Order Description
Project Overview: As a time traveler, you have been given the opportunity to write a “how to” manual for a medieval audience based on a specific objective/goal. It’s your job to help your medieval audience achieve the stated goal, giving them a series of specific instructions and necessary equipment, using your knowledge of the period and geography.

Sources: Back up your instructions with appropriate primary and/or secondary sources based on your modern research of the topic. You must cite no fewer than 5 sources in your manual. Please use Chicago-style footnotes (not in-text citations) and include a bibliography at the end. Improper or non-academic sources will cost your project points. You are allowed to use resources from the class as part of your bibliography (textbooks, etc.).

Necessary To Include: As a manual, you don’t have to structure your writing in a typical essay format. You will be expected to address all of the following, so it may be useful to divide your manual according to these subsections.

Introduction: Set the context for your instructional manual. Why would someone be interested in following your instructions? This is a good opportunity to set the historical context for your instructions, noting major events, figures, developments associated with your instructions. Remember to consider the geography & time period of your objective!

Audience: Define (as specifically as possible) who would be interested in your instructional manual. Is this one specific person? An entire community? Are these elites? Peasants? Consider who would be a realistic or reasonable person/persons who would be interested in such a manual. Some of the objectives may relate to a number of possible individuals/communities (some of whom might be competing/at war with each other). It is up to you whether or not you want your instructions to be for any/all possible readers or a specific individual/group.
NOTE: For the purposes of this project, you can assume a wider level of literacy than would be plausible for the period, particularly non-elite members of society. That being said, if you would like to make an entirely pictorial instruction manual for illiterate portions of the population, you are welcome to do so!

Materials/Equipment: Provide a list of materials your readers might need in order to adhere to your instructions. Some of these might be more general (e.g. a sword and shield) or more specific (e.g. two trebuchets). Some of your materials might even need instructions for making them, which you are encouraged to include (e.g. how does one make pottage?). Many of these items may be specific or difficult to acquire (particularly dependent upon social/economic station). Depending on your audience (royalty, prominent lords, etc.), your audience may have different resources to work with. Remember to take this into account when listing equipment or other materials you might need. You may need to specify how and where one could find or create these items.

A Set of Instructions: This should be the heart of your manual. Break down your task into a series of manageable steps that your reader(s) can follow. Be as detailed as possible in these, covering everything that the individual/community would need in order to accomplish this task. Note: Many of the tasks may have more than one method or solution. Your manual does not have to feature only one series of steps. You can also suggest a variety of different methods to accomplish your given task.

Results: As the final component of your manual, you should let the reader know what are some of the potential outcome/ramifications of achieving the objective/goal. These can be specific or more general, depending on the audience. But this section should concentrate on the implications of achieving your goal within the medieval period. Will this have long-lasting specific ramifications on all of the medieval world? Is achieving the goal relevant to a specific community? Depending on how you’ve written your steps, you may be able to let your reader know about specific outcomes (based on your knowledge of history and what comes next) or, if you’ve suggested something that contradicts our knowledge of history (see below on “Changing the Course of History”), theorize on what may happen next in this alternate history.

Cautions/Warnings: Are there any potentially dangerous implications to your instructions? What should you warn your audience about? Are there drawbacks to following a particular step? Graphics/Illustrations: Depending on your topic, graphics and/or pictures may be helpful additions to your manual. You are welcome to include these; however, you must cite these as you would any source. They also do not count towards your overall 1000 words.

Remember: Your instructions or manual must be historically appropriate for the period and geography. Although you may have modern knowledge, the advice you give to your medieval readers must be appropriate for their period. Take into account the overall historical context of your manual. What is happening in this location at this time? How about the wider medieval world? Changing the Course of History? Some of these prompts derive from specific historical events that played out in a certain way. It is up to you whether or not you want to use your “modern knowledge” in order to change the way a particular event happened. However, your manual must be designed to achieve its stated goal (to conquer, defend, survive, etc.). You cannot undermine your readers by giving them bad advice! Resources on “How To” Manuals: For inspiration on how to write “instructional” manuals, take inspiration from some of the many “how to” sites around the internet, such as: www.ehow.com www.wikihow.com www.dummies.com

*Note: Please do not cite these websites as part of your bibliography. These are simply meant as inspirations/guidance on how to organize “how to” manuals.

Please have a bibliography at the end of every source you have used and ask questions if you have. Please add pictures if you can but add the source as well. Remember this is a “how to” manual for the black plague. Search up on how to do the how to manual if you can as well thank you

Also remember you are trying to do research on the plague, and how you can survive from it. That is the goal, but also include all what I have just put in, like what to put in the introduction, materials, equipment, cautions, etc.