Table of Contents



The Goal

The goal of an assignment’s instructions is to give contributors everything they need to successfully complete a task. When writing your instructions, be upfront about the type and amount of work that’s required, and clearly and directly outline every step that a contributor needs to follow. If your assignment’s instructions are unclear, incomplete or contradictory, you may have trouble receiving the results you’re looking for.



Basic Structure

Project Center lets you split your assignment instructions into a maximum of five different tabs. The first tab should always be titled Overview and should outline the basic steps needed to complete a task. The other four tabs should provide important details and more in-depth instruction, along with examples and any helpful tools.


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Overview Tab
The first tab of the instructions should always be titled “Overview” and should give contributors a basic overview of the assignment. This includes any important background information about your company, the primary goal, and all steps needed to complete a task.



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Background
First, give your contributors some background information on your company and what you’re trying to accomplish with the project as a whole. Use one to three sentences.

EXAMPLE:
These are educational articles for one of the world's top online authorities in English grammar.


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Goal
Next, state the main goal your contributors should aim to achieve when completing a task. Use one to three sentences.

EXAMPLE:
Write a high-quality, informative article about the given topic.


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Steps
After that, clearly and succinctly outline all of the steps required to successfully complete a task. Follow these guidelines:

  • Use a numbered list.
  • Put all steps in sequential order.
  • Start each step with an action word.
    • Correct: “Research the topic.”
    • Incorrect: “The topic should be researched.”
  • Cover only the basics. You can provide supplementary information in other tabs.
  • Limit the number of steps to a maximum of 10.

EXAMPLES:
1. Research the provided topic using sources that comply with the research guidelines.
2. Write a 500-word article that is directly relevant to the title.
3. Provide links to your resources at the end of the article.


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Requirements & Important Details
Use the next two to three tabs to provide other important details and more in-depth instructions. The exact structure and tab names will vary by project, but example tabs include:

  • Style Guidelines*
  • Content Guidelines
  • Image Guidelines
  • Research Guidelines
  • Review Guidelines
  • Revision Guidelines
  • Glossary
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Dos and Don’ts

*PLEASE NOTE: 
OneSpace Direct freelancers are accustomed to following the OneSpace style guide for writing and editing assignments. If you would like your contributors to follow a different style guide, please specify it in your instructions.


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Examples
Each set of instructions should contain examples. Examples of both correct and incorrect work help contributors better understand exactly what’s required of them and how to avoid common errors. Use examples liberally throughout your instructions, especially when the instructions are complex or subjective.

IMPORTANT:
Examples of good work should always be consistent with the assignment instructions and should be completely free of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Anything less than perfection indicates that subpar work is acceptable.


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Tools and Resources
The assignment instructions should contain all of the information that’s critical to completing a task successfully. However, if you’d like to provide contributors with secondary information or tools, you can create a Tools & Resources tab with links to helpful resources such as:

  • Your company’s full style guide
  • A complete list of websites that shouldn’t be used for research
  • A glossary of important terminology
  • Detailed screenshots
  • Example work
  • Training materials


General Guidelines

Web users rarely read content word-for-word; they’re more likely to scan the material to find the specific information they’re looking for. While it would be nice if contributors poured over every word of your instructions, it’s safe to assume that most of them will behave just like any other web user.

Therefore, your instructions should be logically organized, clearly written, and appropriately formatted so contributors can quickly find and digest the information they need to complete a task. Here are some general tips to follow to make your instructions as effective as possible.


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Know Your Audience
The first step in creating clear and effective instructions is knowing your audience. Make sure you understand your contributors’ educational background, skill level, and familiarity with the topic before you start writing the instructions. As you write, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Use familiar vocabulary, and write at an appropriate reading level.

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Stick to What’s Important
While it may seem helpful to include every relevant detail in an assignment’s instructions, too many guidelines can actually make a task more difficult to complete. Focus on the things that will have the biggest impact on your project goals, and avoid overwhelming contributors with too much extraneous information.

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Keep It Short
Keep words, sentences and paragraphs short to maintain the attention of the reader. Get to the point quickly, and use the minimum number of words required to communicate the guidelines.

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State the Obvious
While you should aim to keep your instructions as short as possible, never leave out necessary steps or pieces of information just because they seem like common sense. Things that seem obvious to you might not be obvious to your contributors, so if a rule is important, make sure it’s explicitly stated.

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Organize the Content
Make sure the instructions are logically organized and easy to navigate. Break down the content into multiple sections, and determine the most intuitive way to organize them (sequential order, order of importance, etc.). Use the formatting options and tabs to make each section visually distinct and easier to locate.

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Make Use of Headings
Give each section of the instructions a short but descriptive heading, and use subheadings to break up longer sections where applicable. Make sure all headings and subheadings stand out from the rest of the content and are formatted consistently throughout the instructions.

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Make Use of Lists
Use numbered and bulleted lists to make key information easier to digest, as large blocks of text can be intimidating to readers.

  • Numbered lists work best when the order or sequence of the items is important, such as in a list of step-by-step instructions.
  • Bulleted lists work best when items are related but the order or sequence of them doesn’t matter, such as in a list ingredients or supplies.
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Add Emphasis
Use bolding, italics and other text formatting options strategically, not liberally, to add emphasis and call attention to important words and phrases. Capitalization can also be used for emphasis, but do so sparingly. You don’t want it to seem like you're yelling at your contributors.

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Be Objective
Make sure your instructions are as objective as possible. If you have to use subjective or vague language, provide clear definitions with multiple examples.

Examples of subjective and/or vague terms include:

  • Good
  • Bad
  • Poor
  • Adequate
  • Sufficient
  • High
  • Low
  • Moderate
  • Trusted
  • Credible
  • Worthy
  • Graphic
  • Inappropriate

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Use Images
Certain concepts can be difficult or even impossible to put into words. Don’t be afraid to use images in your instructions to help your contributors visualize exactly what they’re supposed to do.

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Include Tables
Certain concepts are best displayed via a table. Use the table button in the editor to add tables into your instructions and help clarify complicated concepts.

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Revise, Revise, Revise
Once you complete the first draft of your instructions, return to it later with a fresh set of eyes, and look for areas of improvement. For best results, share the instructions with a colleague or contributor who can catch any issues you may have overlooked. Once the final draft is ready, conduct one last review to ensure the content is completely free of spelling, punctuation, grammar and style guide errors.

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Preview
After you add your instructions to the assignment interface, preview the task UI to make sure everything is formatted correctly, and test all links to make sure they point to the right place. If everything looks good, you’re ready to launch your workflow! We recommend releasing a small number of items first to make sure your contributors understand your instructions.

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Avoid Making Changes
Once you've launched your workflow and your contributors have started working on your tasks, avoid making significant changes to the instructions. Constant rule changes can lead to an unpleasant work experience for contributors and can cause inconsistent results.

If you need to update your instructions, make sure the changes positively impact your project goals and/or the contributor experience. Additionally, be sure to notify your contributors of any important instruction updates by sending them a message. Otherwise, it’s likely they won’t notice your changes.