Marilyn A. Dyrud
Oregon Institute of Technology
Since the advent of relatively inexpensive desktop publishing software, document design has become increasingly important. Generally speaking, document design refers to the physical arrangement of text and graphics on the page to maximize reader comprehension. An effectively designed page increases a document's usability; a poor page design impedes the intended action.
All instructors create assignments for their students. In writing, these may range from simple abstracts to complex, multi-term capstone reports. All instructors also have had the experience of reading papers from students who have misinterpreted the assignment. Perhaps, though, the fault lies not solely with the student, but in the presentation of the assignment. Perhaps more attention to the physical design-the format-of the assignment would yield more acceptable student papers.
The following example, from a sophomore-level mechanical engineering technology course, illustrates what can happen when an instructor ignores format:
In many developing countries the energy crisis takes a very basic form and is intricately interrelated with many other critical aspects of the quality of life. This crisis involves the use of wood, primarily for the cooking of food. Most of this is done inside a dwelling and is both inefficient and somewhat hazardous. The set-up, in many cases, involves simply supporting one cooking pot on three stones and building the fire underneath. The combustion of the fuel wood is far from optimum with this scheme, and the heat from this combustion is not transferred to the cooking pot in the most effective way. In addition, the production of smoke within the living space and the possible fire hazard inherent in this traditional practice pose obvious detriments to the household environment.The crisis becomes more profound when one considers the ramifications of this inefficient method of energy utilization. First, the main source of energy, wood, is becoming scarcer as an ever-increasing population deforests its available land. This combustion process, in turn, leads to three subsequent effects. One, this deforestation leads to increased erosion; the removal of topsoil and process of desertification. Two, the people responsible for gathering wood must spend more of their time and energy venturing farther afield in quest of this dwindling resource. Three, as the shortfall of fuel wood increases, it is made up by utilizing more animal dung as fuel, thus removing this source of fertilizing nutrients from the rejuvenation role it plays in soil quality maintenance.
Realizing that this is a generalized scenario portrayed here-these factors vary with respect to relative weighting, and many other effects are also manifested-develop a needs analysis, a definitive problem statement, and a plan for information gathering and factors to be tested in the development of a more efficient cookstove designed to improve fuel wood utilization. You should not undertake to solve the problem-don't actually proceed with the design. Some factors to be considered in formulation of a needs analysis/problem statement might include: availability/fabricability/performance/cost of material, amount/skill level of available labor, type/amount of energy available for production, transportability from production site, cooking configuration and capacity, and many others to be prioritized in a needs/wants hierarchy, keeping in mind the primary goal of more efficient use of the energy resource at hand.
Some assumptions are in order concerning the general locale for the formulation of this problem: the stove should be considered usable for both rural and more urban-situated peoples. There is access to simple metal-working and earth/clay-forming technology. And home heating is not a primary function of the design as used in a relatively warm climate.
A one-page, single-spaced assignment in block format simply does not invite reading; the dense page looks intimidating. In fact, I wonder if any students managed to find the actual assignment, which is buried in the middle of the third paragraph. Other difficulties include the following:
A number of these items are content-related. While the instructor is to be commended for his enthusiasm and desire to broaden his students' perspective, he has neglected to think through the assignment so that he can present a clear task for his students. Even had he done so, however, the formatting of this assignment obfuscates the work to be done. The document is unusable from the reader's perspective because it is hiding information, rather than revealing it.
If we want our students to succeed, we must guide them. We must devise assignments with as much care as we expect our students to exhibit in completing them. Each assignment should demonstrate care both in conception and physical presentation. To help other instructors avoid the pitfalls encountered by the cookstove project instructor, this paper presents suggestions for formatting assignments for maximum effectiveness and usability.
The following sections explain those design considerations which are most pertinent to written assignments. By following these guidelines, instructors should be able to produce assignments which are attractive to look at and easy for students to understand.
Headings are an indispensable element in technical communications. They help readers locate information, and they help writers organize their thoughts. We would never write a professional paper without some sort of heading system, no matter how simplistic; why, then, do we give students assignments which are devoid of such pointers? Given the current state of word processing programs, there is really no excuse for not using headings.
Headings can emphasize the major sections of an assignment and give the page an organized look. Such areas might include the following:
Combined with chunking, explained below, headings make an assignment very readable and easy for students to use.
In desktop publishing parlance, ``chunking'' refers to breaking down text into easily digestible bits, rather than large hunks. It's the communications equivalent of Reese's pieces, instead of the whole peanut butter cup. In formatting, chunking includes such items as bulleted or numbered lists and columns. It is different than paragraphing, which merely divides a larger block of text into smaller units.
