Over the years, the way that information is presented has evolved and changed, recipes are no exception. Recipes have gone from being printed in books to being obtainable on the internet. Time however, should not limit a recipes effectiveness. Regardless if a recipe is from 1980 or 2015, a recipe should be created around the assumption that the readers will be beginners who don’t already have an acquired set of cooking skills. If a recipe is created for a beginner, then the recipe will be efficacious, and have a desired result. Moreover, the recipe won’t be limited in the effectiveness, and can reach a broad audience. Mike Markel in the textbook titled Technical Communication, outlines a set of criteria which enhances any technical document …show more content…
The recipe however is not very precise or accurate enough to address such readers. In step one the recipe asks the reader to “Broil the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink” (BigOven). The fact that the reader is instructed in such a vague way, to “broil chicken”, and the fact that the individual must use the oven for baking, is premise to identify the intended audience as individuals who have some sort of cooking background. Therefore, BigOven, has assumed that the readers already know how to broil chicken and use the oven which limits the beginner, however, information such as telling the reader to ensure the chicken is no longer pink is very informative and valuable. Effective recipes, as stated by Gillingham, “State exact or approximate cooking times, with descriptive hints for doneness, if appropriate” (http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-write-a-recipe-58522). Thus, BigOven, has followed Gillingham’s standard of giving hints for doneness, the omission of explaining “how to broil the chicken” however, is either a lack of detail, or suggests that, BigOven, assumes that the reader already knows how to broil the chicken. A person who is new to cooking, or at least new to broiling chicken, is likely not to know how to go about the process of broiling the chicken. The lack of disclosure on broiling the chicken; therefore, potentially affects the overall accuracy of the