A Dusting "How-to" for Children: An Example of Technical Writing

Dust is minuscule particles, or really tiny pieces, of substances that float through the air and eventually land on surfaces within your house. Sometimes the dust particles are made up of material that can aggravate allergies and make those who have allergies feel miserable.  Allergies or not, dust makes a house look messy.  Dusting, which is the process of removing the dust, should be a regular part of household chores. Here is how to do the job right.

1.     First, figure out what room or rooms you are going to dust. Ask an adult to walk through the room with you and show you if there is anything they do not want you to dust such as electrical plugs, televisions, your Grandma’s nice china, and so forth.

2.     Get all of the things together that you need for dusting. These include dry and damp (slightly wet) dust cloths such as rags, washcloths, Swiffer wipes, etc.  Do not use a feather duster because all that does is make the dust float up for a while and then land back down somewhere else. Ask your mom and dad what cloths they want you to use so that you do not use their good stuff.  WARNING: Do not use a wet or damp rag on anything that has electricity running through it or to it such as electrical outlets, televisions, CD players, DVD players, laptops, computers, alarm clocks, and things like that.  Using wet or damp rags on these things can damage them and shock you.  Shocks can hurt you really bad.  Some shocks can kill you. If you are not sure if it is okay to dust something, ask an adult first.

3.     Choose one corner of the room to start your dusting.  Carefully remove everything from the surface of the area you are dusting. If an adult told you it was okay to dust the things that were on the surface, do this first, using a damp dust rag, and then carefully set them aside. 

4.     Next, using your damp cloth so that the dust clings to the cloth and doesn’t just fly up in the air, begin dusting at the top of whatever it is you are working on, such as a bookshelf or coffee table. This way, any dust that your cloth doesn’t pick up will settle on the lower parts that you still need to dust. WARNING: If the thing you are dusting is taller than you, only dust the parts that you can reach with both your feet flat on the ground.  Do not climb up on a chair, ladder, bookcase, table, or anything else.  Leave the high parts for an adult to do.

5.     Be sure to reach all the corners and the sides of your work area, trying to get all of the dust you see.  Then, use your dry cloth to rub the surface so that you can carefully put the knick-knacks back where they were before. 

6.     Go to the kitchen or bathroom and rinse your damp dust rags out frequently.  If you do not, you will soon find that you are just spreading dust and dirt around the room.  After you have rinsed the dust from the rags, squeeze the rags really hard so that you get as much water as you can from them and then continue dusting where you left off.

7.     Move around the room in one direction, dusting everything you see that an adult told you to dust.  Once you make it back to the area you started with, you have dusted the whole room. 

Dusting is an important job.  It makes the house look nice and helps allergic people sneeze less. When you help out with the dusting, you help make your mom, dad, or other adult’s life a little bit easier and you should be proud of yourself for that!