Website Analysis Instructions Draft Assignment

What You Will Learn and Practice

• How to analyze your audience and purpose so that you can choose the best way to present information clearly and effectively.. [CLO 1]
• How to write documents you may encounter in the workplace, such as letters, memos, instructions, proposals, reports, and presentations. [CLO 4]
• How to use colors, layout, and formatting that make your documents understandable and easy to read. [CLO 6]
• How to take advantage of design principles, including contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity, to communicate your ideas effectively. [CLO 6]
• How to choose words, phrases, sentences, lists, and other text features to communicate effectively with readers. [CLO 7]

What I Want You to Do

Outline the process you will follow to collect primary research data on your website.. Your instructions should tell the reader everything necessary to know ahead of time (e.g., specific design concepts), and then provide step-by-step directions on how to analyze a page on the site. You’ll use these instructions to ensure you analyze every page consistently.

You will describe your analysis process , referring to the Instructions, in the Methods section of your recommendation report. You will incorporate your instructions into your recommendation report as an Appendix.

The Best Draft Submission for this activity counts as a Best Draft Submission in the Effort Expectations for Each Grade Level.

Why I Want You to Do It

There are four reasons for completing this assignment:

1. No matter what your career, you will write instructions for others on your team. Learning more about the genre will help you do your best in those situations.
2. Your primary research needs to be accurate and uniform. You need to follow the same process for each page you analyze. Having written instructions ensures that you follow one protocol throughout the research process.
3. Your research process should be reproducible. Another researcher should be able to duplicate your work, and having explicit details on the process you follow will make it possible.
4. Your work on this Instructions assignment will be discussed in the Methods section of your recommendation report, and the full Instructions document will be included in your report appendices.

Where You Can Find Help

• Markel & Selber, Chapter 18, “Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions,” pp. 569–587
• From Course Webpages, Instructions Project Criteria
• From University of Minnesota Writing Studies:
  • What Is an Instructional Document? (Video, 2m 42s)
  • Writing Effective Steps (Video, 5m 29s)

When to Do It

• Peer Feedback Discussions Due Dates

  • Instructions Feedback: By 11:59 PM on Friday, February 18, 2022, to submit for feedback from your classmates.
  • Second-Chance Instructions Feedback: By 11:59 PM on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, to submit for feedback from your classmates.

• Instructions Due Dates

  • Best Submission: By 11:59 PM on February 25, 2022.
  • Grace Period: Ends at 11:59 PM on Friday, April 29, 2022.

How You Do It

Step 1: Compose a Draft

1. Review the information in Markel and Selber, Chapter 6 in the “Conducting Primary Research” section (pp. 135–147).
2. Decide on the format and medium for your instructions. You can use any medium that will clearly explain what a person following the instructions should do. Here are some examples:

   Medium	Related Advice
   Video Instructions	See the “Understanding the Role of Instructional Videos” section of Markel & Selber, starting on page 574.
   Written Instructions with related illustrations, formatted for standard 8.5" by 11" paper	See the “Designing a Set of Written Instructions” section of Markel & Selber, starting on page 575.
   Numbered panes with limited text, similar to IKEA instructions	See “Billy Bookcase Assembly instructions” on the IKEA website for an example. Note that if your instructions include a task such as asking someone to complete a questionnaire, you will have to incorporate more text than is typical in IKEA-style instructions.
   Written Instructions with extensive graphic elements, similar to a poster or infographic	See the “Designing a Set of Written Instructions” section of Markel & Selber, starting on page 575, as you compose the text. Pay attention to Markel & Selber Chapter 12, “Creating Graphics,” as you design the layout and graphical elements..

3. Create a draft of your instructions that outlines how to conduct your primary research and record your data, from the beginning to the end of the process.
4. Complete the Instructions Self-Check to compare the features of your draft to the requirements listed on the Instructions Project Criteria page. You can complete this self-check as many times as you like.
5. Share your current draft in the Instructions Feedback Discussion. Next week, use the feedback you receive to revise your work.
6. If you missed the original chance for feedback, try the Second-Chance Instructions Feedback Discussion.
7. Use the feedback you receive from your classmates to revise your work before you submit your Best Draft.

How to Assess and Track Your Work

You track and grade your own work in this course. Be sure to complete the following tasks:

• Track your work in your Weekly Work Log.

This is a working draft for your Best Submission. It is marked Complete in Canvas when you submit it for one of the two Feedback Discussions.