For Suraya

2950 Project: Instructional Manual

This 3-part project will contain a job description, an object description and set of instructions that are dependent upon each other; they do not involve separate things or events. In other words, if you describe an Ohms meter, the instructions must be for how to use that Ohms meter, and the job must involve using that Ohms meter. The manual you will develop will be small and will not cover everything that could be done for the job but it will contain three substantive sections.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Note that this type of description is not covered in the course textbook.

There are two styles of description that most disciplines use. Job descriptions list activities, responsibilities or duties that need to be performed, but do not identify step-by-step how to perform them. These are not meant to read as advertisements for jobs; rather, this list is what the employee would read after being hired which would list the duties and/or responsibilities related to the job, not how to do them.

It is usually easier to pick the object first, and then tailor the job to the object. If you cannot think of a job related to the object, there is always the job of quality control tester.

Two partial examples of job descriptions are posted below.

One style of job description is paragraphed similar to this one:

Responsibilities of the first aid instructor

1. It is the individual instructor's responsibility to design curricula and tests appropriate to

course materials. Curriculum design must be within Red Cross standards. Some courses,

such as introductory courses, must use identical texts and standardized course designs in

order to guarantee uniformity. Dramatic changes in the core curriculum of these courses

must be approved by the director at least two weeks prior to implementing those changes.

All tests must be given and graded according to Red Cross standards.

2. The instructor must pre-order all texts and supplies necessary for each course. Order dates

are forwarded for each class (from the secretary). It is advisable to order a few extra sets for

late enrollees. Forms are available in the office. Typically students will pay in advance for the texts and the instructor only needs to check off the names as he/she is handing out the texts. If a person late-adds the course as is not on the list, that person will hand you cash or a check before the presentation begins. Use the instructor’s packet envelope to keep the check/cash because it is reseal-able. All unused materials should be returned in one bundle.

3. Arrive at least a half hour before the scheduled class and set up classroom. Tables and chairs are pre-set but practice dummies, practice devices and materials, and video/broadcast media units may not be out and prepped.

or a different style of job description could be packaged like this one:

Cashier’s Closing Activities

Before clocking out at end of each day, the cashier must complete this list of activities:

1. Tidy the area around the register and put any items that need re-shelving into the return bins. Make sure bags, pads, pens, and other materials are available. Leave a note for the person who will open the next day that points out what needs to be restocked prior to opening.

2. Review any notes left by the manager for any additional tasks to accomplish prior to the end of day. Finish any undone tasks for the day that can be completed in under 15 minutes.

3. Replace the register tape if it is showing the pink and green end of roll lines.

4. After all customers have been locked out of the area, run the register tape and close the register for the night. Deliver the register contents to the “bag room” and complete the closing process.

5. Count and “bag” a new opening till for the next day's business. Have the supervisor decide what to do if you cannot leave one $20, five $10’s, three $5’s and fifty $1’s in the slots. If there are rolled coins remaining, bag two rolls of quarters, one roll of dimes, two rolls of nickels, and two rolls of pennies in the pouch and place the pouch in the slot normally used for checks/credit card slips. If no rolled coin or not enough rolled coins are available, have the supervisor decide what to do. Check off the amounts on the slip of paper in the bag and leave the slip in the bag with the coins. If the till, the bag or both are not complete, then put an orange sticky note on the bag that lists what is not complete.

6. Once the supervisor signs off on the next-day’s till, total and record all money remaining money from that register. If the count matches the end of day read out slip, fill out form A-1. If the count is short, fill out form A-2; if it is long, fill out form A-3. Be sure the money is signed for before you sign out for the day. Total all paperwork transactions in the till (each type has its own entry column on the closing sheet).Record the totals on the end of day report sheet. Turn all money and materials in to the accounting window with the other materials.

7. Clock out.

Some duties and responsibilities need elaboration in moderate paragraphs while others are better done in numbered lists of shorter sentence clusters. Often, a job description combines these two presentation techniques. Above all, the job description is not an advertisement for a job opening in a person's career or field; it does not identify the personal qualities a person doing the job needs.

Assume, for this manual, that you hold the job connected with the process that you will explain in the instructions section. You are going on an overseas project for nine months and someone else is taking your place. You must leave behind this job description so the replacement person will know what his/her salary demands of him/her. Assume also that the complete manual you are leaving is much larger and would include more objects with more sets of instructions, but the part you’re writing for this assignment is one coherent section involving this particular object which is vital to your job.

