Craft and Narrative in DIY Instructions

Abstract

This article examines tutorials from the Web site, Instructables.com, to highlight the rhetorical possibilities of including personal narratives in instructions. The narratives in these tutorials offer detailed accounts of their authors’ experiences when constructing their projects, thereby functioning as accounts of the authors’ craft knowledge. Pitched to amateur hobbyists, rather than the professional audiences of many forms of conventional technical communication, these tutorials offer new ways of teaching craft knowledge and techniques.

Keywords:

• amateur
• craft
• instructions
• motivation
• narrative

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Derek Van Ittersum

Derek Van Ittersum is an assistant professor of English at Kent State University, where he teaches in the Literacy, Rhetoric, and Social Practice graduate program. His research examines new writing technologies and innovative writing practices.