Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

Feminist Theory And Technical Communication, Olivia Duffus

Channels: Where Disciplines Meet

This essay explores feminism, socially-constructed norms, and the relationship between feminism and technical communication. It argues that undergraduate technical communication programs should include courses that study feminist history and theories as related to the field, claiming that studying feminist theory will improve user-centered design and broaden students' spheres of influence as professionals.

The Write Stuff - Autumn 2016 (Vol. 13, No. 4), Research Medical Library

Write Stuff 2016

• Using calendar dates in case reports
• How does an author’s leaving an institution affect in-progress manuscripts?
• What trainees should know before submitting manuscripts to the Department of Scientific Publications
• EQUATOR Network offers more than 300 specialized reporting guidelines
• Autumn and winter schedule for the Research Medical Library webinar program
• Unusual terms used in scientific writing and publishing: Red Journal, Gray Journal, and other colorful nicknames

Analysis Of Media In Rwanda: Internship With The New Times, Rhiannon Snide

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report examines the effects and expectations of media in Rwanda today, specifically in reference to the New Times daily newspaper. I spent one month interning with the New Times as a news writer, spending approximately 45 to 50 hours a week with the institution. Within this month, I was able to use both primary research and secondary research to analyze the role of media in Rwanda’s society today. Interviews with head editors of the New Times and conversations with paid journalists from the New Times provided me with much of the information specific to the news outlet, while desk …

Publishing Information For Authors, Paul Royster, Sue Ann Gardner, Linnea Fredrickson

Library Conference Presentations and Speeches

Publishing: What Authors Ought to Know, by Paul Royster

Copyright for Scholarly Authors, by Sue Ann Gardner

Mechanics of the Manuscript: What Happens Next? by Linnea Fredrickson

Visual Detail And Its Effects On Character Attachment In Video Games, Carl Sommer

Open Access Theses

The video game industry has been experiencing a trend toward independent game developers making their own games, as well as large companies opening smaller divisions to work on smaller games. This can be looked at from a purely financial perspective, given that smaller games will inevitably consume a smaller budget; however, there is also good reason to believe there can be substantial creative benefits to companies indulging in this trend. This research is concerned with the effect that visual detail can have on a players emotional attachment to characters in video games-otherwise known as character attachment. While intuition may often …

Explaining Dynamic Interactions In Wiki-Based Collaborative Writing, Mimi Li, Wei Zhu

Department of Writing and Linguistics Faculty Research and Publications

This article reports a case study that examined dynamic patterns of interaction that two small groups of ESL students exemplified when they performed two writing tasks, i.e., Research Proposal (Task 1) and Annotated Bibliography (Task 2) in a wiki site. Group A demonstrated a Collective pattern in Task 1, but switched to an Active/Withdrawn pattern in Task 2. In contrast, Group B exhibited a Dominant/Defensive pattern in Task 1, but switched to a Collaborative one in Task 2. These patterns were substantiated by group members’ ongoing task approaches in terms of “equality” and “mutuality,” reflected via the analyses of language …

Troubles At Coal Creek: Rhetorics Of Writing, Research, And The Archive, Sumner Stevenson Brown

Masters Theses

Digging through the past can uncover painful truths. As such, historiography that does not acknowledge negotiated spaces, cultural erasures, and flexible frameworks may fall short. It may limit both breadth and depth of the past, thereby (re)producing erasures, whereas a reflexive theoretical framework delivers not only depth and breadth, but it also adds texture and dimension to historical writing and research processes. It is for these purposes that the value of alternative methodologies is not situated at the margins of the rhetorical canons. Instead, it is embedded in the very core of the canons, defined as an element that works …

Volume 111 Issue 25, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

The Southwestern - Archive

News Editor...............................Maggie Tran

Online Editor.............................Raven White

Features Editor..........................Hannah Flaherty

Publications Manager................Laura Howe

Advertising Manager.................Kierra Prewitt

Photographers............................Riley Roberson, Maggie Tran, Nakota Taylor

