Week 2

Week 2

By Monday, June 16, at midnight

• Instructions Project Step #1: Proposal Due. Post a proposal detailing your plan for the instructions project. This proposal should include what technical object your instructions will cover, what tasks and troubleshooting it will include, the images you hope to use, and the audience and context of use. Remember, this proposal is designed to persuade me that your idea is a great fit for the project. Don't forget to tag the post in the Project 1 category. Posts that are not tagged will not be graded.

By Tuesday, June 17, at midnight

• Read Instructor Blog #3: Technical Instructions. Post a comment responding to, furthering, or challenging the ideas to the blog.

• Reading: TH Ch 24 Using Visuals to Inform and Persuade, and TH Ch 25: Desktop Publishing and Graphic Design for Writers.

• Read The OWL Guide to Conciseness. This reading established the guidelines from concise writing that should be followed in your instructions and other writing for the course.

By Wednesday, June 18 at midnight

• In a new blog entry, post a 300 word Reading Response to TH Ch 24 Using Visuals to Inform and Persuade, and TH Ch 25: Desktop Publishing and Graphic Design for Writers. This response is uniquely interactive and asks you to do a little informal usability testing. Choose some instructions for a product in your home that you have never read. Operate the product by performing the tasks as they appear in the instructions - don't cheat or skip steps when you already know what to do. When you are finished, write about the experience. Where the instructions user-friendly? Why or why not? Where did you encounter problems? Then incorporate the reading and instructor blog. What design principles or elements did the instructions use or violate that affected your use? What did you learn from this experience and the reading that you will apply in your own instructions? Don't forget to put your reading response in the "Reading Response" category. You can select your category from the list below the title of your blog. Posts that are not tagged will not be graded.
• Don't forget to post 5 comments of 100 words each to other student reading responses by tomorrow night. Your comments should be thoughtful and specific, referencing specifics from the post and building further on those ideas.

By Thursday, June 19 at midnight

• Read Instructor Blog #4: Design. Post a comment responding to, furthering, or challenging the ideas to the blog. You may also post links to instructions you find online and explain how they embody good or bad design.
• Don't forget to post 5 comments of 100 words each to other student reading responses by tonight. Your comments should be thoughtful and specific, referencing specifics from the post and building further on those ideas.

By Friday, June 20 at midnight

• Continue working on instructions.

Check out Week 3. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

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