identify the tasks you will help your readers perform while
they read.
•Tell how you want to change the readers’ attitudes.
•Learn your readers’ important characteristics.
•Learn who all your readers will be.
•Fill in a sample worksheet that should be kept in mind when defining
objectives.
•Learn the importance of ‘Appropriateness’ in business
and technical communication.
Guideline 2
Identify the tasks you will help your readers perform while they read.
When you identify the tasks, you are describing the enabling ele ment of
purpose. At a general level all tasks are the same for all readers.
Readers perform tasks of locating, understanding, and using
information in many ways, depending on the situation.
For example Ali’s progress report would be read from front to back by
the vice presidents.
As discussed earlier, not only do readers vary but different reader’s tasks
are helped by different writing strategies.
When writing, part of your aim is to enable your readers to perform their
reading tasks quickly and efficiently.
Example
Consider the example of Ayesha, an engineer employed by a Steel Mill.
Her task is to study two types of furnaces and and present a proposal to
help the upper management decide which one to buy.
She has two options to present the immense amount information she has
gathered.
Divided Pattern
Furnace A
Cost
Efficiency
Construction
Time
Air pollution
Furnace A
Cost
Efficiency
Construction
Time
Air pollution
Alternating Pattern
Cost
Furnace A
Furnace B
Efficiency
Furnace A
Furnace B
Construction Time
Furnace A
Furnace B
Air Pollution
Furnace A
Furnace B
As the information in both the patterns is exactly the same she cannot decide for
herself
which furnace to choose.
But she has produce the results of her study in a manner so that it is
easy for to her superiors to judge the best path.
Should she choose a writing pattern which is easier to write?
But then ease of writing is a writer-centered consideration, not a reader-
centered one. She should choose a alternating pattern keeping in view the
reader-centered approach.
She knows that her readers will surely want to compare the two furnaces
in detail in terms of various criteria they consider important.
Identify the questions your readers will ask.
•Then identify the strategy to answer all these questions.
•Finally identify the ways your readers will use your answers.
Guideline 3
Consider how you want your communication to alter the readers’ attitudes.
Begin by identifying the attitudes you want to alter.
• Sometimes you will want to reinforce an existing attitude.
For example you might aim your presentation so the readers feel
more favorably impressed by your qualifications
At other times you might you might try to reverse an attitude you want your
readers to abandon.
For Example you might want to persuade them to like something they don’t
like.
You might need to persuade them that a problem exists where they feel
that everything is fine.
Finally at times you might need to shape your readers attitude about a subject,
they
haven't thought about seriously.
Tell How you want to change Reader’s attitudes
The way
things are
now
You act
(You
write)
The way
you want
things to be
Your reader is a
manger who
You write a
memo
The manager
decides to buy the
wants to decide
whether or not to
evaluating the
equipment in
equipment and
feels confident
purchase a
certain piece of
equipment
terms of the
benefits it will
bring the
that he has made
the right decision.
company
The way
things are
now
You act
(You
write)
The way
you want
things to be
Your reader is
the director of a
You write a
report on
After reading
your report, the
plant that is
using an
outdated
problems with
the current
plant director
feels that the
process. The
director feels that
process and a ll
ways, they can
process being
used now is
faulty
the process is
fine.
be overcome by
various new
and a new one is
necessary.
processes.
The way
things
are
now
You act
(You
write)
The way
you want
things to be
Your readers are You write a The bank clerks
bank clerks who procedure feel relaxed and
will be using the manual that self-confident
computer system. shows how easy after learning how
They are afraid if it is to use the to use the new
the new system new system. system from your
and are therefore procedure manual.
reluctant to use
them
Guideline 4
Identify and learn about your readers’ important characteristics.
You might want to think of your readers in terms of the following three roles.
• Decision Makers
• Advisors
• Implementers
Learn your reader’s important characteristics.
Decision makers
The decision makers role is to say how the organization, or some part, will
act when confronted with a particular situation.
Advisors
Advisors provide information and advice for the decision makers.
Implementers
Implementers carry out the decisions that have been made.
Familiarity with your topic
•Your readers’ familiarity with your topic will determine the amount
of background information you will need to make you communication
understandable to your audience.
•Keep in mind that people unfamiliar to your topic will also want you to
explain how the information relates to them.
Preferred Communication Style
• Most people have preferences concerning the style of communication
they read.
