The Associate Professor of English at Penn State University, Stuart Selber, wrote a paper titled "A Rhetoric of Electronic Instruction Sets." Within his paper, he discusses the techniques used to categorize instruction sets, of which he defines as a “step-by-step procedure to accomplishing a physical or mental task” (p. 97). Specifically, he addresses three models that are common tactics for organizing electronic instruction sets: self-contained, embedded, and open. These three concepts often work together to create a consistent format for creating how-to articles.

 

Self-Contained Instruction Sets

 

These sets apply to more rigid situations. When a problem is unchanging, these instruction sets are comprehensive enough to solve or handle a certain situation. A full list of information and definitions will be listed in these sets, and they often take the format of a PDF or HTML websites. For example, an instruction set from Apple.com that explains in six steps how to use QuickTime 7 Pro on a Mac OS X contains mostly definitions and basic information in order to understand a situation, product, or application. As such a basic information set, the design for the document is also basic. There is limited room for creativity and design.

 

Embedded Instruction Sets

 

In order to understand the concept of embedded instruction sets, one must first understand the concept of metadata. Metadata is data that describes other data. Although the term is ambiguous in nature, metadata is frequently seen in our electronic communication. For example, when we see information about the date in which a file was modified or when you leave a comment on a post, these are examples of metadata. Using metadata, embedded instruction sets take that information and construct and create their instruction set to fit the needs of the audience. Unlike self-contained instruction sets, embedded instruction sets come in the form of screen capture videos or tutorials, or blog posts and discussion boards. Therefore, discussion boards that allow individuals to ask questions about how to use certain products or maneuver around certain situations is a way to describe an embedded instruction set; the instructional response is directly correlated to the problem asked by the audience, unlike a static problem that has a controlled answer.

 

Open Instruction Sets

 

The final category of instruction sets is the open instruction set. An open set is defined by the user’s ability to become the author of an instruction set. But it does not have to be just one user, instead, an open instruction set focuses on collaboration between “users of all levels [that] can offer valuable perspectives and insights” (p. 107). The openness of this instruction set also comes from the fact that the set is never finished or closed, there is always room for revisions. This is different from an embedded instruction set in that when someone makes a contribution to the instructions, like a comment, there are further options to edit or respond to other posts or even translate your question into another language. It allows users to also be creators, but with knowledgeable monitors in the background checking for accuracy. A primary example of an open instruction set is Wikipedia.

 

 

 

 

Selber divided electronic instruction sets into three specific categories. He mentions in the beginning of the article that all three of these concepts typically work together and overlap, and it is clear after reading his work that he was right. Many of these structures pull specific aspects from one another other, which made is difficult to keep the concepts separate in my head. Especially as technology has continuously improved, I felt as though all electronic instruction sets have the ability to be embedded instruction sets. From a basic Google search, you can find an interactive discussion board or chat box on any website.

 

And personally, I favor this method of instruction sets. Having a more personable and specific set of instructions always makes completing tasks simpler. But this feeling also says something about my generation: that we always love to be connected and engaged with someone online. More often than not, we do not like looking for answers in a broad document formatted like a self-contained instruction set; instead, we prefer someone to give the answers to us. This problem, which comes across as murly laziness, could pose a hurdle for technical writers to overcome in the future.

 

The internet is more interactive than ever, and I think this article needs to be updated to note that many online sites are more focused on embedded instruction sets rather than self-contained instruction sets. Everything is interactive in some measure on the internet and technology is constantly evolving. This would come as a quite a shock to Selber as he notes at the end of his work that “it is hard to conceive of a technological world in which people no longer need immutable how-to documents” (p. 115).  It’s hard to break it to you, Selber, but immutable documents do not match up with the mutable style of technology.

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Reference

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Selber, Stuart A. “A Rhetoric of Electronic Instruction Sets.” Technical Communication Quarterly 19.2 (2010): 95-117. Taylor

       & Francis Online. Web. Feb 2, 2016.