Articles intended to give practical guidance are most interesting when cast in the form of an interview, a personal experience, or a narrative.  In an interview article, a person may indirectly give directions to others by describing in his own words the methods that he has used to accomplish the desired results.  Or the writer, by telling his own experiences in doing something, may give readers directions in an interesting form.

Whatever method he adopts, the writer must keep in mind the questions that his readers would be likely to ask if he were explaining the method or process to them in person.  To one who is thoroughly familiar with a method the whole process is so clear that he forgets how necessary it is to describe every step to readers unfamiliar with it.  The omission of a single point may make it impossible for the reader to understand or to follow the directions.  Although a writer need not insult the intelligence of his readers by telling them what they already know, he may well assume that they need to be reminded tactfully of many things that they may have known but have possibly forgotten.

TWO PRACTICAL GUIDANCE ARTICLES.  A method of filing office records, as explained apparently by the man who devised it, is well set forth in the following combination of the personal experience and the “how-to-do-something” types of articles.  It appeared in System with a half-tone reproduction of a photograph showing a man looking over records in a drawer of the desk at which he is seated.

    WHO’LL DO JOHN’S WORK?

    BY M. C. HOBART

“It’s a quarter after 8 and Schuyler hasn’t showed up,” telephoned Beggs, one of our foremen, last Tuesday morning.  “I’ve put Fanning on his machine, but that won’t help much unless I can get somebody to work at Fanning’s bench.  Got anybody you can let me have for to-day?”

    I didn’t know offhand.  But I told Beggs I’d call him back.

    Ten minutes later a young lathe operator reported to Beggs.  He was
    able to run Fanning’s machine while the latter temporarily filled
    the shoes of the absent Schuyler.

Scarcely a week passes that does not bring a similar call to our employment office.  While our plant, as plants go, is not large, we always have a number of men working with us who are fitted by experience and adaptability to do other work than that which they are hired to do.  Such men are invaluable to know about, especially when an operator stays away for a day or perhaps a week and the shop is full of orders.  Once it was a problem to find the right man immediately.  A few additions to our employment records made it possible to keep track of each man’s complete qualifications.

The employment records I keep in my desk in the deep drawer.  They are filed alphabetically by name.  When we hire a man we write his name and the job he is to fill on the outside of a 9 by