GIST Support WikiHow To Genre
This page describes the "How To" Genre, a specific type of Wiki Genre.
[edit] Purpose
To describe how to do something, not necessarily what it is or why it works.
[edit] Common Elements
How To pages begin with a short description of the goal and perhaps a few reasons why people need to know how to do it (e.g., "This page describes how to understand a typical blood test lab report. People diagnosed with... generally use blood tests to measure..."). It then describes (in order) the steps necessary to accomplish the goal. When there is more than one way to accomplish the goal, each method is described in a separate section. They often link to other resources that are more comprehensive, but they are meant to stand on their own.
[edit] Examples
- How to Write Your Own Health Care Proxy article - taken from http://www.eHow.com. This page and other health related "how to" articles may be more rigid in their format than necessary (e.g., listing everything as a numbered step), but serve as decent examples of what might fit in this genre.
- How to Understand Your BMD Test Results article - a good example of this genre provided by the New York State Osteoporosis Prevention Education Program (NYSOPEP).