In explaining requirements for a pavement management project, an instructor included the following on his handout:
Each student will be required to submit a report on their findings and recommendations. The report should include:
This is very clear and easy to follow. Furthermore, students can use the bulleted items as a checklist for completing their reports. Compare that example with the following explanation of the conclusion section for a lab report in an optics class:
This section must consist of a clear and concise conclusion of your experiment, and also represents one of the most important sections in your report. Here you are acting somewhat like a technical salesman who is making a technical pitch, and you must try to do so in a way that convinces the reader that you are technically competent, that you know what you are talking about, and that you have in fact accomplished that which you set out to do (and mentioned in the abstract). In this section I also want to know your thoughts regarding this experiment. Were you successful? What did you accomplish? What difficulties did you encounter, and what suggestions would you care to give to the instructor? Please refrain from cutesy expressions that are annoying and unprofessional. Remember, right now you are trying to convince me for a good lab grade, but sometime very soon you will instead be trying to convince your employer to retain you as an employee (and consider you for decent, challenging projects), or trying to convince your customer why they should take you seriously. In short, you are selling yourself. Don't forget, this section is the last thing the reader will read (and in some cases the first and only thing read), and thus it will probably be one of the things (if not the only thing) that they most remember about your report. Here is where you want to help the reader make up his/her mind about the quality and validity of your work. Remember, a great experiment dressed in shabby clothes will likely be considered as shabby work by the reader. It's just human nature.
This explanation displays some of the same content difficulties as the cookstove project: it rambles, the focus is murky (does the instructor want an objective conclusion to the experiment, a subjective evaluation of the assignment, or a sales document?), and many items are dumped haphazardly into one overly long paragraph. This is not a helpful document.
Chunking information is a good thing. Students will appreciate the organized look of chunked assignments, and instructors will find that listing information helps to clarify expectations for the assignment. If the writer of the paragraph above were to list key points, he would find that it contains more bulk than substance, and some mixed messages as well.
Special formatting features include boldface, italics, underlining, shading, and varied type sizes. These perform much the same formatting functions as headings and chunking: to highlight important information.
A lab assignment on landslides and risk assessment for a sophomore-level engineering geology course provides a good example of using boldface and larger type size to emphasize the three areas of the assignment: materials required, general instructions, and project description. While the text of the assignment is 12 point Times Roman, the headings are in 14 point boldface. The project description itself is further divided into an outline format, with numbered and lettered lists. Paragraphs are limited to five or six lines of text. The result is an assignment which is very easy for students to understand.
Be judicious, however, is using these special features. It is not necessary to boldface, all cap, and underline a heading; boldface and a larger type size is sufficient. Also, in the text of an assignment, avoid over-using these features; it is tantamount to yelling at the students. A ``Lab Report Format'' handout for a senior-level laser electro-optics class, for example, contains 15 places where the instructor has used bold italics and underlining, as in this excerpt:
All figures must have figure numbers and captions, and all tables must have table numbers and captions. Figure numbers and captions always go below the figures, while table numbers and captions always go above the tables.
The use of special features serves to emphasize an aggressive tone, which, in turn, can alienate and anger students. Furthermore, since no reasons are given for these directions, students may assume that they are simply arbitrary.
Students appreciate a positive tone. An improved version of these directions might read: ``Follow standard conventions in technical writing by captioning figures below and tables above.'' Include short examples, and make it clear in the preface to the assignment that papers which do not meet criteria will be returned.
Be sure, also, to proofread assignments carefully before printing and distributing them. It is embarrassing when students point out typographical errors, as in this sentence: ``A technologist must not forget that the intended use of the technology is for the benefit if mankind.'' Such mistakes also undermine the instructor's credibility and his/her seriousness about the high quality expected of student work.
As instructors, we know that modeling is a major teaching methodology. If we want to receive attractive, readable papers from students, we must ensure that the printed materials we distribute in class reflect our expectations of student work. Following the design guidelines described in this paper will help instructors to attain that goal.
Marilyn Dyrud is a full professor in the Communications Department at Oregon Institute of Technology, where she teaches courses in composition, technical and business writing, public speaking, rhetoric, and technical editing. She is active in ASEE, serving as her campus' representative, as a member of the ETC Publications Committee and ET Centennial Committee, as a reviewer for the Journal of Engineering Technology, and as the manuscript editor for ETD's centennial publication. She also compiles the annual bibliography of engineering technology education.