Websites5 Articles1

Wizards6 Booklets2

Help Systems7 3. Determine Brochures3

appropriate
medium 11
Reports8 Newsletters4

Correspondence9 Manuals10
Notes
1) Articles
Conceptual: Discusses single topic in depth for a journal or a book.

Professional journals
Trade journals
Commercial or popular

2) Booklets
Marketing / Referential: One-time or reference use.

Target specific group

Overview of a topic
Up to 50 pages

3) Brochures
Marketing: Convince readers to take action or make a decision.

Clever headings
Photos and illustrations
Color
Up to 16 pages
Short sentences andparagraphs

4) Newsletters
Marketing / Conceptual: One major topic in long or several short articles.

Informational
Internal
Promotional
Hybrid
Multi-column
4-16 pages

5) Websites
Marketing / Conceptual / Referential: Present information in a dynamic online format.

Site elements:

Home page

Hyperlinks

e-docs

Site types:

Regional

Informative

Educational

Commercial

Site access:

Extranet (B2B)

Intranet (private)

Internet (public)

6) Wizards
Tutorial / Job aid: guides the user through a task.
Non-technical
Short
Interactive

7) Help Systems
Referential / Conceptual / Procedural: Describes a product or a process.

Context-sensitive
Electronic
Supplements
Indexed manuals
Navigation

8) Reports
Conceptual: present a detailed response to a proposed question / problem.

5-20 pages
Scientific research
Business research
Progress / Status
Proposals
Feasibility study

9) Correspondence
Generally conceptual: Used for internal or external communication.

Letters
Emails
Memos

10) Manuals
Mix of various document types. describes a product or a process in detail in a linear format.

Training / Tutorial
User guides
Reference guides
Job aids
Quick reference
Operator's manual

11) 3. Determine\rappropriate\rmedium
From Science and Technical Writing: A Manual of Style 2nd Ed. This mind map is 3 of 4 in the series.

Important: When selecting a medium, also consider the distribution of the document, i.e., the delivery method. E.g., print, fax, network, disk,
email, online, etc.