Module Overview for Week of April 20: User Manual, Part 1

This is Week 13 of the course.

LEGO instructions for assembling an airplaneOverview

If you have ever purchased a coffeemaker, microwave, vacuum cleaner, or other appliance, you will have noticed that it came with a user manual, user guide, or owner’s manual. That manual provided you with a part-by-part overview or description of the object and instructions or directions on how to use it.

Technical descriptions identify visually the key components or parts of an object, but also define those parts and explain how the object might work. They normally include one or more images of the item, with the individual parts labeled. 

Instructions explain step-by-step how to use an object.

This major writing project focuses on combining technical description and instructions into a single document—a user manual.

At the end of this module, you will have prepared a user manual that is well-developed in terms of content, effectively organized, and designed in a user-friendly manner.

Objectives for this Module

After completing this module, you will be able to

  • Analyze the rhetorical situation and determine the appropriate audience or users of written communication, considering the needs of global audiences and people with disabilities. [CLO 1]
  • Conduct research appropriate to workplace problem solving, such as literature review, evaluation of online resources, interview, and site inspection. [CLO 2]
  • Interpret research findings with understanding of ethical and human implications. [CLO 3]
  • Use conventions of various workplace genres, such as proposals, instructions, correspondence, reports, and slide decks, with understanding of how the genre conventions can be used as heuristics and as principles of arrangement. [CLO 4]
  • Collaborate with classmates in planning, researching, writing, revising, and presenting information. [CLO 5]
  • Apply principles of effective visual design for print and electronic presentation, including hierarchical, chronological, and spatial arrangements. [CLO 6]
  • Identify and apply the principles of effective style in the composing of usable, reader-centered written communications. [CLO 7]

Note that you can find the full text of the Course Learning Objectives on the Syllabus.

Readings for the Week of April 20

  1. User Manual: Assignment
  2. Markel & Selber, Chapter 20: “Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions”
  3. Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs)

 

Activities for the Week of April 20

Time Required: 7–8 hours, plus reading time
Available Points: 675
Due Dates:

    • Friday, April 24 at 11:59 PM: All activities and drafts due.
      Rough Draft due for those who want individualized editing or revision feedback.
    • Monday, April 27 at 11:59 PM: Grace period ends for all work.
      Rough Draft still accepted for full credit, but no individual feedback available.

Daily Discussion Posts Activities
(85 minutes—5 posts @ ~15 minutes each plus self-assessment @ ~10 minutes)

Writing Activities
(~6 hours, including time to research and write)

  • Ask any questions about the course in the General Q and A Discussion (0 points) in Canvas.
    • Check the General Q and A Discussion for answers before posting.
    • Asking a question is not required. Use the Inbox tool in Canvas for questions about grades or personal information that should not be shared with the class.

 

 

Photo credit: Lego promotional 40049 - mini Sopwith Camel by InSapphoWeTrust on Flickr Links to an external site., used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.