Document Development Exposition: Instructions and Usability Test Script

Explain in detail your document’s development from planning to finish, describing your
challenges, how you overcame them, and what you learned.

Planning
I thought about what I was good at and what I could write instructions easily for. I have been playing
piano since the age of 4 so I figured that would be the easiest thing for me to teach in instructions
form. I chose Mary had a little lamb because it was the first song I ever learned how to play on the
piano.

First Draft (for peer editing)

I first wrote out the notes for the song on a piece of paper. I wasn’t sure how to explain musical
notes to readers so I decided to include a picture of a keyboard and label it with the notes. Then I
wrote out vertically the notes in letter form and number form to give the reader options on how to
play the song.

Second Draft (for your packet)

The main feedback I got was the white space on my first draft. I decided the best way to fix this was
to take the vertical orientation of the notes and place them horizontally instead so it would be easier
to read. The other thing my peer reviewers said was that there were terms on there they didn’t
understand so I included a section at the bottom explaining music specific terms for new learners so
they could understand and learn the terminology.

Final Draft (for your portfolio)

The main feedback I got for my portfolio was that I was suggesting how the song could be played
instead of teaching how to play the song. To remedy this I added steps after the notes that explained
hand placement and told readers exactly what notes to press and with what fingers. I explained the
importance of not lifting your hand from the keys when first learning how to play as this messes up
hand placement. I made sure each step was clear and understandable to new learners by sitting my
dad in front of our piano and having him try to play it per my instructions. He was able to play it
albeit slowly. But for a learner who has time to practice they should easily be able to play the song.
Document Development Exposition: Instructions and Usability Test Script