Imitation Activities

Imitation Activity #2

Let’s start with a review of what we did yesterday. You will essentially be doing the same today on your own.

We started by talking about Nalo Hopkinson’s “procedure manual” for descriptive writing and mapping her expressions. Take a look at the Hopkinson Reverse Outline we put together in class to review reverse outlining and the kinds of expressions you might look for in your own examples.

What we did for Hopkinson’s video, you can do for any text to get guidance on how to write a similar text. So, we then used reverse outlining to make our own version of Hopkinson’s manual.

Reverse Outlining:

• Information: Write the main idea of each paragraph in the margins. What information does this section or paragraph prioritize?
• Expressions: Highlight and identify expressions that you might imitate in your own writing. How does this paragraph or section prioritize information?
  • How does the paragraph start?
  • What is the main format of the paragraph? Anecdote? Example? Object?¹ Directions? Description?
  • How does the paragraph end? What sentence structure and content does the author use to transition?

We also talked about design. When imitating any genre, especially if there is a company specific format for that genre, pay attention to design, which will include the following components:

• Visual aesthetics: images, charts and graphs, passive space, lists
• Readability: headers/organization, proximity (pieces of info close to each other), contrast, alignment
• Accessibility: fonts, images, what we can’t see

How can you use these components to make your Procedure Manual as navigable as possible?

As we saw yesterday, Procedure Manuals come in number of forms. There are a number of articles on how to do something in the business world in publications like the Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, and The Economist. You can use any news source you like, but find an article that explains how to do something you would like to know more about. You might look at a common genre of writing in your field that you are not currently familiar with. (Do you know what genres are common in your field?) Or something more general like how to improve office meetings. Whatever it is, make sure it contains instructions, not just a description. Post your example here.

Just as we did in class, create a reverse outline identifying both key information and the expressions used to convey that information. You do not necessarily have to write something for every paragraph. Rather, think about the work we did on design. What are the main headers or sections? Then write the reverse outline, including the following information:

Identify the section. Why do you feel this is one section, one idea?

Information: What is the main idea of this section? What information does this section or paragraph prioritize

Expressions: How does this paragraph or section prioritize information? 
        How does the paragraph start?
        What is the main format of the paragraph? Anecdote? Example? Object?* Directions? Description?
        How does the paragraph end? What sentence structure and content does the author use to transition? 

Now, outline your own Procedure Manual based on the reverse outline you just made. You should identify a series of sections, the information you will include in each section, and the specific expressions you will use to convey that information. Do not just identify the type of expression; identify the specific content you will express.

For example, if you were writing a Procedure Manual for how to mow a lawn and your example used an anecdote in the introduction and description to detail the first task you should perform every time you mow a lawn, your outline might start like this:

Introduction:
Information: Brief description of job, biggest lesson I've learned
Expression: Anecdote - first day on the job, forgot my hat, almost got heatstroke

Step 1:
Information: always start day with water and a full tank of gas
Expression: Description - gas tank input in left corner, gas kept above the bike rack, make sure to stop filling at exactly one liter or will overflow

Notice the way the example prioritizes information: First, there is a big lesson that the reader should know even if they don't read further. Then, the steps prioritize information chronologically. You and your example might prioritize information differently. Follow your example as closely as possible. Remember, this is just an outline, so you can make changes later when you add more detail.

1. *Objects are concrete, definable things, or examples, that you can point to or describe to make a point. They are also what most instructors are referring to when they say “be more specific.” For instance, if you are exploring the relationship between wealth and productivity in a market society, you need to define wealth and productivity. You might also use an example of a market society as a case study. More specific to this assignment, if you are telling a brand new intern who has never used your data analysis software before how to find new information, you can’t simply say, “Open this software and complete your analysis.” You have to tell them where the software can be found, what to click first, how to access the data, and so on. You may even use images and an example to illustrate the process. I got my examples here from Maguire, “The Secret to Good Writing” – a great resource if you want to know more. ↩︎