So you want to write a Service Manual chapter?

Tips, tools, and techniques for writing chapters for the Fish and Wildlife Service Manual

What do I do first?

Don’t sound like a bureaucrat. Write using plain language:

– Employees and the public should be able to understand your chapter

– Read 116 FW 1, Plain Language in Fish and Wildlife Service Documents

– Visit www.plainlanguage.gov

Then do a little homework

Read 011 FW 2 and 011 FW 3– Manual chapters on how to write chapters and our

clearance process– 011 FW 2 includes a template, examples, and writing tips

If it’s a new chapter, look at the Service Manual Index to determine where your chapter will fit:

– www.fws.gov/policy/manuals/ Make sure there isn’t already a chapter that covers

your topic– You can search under each series, or you can enter your

topic in our search engine

Next, call Krista Bibb in PDM

Krista will:– Help you plan your project– Guide you through complexities like getting comments from

the Directorate and the public on a draft chapter– Help you understand the process and troubleshoot any

problems you encounter– Edit your chapter for plain language early in the process so

the chapter is as easy to understand as it can be

Phone: (703) 358-1914 Email: Krista_Bibb@fws.gov

Who’s the audience for your chapter?

Your primary audience is our employees But our policy must be transparent to the public so

they understand it too Avoid technical jargon (see plain language tips) Do not write using language that only technical

experts will understand

continued…

Who’s the audience for your chapter? An example…

Imagine you’re writing a chapter on cooperative farming at National Wildlife Refuges.

You explain in the policy what the Refuge Manager may allow farmers to do and what’s prohibited.

A cooperating farmer wants to better understand why he is not allowed to do something.

He finds our policy online and reads and rereads it, but cannot penetrate the bureaucratic language. Frustrated and confused, he calls the Refuge Manager.

You’ll make it easier on the Refuge Manager and the public if you clearly explain our policy so that the average intelligent person can understand it. People shouldn’t have to study a policy for hours to figure out what it means.

A word about policy vs. regulation

Do not regulate in our Service Manual You can tell employees what they may do and how

to do it, but you should not use the Manual to tell the public what it may or may not do

To tell the public what it may or may not do, you write a regulation, not a policy in our Manual

Policy vs. Regulation – Example Language

Policy Language:– The Project Leader must

ensure that hunters with permits hunt only during the local (county and State) hunting season.

– Grants specialists must collect XYX Forms from applicants by October 1, 2009.

Regulatory Language:– Hunters with permits may

hunt on the refuge only during the local (county and State) hunting seasons.

– Grantees must complete and send us the XYZ Form by October 1, 2009.

The difference is subtle. Call Krista in PDMif you need help.

Beginning your first draft: Organize your information before you write

Plain language is about more than easy-to-read sentences. It also means the information is logically organized.

Think about and record a few things before you begin working on the technical content:

– Why are you writing the chapter? That’s your purpose.– Who or what does the chapter apply to? That’s the scope of the

chapter.– What laws, regulations, and policy allow us to do what’s in the

chapter? Those are the authorities.

Then you can start organizing the guts of the chapter

continued….

Organize your information before you write

Don’t begin crafting sentences until you’ve got the basic ideas on paper

Use whatever outlining method works for you Many authors prefer to informally brainstorm ideas Then put them in a logical order

CLICK for an example

Here’s a way to organize your thoughts(Vehicle maintenance is the topic)

Step 1: Brainstorm

Scheduled inspections

Warranties

PreventiveMaintenance

Maintenance facilities

Fuel, oil, and lube

Signs ofOperator abuse

-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points

-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points

-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points

-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points

Step 2: Organize the storm

-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points

-Sketch out main points-Sketch out main points

1. Fuel, oil, and lube• Fuel and motor oil• Other lubricants• Tires

2. Preventive maintenance• Who writes Region’s procedures• Adverse conditions• Penalties for not scheduling preventive maint.• GSA’s schedules

3. Maintenance facilities• Ours• GSA’s• Commercial

4. Scheduled inspections• Point 1, 2, etc.

5. Warranties• Point 1, 2, etc.

6. Signs of operator abuse• Point 1, 2, etc.

Start writing

Use the template in 011 FW 2 You’ve already written the first few sections of the

template:– What is the purpose of this chapter?– What is the scope of the chapter?– What are the authorities?

Use your outline to draft the remaining sections You may want to wait to write the section called

“Who is responsible for the policy?” last. It’s easier to write it after you’ve written everything else.

Write, read, and revise

Avoid writer’s block -- start writing and don’t worry too much what it sounds like

Reread your work and see what you missed Flesh it out and reorganize if you need to Then start polishing your work

continued…

Click here for some guidanceon how to use helping verbs.

Write, read, and revise

Good writing is an evolving process. If you try to make it perfect the first time, your

attempts at perfection limit your creativity.

