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DOCUMENT RESUME CB 011 707 ED 140 099 Kerno Richard P.;And Others AUTHOR of Army Training TITLE Guidebook for the Development Literature. Combat TrainingTechniques. Organization, Alexandria, INSTITUTION Human Resources Research va. Social SPONS AGENCY Army Research Inst. forthe Behavioral and Sciences, Arlington, va. BUREAU NO 2QC63101A755 PUB DATE Nov 75 GRANT DABC-19-73-C-00 NOTE 358p.; Best copy available NF-$043 HC-S19.41 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Information DESCRIPTOR0 Audiences; Editing; *Guidelines; Retrieval; *Job Skills;*Manuals; *MilitaryTraining; Readability; ReadabilityFormulas; Reading Level; Task Performance;Technical Illustration;*Technical Writing; Visual Aids;*Writing Skills IDENTIFIERS *Army; United States _ABSTRACT Written as an aid forwriters of Army narrative training literature, thisguidebock emphasizesperformance-oriented literature intended to helpsomeone-lAarn and writing (preparation of extensive perform job related tasks).The eight chapters contain introductory chapter discusseswhy and examples and illustrations. An how to use it. how the guidebook wasdeveloped, what it does, and Chapter 2 treats thedifference betweentopic-oriented and performance-oriented writing andgives a number of examplesof both. performance-oriented training Chapter 3 deals withpreparing to write section.e on determiningwho the primary user literature and includes content. Chapter 4 cf the materials is andhow to select and organize the primary user'sreading level and concentrates on estimating the reader. The estimating tbe reading gapbetween the writer and section on what makeswriting difficult to chapter alsc includes a have been read. Chapter 5 includesexamples of materials thcct on the left hand pageand the aftern on revised, Vith the ubefore discusses why, when, _the right hard page forcomparison. Chapter 6 should be used and givesubeforeu and "aftere and how illustrations retrieval aids for the user examples. Chapter 7discusses information Chapter 8 provides a"samplerfl of several and gives examples. information. The threeappendixes effective methods of presenting materials for include a readability formulaand lists of reference the technical writer. (Idis) other sources. ERIC makes every include many informal unpublishedmaterials not available from affects the Documents acquired by ERIC marginal reproducibility areoften encountered and this effort to obtain the best copyavailable. Nevertheless, items of ERIC Document ReproductionService (EDRS). hardcopy reproductions ERICmakes available via the that can be made from quality of the microfiche and document. Reproductionssupplied by EDRS are the best EDRS is not responsible forthe quality of the original the original. Combat Training Techniques Army Project Number 20063101A755 GUIDEBOOK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMY TRAINING LITERATURE fitSt CdfAYAALLE Richard P, Kern, Thomas G. Sticht, Diana Welty, and Robert N. Hauke Human Resources Research Organization November 1975 Approved by: J. Zeidner, Director Organizations and Systems Research Laboratory J. E. Uhlarser, Technical Director US, Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Scirfices Ui Apprewed ter pUblic telem dietributldn unlitnited; U. S. ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES A Field Operating Agency under the Jurisdiction of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel W. C. MAO i.E. TONER (0I, 65 Technical Director Command r NOTICES DISTRIBUTION: Primary distribution of this report has been made by ARI. Please address correspondence concerning distribution of reports to:U.5, Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, ATTN: PERI.P, Ino Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22209, FINAL DISPOSITION: This report may be destroyed when it is no longer needed, Please do not return it to the US, Army Research Institute fortha Behavioral end Social Sciences, NOTE: The findings in this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position, unless so designated by other authorizeddocuments; Unclassified SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF TI4IS PAGE(When Data Enterad) READ INSTRUCTIONS REPORTDOcumErgAnoPAGE BEFORE COMPLETING FORM OlfT ACCESSION NO.3. RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NUMBER REPORT NUMBER 2 Special Publication S. TYPE OF REPORT&PERIOD COVERED 4. TITLE (eandSubtitle) GUIDEBOOK FOR TRE DEVELOPMENTOFARMY TRAINING LITERATURE 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER 8. corm:ACTOR GRANT NI)MDER(a) .AuTHoR Richard P. Kern, Thomas G.Sticht, Diana Welty, DAHC 19-73-C-0051 and Robert N. Hauke 10. PROGRAMELEMENT, PROJECT, TASK 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAMEAND ADDRESS AREA0WORN UNIT NUMBERS Human Resources ResearchOrganization 300 North Washington Street 2Q063101A775 Alexandria, Virginia22314 12. REPORT DATE CONTROLLING OFFICENAME AND ADDRESS November 1975 Deputy Chief of Staff forOperations & Plans, PAGES Unit Training Division, DAMO-ODU 13. NUMBER OF 20310 185 Washington, D.C. Is. secuRrry CLAss. (ot chi 14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME 4ADDRESSM dif(erentItem Controlling Office) U.S. Army Research Institutefor theBehavioral Unclassified and Social Sciences(ARO PERI-OU 'so, DECL ASSI FI C ATI ON DOWNGRADING 1300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,Virginia 22209 SCHEDULE 16. DISTRIBuTios STATEMENT (of thl aReport) Approved for public release;distributionunlim =ed different tram Repo- 17. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (olthe a bItfnc1 etrdln Block 20, if 10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Training and Evaluation Research conducted under theauspices of the Unit Work Unit Leader Systems Technical Area of ARI: Dr. Robert T. Root, number) K EY WORDS (Continua on rvr seeida il nacessAry and identify by block Training aids literature Writers job aid training literature Job performance aid Performance-oriented trainingliteraiure Performance oriented writing Writers guide tild0 it nacasaary and identify by blocknumb r 20. ABSTRACT (Continuo on rvro performance oriented The guidebook is a completejob aid for the writer of development of training literature, withstep-by-step instruction for the manuals and specialtraining/performance texts operators and maintenance prepara- reading level. Numerous examples of proper text at the appropriate levels, and practical tion, best use of graphicillustration, selected reading literature are presented. motivation of the user ofthe training/performance n FoRm EDITION OF 1 NOV 65 IS OBSOLETE Unclassified 3.0 IJAN 731473 IFICATION OF THIS PAGE an D ta Enered. FOREWORD The guide ook has been written as a job aid for writers of Army narrative training literature, e.g,, Field Manuals, Training Circulars and Special Texts. Since such literature focuses on helping someone to learn to perform job related tasks, the guidebook emphasizes performance-oriented, rather than topic,oriented, writing. It has also been designed to help the writer insure that he is writing at the appropriate reading level for his intended audience, The guidebook emphasizes understanding of principles of good writing through the extensive use of examples rather than lecturing about style, format and other design features, ARI.research in this area is conducted as an in-house research effort augmented by contracts with organizations selected as having unique capabilities and facilities in a specific area. The work reported here was conducted by the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), Western Division, under Contract Nr. DAHC1973CE51. The research was conducted under RDT&E Project 2Q063101A755, FY 1973 Work Program. ec nical Director TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction Topic vs Performance Chapter2 Topic Oriented Versus Performance-Oriented Training Literature What's The Difference? Who Will Be The Primary User? 11 Chapter3 Preparing To Write Performance-Oriented Training Literature How Do I Select & Organize content? How Well Can My user Read? Chapter 4 Your Primary User s Reading Level and What It Means 25 What Would Revisions of Current Writing and Revising A Before and After Guide 31 Chapter 5 Manuals Look Like? Why, How, And When Should I Use 137 Chapter6 Using Illustrations Ilkistrations? How Can I Help Them Find The Information Retrieval Aids for Your User 19 Chapter7 Information? Is There Another Way To Present Information Presentation Techniques: A Sampler 167 Chapter8 This Information? 178 Is My Writing Difficult To Read? Appendix A How To Compute the FrJrcest Score 181 Where Can I Find More Information? Appendix B The Army Writer's Reference Shelf 185 Answer Keys Chapter 4 Appendix C Answer Keys: Estimating the Reading Gap Between You and Your User (Chapter 4) vii INTRODUCTION VIHY INAS THIS GUIDEBOOK DEVELOPED? WHAT PRINCIPLES GUIDED THE GUIDEBOOK DESIGN? 1, Because most of the current Army training literature is: This guidebook was designed to serve as a job aidfor the writer as too difficult for many Army readers (see Chapter 2). opposed to a "study text, \! The attempt has been to minimize the amount of oriented toward content area topics rather than job performance study effort required of tN user of the Guidebook: (see Chapter 2): We have avoi ded lengthy "how to do its",gamier lessons, 2, Because Army writers who were interviewed reported the need for the type exhortations about "dos" and "don'ts." of guidance presented in this Guidebook: Wo have emphasized intuitive -understanding by extensive use of modelsratherthanlecturing aboutstyle,format andother design features, HON WAS THE GUIDEBOOK DEVELOPED? We have catalogued information in the Guidebook, rather than develop lessons to be studied so that information could be cata- logued in the user's head: To develop the Guidebook,