Dr. Mark Jordan ~ ENGL 2311: Technical Writing Procedural Instruction Assignment General Description This is the second major document assignment for this course. It will count 15% of your course grade. Those of you who did a process description for the previous assignment should find this one very similar to that, in that both describe a certain sequence of necessary steps. However, whereas in that assignment you were writing for a reader who would not carry out the steps, this procedural instruction document is written for a reader who will actually perform the steps. Thus, whereas before you avoided the use of the imperative tone and the second person voice, in this document you will deliberately use both imperative tone and second person voice. For this assignment, you will need to read Chapter 23, Instructions, beginning on page 539 in your textbook. So, keeping in mind that procedural instructions are written for users who will actually perform the procedure themselves, and uses the second person pronoun (you) and imperative mood, for this option you will select a specialized procedure which you understand well--preferably one from your major area of study or from your work, or perhaps from a hobby. (You can find a brief list of typical instructions on page 566 in your text, and note the several examples of actual documents.) Please choose a procedure which has approximately five steps or more. Then, using the procedural instruction document s on pages 558-560 of your text as a model ("How to Use the OCLC Terminal to Search for a Book") or on pages 561-564 ("Instructions for Felling a Tree"), write procedural instructions to explain your chosen procedure to those who are unfamiliar with it but who need to learn to do it. Try to think of a specific audience--perhaps new trainees at work, or students just beginning your field of study. Besides using the above mentioned instructions as a model, your procedural instructions should also roughly follow the outline on page 557; feel free to modify the outline but do not omit parts simply because you do not understand them. In such a case, ask me questions. Requirements Choose a procedure which readers need to be able to apply. Choose a procedure which you know well. Choose a procedure which has a minimum of five major steps and/or substeps. (You cannot achieve a grade in the "A" range with a topic which can be covered adequately in less than three pages.) Write for a specific, appropriate audience which is unfamiliar with the procedure. Because you are writing for a reader who would actually carry out your instructions, use the imperative mood and second person rather than declarative mood and third person. Example of imperative mood and second person voice: "First you must lay out all the parts you have unpacked and check them against the parts list to make sure no parts are missing." The pronoun "you" can also be implied but not stated: "Second, locate part s A and B and fit them together according to the diagram below." Produce an overall length of approximately three to five pages in hardcopy. Use the various formatting principles studied in Chapter Fifteen, especially the use of lists and headings/subheadings. Include at least one visual; see pages 548-49 for examples of common types of instructional visuals. Include a title page. Include page numbers (except for the title page). Your first page of text, not the title page, is page 1. Include either a header or footer with an abbreviated version of your title, along with page number on your final draft. Note that this is a new requirement for this assignment. Note also that when including part of the title with the page number, as I am requesting here, headers are preferable to footers. Tips The best choice of visual is probably a flowchart. If using only one visual, the best placement is usually either at the very end of the Introduction or at the beginning of your main body, the Required Steps. The visual can be done carefully "by hand" with a straightedge and a razortip marker, if you have no appropriate computer software available. For hands-on tips on how to manually create a visual, go to my Chapter 14 Summary. Organization should probably include three main sections: Introduction of the Process, Required Steps, & Conclusion. These will become Level One headings. This matches the outline in your book. Modify the wording as needed. It is likely that the only section to need Level Two subheadings will be the main body. These subheadings should correspond to the steps of the procedure. This also matches the outline in your book. However, do not omit level two subheadings. That is, do not submit a document having only level one headings. Use Level Three subheadings only if you need to show sub-steps of certain major steps. Remember that a procedure normally follows a set sequence, so number your steps accordingly. Normally, each Level Two subheading in the main body section should include the number of that step of the procedure, like this: Step One: Logging on the OCLC System. Due Dates The assignment is due in only two steps: Step One: Read the Chapter and Post a Topic Selection Memo to Nicenet Go to Nicenet to the Instructions Conference and post a very brief memo stating two things: Your choice of procedure Your intended audience This first step is due by Wednesday, October 13th. If you want private feedback from me before choosing a topic for posting, feel free to ask. Keep in mind that you can change this choice later with no direct penalty. The purpose of the topic selection memo is not to lock you in, but rather to get your mind working. Step Two : Submit your Final Draft Please note that there is no rough draft due on this assignment. It seems unnecessary to me, given the similarity between this assignment and the first one. However, feel free to submit complete or partial rough drafts if you want feedback prior to the final draft. If you do this, be sure and do so early enough to give me time for comments and to give yourself time to revise based on my comments. The final draft is due on Wednesday, October 27th. It should be submitted via surface mail or dropped off at my office.

markwjordan@earthlink.net work: 432.335.6549 home: 432.332.5847 fax: 432.335.6559 surface mail c/o Odessa College, 201 W. University, Odessa TX 79764