• To a certain extent the peoples’ communication preferences are
shaped by the customary practices in the organization that employ
them.
• Information style may vary from the simple prose writing to
illustration with tables, graphs and charts etc.
Special Factors
•Each reader is unique, so you should be on the outlook
for special reader characteristics you would not normally need
to consider.
•For example you might be facing an individual who detests certain
words, insists on
phrasing certain statement etc.
•sometimes you will also need to consider the settings in which
your reader will be reading.
How to Consolidate Information about Readers
•You must consolidate all information in the same way that
will let keep the key points about your audience in mind as you
write.
•Remember, you should view the key points not merely as list
of facts but as a
dynamic resource you can use to guide you as you
perform rest of your writing
tasks.
Guideline 5
Learn who all your readers will be.
•Phantom readers
•Future Readers
•Complex Readers
Phantom Readers
•In some situations most important readers may be hidden from you.
•Written communications addressed to one person are used by others.
•These real but unnamed readers are called phantom readers.
Future Readers
While identifying your readers you should keep in mind the
possibility that your communication may be used weeks, months or
even years from now.
Worksheet
Defining Objectives
Overall Purpose
What are you writing?
What prompts you to
write?
What outcome do you desire?
Reader Profile
Who is the primary reader?
What is the reader’s relationship to you?
What are your reader’s job title and
responsibilities? Who else might read your
communication?
How familiar is the reader with your communication?
How familiar is the reader with your specialty?
Does your reader have communication
preferences? How familiar is the reader with
your communication?
How familiar is the reader with your specialty?
Does your reader have communication preferences?
Readers Information Needs
What are the key questions your reader will ask while reading?
How will your reader search for answers?
Sequential reading from beginning to end
Selective reading, only looking for key terms.
Other (Explain)
How will the reader use the information you provide?
Compare point by point (What will be the points of comparison)
Attempt to determine how the information you provide will affect him
Attempt to determine how the information you provide will affect the
organization
Follow instructions step by step
Other (Explain)
Readers Attitude
What is the reader’s attitude towards your
subject? What is the reader’s attitude towards
you?
Worksheet
Defining Objective
Overall Purpose
What are you writing?
A proposal that our Software Company Adam Soft, should assign the international
projects to most reliable engineers.
What prompts you to write?
I think this way we would complete foreign projects promptly and build company’s
credibility.
What outcome do you desire?
I would like the new method to be put to affect as soon as possible.
Reader Profile
Who is the primary reader?
Ms. Zahra Saeed
What is the reader’s relationship to you?
We see each other daily, but still have a formal relationship.
What are your reader’s job title and responsibilities?
She is the Head of the project assignment committee for Adam Soft.
Who else might read your communication?
Mr. Omair Hafeez and Mr. Khawaja Usman,, Miss Zahra’s chief assistants.
How familiar is the reader with your communication?
She is the head of the present system of assigning. She has used the current system for
3 years. She doesn’t know that I am proposing an alternative.
How familiar is the reader with your specialty?
Very familiar.
Does your reader have communication preferences?
She likes all the communications to be “business like”.
Readers Information Needs
What are the key questions your reader will ask while reading?
What makes you think that something is wrong with the present system?
What will be the criteria for selecting the appropriate engineer for a particular project?
How exactly would the new system work?
What would I have to do differently?
How will your reader search for answers?
Yes
Sequential reading from beginning to end
Yes
Selective reading, only looking for key terms.
Other (Explain)
She would probably skip through it, but would later read it from front to back
How will the reader use the information you provide?
Yes Compare point by point (What will be the points of comparison)
Yes Attempt to determine how the information you provide will affect him
Yes Attempt to determine how the information you provide will affect the
organization
Yes Follow instructions step by step
Other (Explain)
She would compare the current system with mine in terms of cost speed and
efficiency.
Readers Attitude
What is the reader’s attitude towards your subject?
She is not in favor of the new system, she thinks that it will create competition among
the new employers.
What is the reader’s attitude towards you?
She thinks of me as a novice.
Revision
Guidelines
Identifying the Readers by
Role
Identifying the Readers by
Type
Decision
Makers
Advisors
Implementers
Phantom
Readers Future
Readers
Appropriateness
Make your document appropriate to your goals in writing it, your
audience's purpose
in reading it, and the specific institutional contexts in
which it is written and read.
