Memorandum To: Allison Jaenicke From: Kinnari Patel Date: January 23rd, 2012 Re: Analysis of Happy Family

Nutrition Guide Technical Document It is the purpose of this memo to thoroughly analyze the Happy Family Nutrition Guide in accordance to the six characteristics of technical communication. The guide is directed towards primary care givers of babies and was published on March 31st, 2009. The Guide Addresses the Specific Audience of Primary Care Givers of Infants The primary audience of the guide is parents looking to understand how to properly provide nutrition for a baby from infancy to age three. The secondary audience includes other care givers of babies such as extended family and daycare providers who also make choices regarding a babys nourishment. The document references Baby in order to keep the secondary audience more engaged as opposed to a more limiting term such as your child. However, Baby is always referred to using the pronoun she so this may provide minimal confusion for caregivers of male babies. The inclusion of recipes that can be modified to feed both Baby and caregivers, the guide focuses on families as a whole, thus appealing more strongly to the audience. The Guide Helps Readers Better Understand How Best to Provide Adequate Baby Nutrition The guide does an outstanding job in thoroughly outlining baby nutrition for the first twelve months. The design varies to include month-by-month recommendations of which foods to introduce and avoid, brightly colored bulleted lists of potential allergies or hazards and their warning signs, and helpful graphs including portioning and food group breakdowns. The table of contents helps orient readers to the section most applicable to the baby in their care, whether he or she is an infant or a toddler. The most helpful aspect of the guide is the troubleshooting format including tips for dealing with picky eaters and helping the mother return to a prepregnancy weight. It is very clear, however, that in providing examples for foods within necessary food groups, the guide focuses heavily on products manufactured by Happy Baby Food Company, thus pushing their products through the document. The Guide Reflects the Goals and Culture of Happy Baby Food Company The Happy Baby Food Company is clearly devoted to providing healthy organic nutrition to babies everywhere. This is clearly evidenced on page fifteen of the guide on which the benefits of going organic are outlined. This firm stance is clearly very important to the brand as they take the time and space to fully explain how and why they create and sell baby food in the manner they do. The company also demonstrates its global outlook by showing support for

children facing malnutrition in Malawi and Sierra Leone. By donating a portion of proceeds and depicting the effects of Project Peanut Butter with information and touching graphics on page seventeen, Happy Baby Food Co. demonstrates their dedication to providing financial support as well as awareness for the cause. The Guide was Created Collaboratively by a Dietician and Pediatrician Page sixteen introduces the two authors of the guide, showing the multiple points of view used to form the document. The very professional photograph of Dr. Sears, complete with stethoscope, helps establish credibility for readers that are skeptical of any information provided in the guide. Furthermore, by explaining that he is father of three, regularly appears on television and has written books on the same topic further shows his expertise in the field. The endearing picture of dietician Amy Marlow with her own child show that she also has direct experience raising a child, and her impressive collection of degrees, including a Masters and higher-level dieticians degrees, add to her authority. The Varied Design Helps Readers Understand the Different Types of Information Provided By dividing the information into easily digestible subheadings with bold titles, readers are able to peruse and focus on the aspects of the guide they find most interesting or pertinent. The change in color used for bulleted lists and warnings helps draw the reader to the parts of the document which the author found to be the most important, for example, the allergy warnings are in bright orange bold, surrounded by stars. The uncluttered graphs and step-by-step recipes increase readability and make sure the reader is not overwhelmed by the wealth of information given. The Wording is Clear and Appropriate, but the Graphics Range from Helpful to Outlandish The tone of the guide varies from direct commands (such as Dos and Donts) to a tone which sounds more like a suggestion, leaving choices to the care givers discretion. By changing between these two styles, the authors are able to maintain authority without sounding overbearing or preachy. Also, any medical terms are fully explained in laymans terms in order to make sure the audience is never confused. Though they do push the Happy Baby Food products, alternatives are also always given in order to keep from exclusively using the guide as an advertising piece. Some graphics used are clean, high-quality photographs of baby faces and food, however some animations, such as the collection of cartoons on page ten, distract from the text. Though the text is focusing on toddlers at that point, the readers are not toddlers, therefore the graphics should not be geared towards them. Summary Despite minor issues with a few graphics and word choice, this guide is an extremely effective piece of technical writing. With clear focus, varied design, understandable information, and solid information, this guide is successful in achieving its purpose in educating about baby nutrition.