Five Tips for Writing a User Manual Think like a user. Use active voice. Focus on the reader. Write clear instructions. Establish standards.
How to Make an Instruction Manual Step 1. Identify the people for whom the task is intended, and write to their level. Write a table of contents at the front of the manual if your manual will be more. Write a brief introduction that describes the task in qualitative terms. Creating Technical Manuals with PDF Creating an effective technical manual takes more than using good grammar and proper spelling. Technical documents rely on clear, well-crafted instructions to help guide users through complicated, and sometimes dangerous, tasks.
Instruction Manuals
Many people associate instruction manuals with appliances, computer accessories, and products that require assembly (e.g., furniture). Because we don’t find ourselves using them regularly or we come to expect them only in certain contexts, it is easy to forget how important they are. The quality of a well-designed instruction manual may go unnoticed. Yet, when we encounter frustration with putting together a bookshelf or toy, or with trying to figure out how to change or activate a particular appliance setting, the significance of a well-designed instruction manual becomes clear.
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation of Instruction ManualsHow To Make An Effective User Manual Video
Instruction manuals, like other types of texts, are shaped by a rhetorical situation. The choices technical writers make in regards to content and form depend on the purpose of the instruction manual, the intended audience, and the context in which the manual is used. When writing your own instruction manual, consider the following ideas and questions regarding the rhetorical situation.
Purpose
In general, the purpose of an instruction manual is to familiarize the user with the product and/or to guide the user through a series of steps that lead to the completion of a task. However, each instruction manual will also have a more specific outcome. Identifying what that specific outcome is will help you make more effective rhetorical decisions about content and design. Ask yourself:
Audience
Creating a profile of your audience (i.e. the primary intended user of the document) is integral for making thoughtful choices about scope, content, and design. Consider these questions about audience before writing:
Context
Think of context as the temporal, social, technological, and cultural situation surrounding the creation and use of the instruction manual. The following questions will help you identify the context:
Using Knowledge of Rhetorical Situation to Make Effective Rhetorical Choices
Though most instruction manuals rely upon some standard conventions, each instruction manual should be tailored to achieve a specific purpose for a particular audience within a given context. The following section introduces some common characteristics of instruction manuals, while also taking into consideration the rhetorical situation and how it may require deviation from certain conventions.
Scope
The rhetorical situation helps determine the amount of detail to include in an instruction manual. For example, the scope of an instruction manual for assembling a desk is easy to determine because it has only one outcome: putting together the desk. However, an instruction manual for a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera may be written for both amateur and more experienced camera users and may need to include instructions for completing basic tasks (e.g., installing the battery and memory card) as well as more advanced tasks (e.g., adjusting settings for specific shooting environments).
Content
Some standard sections of instruction manuals include front matter, an introduction, a series of steps, a conclusion, and back matter, though some manuals may not use all of these sections or label them in this way. Extensive front and back matter, for example, are often found in longer, more complex manuals. Most sets of instructions, however, contain an introduction that provides information necessary for completing the steps safely and efficiently. The introduction may include an explanation of who should carry out the task (maybe the user needs to have proficiency in a certain skill), the materials needed, any precautions that the user should take (safety tips or other warnings), and in some cases, an estimate for how long the process will take (a common feature of recipes). In some cases, it is necessary to include an explanation of why the user should follow the instructions. For example, instructions for changing the oil in a car may explain why the task is necessary for the proper functioning of the vehicle.
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Following this introductory material is the sequence of step-by-step instructions. See the following section on “Language” for how to draft clear and effective steps. Lastly, an instruction manual may include a “Troubleshooting Guide” or a section for “Tips” to help users address common problems that they may encounter while following the instructions or after completing the process.
Language
The questions about “Audience” and “Context” above can help guide you in making effective language choices. The following subsections include explanations of common linguistic features of instruction manuals along with tips for writing clearly and concisely in this genre.
