Summary and Analysis of Selber

By reading Selber's work, one can get a good understanding of what an instruction set is, how it is made, what it is used for, and what types there are. Selber is able to deconstruct a typical instructional set into three succinct categories in order to give his readers an inside look at the thought processes and strategies that go into making the kinds of instruction sets we see on a daily basis.

While introducing his work, Selber focuses a lot on the idea of destabilization of online rhetorical situations. With the birth of technology and the internet came a great new realm of rhetorical spaces. Selber takes a closer look at these setups in order to make them more comprehensible to the general public. An example that Selber focuses on regarding the destabilization that the internet has caused is related to resumes. The internet has completely changed the communication dynamics related to building resumes by incorporating links, ad revenues, marketing strategies, and many other innovated things that have replaced the standard cover letters and job ads. Selber includes this information to support his point of why instructional sets are needed. With the idea of technical communication being destabilized and genres being resituated, we need a helpful and appropriate way to come at and to understand these changes.

An instruction set is a step-by-step way to accomplish a physical or mental task. Selber uses this initial definition to inform the reader of the contributions of instruction sets in the several different circumstances. He starts by addressing their value in the academic world. Instruction sets have proven to be an effective way of showing how a particular discourse operates and a way to introduce new research. It is a way for researchers to prove their academic status in the professional world.

Instruction sets have a particular place in historical technological development as well. They grew in prominence after World War II. The War had a great deal of technical instruments, and the soldiers needed experienced people to explain how to operate the new machinery. The need for instruction sets also carried on after the War because the new technologies had to be applied to everyday life as well.

Selber now goes into the three types of instruction sets that one could encounter on the internet or in other aspect of life. First there is the self-contained set which are very fixed in a particular procedural structure. These are very comprehensive sets that do not require the user to consult and other texts in order to complete the task at hand. These kind of sets can be found in document templates or textbooks; however, the most common forms are PDFs and HTMLs.

Another kind of instruction set is referred to as embedded sets. These are very similar to self-contained sets, but they are delivered on the internet which promotes user-generated content. Screencasts, or video-based demonstrations, are perfect examples of embedded instruction sets. They are made by users who are trying to help other users learn how to perform and complete a certain task. This format allows users to ask questions and give feedback.

Finally, there are open instruction sets that can be found online through technical communication. This allows for users to become authors and controllers of the instruction sets. Users can contribute information that is susceptible to modification by experts. However, these "experts" are simply other users who have gained a good reputation among other users.

All of these models are ways for users to better understand the new age of technical communication.