Unit 3: Overview

In Unit 3, you will add text instructions to accompany the photos in your guides.

 

Checklist

You are finished with this section when your guides:

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

  • Are clear and concise—free of verbose and muddled directions

  • Avoid vague language

  • Describe the procedure with adequate detail

  • Correctly identify the device components and tools being used

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

  • Include the head types (e.g. Phillips #0) and screw lengths (in mm) of every screw

  • Follow the standard format for titles ([Device Component] Replacement) for the guides

  • Include a descriptive introduction outlining why the procedure is necessary, background on the procedure, and other relevant information

  • Include all parts of the Details section, such as the difficulty, time required, and tools

  • Make proper use of color-coordinated markup and bullets and special bullets (Note, Reminder, and Caution bullets)

Email Us When...

...you complete your guides. We'll be happy to offer feedback and help you get your guides ready for prime-time!

Overview

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

Each 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, when appropriate, highlighting key areas of the photos, matched to color-coded bullets in the text (See guidelines here.)

Keep in mind that your final guides will have a global audience, so you shouldn’t rely on the text alone to communicate key information. Ideally, 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 guides should work together, yet be able to stand on their own.

Example Pages

The following examples from past projects give a good idea of what your completed guides should look like.

To see more awesome student work, check out our Featured Student Guides page.