Blog Assignment #5: Orientation

Assignment:  Write a 250-word minimum (that's approximately the same as a typed, double-spaced, one-page MLA-format document--obviously if you feel like doing more, do so. Don't come to a screeching stop just because you've hit the word count. If your imagination is pushing you to flesh things out, let it!) imitation of Daniel Orozco's "Orientation." In your version, pretend you are giving instructions for someone's first day of doing something. Your imitation should reference the "real" data needed to do the job. For example:

•  those individuals the person may need to interact with in order to get the job done
• supplies needed in order to do the job
• responsibilities of the person hearing your instructions
• job process and procedures
•  technical data
• standard operating procedures

However, additionally, I'd like you to include details that aren't necessary to the task at hand. These should be details considered TMI (too much information)--details that won't necessarily help the person do the task, but they will help the person learn about who YOU are and how you feel about the task and those involved.  Those details might include:

• judgments task or the process itself
•  gossip about  involved parties (co-workers, etc.)
•  a sense of how things really work, as opposed to a technical document like a standard operating procedure

Essentially, I want you to convey, via your tone and word choice, how you REALLY feel about the thing you are teaching. Feel free to draw off personal experience. For instance, if you worked a summer as a lifeguard, you probably know the technical parts of the job, but you probably have some juicy insight into the everyday drama going on with your co-workers, boss, or even the customers you see on a regular basis.

Oh, and FYI: your imitation need not be job-related. It might, for instance, be hobby based. Perhaps you want to explain how to play basketball during Hoopfest. Or maybe you want to explain how a person should operate in a mosh pit at a concert. Or maybe you want to tell someone how to go hunting with your particular family members.

As per Daniel Orozco's short story, write your imitation using second-person narration. There's an implied audience getting instructions to do something. You are commanding them, telling them what to do.