Assignment 4: Medical Process
Description
ENGL2338: Technical Writing Department of English University of Texas at Arlington
Assignment Overview
A technical process description explains how a complex event occurs. As a healthcare professional, you are often required to describe a medical process to patients, often someone who has little knowledge or experience with the subject. This assignment asks you to select a medical process and write a description of it.
In your previous writing assignment, you learned the difference between instructions and process descriptions:
Instructions inform readers how to assemble, make or create something or how to perform a specific task.
Process descriptions tell how something works. While instructions are about how to use something, descriptions are about how that thing works (e.g., how to
take a prescription drug vs. how that drug works in the human body).
It is important to note again that a process description is not an instruction. The difference is between how to use/do something (instructions) and how something works (process description). For this assignment, you should focus on how something works.
Assignment Guidelines
Choose a Medical Process. Begin by reviewing Gurak & Lannon, Chapter 13: Descriptions. You will choose your own topic for this assignment. However, you must choose a complex process related to the medical field. I strongly recommend you select a process with which you are already familiar, so you can focus on learning how to write the description rather than focusing on both learning how to write the description and learning about the process.
The following are just some examples of description projects from previous classes:
How a specific drug works
How a hearing aid works
How wounds are infected
How anesthesia works
Audience and Content
Your primary audience would be your patient (current or future), who has little knowledge or experience with this subject.
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Regardless of the process, your final paper must be at least 500 words; you must include all of the following content in your description:
Introduction.
Orient your audience by providing a definition of the process.
Preview for your audience the principle steps it involves.
State the function of the process.
Indicate where and when the process takes place.
Inform your audience of the importance or implications of the process.
If possible, include a graphic identifying all the principal steps.
Steps in the Process.
Discuss the steps in chronological order.
Show causal relationships clearly among the steps.
Use the present tense.
When introducing a new concept or terminology, make sure to explain it for a non-technical audience.
Conclusion.
Summarize one complete cycle of the process.
Re-state the importance or implications of the process to solicit the audience’s support or awareness.
Document Design and Illustrations
Give careful thought to illustrations and design elements:
Make sure all steps of the process are numbered throughout.
Single-space the text.
You must include at least two illustrations in your instructions. You may create your own, use illustrations from other sources, or adapt illustrations from other sources. Make sure you provide source information for all illustrations immediately below each illustration. (For example, for any photos you took: “Source: photo by author.” For any illustrations from other sources: “Source: web site (or other resource listed here).”
Use as many of the four basic design principles as possible (Contrast, Repetition,
Alignment, Proximity).
Design your document for consistency (grid patterns, margins, justification, white space, indentation, font style and size). See pages 147-151.
Design your document for navigation and emphasis (headings, color, shading,
boldface, italic, and underlining, bulleted and numbered lists). See pages 151-264.
Follow the tips for illustrating documents presented in Chapters 8.
Submission
Your final paper should be at least 500 words and should be single-spaced.
Submit your Word file via SafeAssign. No assignments will be accepted over email.
Required title for Word file: your last name-description. For example, my file name should be: Pearman_description_docx.
Due by 11: 59 pm on the Sunday of Week 4.
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Evaluation Rubrics
Completeness (10 pts): The description includes all of the sections required.
Introduction (20 pts): The introduction provides a definition of the process. It previews the principle steps, state the function of the process, indicate where and when the process takes place, and informs the audience of the importance of the process.
The Steps (20 pts): The body of the description discusses the steps in
chronological order. It shows causal relationships among the steps. New concepts or terminologies are explained for a non-technical audience.
Conclusion (10 pts): The conclusion summarizes one complete cycle of the process. It also restates the importance of the process to implicitly solicit the
audience’s support or awareness.
Design (10 pts): Effective use of the design principles (contrast, alignment, proximity, and repetition). Design features, such as fonts, font sizes, and forms of emphasis are applied consistently. The overall design is clear and consistent.
Illustrations (10 pts): There are at least two illustrations. The illustrations are effective, each serving a functional purpose (meaning, it helps the reader better comprehend the task at hand). It is not merely used for decorative purpose. The illustrations are appropriately documented, displayed, and labeled.
Style (10 pts): The descriptions are written as active voice commands. Headings and numbered/bulleted items are in parallel form. Present tense is used.
Mechanics (10 pts): Spelling, APA documentation, grammar, and punctuation are correct. Minimum word requirement is met.
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