3.3 Writer's Workshop: The Power of Advertising

Writing Goal: Technical Communication

In this module, you will explore a specialized type of communication known as technical communication. You will look at a variety of technical writing formats. Then, you will invent, advertise, and create a manual for a product of your choice. 

Workshop Overview:

1. First, you will study various advertising techniques and the impact they have on self-image.
2. Then, you need to invent a product.
3. Next, you will create an advertisement for your product.
4. Finally, you will write a user manual for your product.

   Writing Targets:

By the end of this workshop, you will have incorporated the following into your piece:

• Effective use of advertising techniques in an advertisement you've created for your product.
• Effective use of language varieties
• Well written user manual with clear instructions for use.

Definition of Advertising

advertise: 

1. to tell about or praise (a product, service, etc.) publicly, as through newspapers, handbills, radio, etc. so as to make people want to buy it;

2. to make known; give notice of;

3. to call the public's attention to.

advertisement:

1. the act of advertising;

2. a public notice or announcement, usually paid for, as of things for sale, needs, etc.

Before you go any further, take a moment to complete a mini-lesson on verbs. It is just below in the course list.

Once done, return to the book module and begin the writer's workshop.

Advertising and social media have a huge impact on the creation of our self-images. Often we are lead to believe certain things of ourselves or have certain expectations that just aren't realistic, but rather, are a result of photoshopping or editing.

Some ads purposefully attempt to injure our self-image so that we desire their product. Consider this quote from Nancy Shalek, president of an advertising agency: "Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product, you're a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that. If you tell them to buy something, they are resistant. But if you tell them they'll be a dork it they don't, you've got their attention. You open up emotional vulnerabilities and it's very easy to do with kids because they're the most emotionally vulnerable."

Many commonly accepted ideas about appearance-for example, that skin should be blemish free and teeth bright white- are not absolute truths. These expectations were artificially created over a period of years by those who wanted to sell certain kinds of products and promoted the idea that we needed those products if our physical appearance was to be acceptable. 

Take a moment to look at some examples of the impact of advertising on our self image.

Once you have viewed the videos, open your writer's notebook and complete 3.1 Advertisements.

Having a logo is a way for a company to "brand" themselves. Consider why companies and organizations think it's important to have a logo that gives them an identity or a name. What are the key qualities of a logo?  What are the key qualities of a slogan?  What makes them so important?  

Complete the Branding Tools Quiz in the course list to test your knowledge of company slogans and logos.  Which ones can you identify?  Consider what are the important qualities of a logo or slogan.

Open your writer's notebook and complete activity 3.2 Branding Tools.

Advertisers use many strategies to sell their products.  Read some of the examples below.  Consider also the point of view and the bias of the advertisement.  Are these strategies forms of propaganda?

Open your writer's notebook and complete 3.3 Advertising Techniques. Use the following article, Online Marketing to Kids: Strategies and Techniques, to do so.

Ads are meant to target specific audiences. Depending on the target audience, advertisers choose different techniques.

Open your writer's notebook and complete 3.4 Two Different Audiences.

Read the following article and write a personal response.

Open your writer's notebook and write your response in activity 3.5.

Click here for the article

It is now time to start planning for your final assignment, creating your own product and advertising for it.

Open your writer's notebook and complete 3.6 Create your Own Product.

You can produce your ad in the media form of your choice. This could be:

3. • a poster

   • a magazine or newspaper ad

   • a Web page

   • an audio-taped radio commercial (write up your text before you record it)

   • a video-taped TV commercial

Once you've completed the assignment submit your writer's notebook to the Unit 3 Writer's Notebook Dropbox.

Here are some tools that you may find useful for creating the advertisement for your product.

Have you ever tried to figure out a new gizmo only to get completely confused by the manual? Isn't it frustrating? In this section, you will be on the other side of things. You will be the one creating the manual, so it's important you make things simple, clear, and complete.

One of the trickier parts in writing a product user manual is the instructions. If you don’t get them just right, people may be confused or frustrated.

Tips for writing clear instructions:

1. Write in simple, easy-to-understand language.

2. Don’t assume your audience knows ANYTHING about your product. Explain everything to them.

3. Divide your instructions into steps that can be easily followed.

4. Make sure your instructions are task-oriented. They tell the user what to do.

Writing Your Product User Manual

Click on the toaster to see an example of a user manual.