Staff Reporters...........................Amber Bachiochi, Bayli Blanchard, Elizabeth Fuller, Kelsie Gerlach, Brooke Harden, Bailey Hood, Maxwell Jirak, Conner Kent, Makenli Ladd, Katie Lafferty, Ayo Ojo, Caylie Patton, Jennifer Steiner, Michelle Taylor, Andikan Usanga

Editing Staff...............................Amber Bachiochi, Bayli Blanchard, Tariq Carey, Hunter Green, Bailey Hood, Maxwell Jirak, Bailey Kephart, Katie Lafferty, Delmi Menendez, Ayo Ojo, Saul Pina, Bradley Rowson, Jennifer Steiner, Jessica Tortorelli, Amber Trogdon

The Write Stuff - Summer 2016 (Vol. 13, No. 3), Research Medical Library

Write Stuff 2016

• Tips for writing a journal submission cover letter
• New biosketch instructions and samples provided by the NIH
• Tips for shortening grant proposals through document and text formatting
• Fall schedule for the Research Medical Library webinar program
• Unusual terms used in scientific writing and publishing: Structured and unstructured abstracts

Preliminary Assessment Of And Lessons Learned In Pitch: An Integrated Approach To Developing Technical Communication Skills In Engineers, Nadiye O. Erdil, Ronald S. Harichandran, Michael A. Collura, Jean Nocito-Gobel, David J. Adams, Amanda Simson

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The Project to Integrate Technical Communication Habits (PITCH) has been implemented across seven engineering and computer science undergraduate programs starting in fall 2012. The overarching goal of PITCH is to develop written, oral and visual communication skills and professional habits in engineering students. PITCH activities begin in the very first semester and are reinforced and extended through all four years of each program. After three years of progressively more extensive development and deployment, a preliminary assessment of student writing over their first three years in programs was performed. In May 2016 the first cohort of students will have completed the …

Visual Rhetoric: A Case For Visual Literacy In The Classroom, Kaitlyn J. Tomlinson

Professional Writing and Information Design Capstone Projects

We live in a visual age in which we find visual information surrounding us on every side. The persuasive power of the visual has long been recognized by scholars, but there is a lack of emphasis in the classroom on how to effectively create an effectively persuasive visual. Professors at the collegiate level need to teach their students to be visually literate, to make them responsible users and creators of images.

Cross-Cultural Solutions Volunteer Handbook, Alexa Senio

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Alexa worked with Cross-Cultural Solutions to design and create a handbook that could prepare volunteers for their experience abroad. By using her personal experience abroad at El Pueblito, an orphanage in Cartago, Costa Rica, Alexa was able to compile resources and information that would be useful for a first-time volunteer to make the most out of their experience and to make sure they are prepared for working with the children. The final product is an interactive PDF handbook and an accompanying classroom activity bank on Pinterest that can be accessed digitally by CCS volunteers worldwide.

A Proposal For A Writing Center At Lafayette High School, Katherine Leigh Utne

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

While employed at the University Writing Center at James Madison University, I noticed how helpful it was for the students, tutors and faculty. Curious about the benefits of a writing center at the high school level, I began researching high school writing centers, and following my adviser’s suggestion, I created the initial draft of a proposal for a writing center at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia.

