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One kind of project that a tech writer is often given is to explain a process. It can be anything from a short how-to product description to a major document that details the operation of a complicated machine.
A couple of interesting examples that come to mind from my own experience are a video for technicians on how to use the Rotunda Fuel Injector Tester/Cleaner and an installation and service manual for the KWAUN 4600 Copier. Both required extensive research to determine exactly how the machines worked followed by careful consideration of the best ways to lay out the processes.
If you don't have a lot of experience with this type of work (and sometimes even if you do), it's possible to fall into a number traps when it comes to providing a clear, concise, and complete description of a process.
You have to consider:
- who your target audience is
- what they already know about the subject
- what, if any, experience they've had with the process
- what, if any, experience they've had with similar processes
- what you'll need to explain either in words, illustrations, or both
Your job is to explain how to make a piece of toast.
The exercise in divided into 2 parts. They involve the same process, but each is directed to a different audience. It'll be good practice to work out the exact steps involved in this seemingly simple process. You'll also have to alter your content and approach depending on your target audience.
Toaster Details:
The toaster is an ordinary, two-slice, home kitchen toaster. It has a slide to push down to start the toasting process. There's a "light to dark" dial from 0 to 10. It has a separate button for toasting only one side for bagels and English muffins.
Exercise - Part One
Write a step-by-step process for turning a single piece of bread into a piece of dark toast.
The audience is 18- to 25-year olds who live in cities of populations of over 10,000. These cities are located west of the Mississippi and north of Kentucky.
Exercise - Part Two
Write a step-by-step process for turning a single piece of bread into a piece of dark toast.
The audience is 18- to 25 year olds who have lived their whole lives on an island in the South Pacific with a population of under 500. They are aware of but not familiar with electricity and indoor plumbing.
After you've written your two processes, check the solutions below to see how your work compares. Look for what you missed or what you thought of that the solutions missed.
Solutions
The task was to write a brief process on how to make a piece of toast using an ordinary toaster. Your target audience was two very different groups of people.
Part One - Solution
It's reasonable to expect that the first group, the young Americans, are pretty knowledgeable about making toast even if, for some reason, they've never done it. That tells you that you can start at a pretty high level of experience and familiarity with bread and toasters. What you need to do is balance what they already know with what you need to tell them.
The basic steps in making a piece of toast for this group would look something like this:
1. Take a slice of bread [Graphic A: hand holding a slice of bread]
2. Put it into one of the slots in the top of the toaster [Graphic B: bread being inserted into a slot in the top of the toaster]
3. Set the "light to dark dial" scale from 0 to 10 depending on how toasted you want the bread to be [Graphic C: illustration of the scale with an arrow pointing at one of the numbers]
4. Press the slide all the way down [Graphic D: fingers pressing slide down with arrow indicating direction]
5. When the toast is done, it will pop up automatically [Graphic E: slice of toast sitting in the toaster slot]
Part Two - Solution
The second target audience, the young people from the South Pacific island, presents an entirely different challenge. You wouldn't make the same assumptions of experience and familiarity. In fact, you have to assume that these people might be totally unfamiliar with the whole concept of making toast.
You need to start at a much more basic level.
The basic steps in making a piece of toast for this group would look something like this:
[Graphic A: Illustration of a toaster with the various components called out]
1. A toaster is an electrical appliance that must be plugged into a 120v electrical outlet [Graphic B: illustration of the power cord of the toaster plugged into an outlet with plug and outlet called out]
2. Bread comes in many shapes and sizes [Graphic C: a number of illustrations of representative shapes and sizes of bread]
3. To begin, select a single slice of bread that will fit into the toast slot [see Graphic D: toast slot]
4. The slice of bread should not touch either end of the slot and should be thinner than the width of the slot [Graphic E: illustration of bread slice in the slot]
Note: If the slice of bread is to thick or too wide, it could stick in the slot or be burned by the heating elements.
5. Set the "light to dark dial" scale from 0 to 10 depending on how toasted you want the bread to be [Graphic F: illustration of the scale with an arrow pointing at one of the numbers]
Note: The toast will be darker (more toasted) the higher the number you select on the scale.
6. Press the slide on the front of the toaster down as far as it will go [Graphic G: fingers pressing slide down with arrow indicating direction] and let go of it
Note: While in operation, the toaster will become hot. Do not touch the toaster while it is in operation.
7. When the bread is done toasting, the slice will pop up automatically [Graphic H: slice of toast sitting in the toaster slot]
It's obvious that the approach and content is very different for the two groups.
Generally speaking, the steps in the process must:
- be in a logical order
- provide information that tells what to do next
- provide information that tells what to expect when a step is completed
- provide graphics and illustrations that support the text
As a tech writer, you can't assume that everyone knows the same things or knows as much as you do about a process. You must consider not only what the audience knows, but also what you can do to make their grasp of the process firm.
Before the invention of refrigeration and preservatives, the only way to preserve meat for long periods of time was to dry it into jerky. Drying meat into jerky is possibly the oldest way of preserving meat and jerky dates back to the earliest civilizations.
Traditionally, jerky was made from long, thin strips of meat that was salted and dried in the sun or over a small smokey fire. Although jerky can still be made in this way, techniques have become more sophisticated in our day. Jerky is still an extremely popular food and millions of people still enjoy jerky as a delicious, convenient, and healthy source of protein. Jerky is perfect for hikers, campers, or just an easy, non-messy snack.
Today, jerky is most commonly made from beef, but jerky can also be made from poultry, fish, and wild game such as deer (venison), elk, buffalo, bison, moose, caribou, antelope, and other game. Many varieties of seasonings can be used to make different flavors of jerky. Salt is traditionally used as the main preservative for jerky, but acids such as vinegar and citrus juice in marinades can also help to kill bacteria. Jerky can be made without salt, but its shelf life will be drastically reduced.
