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Nea Dodson suggested some assignments for an introductory tech writing
class, including this scenario:
"Start off by showing the students a simple manual task, such as folding a
paper airplane. Have them write down the instructions, then swap papers
and try to recreate the plane one at a time only by following what is
written. That's the best illumination of the necessity of good writing
I've ever seen."
I like all the other suggestions. And I think this particular one is
good--but not for the reason you state. I think this exercise illustrates
the inadequacy of writing.
The reader would need to visualize the process to recreate the plane, and
drawings would make this easier than elaborate descriptions would. If I
were a student given that task, I think I'd jot down an explanation of why
words were inadequate, and then try to document the procedure with a series
of sketches (with callouts where appropriate).
If I were teaching the course, I think I would assign this task... but as a
way to get them thinking about going beyond plain text. Most students would
make valiant attempts to write up the procedure. I would want to point out
to them afterwards that they essentially took the tools at hand and did
what they were told, when the better response would have been to think, "I
need to convey this information. What format would be easiest for the
user?" and then proceed accordingly.
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