How to Clean the Deck of a Greenworks M060L00
Purpose: Write Instructions for iFixIt.com
Created Using: iFixIt.com/Microsoft Suite/Adobe Suite
Created For: Technical Documentation (TCID 3200)
Write Instructions
Writing instructions is one of the most quintessential tasks of a technical writer. At its core this means that the technical writer takes complex procedures and shapes them for a specific audience. The key to good instructions is making sure that the information is precise and easy for a user to understand and access. In the end, the user should be able to skip and scan through a document to find instructions that are relevant and comprehensible.
Context
This project was part of TCID 3200 and had me create an article for the website iFixIt.com. The goal was to create brand new content for the website while following the writing and style conventions laid out by the iFixIt.com staff. My project focused on cleaning an electric mower deck and required an introduction, six to eight steps with photographs, and a conclusion. Overall, the project took roughly six weeks to complete, including content creation and final approval from iFixIt.
Analysis
The first steps in this process were to
research the conventions of an iFixIt.com
article and get in touch with the people
who would be reviewing and approving
the project. I was warned that improper
photography and the use of passive voice
were two of the biggest reasons that
articles were rejected. I was told not to
worry about user research but instead
focus on search engine optimization to
allow users to easily find the article.
After I had settled on my topic, I
diagramed the steps and began documenting the process of cleaning the deck of my electric lawnmower. Photographs proved to be problematic. I ended up digging out an old tripod and taping my phone to it to accomplish some of the shots – especially those that required two hands.
Once the photographs were uploaded, I used iFixIt’s internal markup tools to highlight important pieces of the pictures and to present warnings and safety information with the website’s conventions. This process was familiar even if the tools weren’t.
Reflection
I was confident in my ability to create a document using a pre-existing genre prior to this assignment. This assignment proved that genre writing has its own quirks despite being controlled. I learned that I need to do homework before starting to work. I would have failed this assignment if I had been able to create it my way. I plan to improve my genre writing by seeking out any conventions or style guides that apply to future assignments.