Because a reader's knowledge or experience determines the level of
comprehension
of technical material, appropriateness is largely
determined by your audience.
For example, a fact expressed in a mathematical equation may not be
effective in a report addressed to a managerial audience.
All technical writing should also be appropriate to the specific
institutional context that motivated its creation.
It should not only serve the writer's and the reader's purposes but also
conform to the goals and conventions of the institution in which it
exists.
Institutional goals and conventions are sometimes clear and explicit.
For example, in large companies, the specific goals of various documents,
as well as the preferred form and style, are often described in company
correspondence and style manuals.
•Although the context is not always clearly delineated, it always can be
worked out.
•Class work should be done within the context of the goals of the class
as well as the specific assignment.
•Research reports should conform to the general goals and specific
conventions of
the scientific or technical community in which they are created.
Style Guides
Style guides are widely used in the professions and in organizations to
achieve a uniform document look by identifying formal requirements for
document appearance.
They are task-oriented documents in the sense that they provide definite
instructions for preparing a document.
In style guides, instructions are generally provided for numerous document
elements, including most of the following:
•Page formats (title page and sample page with headers or footers)
•Numbering systems (page, graphics, sections)
•Headings and subheadings
•Graphics elements
•Usage
•Punctuation and mechanics
•Document packaging
For many documents, it is a good idea to identify a standard of style so
that you achieve consistency of style.
Consistency is important, not only because it genuinely improves the
reader's ability to understand your material, but also because it gives the
reader confidence in your ability to assert control over detail.
In this lecture you learnt to
•
Identify the tasks you will help your readers perform while they read.
•Tell how you want to change the readers’ attitudes.
•Learn your readers’ important characteristics.
•Learn who all your readers will be.
•Fill in a sample worksheet that should be kept in mind when defining
objectives.
•Learn the importance of ‘Appropriateness’ in business and technical
communication.
Accuracy, Clarity, Conciseness and Coherence
In this lecture you will learn
The importance of
- Accuracy
-Clarity
-Conciseness
-Coherence
Characteristics of Effective Technical
Communication
Learn to recognize and cultivate the qualities of effective technical
communication.
Good technical communication is
• accurate
• clear
• concise
• coherent
• appropriate
In the prose of science and technology, these qualities are sometimes
difficult to achieve.
Not only do science and technology depend heavily on specialized
concepts and terminologies, but they also make extensive use of
numbers and g raphics.
Consider the example on the next page.
The flow of electrical current can induce the migration of impurities or other
defects through the bulk of a solid. This process is called electromigration. In
simple electromigration, the force on the defect is thought to have two
components. The first component is the force created by direct interaction
between the effective charge of the defect and the electric field that drives the
current. The second component, called the "wind force," is the force caused
by the scattering of electrons at the defect.
(--J.A. Stroscio and D.M. Eigler, "Atomic and Molecular Manipulation
with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope," Science)
The preceding example is accurate in two ways.
•It is stylistically accurate in its precise use of language.
•It is technically accurate in its use of specialized terms technical
terms such as electromigration, charge, electric field, and scattering,
whose meanings are based in the context of a technical discipline.
Both kinds of accuracy-
- accuracy of phrasing and
-accuracy of technical concept
are of first importance in technical and professional writing.
The example is also clear because it is written in simple, direct sentences.
Although the technical context is the highly specialized realm of theoretical and
applied nanotechnology, the sentence syntax--word order--is restrained and
structurally very simple.
Part of this clarity is achieved by the rhetorical device of defining a
term,electromigration.
The example is concise in its use of a minimum of words to express the
basic idea of electromigration.
It is not wordy, and it does not digress from the point being made.
The example is coherent because it develops its subject matter in an easy-to-
follow line of thinking. The sentences are further linked by referents such as
"this process," "the first component," and "the second component."
Finally, the example is appropriate to its purpose of presenting a general
description of the process of electromigration, and to its audience,
educated readers of Science, who are not necessarily experts in the field
of nanotechnology.
What is accuracy and why is it important?
Accuracy
Cultivate accuracy in your writing.
Accuracy, which is the careful conforming to truth or fact, has three main
aspects:
•Document Accuracy
•Stylistic Accuracy
•Technical Accuracy
What is document Accuracy and why is it important?
Document accuracy refers to the proper coverage of your topics in
appropriate detail.
Often an accurate document needs to focus clearly on a problem.
Document accuracy is generally cultivated by a clear problem sta tement and
by a
preliminary outline.
These writing tools help you focus your writing effort by reducing your
data in a way that solves a theoretical or practical problem.
What is Stylistic Accuracy and why is it important?
Stylistic accuracy concerns the careful use of language to express meaning.
Accurate language requires the careful use of paragraph and sentence
structure and word choice to describe and analyze your topics effectively.
As a writer, you gain command of accuracy by studying the elements of
style and by learning to apply those elements to your drafting, revising,
editing, and proofreading. Stylistic accuracy is also a matter of of using
words precisely.
What is technical accuracy and why is it important?
Technical accuracy requires stylistic accuracy but is not based solely on it.
The effective document in science and technology must be grounded in a
technically accurate understanding and representation of the subject.
Technical accuracy depends on the writer's conceptual mastery of the
subject and its vocabulary, as well as on his or her ability to analyze and
shape data with a minimum of distortion.
In science and technology, enormous creative energy is given to
mastering this technical aspect of subject development.
What is Clarity and why is it important?
Clarity
Strive for clarity in your writing.
Clarity, which refers to ease of understanding, is a special problem in
technical and professional writing.
Specialized languages, mathematically detailed analyses, and complex
conceptual schemes can make technical subjects hard to grasp even
when prepared by skilled writers and read by expert readers.
You can increase the clarity of your material in following ways.
•Structural Clarity
•Stylistic Clarity
•Contextual Clarity
What is Structural Clarity and why is it important ?
At the level of the whole document, you can promote structural clarity,
making it easy for the reader to get the large picture.
Use abstracts and other forecasting strategies such as introductions that
state the purpose and scope of the document.
How can you promote structural clarity?
•Tables of contents, problem statements, and even strategic repetition
also promote structural clarity.
•Graphs and tables, effectively designed and placed, help focus
and clarify information.
•Descriptive titles and frequent subject headings guide readers and help
keep the
large picture in focus.
What is meant by Stylistic Clarity and why is it important?
•Stylistic clarity is promoted by simple, direct language.
•Simplicity in language is obtained with directly worded sentences.
•Using simple sentences and avoiding overloaded sentences and
excessive normalization also contribute to clarity.
•Word choice is a factor in stylistic clarity: use simple language wherever
possible to
counteract the abstract, highly specialized terms of science and technology.
What is meant by Contextual Clarity
?
Contextual clarity, in which the importance, authorization, and
implications of your work are made available, also contributes to ease
of understanding.
All work has a context, and your readers want to understand what the
context of your document is.
•What prompts you to write?
•What is your purpose?
•Whose work precede has influenced yours?
•What is the organizational and intellectual context of your problem?
You answer those questions in introductions and problem statements and
in your citations and other references.
What is ‘Conciseness’ and why is it important ?
Conciseness
Learn the strategies of conciseness.
Conciseness has a special value in technical fields.
Writers are often tempted to include everything that could be relevant to
their subject, rather than merely everything that is relevant to the
communication task at hand. The concise document is a piece of writing
that conveys only the needed material.
At the level of the whole document, conciseness is helped most by focus, the
narrowing of document scope to a manageable problem and response.
Preparing a clear introduction and developing a detailed outline are two
strategies that give you control over document length and scope.
•Identify and eliminate material that is not necessary to support your
claims.
•Look for sections, including appendixes, that are not essential to your
work.
•
Graphics are powerful aids to conciseness because they cut down on
the
amount of prose necessary to describe objects and processes,
sum marize data, and demonstrate relationships.
How do you make your document more concise?
Conciseness requires careful revising.
Become familiar with the strategies for reducing wordiness.
Look for ways of cutting useless words, sentences, and sections from the
document.
What is coherence and why is it important?
Coherence
Look for ways to improve the coherence of your writing.
Coherence is the quality of hanging together, of providing the reader an easily
followed path.
Writers promote coherence by making their material logically and
stylistically consistent, and by organizing and expressing their ideas
in specific patterns.
Efforts to emphasize the relationships among the elements of a document
strengthen its impact. Coherence can dramatically improve the reader's
ability to understand your material by promoting its flow or readability.
Coherence is especially valued in technical communication and writing because
of the inherent complexity of the subjects.
