How to build a paper airplane

Follow these instructions to make a paper airplane! You will need a piece of
8 X 11 inch paper.
Step 1
Make a crease
down the
middle.

Step 3

Step 2
Fold the top left
corner towards
the center fold.

Step 4

Fold the top right

corner towards
the center fold.

Step 5
Fold both sides
individually to
create wings.

Refold down
the middle.

Step 6
Fly your finished airplane!

Alicia Wilson
October 21st, 2014
Revision of TWC Document
I chose to edit the How to Build a Paper Airplane instructions to create a more userfriendly guide. Three main changes were made to this document: added pictures, created an
introduction, and shortened the directions. I focused on minimalism, editing and usability and
will be addressing articles by Tylak, Fisk, Buehler, and Nielson to supplement my reasoning for
these changes.
When I first looked at the original document, I noticed it was filled with words and had
no corresponding pictures to show the steps or a finished project. I went through and tried to
follow the directions, but was overwhelmed and met with uncertainty on step two. I created
pictures so the users could see what the plane should look like after each step and as a final
product. I made an airplane and paused after each step to write what I did to create short and
comprehensible sentences. Additionally, I negated the word tummy and other nonessential
descriptive words. Lastly, I made a short introduction, which contained the objective and the
materials needed. These changes made the document flow and easy to follow, while the overall
look to be more appealing.
Tylak asked three questions to analyze what information is vital to the document: Who
performs the task, What actions take place, and Are there any outside factors that might
affect the task? (p. 183). I envision elementary aged children using these directions. They will
be using these directions to create a basic paper airplane. The outside factors that affect this
document are the materials needed and the existing knowledge to make a paper airplane. I used

these three questions to understand the important features that needed to be included in my
edited paper airplane directions.
The first thing I wanted to change about this document was its length, thus I used Fisks
six steps to do so. Firstly, step one is to find out whats required and whats desired. This is a set
of directions and must contain the proper steps to complete the airplane. Step two is to find the
right structure. I chose to have six boxes that each contained a direction. Step three is to develop
a design that engages users without calling attention to it. I aimed for the simplistic design that
emphasizes the pictures, thus attracting more users than would the original design, as children
are attracted to pictures. Step four is to develop local structures within the larger structure. I have
the core structure of the title, introduction, and six boxes. Within those boxes is my local
structure of the picture on the left side and descriptive sentence on the right. Step five is closing
the distance between content requirements and readability. The requirements are to make
directions to build an airplane readable for the intended audience. Finally, step six is to do the
actual design and finally add the writing. I was able to cut down the steps from fourteen to six.
Fisks six steps helped me set the structure and framework to get the most meaning as possible as
quickly as possible (p. 27-30).
Buehler outlined nine editing techniques, and of those I focused on four: integrity,
screening, format, and mechanical editing. Integrity edit ensures that the feature matches where
the feature is mentioned. I used this to make sure that the worded directions matched the
corresponding picture. Next, I used the screening edit, which is a minimal language edit. I made
sure that all words were spelt correctly and came together to make a comprehensible sentence for
elementary aged children. Subsequently, I applied the mechanical style edit; the macro approach
applied to small unites of meaning to maintain consistency. This edit certified that all the worded

instructions started with a verb and ended with punctuation such as Fold, Refold, and Fly.
Lastly, I utilized the format edit, which is a macro approach that is concerned with the overall
look of the document. I ensured that the boxes and the pictures inside were the same size and the
document was symmetrical and consist throughout (p. 12-13).
After completing the new and edited directions, I performed a usability test to determine
if my new directions are effective. According to Nielsen, there are five quality components of
usability: learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and satisfaction (Usability 101:
Introduction to Usability). I had five users test the directions and I observed how they did. The
learnability, how easy it is to accomplish a task using the design was high. However, all the users
I observed have previously made a paper airplane, so they had an advantage. Secondly, the
efficiency, how quickly the task can be performed, was between one and two minutes. Moreover,
when asked to repeat the directions the next day, they cut their time in half, showing high
memorability, how easily the user can reestablish proficiency after some time not using it. My
first draft had errors that were only solved because of the users previous knowledge, so I
recreated a few of the pictures and eliminated the errors. Lastly, the users had a high level of
satisfaction after following the direction to make a paper airplane. They found it easy to follow
and they left with a plane to fly around. It was effective to have Nielsens usability qualities to
highlight what I should look for when observing the users.
I edited the How to build a paper airplane instructions to make it more user-friendly.
Tylak and Fisk posed helpful questions and steps to focus on what to eliminate and what is
crucial in the directions. After focusing on four of Buehlers nine editing techniques, I was able
to ensure the directions were consistent and I covered a variety of different editing that went
above the grammar edit. Lastly, I performed five usability tests where I focused on Nielsen five

quality components to ensure I noticed the main aspects to watch for. I added pictures, shorted
corresponding sentences, and a short introduction that included the materials needed to make the
airplane building experience more enjoyable.

Bibliography
Buehler, Mary Fran. (1981). Defining terms in technical editing: The levels of edit as
a model. Techincal Communications 28(4) 10-15.
Fisk, J. (2014). Putting language last using: structure, visual cues, and marketingstyle analysis as the primary tools of simplification. Intercom: 26-30.
Nielsen, J. (2012). Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. In Nielsen Norman Group.
Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101introduction-to-usability/
Tylak, K. (1997). MinimalismCan You Have Too Much of a Good Thing? Crossroads
in Communications, p. 181-192.