Clear and accurate instructions and procedures are essential to the world of work. Instructions tell - and frequently show - how to do something: perform a specific task; operate a machine; construct, install, maintain, monitor, adjust, or repair equipment. While the purpose of writing instructions is to explain how to perform a task in a step-by-step manner, the purpose of writing procedures is slightly different. Often the two terms are incorrectly used interchangeably. Procedures refers to policies, duties, protocols, and guidelines that a business or organization expects its employees to follow. Procedures refers to policies, duties, protocols, and guidelines that a business or organization expects its employees to follow. Perhaps no other type of occupational writing demands more from the writer than do instructions because so much is at stake - for both you and your reader. The reader has to understand what you write and be able to perform the steps. You cannot afford to be unclear, inaccurate, or incomplete. Instructions are significant for many reasons, including safety, efficiency, and convenience. Well-written instructions help businesses run smoothly and efficiently. No work would be done if employees did not have clear instructions to follow. Clear, easy-to-follow instructions make a customer’s job easier and less frustrating. Instructions reflect a product’s or service’s quality and convenience. They can create goodwill or destroy it. How many times have you heard complaints about a company because its instructions were hard to follow? Poorly written and illustrated instructions will cost your customers time and you their business. To assess your audience’s needs, put yourself in your readers’ position. Do not assume that your readers have performed the process before or have operated the equipment as many times as you have. The more you know about how and why your reader will use your instructions, the steps likely to cause problems, and the background information you need to supply, the easier and clearer your instructions will be to follow. To make sure your instructions are accurate and easy for your audience to perform, you must plan your steps, perform a trial run, write and test your draft, and revise and edit. A procedure is an established or official way of doing something. Procedures deal with a wide range of “how-to” activities within an organization. Policy procedures have a major impact on a company and its workers. They affect schedules, payrolls, acceptable and unacceptable behaviors at work, and a range of protocols governing the way the organization does business internally and externally. Procedures also help an organization run smoothly and consistently. Adhering to them, all employees follow the same regulations and standards. Many times procedures involve a policy or a change in the work environment. Help readers by including, whenever necessary, definitions, headings, some prefatory explanations, and an offer to assist employees with any questions they may have. Always present the procedures to management to approve or to revise before sending them to employees via hard copy or as an e-document. No one ever complained that a set of instructions was too clear or too easy to follow. Similarly, make sure that the procedures you may be called upon to write are easy to understand and to follow.