Store-bought jerky comes in many flavors with any number of chemicals, additives, and preservatives and can be surprisingly expensive. However, you can make your own jerky at home very easily. Most people are surprised at just how easy it is to make delicious jerky that is much cheaper and healthier than mass-produced jerky available in stores. So by making your own jerky, you not only control the ingredients, you also save money.
Jerky Making: Step-by-Step Instructions
Select a cut of meat. Choosing a lean cut will save time later. For beef jerky, cuts like like sirloin, top round, eye of round, etc. are good choices. You can also use venison or virtually any other type of meat to make jerky.
Trim all of the noticeable fat from your cut of meat because any fat will cause the jerky to spoil much faster.
Slice your meat into very thin strips from 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Cutting the meat into thin slices dramatically shortens drying time. You can cut jerky with just a knife and cutting board, but there are some convenient tools you can use for slicing meat, such as a Jerky Slicing Tray, a Hand-Crank Manual Jerky Slicer, or an electric meat slicer. Tip: Slicing meat is easier if you freeze the meat for about 30 to 60 minutes before slicing. You can cut with or against the grain, but some find that strips cut against the grain are easier to chew.
Marinate the meat in a marinade or solution of your choice. You can follow a recipe to make your own marinade or purchase any number of ready-made marinades. Marinating is optional because the additional moisture can make dehydration take longer, and the resulting jerky might be stickier. Soaking in soy sauce or teriyaki sauce is a favorite. Place in the refrigerator for 4 - 24 hours to allow the meat absorb the flavor.
Season the meat with the dry seasonings of your choice. You can follow a jerky recipe or choose from a wide variety of available dry jerky seasoning mixes. A mixture of salt, pepper, oregano, marjoram, basil and thyme is tasty. You will find that many seasonings work well and it is a personal preference. I personally enjoy jerky with a lot of pepper. You will need to experiment to find your favorites. Just sprinkle and rub the dry seasonings onto both sides of the sliced meat.
Dehydrate the meat. Meat is dehydrated by applying heat and continuous air flow. The control of both the temperature and the airflow is very important. If the humidity is too high and the temperature is too low, the jerky will dry too slowly and it could spoil. If the temperature is too high, the jerky will cook too fast, harden on the outside but still be too moist on the inside, and once again, it could spoil.
There are two common methods for drying jerky; in a conventional oven or in a food dehydrator. Whichever method you use, be sure to leave enough room between pieces to allow air to flow around the meat. Avoid letting the meat touch if possible.
Making Jerky in a Conventional Oven
Preheat your oven to 140 degrees. Remember you are not cooking the meat; you are simply removing the moisture. Spray all the racks you will use with a non stick cooking spray. Without this non-stick spray, you will be left with jerky that cannot be removed from the racks and that will essentially be inedible. Spread the meat evenly on wire racks in the oven. You can also use metal racks other than the oven racks with a drip pan underneath to make cleanup much faster.
Leave the oven door open slightly to permit moisture to escape. Since temperatures, humidity levels, and slice thickness will vary, there can be no set time for the process to complete. Usually jerky takes from 6 to 12 hours. Check the consistency of the jerky regularly after 6 hours until it meets your satisfaction. You might have to cut into the jerky to ensure that it is not raw inside. You want the jerky to be a deep brown or burgundy color and still be flexible. As jerky cools, it will get more stiff and brittle so you don't want to over dry.
Making Jerky in a Food Dehydrator
Food Dehydrators are excellent for making jerky. Dehydrators are inexpensive to buy and are safer and cheaper to use than the kitchen oven. Additionally dehydrators make less of a mess and are easier to clean up.
Spray the dehydrator trays with a non-stick cooking spray before placing on the strips of meat. This keeps the meat from sticking and helps in the clean up of the trays. Season the jerky strips just as above and drain them well before placing them on the dehydrator trays.
A full dehydrator can usually process a large batch of jerky in 6 to 12 hours. Just like with drying in a conventional oven, temperatures, humidity levels, and slice thickness will vary, so the drying time will vary. You will want to check the jerky regularly after 6 hours to see if its done. You want the jerky to be a deep brown or burgundy color and still be flexible. As jerky cools, it will get more stiff and brittle so you don't want to over dry. The thicker cuts will take more time, so as the thin pieces are done, just remove them. Tip: A rule of thumb is that 4 pounds of raw meat makes about one pound of jerky.
Store the finished jerky in plastic bags and store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to eat. To be safe, it's best to enjoy the fresh homemade jerky within one week of its preparation. If you make it right, it's delicious!Tip: If you wish to store your jerky for longer, use a vacuum sealer to store the jerky in vacuum bags. Other storage methods allow exposure to oxygen and moisture, which encourages the growth of bacteria. In vacuum sealed bags, jerky can be kept for months. Vacuum sealed jerky stored in a freezer can last even longer.
Alternative: Jerky Snack Strips & Sticks
Instead of making jerky from sliced meat, a popular form of jerky is the jerky snack stick or snack strip, which is made from seasoned ground meat formed into strips or round sticks. To make this jerky snack, you first need to purchase extra lean ground meat or grind lean cuts of meat with a meat grinder. The next step is to mix the seasonings into the ground meat by hand or with a meat mixer. The seasoned ground meat can then be extruded into the snack sticks or strips using a Jerky Gun or Jerky Cannon. Finally, these jerky snacks are dehydrated on trays in a conventional oven or food dehydrator as described above.
Who knew it was so easy to make your own jerky? Enjoy!
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