1. What purpose(s) does the Quick Reference Guide usually serve?
The quick reference guide serves to quickly familiarize a reader uninitiated to its subject matter.
2. Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find Quick Reference Guides?
Generally, while quick reference guides themselves focus on a specific subject, they are published in more general, widely-read publications, such as The Atlantic or The Washington Post.
3. Who is the typical audience for Quick Reference Guides?
The quick reference guide assumes that its audience is unfamiliar with the subject it is covering.
4. What are some of the key characteristics or features that are unique to the Quick Reference Guide, distinguishing it from other texts?
The quick reference guide distinguishes itself from other texts by using several brief sub-sections and headers. Quick reference guides also incorporate the use of images.
5. Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for the Quick Reference Guide.
Quick Reference Guide, noun - a short article that explains a subject, often with the use of images and broken down into subcategories.
16/01/24 9:49PM ETA: After reading Veronica's Investigating Genres post, I realize the importance of identifying a specific audience in the analysis of any medium or genre. Rather than just saying video essays are best suited towards people in "constant need of stimulation", she further pinpoints millennials as being a possible audience. This distinction can dictate the diction of a video essay, and is an important detail to consider.
Nicolas's post made me understand the importance of being thorough, in order to clear any possible questions after the reading of a text. For example, I would ask Nicolas if he could be more specific than singling "internet users" as a target audience.
I really like your simple definition for a QRF. Before I looked at the examples, I had no idea what it was and google didn't seem to know either. That might just be because nobody actually calls them "Quick Reference Guides," though. My only critique is that I don't think that these formats assume that readers don't know much about the topic. The clear structure and subcategories make it easier for people who are already educated on the topic to skip over background information that they already know.
ReplyDeleteNote on conventions of the blog post genre: Revisit Step 1.5 from "Deadline 1" to re-familiarize yourself with the conventions of blogging. You're missing one item on the bulleted list of conventions there.
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