Example of a user manual- Toastee 3000

Write your draft now and submit it to the Product User Manual Draft Dropbox.

Do not start this next assignment until you hear back from your teacher about the draft you submitted.

Revise or rewrite your user manual so it reads more smoothly. This checklist will show you what to look for:

Edit your manual so that:

• your sentences flow easily
• your language is precise, clear, and varied
• you have used technical terms appropriately
• your information is accurate and complete
• your instructions are clearly explained and easy to follow
• you have included all the features (e.g., headings, graphics, etc.) you need to make your manual complete

Once you've made edits and feel confidence in the clarity of your instructions for readers, conduct a Usability Test.

Usability tests involve asking different people to read and actually use a draft of instructions. They help technical writers learn more about their audiences and what they can change in their instructions to make them more effective. You must conduct at least two usability tests of your set of written instructions.

Each person will need:

1. At least one printed copy of your Product User Manual.

2. Analyzing Technical Instructions worksheet

Tester’s Role:

The tester (a family member or friend) will pretend to be the audience for the instructions.

Testers need to review the instructions, looking at it slowly page by page. Testers will look for errors such as typos and incomplete sentences, but they will primarily look for whether or not the instructions work, that is, whether the instructions make sense.

They should ask many questions:

• Are there steps missing?
• Are the directions easy to follow?
• Do the pictures accurately portray the item?
• Are the parts labeled correctly?
• How could these instructions be better?

Once each of your testers finish going through your user manual, have them complete the Analyzing Technical instructions handout. CLICK HERE to download and print the worksheet for your testers.

Author’s Role:

While the tester is testing the instructions, the author of the instructions should watch SILENTLY. The author cannot speak or help the tester. Remember, when most people use instructions, the writers are not present and users must figure things out on their own.

You can only be an observer in this process, but you will definitely want to watch closely, listen to the tester talk about problems, and take notes so that you can fix your instructions in the revision process.

Once you've had a minimum of two testers complete the Analyzing Technical Instructions sheet, submit it to the Product User Manual Revising Dropbox.

Once you've gone through and made all necessary revisions, begin editing your product user manual and advertisement.

Editing is where you make sure everything reads smoothly.

Check that you have done each of these things:

Parts of Speech:

Did I use a consistent verb tense (e.g. past or present) throughout my writing?

Do my singular subjects have singular verbs and my plural subjects have plural verbs?

Did I use the best words in my writing?

Sentences

Do all my sentences express complete thought?

Have I eliminated run-on sentences from my writing?

Have I eliminated short, choppy sentences from my writing?

Have I eliminated long, rambling sentences from my writing?

Did I use a variety of words and phrases to start my sentences?

Have I eliminated words that don't add meaning to my sentences?

After you have edited your product user manual, read it aloud at least once.  Let your ear tell you what sounds awkward or ungrammatical.

I have read my user manual aloud at least once.

Once you are satisfied with your editing, it's time to proofread your writing.  Proofreading deals with the more mechanical aspects of your writing.  Check your writing for these points.

Title

Have I included a title?

Punctuation

Did I include a punctuation mark at the end of each sentence?

Did I use commas to separate items in a series?

Did I use commas before conjunctions (e.g., and, or, but) in compound sentences?

Did I correctly punctuate the dialogue in my writing?

Did I use apostrophes to show possession or missing letters (not plural)?

Capitalization

Did I begin each sentence and direct quotation with a capital letter?

Did I capitalize nouns that name specific people, places, and things?

Spelling

Have I double-checked the spelling of the names of people and places?

Did I use the correct word form for words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings (e.g., their, they're, there;  too, to, two)?

Did I use the spell-check function on my computer?

Paragraphing

Have I indented each new paragraph or double-spaced it from the previous paragraph?

If there is dialogue, have I started a new paragraph each time the speaker changes?

Sometimes it can be difficult to spot mistakes in your own work, so you could ask a friend or family member to proofread it as well.

Once you have:

• completed the usability test
• revised your first draft based on feedback from your teacher
• edited your work for COPS 
• checked the rubric to make sure you have included all necessary elements
• you are ready to submit the final draft of your advertisement and product user manual.

Submit under the dropbox: Advertisement Final Draft & Product User Manual Final Draft