Writing Effective Instructions

1.       Know your audience. In college most assignments are written for an ideal reader: an expert who scrutinizes and evaluates everything you write. In the real world, however, instructions must be written for the impatient, fatigued, or even terrified readers to understand with minimal effort. No matter how well you plan your document, you cannot possibly predict all of the ways people will misunderstand it. Remember: meaning lies in the receiver.

2.       Provide a brief introduction. Help your readers determine, even before opening the brochure or downloading the web page, whether this document will help them do whatever it is they want to do: Setting Up and Using Your Cordless Phone System.

What is the purpose of this document? Who should read it? And under what circumstances? If it will help your reader, you could explain what your document does not do. If you wish, you may place extended background information in a subordinate position (a note in the margin, sidebar, or completely different document) that does not interfere with the reader’s access to the list of required steps. Note: Technical support documents are no place for marketing slogans; the reader already has the product and is probably annoyed with it right now.

3.       Write each step as a command; use imperative sentences. That is phrase each sentence as if your reader just asked “What do I do next?”

Ex. “Add two cups of flour.” Notice that the instruction stars with an action verb. Had you said “You should add two cups of flour,” you would merely describe what ought to happen and not necessarily what the reader should do.

Note: most readers will skip the intro and begin reading the first numbered step. If the reader needs the background information to be successful, place vital information in a checklist format, rather than in a long paragraph format.

4.       Omit needless words. People who read instructions are trying to complete a specific task. They rarely pause to read a lengthy overview or complex explanations. Move lengthy supplemental material to an appendix, or even a separate document. Restrict your main text to those things the reader must know to perform the desired task.

5.       Proceed in strict chronological order (determine if sequential, spatial, directional, etc.). When you describe steps that must be completed in a specific order, common sense dictates where you begin. Number each step to emphasize the sequence.

6.       Use numbers for commands, bullets for options. Some readers will need help only for one section of a larger operation; therefore, the best approach is to divide the instructions into discrete subtasks. If you want the reader to perform tasks in a specific order, number the steps. If you want to enable the reader to choose from a list of options, bullet the options so the reader knows where to stop. Write brief introductions to each section to clarify whether a list of steps is supposed to be sequential or optional.

Example

·         Recording your greeting

1.       State step one

2.       State step two

3.       And so on

·         Playing back messages

·         Saving your messages

·         Forwarding your messages

·         Deleting your messages

7.       Plan to test and revise. Before completing a polished document for printing, create a prototype and conduct a usability test. You can learn important information through testing.

a.       Simulate the environment in which you intend the audience to follow the instructions.

b.      Find a volunteer who closely resembles your audience and ask that person to follow your instructions.

c.       Observe without talking and take careful note of any areas of confusion.

d.      Revise and retest with a different volunteer.

e.      Repeat until you are satisfied with the results.

8.       Provide supplements if necessary. A simple set of instructions can be made more useful by adding sections such as FAQs or a troubleshooting guide, although all important or common problems should be handled in the main body of the step-by-step instructions.

For minor issues or odd special situations, refer the reader to a detailed graphic that clearly depicts what the text is trying to convey. Note: graphics should NEVER overshadow or replace the written instructions.

Troubleshooting guides typically are tables with specific problems in the left column and solutions in the right column(s). Organize the table so that the most common problems are listed first.

Write each step as a command. Number each step in chronological order. Remember: your job is to help the reader perform a particular task; your job is not to teach the reader everything you know about the subject.