ENG 100
TUTORIAL (HOW TO . . .) ASSIGNMENT
Prepare a short document (600-800 words) in the form of a written tutorial. This will be modified
to form a script/storyboard for a podcast or video version of your “How To . . .” project. The
topic will be related to the digital tool with which you have gained experience through your work
during the last week. As you write, imagine your audience to be the group of future students who
will take advantage of this tool in class. Prepare a written tutorial that those students
will find useful to enable them to even more quickly assimilate your topic technique into their
routine work. In other words, what else would like to have been told that would have made your
mastering of that technique go more smoothly? Strive to make your document, video, etc., clear,
concise, and useful.
Piecing together the Tutorial
1. Choose a good topic. You should start with topics wherein you have a good amount of
knowledge. But if there are already a bunch of tutorials on those topic, it could be difficult to
attract any traffic. Thus, its a good idea to do a quick search on Google to gauge the competition.
Another good idea is to consider writing tutorials on topics that don’t have any tutorials written
on them yet.
Obviously, it helps if there is a need or demand for said tutorial. Usually, if you are the first
person to write a comprehensive tutorial on a particular topic, there’s a good chance that your
tutorial will attract all the traffic and establish a firm spot atop the search engines . . . that is, until
someone writes a superior tutorial on the same topic. The next 10 tips will help prevent this from
happening.
2. Clearly state the objective of your tutorial. This should be done in the title description and
then once again in more detail at the very beginning of the tutorial. This gives readers an idea of
what to expect and helps them determine if they want to continue reading.
3. Be clear and concise. This tip simply cannot be understated. You want to write the tutorial
in such a manner that a 3rd grader can understand and follow. Tutorials require a different style
of writing than you are probably used too because your main objective is to teach something to
the user. It is imperative that your tutorial is clear and concise so that the reader does not get
confused or frustrated. Remember, a tutorial is supposed to help a person learn, so you want to
make it as easy as possible for them.
4. Use images to supplement the text. A picture can be worth a thousand words. Most of the
time, you will need pictures to explain how to do things. Using screen shots and modifying
images to describe what you are saying can greatly aid in getting your point across to the reader.
Well placed pictures can make or break a good tutorial.
5. Use examples. Find simple examples that will best illustrate your point. Examples are critical
to a tutorial because applying information can really help the reader understand and grasp the
material better. Talking about doing something, and actually doing it are two completely
different things. If possible, multiple examples should be used as it can be quite useful to the
reader. If relevant, include source files of examples that you conduct.
6. Use an organized structure. Writing tutorials in list format make them more visually
appealing and increase their readability. Some tutorials can get quite large, so developing an
organized structure can help your user navigate around the different sections. I use a Table of
Contents plugin to help me organize my tutorials. In addition, I also use multiple pages to break
up my tutorial into more manageable pieces. Some users prefer that all the content is on one
page, so it might be a good idea to offer both formats.
7. Break down the tutorial into simple steps. It’s better to have two simple steps, than one step
that is longer and more complicated. Remember, we’re trying to make it easier on the reader, not
harder.
8. Leave nothing to ambiguity. This point reinforces #3, but deserves it’s own mention.
Explaining more is better than explaining less. More information is better than less information.
Once again, it all comes down to making it easy for the reader. Try not to make any assumptions
about what the reader does or does not know.
9. Proofread and run through your tutorial. It is also a good idea to have some other people
do the same. Odds are good that they will find stuff you forgot to mention. In addition, they can
provide feedback on parts where you failed to explain certain things clearly or parts where more
information could have been offered.
10. Include a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section. This is a good way to answer
questions before they are even asked and acts as a good supplement to the tutorial. As you get
more feedback from readers, you can continually update the the FAQ section so that new readers
do not ask the same questions.
11. Update and provide support. No matter how comprehensive your tutorial is, it is practically
guaranteed that you will forget to address a particular issue or that people will have further
questions. You should treat your tutorial as a living document and edit it when new information
comes into play. You should also be ready to answer any questions in a timely manner. By
showing that you are active and willing to help, you will build credibility by the sheer number of
comments and responses. If the comment section gets too crowded, you may even have to
consider using a forum.
If you follow these eleven tips, you should have no problem creating a high quality tutorial. Here
are some links to three tutorial sites that are exemplary. You can use these as a blueprint in
writing your own tutorials. Good luck!
View the following site to view some effective tutorials:
http://www.instructables.com/
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Above Standards
Meets Standards
Below Standards
Not Evident
1
2
3
Above Standards
1 pts
Content
Above Standards
Meets Standards
2 pts
Meets Standards
Below Standards
3 pts
Below Standards
Not
Evident
(N/A)
Not Evident
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Covers topic inde
Covers topic indepth
with details
and examples.
Subject knowledge
is completely
covered in tutorial.
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Includes essentia
Includes essential
knowledge about
the topic. Subject
knowledge appears
to be covered with
one element
missing.
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Includes essential
information about
the topic but there
are 1 – 2 factual
errors.
Several essential
elements are missing
from the tutorial.
Contains three or
more factual errors.
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Several essential
Includes essentia
Storyboard
Above Standards
Meets Standards
Below Standards
The storyboard
presents a plan for
90% of the text,
captions, and
visual elements.
The storyboard
presents a plan for
80% of the text,
captions, and
visual elements.
Not Evident
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The storyboard<B
The storyboard
presents a
complete plan for
the text, captions,
and visual
elements.
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The storyboard<B
The storyboard is
Meets Standards
Below Standards
Most of the screens
include
explanatory
captions except for
one screen.
Only one or two of
the screens
include
explanatory
captions except for
one screen.
The storyboard is
incomplete. It does
not present a plan
for text, captions,
visual elements,
andlor presenters.
The storyboard<B
Caption
Above Standards
Not Evident
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All of the screens
All of the screens
include captions
with explanations of
each element.
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Most of the scree
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Only one or tw o o
None of the screens
of the screens
include explanatory
captions.
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None of the scree
Transitions
Above Standards
Meets Standards
Below Standards
Not Evident
Tutorial transitions
flow smoothly from
one concept and one
screen to another.
Helps audience
engage.
Tutorial transitions
flow smoothly from
one concept and one
screen to another.
Tutorial transitions
disrupt the flow of
concepts and
screens. Transitions
are distracting.
Tutorial does not use
any transitions.
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Tutorial transition
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Tutorial transition
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Tutorial does not
Tutorial transition
Timing
Above Standards
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The tutorial reama
The tutorial reamain
in the time frame of
five to seven
minutes.
Meets Standards
Below Standards
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The tutorial w as l
Not Evident
The tutorial was less
than five minutes.
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Videos and/or podcasts will be presented on _________________________________________.
You will need to turn in your written tutorial and your storyboard with your presentation for full
credit.