Writing Assignment #1
Writing Three Personas
Summary of the Assignment:
• Task: In this assignment, you will write three personas to prepare for writing assignment #2, the set of instructions that explain how to accomplish a task on a website.
You want to read the instructions for writing assignment #2 before writing your personas.
• Length: 120–250 words for each persona.
• Graphics: You are not required to use any graphics. If you would like to include a photo for each persona, you may.
Brief Description and Strategies to Follow:
In week 1, you listened to a podcast interview with Giuseppe Getto and Keith Amant about personas. You also read two articles by Geoff Hart on the use of personas in technical writing and one article by Matt Eland.
In this assignment, you will write three personas for the set of instructions you will write for writing assignment #2. Please include the following information for each persona:
• a summary of the persona, including the persona’s name, occupation, and age
• goals for the persona: why the persona would want to accomplish the task on the web that you will be describing in writing assignment #2
• potential problems or unique situations: for the task that you are describing for writing assignment #2, describe what frustrations, challenges, pain points, or unique needs that the person might have in completing the task.
For each persona, you must list
o at least one pain point that the person experiences when navigating a website or
o at least one special situation that requires attention in your set of instructions.
Getto and Amant mentioned pain points in their interview. Perhaps the persona is nervous about putting credit card information in a website, has vision problems when navigating the web, or simply has never used the web before. Perhaps the persona is not particularly nervous about completing your task but has a unique need. Perhaps she must use the PayPal option because she does not want to use her credit card. Perhaps she will use a gift card for the site when paying (if your set of instructions involves paying for something online). Perhaps she needs to create a g mail account because she does not want to use his work email in filling out the interface to complete the task (if your set of instructions involves inputting an email address).
The sample assignments provided in the class for writing assignment #1 demonstrate some pain points or special needs that personas can have. Make sure to look at the sample assignments.
Ideally, your three personas will not be experts at attempting the task you are describing. For each one, you should list at least one pain point or at least one unique characteristic that will need to be accommodated in writing assignment #2.
