Review
I found this book to be a practical and clearly written manual. It was helpful to be reminded about the proper techniques and guidelines for writing effective instructions. The appendicies of word lists was especially helpful and useful for adding accuracy and variety to the instructions. --
Verlyne Meck, Head Librarian, Buckeye Union High School, Verlyne Meck, Head Librarian, Buckeye Union High SchoolThe devil is in the details. How many of us have discovered the truth of this in the middle of assembling something, like our daughter's bicycle on Christmas Eve? The devil, complete with pitchfork, shows up to sabotage our task. But the problem isn't the details. It's the lack of details. Whoever wrote the instructions had left out critical information. Or perhaps the explanation was so complicated, only a bicycle maker would understand.
Fortunately, there is an angel who has arrived to rescue the instruction writer from this lack of clarity. Marilyn Haight's little book, The Instruction Writer's Guide: How to Explain How to Do Anything, should be required reading for anyone who has to prepare written instructions telling someone else how to do something. Ms. Haight shows the instruction writer how to break down tasks into their simplest components, how to organize the information and how to select the right words to do the job. She reminds instruction writers that their work is not complete until they have observed someone successfully performing an unfamiliar task, taken notes, and revised their instructions accordingly. There are plenty of useful examples, and six helpful appendices.
Ms. Haight models what she writes, and helps the instruction writer feel as if he has a partner in the process. Teachers, trainers, technical writers, and even web-content designers would benefit by adding this handy manual to their resource library. And, oh, yes, people who write those bicycle assembly instructions. -- S. Bauer North Carolina
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From the Author
The instruction booklet that came with my cell phone inspired me to write this book. To operate the automatic dialer, it said: "To search telephone numbers, enter specific number(s) in the initial display and press Soft Key 1[OK]. By Selecting Find on the sub-menu, the Entry List will appear. Information linked to the entry will appear upon selecting a telephone number for which details are desired."
Got that? I sure didn't! Remember the movie Network with people saying "I'm mad as [heck] and I'm not gonna take it anymore"? Well, that was my reaction. So, putting my background in adult education to work, I wrote "The Instruction Writer's Guide: How to Explain How to Do Anything" in the hope that instruction writers everywhere would read it, follow it, and keep the rest of us from pulling our hair out.
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