Factual writing

Factual Writing

Tom Brett

Instruction Manual• This is an example of a factual guide about how to work an object. Factual guides are

preferably short and simple so they don’t confuse the reader with too many overly complicated instructions, this provides a sense of clarity and conciseness. This particular guide does this very well, short and simple instructions are used, this is because they are giving instructions on how to work a toy, this means that the instructions and words used will be child friendly. Plus each different instruction has a detailed image that helps to explain the task the reader has to perform.

• Accuracy and avoiding ambiguity is just as important when creating a factual instruction guide because you don’t want to give away false instructions that can be vital when you get closer to the final product. The instructions should be clear and should give the correct information, it should also sound like it knows what its saying otherwise the reader might get confused because they are unsure with what they want to do.

• The language used is unbiased and has a formal register this is because there is no way this can be biased as it is just an instruction manual about one specific children’s toy. Formal register is used because it is easier to read and understand, especially when the audience is at a young age.

Article• This is an example of a factual article that covers multiple different facts about

wolf packs and why they are interesting and important. There are similar factors between an article and an instruction manual. Both an instruction manual and an article have to be accurate because a lot of people will read it in hope to gain more knowledge about the subject. An article also has to have clarity, this is because there are a lot of words in an article and it tends to be quite formal and an important part to a newspaper or a magazine, this means that a lot of people will be reading it, some might have better reading skills than others but if the text isn’t clear then not many people will read it, this will create a bad reputation with the magazine/newspaper which will eventually mean that people will stop buying their products. The language used in this example is accurate and clear, however other audiences might not be able to understand some of the specific terms used because of the dialect that is in the text, because this is an article about wildlife not everyone is going to understand what the article is saying.

Leaflet• This is a leaflet explaining how to treat a medical condition, this specific

leaflet will have to be accurate and clear because it’s a matter of helping peoples health which is a very important task to create and perform. Fortunately this example is both clear and accurate with its text and its images as well. Other leaflets might not be as clear or as accurate because leaflets are sometimes quite informal, especially when compared to articles and instruction manuals, this is because leaflets tend to be used as a handout from companies that give a brief overview of a product or a topic. This leaflet is unbiased because as explained earlier it has been made for medical purposes, so there are no opinions but just facts about how you can help treat the disease. Some leaflets might be biased if they were political because they would be used to persuade the reader. Leaflets will regularly mention references to the source such as websites or locations so the reader can find out more, this is extremely common on medical leaflets.

How to guide• This is an example of a how to guide, how to guides are very similar to

instruction manuals, and so will follow the same rules and practices that instruction manuals do. How to guides need to have clarity, accuracy, unbiased language, and occasionally a reference to the source. How to guides need to be clear so that the reader can follow the steps properly and have confidence and understanding in what they are doing, in this example it is following a recipe. How to guides will also need to be accurate because if the reader is following the information then they need to be reading the right thing and be following the steps correctly, especially if it is a recipe because they will want the food to be appropriate for other people to eat as well. How to guides will normally have unbiased language anyway because there is not much chance for someone to express their opinion through steps and instructions. This specific example has a reference to the original source through a link to a website, other guides might have images or text from the original source as well.