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Introduction

WRT 307. Advanced Studio. Professional Writing. Instructions Project. This blog is meant to prepare any individual, whether they be a business student, young professional, or curious mind, on the basics of proper dinner etiquette. Note, that this specific blog on dinner etiquette won't prepare you for all formal eatery settings or events. You may have a formal dinner with internationals or perhaps actually be in another country, whether table manners vary. Nevertheless, this blog of instructions will prepare you; you will "wow" your dinner companions after reading this blog.

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About the Author: Cynthia Van Bourgondien is a junior at Syracuse University, pursuing a double major in Retail and Finance in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Through her past experiences as a cashier at a local organic farm stand, a horticulturist at C.J. Van Bourgondien Inc., Greenhouses, and a hostess at Alure restaurant on Long Island, Cynthia has grown as a hardworking and personable business student. On campus, she is involved in Team Guatemala and Start Smart, both of which are ongoing projects of Enactus. In her spare time, Cynthia enjoys time with friends, hiking, and reading.

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Instructions: For most formal dinners the dining area, specifically on the table, will be set up as demonstrated in the photo above. Note that this is how most American formal table settings are. The following post will provide descriptions of each item that appears in the photo. Please proceed to the next photo for a more in depth presentation.

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Instructions: For this table setting there are 17 items. Starting in numerical order, this blog will provide you with information on what each item is as well as how to utilize it properly during dinner. This is a formal American table setting. 

1. Napkin: It is located as always to your left and occasionally across your   service plate (6). Typically, and naturally you will unfold your napkin and lay it across your lap. Note, however this is only done once the hostess places his or her napkin on his or her lap. 

2. Salad Fork: It is located to the left of the service plate on the outside of the dinner fork (3). The salad fork will be utilized for eating salads after eating soup with the soup spoon (13). 

3. Dinner Fork: It is located to the left of the service plate, inside of the salad fork (2). It will be used during dinner. 

4. Bread Plate: It is located northwest of the service plate. It Is typically not moved during the course of the meal. The bread plate is used only for placing bread on. Tip: when eating bread one must rip pieces and eat each piece. 

5. Bread Knife: It is located on top of bread plate (4). One will utilize the bread knife by spreading butter on the bread plate from the shared butter container. After the butter is on the bread plate, one can spread the butter on each piece of bread. 

6. Service Plate: It is the largest plate on the table. This will be the plate that your main meal will be on. However it most restaurants, the service plate will be taken away before your actual entrée comes out. 

7. Salad Plate: It is located on top of the service plate (6). This plate is utilized only for salad. 

8. Soup Bowl: It is located on top of the salad plate (7). The soup bowl is not always provided in all restaurants.

9. Dessert Spoon: It is located north of the service plate (6) and outside of the cake fork (10). It is utilized for desserts like ice cream. 

10. Cake Fork: It is located north of the service plate (6) below the dessert spoon (9). It is utilized for cake during the dessert course. 

11. Dinner Knife: It is located to the right of the service plate (6) and is utilized during the dinner course. 

12. Teaspoon: It is located to the right side of the service plate (6), in between the dinner knife (11) and the soup spoon (13). The teaspoon is used with the tea cup or coffee cup, typically during dessert (14). 

13. Soup Spoon: It is located to the right of the service plate (6) on the outside of the teaspoon (12). The soup spoon is used for soup with the soup bowl (8). 

14. Tea Cup: It is used typically during the dessert course, but it is acceptable to have tea during any meal. 

15. White Wine Glass: It is located to the northeast of the service plate (6). It is also the wine glass that is narrower and located closest compared to the other wine glasses. Note: this blog does not cover it, but certain white wines are paired with certain meals.

16. Red Wine Glass: It is located to the northeast of the service plate (6), past the white wine glass (15). Appearance wise, it is wider that the white wine glass. Note: this blog does not cover it, but certain red wines are paired with certain meals. 

17. Water Goblet/Glass: It is located to the northeast of the service plate (6), past the red wine glass (16). 

Conclusion: You are now aware of what each item in an American formal table setting includes, along with their uses. You have the basic knowledge to be successful in a dinner interview or to impress a loved one! Go get ‘em!

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Design Memo

Why Provide Instructions on Dinner Etiquette?: I, myself, am an aspiring business student and in the past I was asked to interview for an internship over dinner. I remember being excited for the opportunity for the potential position and build upon new experiences strengthening my skills as a business student. Unfortunately, clueless as I was, I did not get the internship. When I asked for feedback on ways to improve my interviewing skills, the recruiter informed me that I needed to improve on my etiquette skills. I did not get the internship simply because I had no knowledge on dinner etiquette. It was after attending an information session on the basics of dinner etiquette that I knew this was something I must share with the world.

How did I create the Instructions?: Before creating the instructions for the blog you are now reading, I met with a professional in my business school, as well as a few restaurant professionals. They walked me through the basics of the table set up for a formal dinner and what each item was used for. From there I had several product development runs for the instructions blog, at first using an app mockup. The app mockup did not go as planned and I headed back to the drawing board. After creating the blog, I had two individuals actively view the blog. I had each of them verbalize their actions and thoughts as they read and perused the blog. Noting several improvements, the blog was updated for simpler use with greater clarity.

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Usability Report:

The Purpose: The main purpose of the instructions set was to invite individuals with any profession to learn about dinner etiquette. The instructions are not meant to give every possible answer or instruction to attending a formal dinner, but provide simple instructions to become more familiar with dinner etiquette. The readers intended for the instruction set should feel more comfortable with the basic table setting and what each utensil, dish, or glass is utilized for. 

Testing Method: I am testing two individuals on the usability of the blog. Since the blog will be used in any setting, it is not necessary to test the individuals under any specialized conditions. I will first explain my original concept for the blog and provide a print out of the table setting asking each individual to name what they know. Then I will allow the individuals to visit the blog. As each person scrolls and reads through the blog, he or she verbally say what he or she is doing, along with any struggles the individuals each have with the blog. At the end, I will ask if the blog was useful on a scale of 1 to 10. After the blog, I will again ask the individuals to again look at the table setting print out and see if they learned anything new. 

Actual Test: (seen in the picture above)

Conclusion: I did actually have to redo some parts of the blog, because there were too many words. The blog, itself, being associated with Tumblr, lead individual number one to believe it was too wordy. Individual two was a little confused when I mentioned certain utensils and asked for number references. After adding and adjusting these two requests into the blog, the test individuals both agreed that the overall blog was super helpful. They weren’t looking to learn how to properly hold utensils or how to sniff wine from a glass; just a general understanding of the table setting.