How-To How-To

What is a How-to

Its a Recipe

Recipes are an excellent model for writing a how-to guide.

Recipes clearly define the goal by following it, and they address a specific question: How do I make it?

Why: adds noise

Explanations aren’t necessary when following a how-to guide. Adding descriptions is adding noise on the way to the goal.

How: the steps to take

How-to guides contain a sequence of actions much like a tutorial.

They differ in a sense; a tutorial mentions that “We are using HTTPS” because it is very secure, whereas a How-to guide digs deeper into HTTPS, that is, it shows you how to do a specific action or configuration with HTTPS.

How-to guides don’t need the repeatability of a tutorial, but they should be reliable.

When to write one

The goal of a how-to is to solve a problem or complete an unfamiliar task.