Checkpoint 2: Overview

Checklist

You are finished with your guide text when it:

  • Is easy to understand and follow for an audience with an average to below-average technical background

  • Is free of verbose and muddled directions

  • Avoids vague language and outlines the procedure with adequate detail in each of the guide steps

  • Correctly identifies key tools and components used in the procedure

  • Is free of major errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling

  • Includes a descriptive introduction outlining the procedure being performed

  • Notes the head types and lengths (in mm) of every screw in the guide

You are finished with your guide details when your guide:

  • Has a completed Details section, including the difficulty, time required, and tools

  • Has correctly colored markup in guide photos with appropriately colored bullet points to match them

  • Makes proper use of the Note, Reminder, and Caution bullets

Email Us When...

...you complete the first draft of your guide. We'll be happy to offer feedback and help you get your guide ready for prime-time!

Overview

In this checkpoint, you'll add step-by-step written instructions accompanying your photos to create a simple and straightforward guide that anyone can follow.

Your completed guide should contain the following:

  • A title

  • A descriptive introduction

  • Estimated difficulty and time required

  • A list of any required tools

  • Step-by-step instructions written in clear, complete sentences

  • An accompanying photo or photos to demonstrate each step

  • Visual markup (where appropriate) highlighting key areas of the photos, matched to color-coded bullets in the text

Keep in mind that your final guide will have a global audience, so you shouldn’t rely on the text alone to communicate key information. Your readers should be able to complete the guide using only the photos, or only the text. Both the written and visual portions of your guide should work together, yet be able to stand on their own.

While Working On Your Guide

Don’t work on the same step at the same time as your teammates. It's okay for multiple team members to work on the same guide at the same time, so long as each team member works on different steps. If more than one team member tries to edit the same step at the same time, they may overwrite each other's work.

Don't worry about adding step titles. Even though your guide steps say "Add A Title," step titles are not enabled for this project. A concise, clearly written step usually does not require a step title—the titles quickly become redundant, making the document longer and therefore more of an effort to read.