Imperative mood
Instructions, like commands, often utilize the imperative mood. To write in this way, address the audience directly using active voice and specific verbs. Which of the following provides the clearest instructional step? Icom 756 pro 3 manual.
Though a user could probably make sense of any of these sentences, the first one provides the clearest explanation of what action should be performed by the user. The second, passive construction does not specify who should press the button. The third example refers to a vague subject, the “operator,” which may confuse the user.
Word Choice
When writing instructions, a careful consideration of word choice is important because in some cases, the user’s safety is at risk. For this reason, strive for clarity and conciseness. To make effective decisions about word choice, consider your primary audience’s level of expertise and cultural background. You may find it necessary to
Consistency and Parallelism
Parallel structure, or parallelism, means using the same grammatical structure to present information or ideas. Parallelism is often used to improve readability and create consistency.
This numerical list of instructions contains a step that breaks parallel structure. Which of these steps seems different from the others?
Step three breaks the parallel structure of the list because it does not start with a directive verb.
Do the following headings use parallel structure? Why or why not?
Design
Document design refers to the way information is organized and presented. Because visuals require less time to process, users will typically notice—and respond to—quality of design before quality of content. Even if you choose not to include images or graphics, you will need consider design. Minimally, this includes making choices about layout, order of information, font size, typeface, headings, color, and white space. Design elements should guide the user through the manual smoothly. This means making the document scannable; a scannable document allows users to navigate through the content to locate specific information. As with any document, decisions regarding design should consider the audience, purpose, and overall ease of use.
Consistency/Repetition
Using a design element in a uniform way throughout the entire document guides users by giving them a sense of what to expect (e.g., the same typeface and size for all headings; the same layout from page to page).
Contrast
Using a design element to highlight specific information or features of the manual (e.g., capitalizing a word for emphasis; placing a box or border around an item; changing colors for emphasis). Contrast is primarily effective when a document uses consistency overall. If there is a lack of consistency, it is more difficult to create contrast.
Alignment
Organizing items on a page with horizontal and/or vertical alignment creates hierarchy and structure, and can be used to help achieve balance, contrast, or consistency. For example, this document uses vertical alignment to create a hierarchy between the name of a design element, which is left aligned, and its description, which is indented.
Balance
Distributing items evenly across a given space. To achieve this, each item’s weight--that is, the tendency of the eye to gravitate toward an item--should be considered. For example, since an image weighs more than text, decisions about image placement should consider how to balance its weight against other items in order to prevent visual confusion.
White Space
Using white space to create a professional, balanced document. Rather than indicating the color of the space, this design element refers to an absence of images and text. White space helps distinguish between individual items and groups of items (i.e., sections of the manual) and makes scanning documents easier.
Grouping/Proximity
Placing related images or content close to one another. For example, grouping together images of all the materials needed to complete the given task.
![]() Color
Selecting colors to create contrast and emphasis, to guide readers across space, and to design a visually pleasing document. You should consider the document overall in order to create a consistent color scheme. For example, if you want to use blue in your document, you will want to ensure that it is used consistently and complements other document colors. This is particularly important when integrating color graphics and/or images.
Images
Choosing appropriate images for the given context and purpose of the manual. You should consider whether the images are intended to stand alone or to supplement written instructions. Consider types of images, such as drawings, photos, and graphic illustrations and whether any additional callouts or annotations are needed to highlight specific parts of the image. Images should be chosen to complement other design elements in the manual.
Conclusion
A good instruction manual begins with careful consideration of the rhetorical situation--purpose, audience, and context. This information is key for making both appropriate and effective choices about content, language, and design. In an ideal timeline, technical writers have the opportunity to conduct usability tests, which are designed to assess how well a document fulfills its purpose. Once your instruction manual is tested, you’ll incorporate the feedback received to finalize its design and content.
Exercise 1 - Familiarize yourself with instruction manuals
The following website contains several examples of open-source instruction manuals. Follow this link, browse through the list, and choose one manual to look at in depth. Skim through the manual to familiarize yourself with its content and design. Then, in a memo to your instructor or classmates, address the following.
