Chapter 1 Plan documents

1. Chapter 1 Plan documents

2. Plan documents This chapter introduces you to: • The purposes of documents • Choosing appropriate formats • Establishing the means of communication • Looking at the requirements of documents • Determining categories and logical sequences of information to achieve objectives • Developing document structure and content.

3. Purposes of documents The purpose of a document may include: • Conveying research findings This information is usually presented as a formal report and often has many figures present in its content. • Documenting policies, procedures and processes Documents of this type are often produced for information and instructional purposes. (cont.)

4. Purposes of documents (cont.) • Meeting legal requirements Many documents are considered to be legal documents such as contracts and agreements, and so need to meet legal requirements. • Proposing recommendations, options and actions This type of document often presents proposals and options based on earlier research. (cont.)

5. Purposes of documents (cont.) • Influencing attitudes, opinions and/or beliefs Advertising is often of this type of purpose in that it is persuading people to buy a product. • Meeting other data, information or knowledge needs of an audience All documents that do not fall into other categories come under this one.

6. Appropriate formats of documents • The final presentation of a document influences the format in which it is created. • Documents can fall into a number of different formats including: • Emails • Business letters • Document instructions, procedures and processes. (cont.)

7. Appropriate formats of documents (cont.) • Publications, leaflets and brochures • Speeches and presentations • Public notices • Website text

8. Establishing the means of communication • Microsoft Word 2007 is chosen for the creation of your documents • Some of the elements used include: • Templates • Headers and Footers • Creation and use of content controls • Page and paragraph automatic numbering. (cont.)

9. Establishing the means of communication (cont.) • Insertion of charts and entry of information into the associated spreadsheet • Creation and use of screen dumps • Insertion, cropping and formatting of graphics • Creation, use and formatting of text boxes • Electronic tracking and comment insertion • Style sets, Themes and Theme fonts. (cont.)

10. Establishing the means of communication (cont.) Styles, Themes and Theme Fonts • Styles can be viewed and accessed through the gallery of styles and the style window. • A new Style Set will change the formatting of the styles available. • A Theme consists of three elements which are comprised of colour, font and effects. • Any of the three elements in a Theme can be independently changed within a document. (cont.)

11. Establishing the means of communication (cont.) Templates and content controls • Templates are a special type of document that can be used as the basis for a standard document whereby the document assumes all the features and formatting of the template. • Templates create a copy of themselves when used and so prevent accidental changes. • Content controls are often used in templates. They act as placeholders for the entry of specified information.

12. Requirements of documents The requirements of a document may include: • Compliance with genre or writing style The genre of a document may indicate a particular writing style such as poetry. Alternatively it may refer to both the writing style and the content of a document such as recipes in a cookery book. (cont.)

13. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Compliance with a pro forma Information may need to be presented that is assumed or forecasted. It would be presented in advance of the actual information. A pro forma may also indicate the layout and design of a document. (cont.)

14. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Compliance with standard reporting requirements or undertakings made by the organisation about reporting This may cover many aspects of a document such as style, layout, colours, fonts or any other formatting requirements. It may also indicate the required size of a document, number of pages and so on. (cont.)

15. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Files types and size for online documentation The finished file size of a document may be specified or the file type. The size of a file may limit its speed of loading on a web page. • Point numbering systems The type of numbering required for a document is often specified so that it is consistent with other documents of its type. (cont.)

16. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Legal or traditional requirements for the particular document format Set phrases and the layout of legal documents are often standard. These and other documents may follow a traditional format. • Standards for references, footnotes, citations, acknowledgements Specific standards are often used for references, footnotes, citations and acknowledgements. (cont.)

17. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Requirements for illustrations, photographs, graphs, charts, maps and other illustrative material to explain text Certain documents require illustrative material to explain the text. This may be in the form of pictures, such as in a manual, or graphs and charts where the trends present in numerical data is clarified. (cont.)

18. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Time lines including deadlines Some documents require completion by specific dates. With complex documents it may be necessary to have a timeline where a series of tasks or processes are given dates for completion. (cont.)

19. Requirements of documents (cont.) • Organisational policy, procedures and guidelines applying to the writing of documents including house style Organisations require documents to be consistent with their image. They want all documents produced within the organisation to have the same look and feel so that they can be recognised as originating from the organisation.

20. Categories and logical sequence of documents • Documents need to be presented in a logical sequence so that the information presented is clear and easy to follow. • The numbering of pages and sections should assist the reader in locating any of the information contained in the document.

21. Structure and content of documents • An overview is developed of the four main documents you will produce in this unit. • The four main documents are: • Minutes of a occupational health and safety committee meeting • Manual that documents a mail merge procedure • Advertisement for a position of employment • Research report on a selected city or suburb.

22. Ensure requirements are met • Your four main documents are reviewed to ensure all requirements have been met. • The are checked from a formatting and layout perspective and also to ensure their original purpose has been met. • Any changes or enhancements are made to your documents and they are saved as complete.