Case 13: Revising a Document for a New Audience

Case 13: Revising a Document for a New Audience

Background

You are a Nutrition and Health major, interning at your university’s Health Center. Your supervisor is Dr. Lauren Chakraparti, the director of the Health Center. You and Dr. C, as she likes to be called, are reviewing statistics on the conditions that students report when they come to the Health Center.

“As you know,” Dr. C says, “the number of students inquiring about obesity is up over 200 percent in the last three years. Students are asking about nutrition programs, exercise programs, and various weight-loss surgeries. One of the therapies I’m getting questions about now is very-low-calorie diets—VLCDs.”

“I’m not even sure what they are.”

“They’re a kind of diet that requires you to substitute synthetic nutrition sources—things like special shakes—for all the food you usually eat. You stay on that diet for weeks or months, and you lose a lot of weight. The fact that you haven’t heard about it is why I need your help.”

Dr. C hands you a fact sheet (see Document 13.1). “This is a fact sheet from the National Institutes of Health about VLCDs. Even though it’s written at a pretty basic level, it’s not addressed to our audience. I’d like you to help me turn it into something we can give to students.”

“Absolutely,” you say.

Download the document below, and then begin your assignment.

image Download a copy of Document 13.1.

Your Assignment

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the case background and document, complete the assignment below. Your instructor will tell you how he or she would like you to submit your work.

1. Study Document 13.1. What information should be deleted because it is not addressed to a college-age audience? What information should be added? What information should be “translated” to more directly meet the needs of college students? Should graphics be added to make the document more effective? If so, what types of graphics? Present your findings in a memo to Dr. C.

2. Revise Document 13.1 according to the memo you wrote for Assignment 1. Perform any secondary research required to discover technical information that you need in order to make the necessary revisions. If you recommended adding graphics, either describe them in words, create your own, or use existing graphics that you find on the Internet to help Dr. C visualize your ideas. (Be sure to record source information for any graphics you download from the Internet.)

Reflecting on Your Work

Question 1.1

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