CLARITY: Writing instructional steps

Subject: CLARITY: Writing instructional steps
From: Peggy Thomson <Peggy_Thompson -at- CCMAIL -dot- OSTI -dot- GOV>
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 11:01:00 -0400

Excellent thread--how to word instructional steps!! Please let's
pursue it--and back it up with references when possible. Most of
what I do on the sentence level is based on my own personal
quirks. Can anyone CITE AUTHORITES on SENTENCE-LEVEL
ORGANIZATION?


I DON'T WRITE: I DO WRITE:

Press Enter to delete all files. To delete all files,
press Enter.

[when the user
action has a
significant
consequence]


Select Open from the File menu. From the file menu,
select Open.

[within the step, I
try to preserve
chronological
order]


Otherwise, I begin instructional steps with a verb. Somebody
said they were taught to ALWAYS begin with a verb. But I kind of
like the periodic sentence for instruction--the action at the
end of the sentence, where it's the last thing to imprint on the
user's brain.


Previous by Author: HELP: Your forays into hypermedia
Next by Author: HYPERMEDIA: your initial experiences
Previous by Thread: US-Piscataway-NJ Tech Wtr, Windows and UNIX HELP, Telecom.
Next by Thread: [QUERY] Familiar with ANSI/IEEE standards?


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads