This is Not True!
—Some of the time, anyway. Tech docs have a reputation for not being read, but that’s because we make the info so clear, people sometimes think they didn’t read it. Details after the comic.
Five things about writing instructions well:
- Number the instructions.
- One instruction per instruction. (Except you can end with “and press Enter” when appropriate.)
- Start with an imperative.
- Tell the result of doing it right.
- Include a picture afterwards if possible. The goal is to make it possible to follow the instructions just by looking at the pictures. Hence the reputation of not being read.
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