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Re: Basic structure question

Subject: Re: Basic structure question
From: Dick Margulis <margulis -at- fiam -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 08:04:18 -0400




Lulu TW wrote:


Hi all,

I'm returning to tech writing after a sabbatical, and although I'm finding that most of the necessary info is still lodged somewhere in the grey matter, I'm having problems with a basic structuring issue.
The problem is this:
I'm writing an Admin Guide, and one section is wholly taken up with creating an object. Now, to create this object, you just open a tool, select the object, and the object creation dialog box appears. In this dialog box, there's 13 different property fields to be set...but, explaining each property involves major discussion of what it is, whjat it does, how to manage it etc (going up to five or six pages worth of description in some cases). So...I'm wondering whether to describe and explain each property separetly first before explaining the object creation procedure, or whether to describe and explain each property sequentially as it is displayed in the object creation dialog box, with all the interruptions to the object creation procedure that this would involve.

What do you guys reckon?

Thanks,

Lulu


Lulu,

Here's what I reckon. People learn complex procedures best back-to-front. If you are teaching a child to make a bed, the way you do it is to mostly make the bed and then have the child help with the last step. The next day you have the child help with the last two steps, etc. Before you know it, the child has mastered the task. If you try instead to have the child first learn step one, then learn step two, the learning will take longer and be fraught with tears and frustration.

So I think the better approach in your situation is to introduce and explain the properties first, so that when it comes time to set them, the background information will already be understood by the reader.

But that's just my cockamamie theory. Others will no doubt offer contrary advice.

Dick

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References:
Basic structure question: From: Lulu TW

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