After looking at five different online "Quick Reference Guide's" I have acquired much more information and have a better understanding of what a QRG actually is. The QRG is clearly a short and sweet article or post about a certain topic. Within the QRG, general information about a topic is given and they point out and discuss the most prominent aspects of the topic. These guides generally are current and have many different attached articles of research about the topic. Some of the authors in the examples made a list about what one should know about a topic, others asked questions then answered them, and others simply just wrote in paragraphs about their topic but used an intriguing title. The ultimate goal of these posts is to pull the reader in so he and she can get more information about a subject but not have to read hundreds of pages about it to understand the general idea. All of these guides to seemed to be intended for the same general audience; that being either college students, young adults trying to easily learn more about a topic, professors, people doing research papers who need other links as well, etc.) The audience are of course going to change here and there based on the topic of discussion but for the most part, they are all generally the same. Some of the authors posted funny pictures which keeps the reader entertained and wanting to learn more. Others showed more serious pictures that gave a direct view about their topic. Overall, QRG are simple, easy, and a great place to get relevant information fast!
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Reading my peers blog posts about Quick Reference Guide's helped my understanding of what a QRG is substantially. Not only this but it also pointed out aspects I hadn't noticed before. In Benjamin Weiss' post, he made it very clear that the title and format of the title of a QRG is extremely important. It should be in larger font, short, and should draw the reader in. Cati Krutilla had a very good post as well, her format was almost like its own mini QRF about a QRF! She was very informative and explained how important pictures are and what they do in a QRF. It's an easy way to draw readers in and give their minds a slight break from all of the reading. Last, Spencer Williams explained the conventions of a QRF, especially in the sense that they are usually broken down, allowing the reader to find the information he or she is looking for easier.
I really enjoyed your post and thought you made several good points about QRGs! I agree that QRGs should contain the most relevant, important information and condense the facts into an easy to read article. Furthermore, I liked how you discussed that the audience of a QRG can vary slightly but is mostly the same overall. I think you forgot to look at the formatting originally, but I see you analyzed it in your reflection later. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGood post about QRGs, I don't know if it is just where I'm looking, but not a lot of people are pointing out that their are indeed some similarities between the differing target audience. However, while I think you slightly alluded to it in the reflection, I don't believe you ever mentioned the use of hyperlinks in QRGs.
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