Instructions For Use

This is a document revision exercise under technical writing and information design.

It highlights my ability to revise and improve already existing technical documents, in this case a product information leaflet for tick control for cats.

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• Audience: Adult pet owners. 

• Categories: Technical Writing, Instructional Design, Document Design, Graphics Design.

• Tools Used: Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop.

 

The Product

Tick control solutions are biocides and are regulated products in many countries.

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The use, marketing and sale of biocidal products is regulated to ensure that the products do not present unnecessary risk:

• For humans

• Non-target animals and

• The environment.

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Instructions for use of such products must be concise and clear and easy for end users to understand.

 

Poorly written instructions can lead to improper product use  which increases the risk of accidents and emergencies and consequently, the risk to human, animals and the environment.

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Many people keep cats as pets and it can be distressing if by trying to care for the pet, pet owners inadvertently end up hurting them because of poorly written instructions.

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These instructions were problematic in many aspects:

• Poor grammar

• Bad structured and organisation

• Devoid of colour and Visually unattractive

• Inappropriate writing style

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Instructions for such a product must assume minimal level of qualification and are not supposed to be difficult to read.

This is so because pets are kept by people from all backgrounds and with varying levels of literacy.

You do not need to be schooled to keep a pet and you therefore should not need good reading skills to understand instructions for a tick solution for your cat.

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Improvements

This is how I improved the leaflet after retyping the document.

1.  I added a Table of Contents. The document was big and a table of content improves usability by enabling the reader to quickly peruse the text and directly go to a section of the document that they are most interested in.

2. I improved the layout and design to make the document accessible and inviting for the reader.  

3. I added pictures and graphics to make the document attractive. For instance, I added a picture of a cat on the cover to emphasize the fact that the product was for use on cats and not any other animal.

4. I fixed the grammar to eliminate typos and improved the writing style to make it concise and clear.

5. I added warning icons to promote safe usage and to minimise accidents and possible harm for both the user, their pets and the environment.​