Notes

TYPES AND COMMON FEATURES OF CONSUMER MATERIALS

Each type of communication is written for a specific purpose. The type of communication needs to fit the product or the service provided. All forms and manuals are meant to help the consumer. Consider a few of the types of consumer materials that you may have already encountered:

Product Information and Instruction Manuals
Think about all the items in your home. How many of them came with some kind of manual that explained how the product works? Appliances such as the stove or refrigerator usually have books to provide information for safe and effective use of the product. The computer that you are working on comes with a number of support documents to help make it more user-friendly. Electronic games and gadgets come with directions for assembly and care. Even board games come with written directions.

Warranties and Rebates
Warranties and rebates commonly accompany products. However, the guarantees or refunds are of little use if the appropriate paperwork is not completed or the warranty is not registered. Reading the documents that accompany purchases is essential if the consumer wants to benefit from the available resources offered by companies.

Contracts and Agreements
Few services come without a contract. Joining a gym, signing up for a cell phone plan, agreeing to the terms of use for a new Internet site are a few common contracts people agree to every day. Both knowing how to read a contract and taking the time to do so will help you to become a responsible consumer.


Common Features of Consumer Materials
The first purpose of all consumer documents is to clearly communicate with the person who purchased the product or wants to use the service. It is important to understand information provided in various types of consumer documents. Using the recognizable features in the documents can help you to more easily do so.

Consumer materials and other types of informational writing regularly use many of the following features:





ANALYZING THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE

The purpose of a consumer document is much different from that of a novel. People read novels for pleasure. Consumer documents are seldom read from cover to cover. They are intended to give specific information in a clear and effective format. Although much depends upon the specific piece of writing and the author's personal style, the elements used in consumer documents are generally consistent. Each style serves a specific purpose in making the communication more effective. The following chart clearly explains an author's use of these features. At the same time, notice how the Common Features chart takes the information that you just read in this lesson and puts it in a format that you can quickly and easily understand.