At the level of the whole document, coherence helps to provide the larger
picture, in which the connections among the parts of the document are
made clear by the writer.
Give readers a roadmap to help them anticipate the content of your work.
•Abstracts
•clear titles
•introductions
•problem statements
all promote coherence by linking various parts of a piece of
writing. The paragraph is one of the most powerful
instruments of coherence.
By organizing material into a topic sentence and supporting sentences,
paragraphs
pull together material and emphasize various forms of
conceptual development.
Paragraph development is achieved partly through the specific strategies of
•exemplification
•analysis
•comparison and contrast
•definition
•enumeration
•description
All of which furnish distinct approaches to developing ideas.
Transitional devices also operate at the paragraph level to provide links
between sentences and between paragraphs.
Enumeration
•Use enumeration in paragraphs when you want to itemize or list a set of
topics or a series of some kind.
•Enumeration is a powerful way to establish a series of observations and to
emphasize each element.
•In the following paragraph, the items are enumerated in a series
of itemized recommendations.
Have your blood cholesterol measured if you've never had it done. Finger-prick tests at
health fairs and other public places are generally fairly accurate, especially if they're
offered by a hospital or other reputable health group. When you know your"number,"
follow these guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program:
•If your cholesterol is under 200 mg/dl, maintain a healthy
lifestyle-- including eating a low-fat diet, getting regular exercise,
maintaining a health body weight, and not smoking--and get another
test within five years.
•If your cholesterol is between 200 and 239 mg/dl, have a second
test performed and average the results. If that number falls in the
same range, and if you do have any form of cardiovascular disease,
change your diet to improve your cholesterol. In addition, eliminate
any other risk factors you have and get tested again in about one
year.
•If your cholesterol is 240 mg/dl or more, your physician should
order a more detailed cholesterol analysis and recommend therapy
based on the results. You should begin a cholesterol-improving diet
immediately.
Exemplification
Use exemplification paragraphs to provide instances that clarify your topic
statement.
In the following paragraph, the topic sentence is supported in examples
that illustrate, support, and clarify the main point.
Vitamins and minerals can be added to enrich (replace nutrients lost in
processing) or fortify (add nutrients not normally present) foods to improve
their nutritional quality. Bread sand cereals are usually enriched with some B
vitamins and iron. Common examples of fortification include the addition of
vitamin D to milk, vitamin A to margarine, vitamin C to fruit drinks, calcium to
orange juice, and iodide to table salt.
(--P. Insel and W. Roth, Core Concepts in Health)
Comparison and Contrast
Use comparison and contrast to develop a topic by examining its similarities or
dissimilarities to another thing, process, or state.
Comparison emphasizes the similarities, contrast the differences.
A paragraph may use both comparison and contrast. In the followi ng example,
two kinds of electrical cable are compared.
The aim here is to convey the superiority of A over B for two categories of
performance.
Coaxial vs. Fiber-Optic Cable:
Comparative Cable-Length
Performances
For a number of critical performance characteristics, fiber-optic cable offers
considerable advantages over standard coaxial cables. The most obvious
distinction between the two is the great bandwidth-distance capacity of fibers.
The high-frequency capacity of coaxial cables decreases rapidly with increased
length, but the bandwidth of a commercial fiber-optic system will remain constant
with length. A commercial fiber-optic system like that of Artel, remains constant
for a bandwidth over a distance of 4,000 ft, wh ile three different sizes of coaxial
cable rapidly drop in less than half the distance.
(--Artel Communications Corporation, "Fiber Optics in RGB Color
Computer Graphics Communications," Application Note CG-1)
Transitional Words and Phrases
Use transitional words and phrases to clarify and smooth the movement from
idea to idea.
Weak
Reducing drag in an aerospace vehicle is an important design consideration
with financial and operational consequences. Poorly designed rocket
fuselage scan triple fuel and launch costs. Drag increases stress on key
joints. This proposed project will develop a model to reduce aerodynamic
drag on theRX100.
Improved
Reducing drag in an aerospace vehicle is an important design consideration.
For example, poorly designed rocket fuselages can triple fuel and launch costs.
Moreover,
drag increases stress on key joints. Therefore, this proposed
project
will
develop
a
model to reduce aerodynamic drag on the RX100.
In this lecture you learnt
The importance of
•Accuracy
•Clarity
•Conciseness
•Coherence
