The first work place document I would like to share is a Qiagen Lab Manual. While this is not a document that must be written by very many people it is a huge part of everyday lab work. Being able to have the literacy and competency to read these manuals is essential to every day functioning in a lab setting. Almost every process in the hard sciences today depends on a Qiagen kit. These kits come with very extensive manuals and full understanding of the presenting information makes the differance between being a scientist and being a spectator.
Every manual has an extensive introduction to validate the scientific knowledge behind the chemical reactions. The main argument of the document is that it will work according to the previous science that is supported by previous peer reviewed articles and expieramentation. They are heavy in diagrams and sources to allow the reader to interpret the information and essentially make their own argument. In essence the Qiagen Lab Manual is stated as "facts" supported by other "facts" and it is assumed that the reader will be able to read the information, link it and make their own conclusions.
These texts are highly effective and as a result have become a pretty heavy monopoly. The kits and their manuals have become so wide spread that they are now referanced in some text books. They are highly specialised to give great quantities of information as fast and with as few words as possible. What is most interesting in these documents is there pressure for normalization. If someone working with the manual is not already a member of the community or placed with someone who is they are almost impossible to decipher. It is their effectivness and exclusivity that make them such a facinating example of workplace writing.
Strata Clone Blunt PCR Cloning Kit: Lab Manual. #046002 ed. La Jolla, CA: Stratagene, 2006. Print.
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