SCENARIO 2

Zachary Ouellette ENGL-2225-01W 9/20/2019

AUDIENCE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Scenario 1: I’m a high school teacher writing a guide for students on how to use the citation
manager within Microsoft Word. It’s important for them to understand this since they will be
writing a number of papers which require various citation formats. By using Word’s citation
manager, the students can more effectively manage their sources and cite them within their
paper. I will cover the most basic aspects of the citation manager, such as how access it and
enter a citation. As many young students today have grown up with technology, they are not
unfamiliar with Word as they have more than likely used it in the past. As such, commonplace
jargon such as “Window” is acceptable. Since the students have short attention spans and are
likely overloaded with information from textbooks used in their studies, I believe it would be
best to include screenshots to make it easier for them to skim along the instructions. Some
students may have poor reading comprehension or eyesight, so I will keep the steps short and
clear. I will also use a design which is easy to interpret.

Scenario 2: This actually isn’t a made-up scenario. I’ve had a lot of people ask me how to
access the “Forms” section of the Fire Science Club Charger Connection page. I’m probably
going to hand out this section of the assignment to the club.
I want them to be able to access the forms so that they can sign up for trips, committee head
positions, and other activities sponsored by our club. It’s a simple task, and the individuals who
will be completing it are familiar with UNH’s web applications. All I have to do is direct them
to where they need to be. Since they are already familiar with the applications involved, I can
keep the steps brief and some basic jargon is acceptable. Graphics likely won’t be necessary
since this is a reasonably simple process for this audience. I know my audience personally, and
none of them have disabilities which would impede their ability to read. However, I will still
design the document in such a way that makes it easy to comprehend information. I will keep
the steps brief because there is no need to be verbose when discussing a simple topic such as this.
The audience is also already aware of what is necessary to access Charger Connection, so I can
keep the introduction brief and avoid a lengthy explanation of what is required to complete the
task. One thing I will be sure to include in the introduction of the assignment is the fact that they
have to be added to the club’s roster before they will be able to access and fill out these forms.
 SCENARIO 1

How to Cite Sources Using the Microsoft Word Source Manager

When an assignment requires you to study outside sources, it is important to give credit to
those who produced the ideas you are using. These instructions will introduce you to a simple
way to create and manage your citations. By the time you finish reading these instructions, you
will be able to access the source manager to create a citation. The process should take no more
than 15 minutes – All you need is a working computer with a blank Microsoft Word 2016
document open, internet access, and an open web browser to find a source for the citation.
For the purposes of this tutorial, we will be citing a source in APA format.

Accessing the Source Manager

1. Click the References tab in the toolbar at the top of your document

2. Under “Citations & Bibliography,” click on Manage Sources. (The Source Manager will
appear in a new window)
2.1. It is possible to change citation type using the “Style” drop-down menu under Manage
Sources.

The Source Manager is now open and ready for use. From here you can add new citations, edit
existing ones, or access the master list to use citations that have been used in other documents.
For now, we will focus on adding new citations.
 SCENARIO 1

Adding New Citations

1. Click the button labeled New… in the center of the Source Manager. (A new window titled
“Create Source” will be opened)

2. Select your source type using the “Type of Source” dropdown menu at the top of the
window.
3. Enter the information for the source you would like to cite under the appropriate fields.
3.1. In order to add source authors, click Edit next to the “Author” field. (The “Edit Name”
window will appear)

3.2. If there is more than one author, be sure to organize them alphabetically by last name.
3.3. Click OK at the bottom of the window. (The authors will now appear in the appropriate
field)
4. Once all relevant information has been entered, click OK. (The “Create Source” window will
disappear, and your citation will appear under the Master List and Current List)
 SCENARIO 1

Your citation is now ready for you to access. An in-text citation can be placed into your
document using the ”Insert Citation” dropdown menu. Additionally, a bibliography containing
all your citations under “Current List” can be created by clicking the Bibliography dropdown
menu.
 SCENARIO 2

Completing Fire Science Club Forms on Charger Connection

Charger Connection forms are the backbone of how UNH’s student organizations process certain
information, such as meeting absence requests and trip sign-ups. The Fire Science Club has many
interesting events planned for this year, so it is important that everyone understands how to sign up for
them. You are all familiar with the basic operation of Charger Connection already, so this document will
provide a simple roadmap for completing a form.