After interviews with faculty at Lafayette and a personal conversation with the principal, I revised my proposal, adapting it to Lafayette’s needs. The following proposal identifies the need for and the benefits of …

Storytelling Failure In The Vale Of Leven: How A Bacterial Outbreak Became A Wicked Problem, Kyle P. Vealey

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation examines the rhetorical work of a public inquiry investigation into an outbreak of Clostridium Difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland that resulted in 143 cases of infection and the tragic deaths of 34 patients. In light of these deaths and subsequent protests from local citizens, the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland launched a public inquiry in 2009 to investigate the events precipitating the outbreak. Extending rhetoric and technical communication’s sustained engagement with post-accident reports, this study explores how citizens and government officials accounted for the causes, boundaries, and impact of the outbreak. Specifically, …

Facilitating Environmental Literacy In A Socio-Digital Landscape, Anna E. Hotard

Honors Theses

My work engages digital communications, traditional writing, and campus/community engagement in order to curate emergent knowledge of environmental citizenship and sustainable development. In the city of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, there has been a growing interest in environmental literacy both on the University of Southern Mississippi campus and within the city community. Environmental literacy takes many forms from informational sessions, fundraisers and events, to outright activism. This work informs my evolving identity as an editor as I choreograph traditional transcripts into a digital sphere in order to provide a collective space for related interests.

Author Support For Wiki Based Help Systems: Genre Conventions For Content Templates, Claire Lundeby

Technical Communication Capstone Course

Author support systems are critical in wiki help systems. I provide a critical review of existing research on author support systems, content strategy, content management, and how these intersect, as well as a structural content analysis of five content templates in an effort to define genre conventions.

Grad Student Wins Evangelical Press Scholarship: Comm Student Stands Out In Christian Journalism

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Yorba Times: Special Edition On Safety, Noah Asher Golden, Facundo Acevedo, Jesse Alonzo, Henessy Arana, Leslie Arriaga, Michelle Brait, Amy Chau, Ashley Diaz, Jeremiah Dille, Sierra Durand, Beberly Espinoza, Elora Estes, Lesley Fernandez, Darshan Gamma, Cassandra Garcia, Karla Garcia, Yasmin Garcia, Neko Gianquinto, Gisselle Gonzalez, Jacob Gonzales, Sakina Jaffery, Adrianna Herrera, Allie Hoch, Victoria Hulett, Anthony Jaimes, Leilani Lagunes, Sandra Loredo, Kate Markey, Joshua Marmolejo, Faith Martin, Melissa Medina, Layla Melendez, Dylan Moses, Michaela Moses, Brooklynn Payne, Michelle Perez, Brianna Quirarte, Ieleen Ramirez, Edwin Reyes, Jehu Sandoval, Jaqueline Ramirez, Jonathan Sanchez, Nathalie Sanchez, Christopher Santibanez, Kaylin Seeley, Genevieve Stothers, Miranda Valdez, Christopher Velasquez

Yorba-Chapman Writing Partnership Anthology of Journalistic Writing

During the Spring 2016 semester, Dr. Noah Asher Golden's Teaching of Writing K-12 students partnered with the Journalism class at Yorba Academy for the Arts. Through collaboration over a four-month period, Chapman's future teachers and Yorba's junior high journalists engaged a deep writing process to write a series of features, editorials, and news articles, all connected in some way to the overarching theme of safety. Thank you to Ms. Andrea Lopez, Ms. Tracy Knibb, and the Lloyd E. and Elisabeth H. Klein Family Foundation for supporting this project.

The Write Stuff - Spring 2016 (Vol. 13, No. 2), Research Medical Library

Write Stuff 2016

• Grant-writing workshop and mock study section now available to help grant applicants
• Must authors highlight minor text changes in revised manuscripts?
• Using ORCID’s unique identifier to link your name with your publications
• Finding the information you need to navigate the recent NIH grant-application changes
• ICMJE updates its influential Recommendations for scientific publishing
• Summer schedule for the Research Medical Library webinar program
• Unusual terms used in scientific writing and publishing: IMRAD

43. Examples, Cases, And Models Index

Sexy Technical Communications

The following are links to the examples and models of the kinds reports, letters, and other documents discussed in this book. (Some of the items are excerpts.) True, many of these examples are as much as twenty years old. However, the point here is technical writing, format, organization, style—not up-to-date technology. Even so, why not write a technology update on blood glucose monitoring systems, voice recognition software, laptop computers, wind power systems?