For the purposes of this assignment, this job description must do one of two things:

(1) detail all the activities and duties that the person assuming your position would encounter in an average day (or week, or month) on the job, or (2) detail all of the activities involved in using the particular mechanical object(s) related to your set of instructions, in its entirety. In your job description you may assume that the person who will read your description is NOT familiar with this specific position or this specific brand and model of the equipment, but he/she is adequately familiar with the technology.

The job description should fill at least three-fourths to one whole page in length with information on a typical 8.5 x 11” piece of paper when printed.

OBJECT DESCRIPTION

Write a brief, objective description of one piece of equipment that is used in a multi-step operation. Selecting an object that is related to your field of study or current workplace makes your task easier because you can see it while you are describing it. Do not select something so large or complex that you will have to write a mega-page manual to describe it. Do not select something incredibly simple, such as a pencil. If possible, have the object itself or a picture of it with you as you write. The object must be used in the process that you provide instructions for. You do not want to include something that involves other machines which you must also describe in order for the information to be understood. Name a specific brand and model of the object; do not try to do a description of the generic “thing” (such as “a microwave typically has dials on the upper right-hand corner . . .” and so forth). Be specific.

Refer to Markel’s suggestions regarding which type of description is appropriate to the object you have selected. Remember that you are asked for an object description, not a process description . Rely also on the checklists and guidelines in that chapter. Be sure that you are clarifying for your audience, just what the object looks like –not how it operates. Include diagrams or drawings if they help the reader but do not rely solely on pictures for the description. Create the object description as a separate “page” of the project file. This description should be on its own page in the manual file.

INSTRUCTIONS SECTION

Select a multi‑step operation. The PROCESS that you select should not be excessively complicated nor should it be excessively short (look for something around 12 to 15 steps). Try to limit the process to one piece of equipment – the one in the description. Use Markel’s advice for help.

It can be a complete or partial process. (The complete process of gardening would be from the initial planting to the tilling under after the harvest. A partial process would be the planting process alone.) The process can be of any one type – repairing, cleaning, operating, and so forth; however, if there are not enough steps to demonstrate mastery of the technique, you may have to include two sets of steps (such as how to operate it and how to clean it). Note that you are not doing a process description – you are doing a set of instructions – a “how to do it” set of steps. It can be how to operate the object, how to clean it, or how to repair it.

Know well the steps involved in completing the process you select. Begin by itemizing the steps. Check to see that any warnings or cautions are duly inserted BEFORE the next step in which injury could occur. (For example, if you had been giving jump-start instructions for an automotive battery, you should have told the person to avoid letting the positive touch the negative cable before that person could harm him‑ or herself.) Notes inserted to improve productivity can be inserted after the step is ended but before moving on to the next step.

Use imperative verb forms. Make sure the steps are in the proper sequence and that none are missing. Provide visuals or other supportive aids as necessary--such as examples that show how to do it correctly--if necessary. Do not embed or link videos.

Group all of the information for a step group closely together, but isolate each step as one unit. Do not concentrate on explaining what some object is for or what it is; instead, focus on how to operate it, or use it, or fix it, or clean it, etc. This section should be about a page to page-and-a-half in length.

You may add pictures alongside any of the steps to help clarify the actions within the steps but those are not mandatory. (Using jpeg, gif and such files can create very large documents which be difficult to upload and download, even if zipped.)

All three pieces of this assignment will be in the same file. The first section should contain the job description (one page), the second section of the file should contain the object description (one page) and the last section should contain the instructions (one to one-and-a-half page(s)). Please do not add a title page for the object.

If you use an online or print version of an instructions manual for any part of your manual (including a graphic image), you should use APA format for the citation and place the citation after the instructions section. For this file, the citation does not need to be on a separate page.

Project due: June 4, prior to 11:59 p.m.