Note: You cannot access the forms if you have not yet been added to the club roster. If you have not
been added, please contact the club’s executive board via E-mail at fsc@newhaven.edu

1. Sign in to MyCharger using your student account.

2. Access Charger Connection using the icon located underneath the “Welcome” header.
3. Under “Memberships” on the home page, click Fire Science Club
4. Scroll down to the section of the page titled “Forms”.
5. Click the desired form. (You will be automatically re-directed to the form.)
6. Fill out any necessary fields marked by a red asterisk
7. Click Next at the bottom right corner of the screen
8. Review your submission and enter any additional comments.
9. Click Submit.

After clicking Submit, you will be redirected to the “My Submissions” page. Here you can view any
forms you have previously submitted as well as their completion date, current status, and when that
status was applied. Once the executive board reviews the form, you will be notified via your student E-
mail of whether it has been approved or denied.
 REFLECTION

While writing these instructions and tailoring them for their specific audiences, I
considered the fact that both audiences were already somewhat knowledgeable about at least the
most basic aspects of the subject at hand. That being said, in the first scenario, the younger
audience is significantly less familiar with concepts such as citing sources within a paper. As
such, I titled it using the “How-to” format as opposed to a gerund phrase. In the second scenario,
I used a gerund phrase since the audience being addressed is already readily familiar with
Charger Connection and are aware of what they are looking for – They just need directions on
how to get there.

In terms of introductions, I took care to structure these based on the target audience as
well. In my first scenario, I briefly described the importance of the task at hand, deliberately
spelled out what the instructions sought to accomplish, and stated what resources were necessary
in order to accomplish the task. I started the introduction for the second scenario in a similar
way to the first scenario, but instead of getting into the specifics of what the instructions aim to
accomplish and what resources were necessary, I simply highlighted the importance of the task.
I also included a signal word, “Note”, in the introduction for the second scenario. This was
included to remind those reading the instructions that there was an important first step that
needed to be taken before the task could be completed.

Regarding the actual instructions, there are obvious differences between the two
scenarios. The first obvious difference is the length of the instructions. In scenario 1, I address
an audience which is less familiar with the application being used. The application itself also
plays a part in the way I describe the processes, since Microsoft Word has a lot of options
available for users to look through. In order to prevent any confusion, I made sure to include
specific, detailed steps with plenty of feedback statements and graphics. The detailed steps
themselves provide the basic description of what must be done, while the feedback statements
and graphics work together to ensure the reader has some way to verify that they are completing
the steps properly. These graphics also serve to clarify the meaning of certain jargon such as
“Field”, “Master List”, and “Current List”. In scenario 2, I do not have to worry as much about
my audience failing to understand the instructions. They are familiar with many of the features
of the application, and the application itself is significantly less complex than Microsoft Word.
As such, I kept the steps short and to the point with no graphics.

As recommended in the textbook, I took care to ensure that each step of the instructions
was written using the imperative mood. The steps must be completed as provided in order to
achieve the desired effect, and the imperative mood serves to convey that fact. Additionally, I
included parentheses around my feedback statements in both scenarios in order to differentiate
them from the steps that they are supplementing.

In scenario 1, I ran into an issue with describing how to actually enter a citation. I noted
that the process for adding an author to the citation would require its own set of instructions, so I
used a two-level numbering system to branch off from step #3 of the instructions and describe
how to add an author, or authors, to the citation. This separated the process and highlighted its
importance, but also served to avoid dividing the instructions down the middle with a new,
awkwardly placed section.
 REFLECTION

As the book recommends, I also took care to avoid including too much or too little
information. As with everything else, this was dependent on the audience being addressed. In
the first scenario, some of my descriptions may seem verbose, but I feel it is necessary to
adequately describe the necessary steps to someone who is less familiar with an application. In
the second scenario, I noted that there really was no need for long descriptions. By simply
indicating what needed to be clicked in order to achieve a result, the target audience would likely
have no problem accomplishing the task.

I kept my conclusions short, as I did not feel there was much that needed to be said – I
described what the reader would have accomplished if they successfully followed the
instructions, and what other options were now open to them since they had completed the task.
For example, in the first scenario’s conclusion, I stated how the reader could now insert an in-
text citation and pre-formatted bibliography using the sources under their “Current List” if they
so desired. In this way, I gave the reader an idea of what they can do with the task they have just
accomplished, and a method to test whether or not they effectively completed the task.