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Technical and Professional Writing Commons™

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887 Full-Text Articles 556 Authors 465,152 Downloads 95 Institutions

Popular Articles

Based on downloads in November 2022

Business Communication For Success - Gvsu Edition, Unnamed Author, Mark Schaub, Jenniffer Eckert, Anessa Fehsenfeld, Rhonda R. Hoffman, Adam Krusniak, Tami McCoy, Rachel Jean Norman, Julian Toscano Grand Valley State University

Business Communication For Success - Gvsu Edition, Unnamed Author, Mark Schaub, Jenniffer Eckert, Anessa Fehsenfeld, Rhonda R. Hoffman, Adam Krusniak, Tami Mccoy, Rachel Jean Norman, Julian Toscano

Open Textbooks

About the GVSU Edition

This text is an adaption of Business Communication for Success, an open textbook produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing in 2015.

Chapters 9, 18, and 20 of Business Communication for Success: GVSU Edition were revised and rewritten by student authors in 2017, as part of a course in the Writing Department at Grand Valley State University. All other chapters retain the content and formatting of previous editions.

Note about the 2015 edition:

The edition produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing was itself adapted from a work …

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Engl 1301 - English Composition I - Language And Communication, Glenn Shaheen, Ymitri Mathison, DeLinda Marzette -Stuckey, Richard Schmitt Prairie View A&M University

Engl 1301 - English Composition I - Language And Communication, Glenn Shaheen, Ymitri Mathison, Delinda Marzette -Stuckey, Richard Schmitt

Open Education Resources

This OER packet contains the course materials for ENGL 1301 - English Composition I . In academic settings, the reasons for writing fulfill four main purposes: to summarize, to analyze, to synthesize, and to evaluate. You will encounter these four purposes not only as you read for your classes but also as you read for work or pleasure. Because reading and writing work together, your writing skills will improve as you read. Eventually, your instructors will ask you to complete assignments specifically designed to meet one of the four purposes. As you will see, the purpose for writing will guide …

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19. Bulleted And Numbered Lists, David McMurray Kennesaw State University

19. Bulleted And Numbered Lists, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

Lists are useful because they emphasize selected information in regular text. When you see a list of three or four items strung out vertically on the page rather than in normal paragraph format, you are likely to pay more attention to it. Certain types of lists also make for easier reading. For example, in instructions, it is a big help for each step to be numbered and separate from the preceding and following steps. Lists also create more white space and spread out the text so that pages don't seem like solid walls of words. Like headings, the various types …

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Open Technical Writing: An Open-Access Text For Instruction In Technical And Professional Writing, Adam Rex Pope University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Open Technical Writing: An Open-Access Text For Instruction In Technical And Professional Writing, Adam Rex Pope

Open Educational Resources

This book presents technical writing as an approach to researching and carrying out writing that centers on technical subject matter. Each and every chapter is devoted to helping students understand that good technical writing is situationally-aware and context-driven. Technical writing doesn’t work off knowing the one true right way of doing things—there is no magic report template out there that will always work. Instead, the focus is on offering students a series of approaches they can use to map out their situations and do research accordingly.

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7. Writing Instructions, David McMurray, Jonathan Arnett Kennesaw State University

7. Writing Instructions, David Mcmurray, Jonathan Arnett

Sexy Technical Communications

The focus for this chapter is one of the most important of all uses of technical writing—instructions. As you know, instructions are those step-by-step explanations of how to do something: how to build, operate, repair, or maintain things. When you finish this chapter you will be able to: Analyze and evaluate a set of technical instructions Write clear and accurate instructions with an introduction and conclusion Develop and design an instruction manual for a specific audience

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What's In A Genre?: The Relationship Between Reader And Text, Anabelle Mahoney University of Rhode Island

What's In A Genre?: The Relationship Between Reader And Text, Anabelle Mahoney

Senior Honors Projects

The way in which literary genres are understood shapes how one reads and interacts with different texts. Genre expectations affect both how individuals choose texts to read, and then how those texts are understood. Therefore, labeling literature as a certain genre affects the relationship between writer and reader. Literary nonfiction is unlike most genres as it promises a certain truth to its readers. One cannot deviate too far from “the truth” in nonfiction writing and still fulfill the genre; the relationship a reader has with a text changes if it is not considered “true enough.” Author James Frey, who marketed …

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Witches On Surfboards: How Witch Media Has Ridden The Waves Of Feminism, Victoria Harris University of Louisville

Witches On Surfboards: How Witch Media Has Ridden The Waves Of Feminism, Victoria Harris

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

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Analysis Of Writing Practices: Business Writing In A Scientific World, Brandon Ryan University of Louisville

Analysis Of Writing Practices: Business Writing In A Scientific World, Brandon Ryan