Identify the rhetorical situation
How To Make User Manual
Examine composition choices
Exercise 2 - Planning an instruction manual
Imagine you are writing an instruction manual for a process or product you are familiar with and address the following prompts.
Identify the rhetorical situation
Create a plan
Think about the last time that you consulted a manual. Did you start at the beginning and read the whole manual? Probably not. You probably looked first at the index or the table of contents. Once you found the right page or topic, you probably scanned the page first to see if it contained the information you needed. This is how most people read manuals.
No one wants to read your user manual. No one will read your user manual from front to back savoring every word and phrase. Technical documents are not novels. Readers want user manuals to answer their questions quickly so that they can get back to whatever they were doing.
A successful user manual provides users with quick answers to the questions that they might have about a particular product. Users searching for information don’t want to know about the latest and greatest features of a product. Users want to know how to complete tasks. Technical writing focuses on user tasks and the concepts that support the tasks.
Below are some practical tips on writing user manuals that will help you to write content that adapts to the needs of users.
Think like a user
When writing a manual, you need to put on a “user’s hat” and think like a user. You should have a good understanding of your users so you can understand the information they need to know, their background, and their knowledge of the product. Once you think like a user, you can write content that the users need to know.
If you have the opportunity, you will find it very useful to watch users actually using the product. When you watch users interacting with the product, you will get a better idea of what the users need to do, how they approach each task, and when they might use approaches to tasks that are unexpected.
Use active voice
Active voice emphasizes the user and is easier to read and understand. In most cases, especially in user manuals, you should use active voice. In active voice, the subject and verb in the sentence are clear. In passive voice, the subject is unknown and is acted upon by something that is not known or not stated. Passive voice uses verbs that include a form of “to be”.
Compare the two sentences below.
Passive voice: Supplies that will be needed to complete this project include a hammer, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.
Active voice: To complete this project, you will need a hammer, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet.
The sentence that uses active voice makes it clear that the reader is the person who will complete the action. By using the active voice, you will make your writing more clear, concise, and direct.
Focus on the reader
User manuals should always focus on the reader. When writing information that involves the reader, such as instructions, use “you” and the active voice. Speaking directly to the reader will:
Compare the two sentences below.
Urine Chemistry Analyzer McKesson Consult™ Single Test. Mms.mckesson.com The McKesson Consult™ 120 Urine Analyzer is intended for use in conjunction with the McKesson Consult™ Urine Reagent Strips for the semi-quantitative detection of the following analytes in urine: Glucose, Bilirubin, Ketone (Acetoacetic acid), Specific Gravity, pH, Blood, Protein. Mckesson 120 urine analyzer user manual. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.
Lack of reader focus: There are three options for viewing content in the editor.
Reader focus: You can choose from one of three options for viewing content in the editor.
The sentence that uses “you” focuses on the reader and makes it clear that the reader is the person doing the action. You should aim to use “you” in your writing to make the content more relevant to the reader.
Write clear instructions
The primary objective of user manuals is to help users complete tasks. Below are some guidelines to help you write clear and concise instructions.
Establish standards
When creating documentation, there will be areas where there may be more than one way to spell a word, refer to an object, caption graphics, punctuate sentences, lay out a page, and organize information. These are just a few of the decisions that writers must make when they create documents. By establishing standards, the writer’s job becomes much easier since most of those decisions will have been already made.
The Chicago Manual of Style and Microsoft Manual of Style are two popular style guides. If you use an established style guide, you may still need to establish some specific guidelines for your writing project. As you encounter any issues with styles, you can create your own additional style rules that address the specific needs of your project.
If you would like to become a technical writer, you may want to consider registering for our Professional Technical Writing Course. It is an online course where you will learn how to write and revise instructions, technical reports, and software manuals (key technical writing documents).
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