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Home > Rants > How to organize a step-by-step procedure. > Put instructions into discrete steps. > Format steps so they stand out. |
Use a bullet for the instruction in a one-step procedure. Use bullets for optional actions
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Format steps so they stand out.Steps serve a particular function. They answer questions that begin, "How do I..." That is their job, their responsibility. Their function, then, is not to answer questions such as ""What tools do I need to assemble before I start" or "What's the result of this action?" The objects that answer those questions are introductions or explanations. To articulate the difference between objects of different classes, and therefore of different function, we turn to formatting. So all steps should look different from the name of the procedure, the intro, and any explanations you choose to throw in. And all steps should look alike. Steps should stand out, as obvious instructions. Here are some tips on making your steps visible, as discrete objects. Use formatting to distinguish your steps You want people to be able to read a step, go to the task, work for a while, and then come back, and, immediately, find the next step. Emphasize steps by giving the text some special format, such as boldfacing, larger size, different font, different color. Often steps start farther to the left than explanations, which appear indented, in plain text, in separate paragraphs, below the steps. But whatever choices you make along this line, make sure that you number your steps. |
Additional detail on instructions: Separate explanations from steps Resources: Help (A chapter from Hot Text: Web Writing that Works. PDF: 995K, or about 18 minutes at 56K).
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Number each step.
Numbers help readers keep their place.
Tip: Use an outliner that automatically numbers and renumbers so you can
reposition a step in a sequence and keep the numbering correct. Making
sure you number the steps while you're writing them will also help you
become aware of the moment when a sequence becomes too long.
Example of steps without numbers
Define the physical type by
selecting an item from the scrolling list that appears when you click in
the Type field.
The Initialization form now appears.
(Art)
4. Click OK.
Use a bullet for the instruction in a one-step procedure.
How come? People expect some kind of mark indicating a step. A
label. But if you enter "1" and then have no "2" people feel as if
you are cheating them, leaving out the rest of the procedure.
Solution? Use a bullet for one-steps.
Example
Closing the Program
Use
bullets for optional actions
When you have a series of optional steps or variations that follow the
main step but don't warrant numbered steps of their own, subordinate them
in bulleted items. Indent these items, and lead into the bullets with some
general statement such as "Do one of the following."
Example of bulleted options
5. Choose a printer from the Printers list. |
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Was I supposed to put shaving soap on this brush before I rubbed my face?
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