Possible points: 150

Criteria for evaluation of the project:

· How effectively the hallmarks of technical writing are demonstrated

· How effectively the project incorporates the details of the assignment

· How complete the steps are (as well as how well clustered and combined when necessary)

· How well the descriptions are developed and controlled in their respective types

· How well the instructions are developed and controlled for the target audience

· How well the format issues are executed

· How accurately any visuals are used, labeled, and documented for source

A normal outline and numbering system is used in most instructions, however, engineers use the one pictured below. For those not in engineering, use the content as a guide but just use 1, 2, 3, etc., and indent the lines as shown in the samples of the job descriptions shown at the front of this document.

Designing Your Descriptions & Instruction Project (engineering style)

1. Job Description

Be specific about the title of the position. Do not use the heading “Job Description”. Construct the job description as a separate page.

1.1 State the specific job title in the heading.

Do not state the words “job title”; rather, state the name of the job itself.

1.2 Itemize any components of the job using a numbered list of paragraphs.

Some entries might be only a sentence long, but the entire page should not be a collection

of one-sentence statements. Remember the reader of the manual will not be familiar with the exact procedures and protocols at this place of employment.

1.2.1 Use a numbered list like this one. The job description should be a list of duties to be performed, not a set of instructions on how to perform them. Number the segments and space them like this model spaces these components.

2. Object Description

Be very specific with the headings. Identify the brand name, etc. Do not use the heading “Object Description” as the title of this section. Construct the description as a separate page. Use visuals if desired. Identify the sources of the visuals if they are not one you have created.

2.1 General overview of description first

The object's definition may be included if necessary; however, a general description of what the whole object looks like should be the reader's first introduction to the object’s description. That is typically called an overview. The specific, detailed description of each non-pictured segment is in the paragraphs immediately below the general overview.

2.1.1 The segments are described in detail next. This is the spot in which you flesh out the description so that each important segment is clarified for the reader. This could be the front, back, and/or sides or the top, middle and bottom, depending upon the object. This might begin as a part of the paragraph that provides the overview, but it is far more likely that it is a few paragraphs of its own. The description should never be simply one giant paragraph. Do these need to be subsections as in this layout? That would depend upon the report receiver and the function(s) of the intended document.

2.2 Run your draft through the checklist before submitting the final copy.

Correct any weaknesses in the draft before submitting the presentation copy.

2.2.1 Be sure visuals are properly labeled. This refers to both documenting the source of them

if they are taken from other places and to identifying any pieces, parts, components the reader would need to know.

3. Instructions for Doing Some Process with the Object

Once again, be concrete and specific about the name of the process.

3.1 Provide a general statement about operation(s), before list of steps.

If a list of materials is needed, that too should be provided before the steps begin.

3.1.1. Each step is numbered in numeric style. Numeric style is more common for engineers than the generic numbering styles used in other disciplines. Many of you

engineering textbooks probably use this. The system is as you see it here, and the more common

pattern for indentation is as you see it here. When writing for another class, be sure you use

what is more appropriate to that situation.

3.2. Run the checklist. Be especially sure that steps are clustered together in a logical

sequence and that the verbs are in the imperative (command style) form.

3.2.1 Don't forget to include warnings, cautions, and/or notes. Use the border command under Format on the menu bar if you wish to highlight these. Warnings and cautions should be placed above the appropriate step – before harm can occur to the person or the equipment. Notes affect speed or productivity and may be placed within or below the step.

SELF REVISION CHECKLIST FOR THE PROJECT

___ Does the job description define and describe the activities that must be accomplished rather than tell the reader “how to do” them?

___ Are the component parts of the job description clustered together logically?

___ Is the title of the description complete, with the name of the object, the brand and model number, etc.?

___ Does the description help the reader understand what the object looks like rather than the process by which it operates?

___ Does the description follow the general model, in an appropriate arrangement for this particular object?

___ Do the instructions follow the exact sequence of steps? Ask yourself whether it seems inclusive. Does anything seem to be added as an afterthought?

___ Does each step have a similar sentence structure? (they don’t have to be identical)

___ Do the steps generally have short sentences?

___ Does each step begin with an action verb?

___ Are all of the steps in the active voice and imperative mood?

___ Are transitions adequate for marking time and sequence?

___ Are cautions and warnings provided BEFORE the step? (Notes can also go after or inside the step, depending upon the object.)

___ Do white spaces and/or highlights set off the discussion from the step?

___ Are visuals beside or after a step, and set off by white space?

___ Does the title promise exactly what the instructions deliver?

Also use the course textbook’s checklists.