Re: Use of Optional in instructions

[Fox Cole <foxcole -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 8:26 AM, Fox Cole <foxcole -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> So, with the simple misplacement of a tag, you've tasked the reader with
> reading the whole instruction (which you can only hope they do) and
> encountering at the end a word that requires them to reread in order to make
> a decision about where and how to make a decision to act. That's a big load
> for one instruction, isn't it?
>

If you're not one of the people who put much stock in the cognitive-load
philosophy, here's another way to look at it.

Suppose you were creating a flowchart of the procedure. Tell me what comes
first in the diagram. Now tell me why.

The same principle applies in verbal instructions.

Cheers!
---Fox

If the world were a logical place, men would ride side saddle. -- Rita Mae
Brown
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