Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 1994

Designing a Quick Reference Guide: A Teaching Case

Dave Goodwin

Abstract

Designing a good quick reference guide is a complex rhetorical act. To motivate software users to read a quick reference guide, writers must “prove” to readers that it is not just an abbreviated user's manual in disguise, but a different rhetorical form entirely, one visually structured to allow readers to move about the text easily and effectively. Such a structure provides readers with a sense of progress: as they need fewer visual cues to find pertinent information, they demonstrate an “advance” in their skill and knowledge as users. Professional writers from Bell Northern Research, enrolled in the University of Waterloo's Language and Professional Writing Program, successfully attempted to meet this rhetorical challenge. They designed a quick reference guide for in-house use, and then provided a theoretical framework to ground and explain their visual design choices. This article is a teaching case: it offers a summary of the students' quick reference project, as well as the instructor's theoretical reflections on how visual design can motivate readers to read and use documentation.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1994-07-01
DOI
10.2190/jcyc-eluu-9u9n-q0kl
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Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism teacher development professional writing
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References (17) · 3 in this index

  1. Brooksbank P., Reflections on the Seminar: Quick Reference to TSS, unpublished manuscript, 21 pages, April 1992.
  2. Bitzer L. F. (1968)
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     ↗
  4. Reitman (1988)
    Streamlining your documentation using quick references
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Goodwin (1991)
    Emplotting the Reader: Motivation and Technical Documentation
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 17 →
  1. Surray A., Reflections on Designing a Rhetoric of Brevity for an Automated Language-Translation System, unpub…
  2. Maclean M. (1988)
    Narrative as Performance: The Baudelarian Experiment
  3. (1988)
    TSS User Reference Manual
  4. How to Develop Effective User Manuals and Quick Reference Materials (1986)
    Teaching Manual
  5. Bisson L., A Re-examination of the TSS Quick Reference Guide, unpublished manuscript, 12 pages, April 1992.
  6. Halliday M. A. K. (1989)
    Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of Language in a Social Semiotic Perspective
  7. 10.1515/9783110839609-005
     ↗
  8. Bernhardt S. A. (1982)
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     ↗
  10. (1992)
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    Emplotting the Reader: Motivation and Technical Documentation
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  12. Goodwin David (1992)
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