Your draft is ready for review:Overview of the Review and Clearance Process

OMB hasopportunityto review“significant”policies

Published inFederal Register

forpublic comment

Informalreview-

Krista in PDM

DirectorateReview (if new or major changes)

Final clearance-Affected ADs,-PDM, -AD-BPHC

Director’sreview andapproval

Most policies

• The following slides describe each of these steps

Significantpoliciesundergo morereview

Informal review

Once you’re happy with your draft:– Email it to Krista in PDM BEFORE you prepare a surname

package– Krista:

Edits the chapter for plain language, checks for consistency with other policy, and checks your citations

Will email the chapter back to you to finalize

PDM’s early review of chapters saves time in the long run

How do you obtain Directorate comments?

You need to send your chapter out for Directorate review if:

– It is new, or– Revisions will impact the way the Regions do business

Prepare a memo from the appropriate Deputy Director to the Directorate asking for their review (click here or call Krista and she’ll send you a template)

Allow at least 30 days for the Directorate to comment

continued…

The Surname package to request Directorate comments

Prepare the package like you would for other correspondence. Your package may be entirely electronic and uploaded to our Data Tracking System (DTS) or hard copy as this graphic depicts.

Memo from appropriate Deputy Director to Directorate asking for review

Memo from appropriate Deputy Director to Directorate asking for review

Note to Reviewers

Note to Reviewers

Exhibits, etc.Any Important BackgroundOld Chapter (if applicable) Yellow surname copy

New or Revised Chapter

Enter a record into our Data Tracking System (DTS)

Enter the information about the surname package in DTS

In DTS, assign the package to the first official who you want to surname it.

Be sure to click “email” when you assign the official the record so that he/she knows it’s in the inbox.

Incorporating Directorate comments

After the Deputy Director signs the memo, the Correspondence Control Unit sends it and the draft chapter to the Directorate using the DTS

Members of the Directorate will post their comments in DTS

continued…

Incorporating Directorate comments

Incorporate the comments you receive from the Directorate and finalize the chapter

If you don’t incorporate a comment, explain why. Either:

– Note the reason on a copy of the comment, or– Prepare a summary of comments and how you incorporated

them (click here for an example you can use as a template)

Getting comments from the public by publishing in the Federal Register

You should seek public comments on a policy if it:– Has clear and substantial impact on important public

policies or private sector decisions.– Raises highly controversial issues related to interagency

concerns or important Administration priorities.– Establishes initial interpretations of statutory or regulatory

requirements.– Is about innovative or complex scientific or technical issues.

continued…

Getting comments from the public by publishing in the Federal Register: OMB may review first

If you believe a chapter meets any of the criteria in the previous slide, you must ask PDM to include it on the “90-day list.”

Our “90-day list” is a list of regulations and policies ready for review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the next quarter of the fiscal year.

If OMB designates your chapter as “significant,” you must send it to OMB for clearance before you may publish it in the Federal Register

continued…

Publishing in the Federal Register

After incorporating Directorate comments, send the chapter to OMB, if required

Incorporate any OMB comments Then:

– Write a notice of availability (contact PDM regulatory staff for help writing the notice and preparing the surname package for the notice)

– The notice should include a URL where people can find the draft policy (we save money by publishing a notice and not the entire chapter)

– When the notice publishes, it will have a link to the policy so people can read it

– Incorporate appropriate public comments– You may choose to publish another notice when the Director signs

the final chapter

Elements of the Final Surname Package

Your final surname package may be entirely electronic (in DTS).

Upload the following documents in DTS:– Note to reviewers– Summary of comments– Final chapter and any exhibits– Other supporting information

If your managing Directorate member requires hard copy, you must also include a di-228, Clearance Record in the package

Prepare a routing tree in DTS with all the offices you want to surname the chapter

Route the record to the first office in the routing

Who should surname the final package?

Your Division Chief and Assistant Director Any other Assistant Director whose program has

significant responsibilities in the chapter Then these officials in this order:

– Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management (ABHC-PDM)

– Assistant Director – Budget, Planning and Human Capital (ABHC)

– Correspondence Control Unit (CCU): CCU will assign it to the Director’s office

Sample DTS Routing

This would be your office

Your AD and offices with majorresponsibilities in the policy

Then PDM, ABHC, and CCU

Then what happens?

If the Director signs the policy, CCU sends it back to PDM

PDM:– Notifies you it’s signed and

publishes it online– Sends a message to

Regional Directives contacts to let them know about the policy

– Keeps the original signatures for the Directives files

If the Director does not sign the policy:

– The Director’s office may call and ask for a briefing, or

– CCU may return the surname package to you asking for revisions or corrections

Your chapter….

Is posted on the Service Manual website under its series, and

On the “What’s New?” page

Visit your chapter from time to time

Make a note on your calendar to reread your chapter at least once a year

Update the policy when it’s no longer accurate

Keeping our policy up-to-date saves time and money because people can easily find the answers they need to do their work