Transcript Chapter 9: Drafting and Revising Definitions and Descriptions

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
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.