I know I already blogged about instructions, but I have a few concerns that I wanted to discuss.
1. I never really noticed an introduction to the instructions. I do not know if it is just something I deemed as unimportant so I skipped it, or what. Because I never notice them it was hard for me to see their importance. After reading some of the examples in class however, I can see how they come into play. I think the class examples were entirely too long. This brings me to my second concern.
2. Now that I have agreed that introductions do have some merit, I do not understand why they have to be so lengthy. Maybe for some items where the introduction is used to give warning statements and pertinent background information, I can understand. My instructions is about how to tighten you glute muscles, I just do not feel like a lengthy introduction is necessary. I have a brief introduction prepared, but I hope it is enough.
I guess my concern is that I will appear slack, but in actuality, I feel as though my intro should be clear and concise due to the nature of my instructions and my audience. When people are trying to get workout tips, they do not want to read a long drawn out essay, they want to see pictures and get the step by step instructions right to the point.
We butchered those examples in class, and I do not want to be a hypocrite, so I will keep mine to the point, until other wise instructed.
I agree with you 100 percent. I skip the intro in a lot of cases. Especially if they are lengthy. Usually if I am trying to do something i want it short and sweet. A lot of time really lengthy introductions just become useless information and keeping me from completing the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I've never really noticed the introduction in instructions, and if it was there then I usually skipped over it. However, I think it really depends on the situation and what is being explained, because sometimes it just doesn't make sense to dive right into instructions without some type of transition into it. Whether or not you need a lengthy introduction for your instructions, it is still probably helpful to have something there. I think you have a good idea by wanting to use pictures for an exercise, as that is definitely the most helpful thing to look at.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I think that if there are a lot of graphics and the instructions fit on to one page an introduction is a bit redundant, but according to class, they're important. I think a maximum of about 3 sentences is all an introduction should be in most cases. Especially for your topic I'm not sure what there would be to read about in the introduction- "here is where the gluteus maximus is..." Obviously a joke, but I think that introductions are sometimes important but often unnecessary, and further if there are introductions they need to be SUPER short so that people can get the important information and be done with it.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right as well. The introduction can prove to be important for some instructions. Some instructions, however, may not need an introduction if they are simple, self explanatory items. I also think the introduction's purpose can depend on how well the actual instructions are written. If they are poorly written then the instructions will prove to be very important.
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