As documents are very much a familiar and useful sight in the everyday life, many people unconsciously do not realize that how document presentation affects them. So what makes a good document? In a good document, words and visuals support each other (Reep 1997). Document design is the field concerned with creating texts that is books, pamphlets, posters and others that combine words and picture to help people achieve their specific goals for using texts (Shriver,1997). As Anderson (1987) points out, good document design helps readers read efficiently, emphasises the most important contents and encourages readers to feel good about a communication. Firstly, there should be a identifiable flow of information. The idea of balance is essential in document design - the negative(white) and positive(text) spaces should be fairly balanced within the page as well as the graphics/pictures and text.
According to Shriver (1997), visual elements such as type, spacing, and colour should be prioritised. Here, in this particular slide from my group presentation (figure 1.1), the document looks too tight and cramped up. Due to the lack of spacing, it looks as if there’s too much to read. Thus, it makes the reader feel disinclined to read it entirely. To improve on the layout, no doubt that the sentences should be more spread out. If it does not fit a page, use two instead of cramping all into one. In regards to good writing to achieve a good document, the conventions (grammar, punctuation, spelling) should be perfect. If your writing has errors, readers may place a negative judgment on you and your ideas (Peha 2003). This is the nature of our society today. The spelling and grammar mistakes in your writing could make you seem “not as smart”. In this document slide example (figure 1.2) , it is shown that there is a grammatical error. Not only it may downgrade our status, but it may far well confuse the readers. Therefore, to avoid grammatical errors or silly spelling mistakes, as Putnis & Petelin (1996), always proofread !
According to Shriver (1997), visual elements such as type, spacing, and colour should be prioritised. Here, in this particular slide from my group presentation (figure 1.1), the document looks too tight and cramped up. Due to the lack of spacing, it looks as if there’s too much to read. Thus, it makes the reader feel disinclined to read it entirely. To improve on the layout, no doubt that the sentences should be more spread out. If it does not fit a page, use two instead of cramping all into one. In regards to good writing to achieve a good document, the conventions (grammar, punctuation, spelling) should be perfect. If your writing has errors, readers may place a negative judgment on you and your ideas (Peha 2003). This is the nature of our society today. The spelling and grammar mistakes in your writing could make you seem “not as smart”. In this document slide example (figure 1.2) , it is shown that there is a grammatical error. Not only it may downgrade our status, but it may far well confuse the readers. Therefore, to avoid grammatical errors or silly spelling mistakes, as Putnis & Petelin (1996), always proofread !
Figure 1
Figure 1.1 ("activated" was suppose to be activate)
References
Anderson, P. (1987). Technical writing: A reader-centered approach (2nd ed.). Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Putnis & Petelin 1996, “Writing to communicate”, in Professional communication : principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney, pp236-254.
Reep, DC 1997, ‘Document Design’, Technical writing: Principles, strategies, and readings, 3rd edn, pp 90-112.
Shriver KA 1997, Dynamics in Document Design, viewed 6th September 2009,
http://www.bastoky.com/DocDesignDef.htm
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