Chapter 9: Drafting and Revising Definitions and Descriptions Presented by Team Seis Corp. Joshua Hutchins James Dixon Derrick Nesfield Robert Hutson Karen Collins

Role of Definitions Definition usage Describe the concept, idea, or other message so that it is easily understood Definition usage Writing effective definitions

Analyzing the Situation Consider the audience Consider the purpose of the document

Determining the type of Definition Three types of definitions Parenthetical Sentence Extended

Extended Definitions “A detailed clarification usually consisting of one or more paragraphs of an object, process, or idea”

Techniques for Ext. Definitions Graphics Examples Partition

Techniques for Ext. Definitions con’t Principle of Operation Comparison and Contrast Analogy

Techniques for Ext. Definitions con’t Negation Etymology History of the term

Where to put the Definition Parenthetical Sentence in which the term first appears Sentence and Extended Text, Margin, Hyperlink, Footnotes, etc…

That’s a lot of choices! Things to take into account Audience Glossary Appendix Definitions can be put wherever it seems most logical

Descriptions Verbal and Visual representations of Objects Mechanisms Processes Consider the Audience

Rules for Descriptions Give title if on separate document Give section header if on same document Title should indicate if description is Introduce description clearly Separate from description

Questions for Introduction What is the item or process? What is the function of the item or process? What does the item look like? Who or what performs the process? How does the item or process work? What are the principal parts of the item?

Appropriate Detail Descriptions are Hierarchical Processes are made up of processes Objects are composed of objects

Processes Have an inherent ordering, and should be presented chronologically

Cyclic Processes Just pick one and start there.

Objects Objects need to have order imposed upon them They can be broken down functionally, spatially, or any way that helps decompose them into smaller less complex objects.

Graphics Always Help Unless they are completely irrelevant

Little Problem Processes are made of processes Objects are made of objects

Wisdom from the Book “The level of detail depends on the complexity of the item and the reader’s needs”

Conclude the Description Summarize the object/process as a whole.  For objects which may be broken down arbitrarily, it gives a chance to describe relationships between subobjects. For processes, review only the highest level steps to give a broad overview of the entire process.