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

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Implementing Plain Language Into Legal Documents: The Technical Communicator's Role, Peggy Bivins University of Central Florida

Implementing Plain Language Into Legal Documents: The Technical Communicator's Role, Peggy Bivins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the benefits of using plain language in legal documents and the role technical communicators can play to help implement plain language. Although many definitions for plain language exist, it is best described as reader-focused communication that presents information in a manner that makes it easy for a reader to find, understand, and use the information. Plain language facilitates comprehension by using shorter, less complex sentences; active voice; and common words. All these elements aid in processing and understanding information, especially unfamiliar concepts. Laypeople, unversed in the law, frequently have difficulty understanding traditional legal writing. The complex sentences, …

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10. Recommendation And Feasibility Reports, David McMurray, Jonathan Arnett Kennesaw State University

10. Recommendation And Feasibility Reports, David Mcmurray, Jonathan Arnett

Sexy Technical Communications

This chapter addresses a loosely defined group of report types that examine a situation, evaluate the evidence, and render a judgment. Some Rather Fine Distinctions... The reports in this loosely defined category are variously called feasibility reports, recommendation reports, evaluation reports, assessment reports, and who knows what else. They all do roughly the same thing—provide carefully studied opinions and, sometimes, recommendations. There are some subtle differences among some these types.

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A Word From The Writing Center (January 2023), Pam Walter, MFA, Liz Declan, MA, MFA 2023 Thomas Jefferson University

A Word From The Writing Center (January 2023), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

  • New Year, Monthly Writing Sessions
  • Upcoming Workshops

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Payton's Final Master's Portfolio, Payton Boshears 2022 Bowling Green State University

Payton's Final Master's Portfolio, Payton Boshears

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Here is my final Master's Portfolio. I did not have specialization for the English program, so for the portfolio I chose four different projects that represent the variety of courses I have taken during my time here at BGSU.

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Final Master's Portfolio, Carol V. Grinage 2022 Bowling Green State University

Final Master's Portfolio, Carol V. Grinage

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is the final master's portfolio for a Master's in English with an emphasis on professional writing and rhetoric.

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Pursuing Personal And Professional Passions: A Final Master's Portfolio, Eileen Tse 2022 Bowling Green State University

Pursuing Personal And Professional Passions: A Final Master's Portfolio, Eileen Tse

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

As an English Language Arts teacher at the secondary level with some publishing experience looking to expand my professional writing repertoire, I sought to expand and transfer my knowledge and skills in rhetoric and technical writing in different realms of interests and areas of my life. The following is my final portfolio for the Master of Arts in English, fusing my various intellectual interests and professional pursuits. My first substantive project explores the technical communication that occurs in casual online spaces by exploring the documentation and interactions in an Animal Crossing: New Horizons Facebook fan group. The project blends my …

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A Word From The Writing Team (December 2022), Pam Walter, MFA, Liz Declan, MA, MFA 2022 Thomas Jefferson University

A Word From The Writing Team (December 2022), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

  • Writing Retreat—Happening This Week!
  • BioRender Webinar—Next Week
  • Coming in 2023

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With Regard To “Regarding”, Sarah Bronson 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

With Regard To “Regarding”, Sarah Bronson

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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Shall We Talk About Using “Will” And “Shall” In Scientific Writing?, Joe Munch 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Shall We Talk About Using “Will” And “Shall” In Scientific Writing?, Joe Munch

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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A Word From The Writing Team (November 2022), Pam Walter, MFA, Liz Declan, MA, MFA 2022 Thomas Jefferson University

A Word From The Writing Team (November 2022), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

  • Upcoming Workshop
  • Upcoming Writing Retreat
  • Reception - You're Invited!
  • Consultations
  • Write Your Story Series Update

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How To Manage The Use Of “Managing Patients” Vs. “Managing Disease”, Ann Sutton 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

How To Manage The Use Of “Managing Patients” Vs. “Managing Disease”, Ann Sutton

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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The Communicative And Affective Labor Of Public Pandemic Diaries: The Case Of Fang Fang’S Wuhan Diary, Chen Chen 2022 Utah State University

The Communicative And Affective Labor Of Public Pandemic Diaries: The Case Of Fang Fang’S Wuhan Diary, Chen Chen

Journal of Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization

This article studies the immaterial labor of Fang Fang’s Wuhan diary about the Wuhan COVID-19 lockdown time period, Jan 23 to Apr 8, 2020 (her diary ran from Jan 25 to Mar 24). Guided by social justice-informed, critically contextualized methodology, this analysis examines how the rhetoric of Fang Fang’s diary as tactical communication contributed to enacting social justice during the Wuhan lockdown by recognizing, revealing and rejecting oppressions people experienced both due to the challenges of the pandemic outbreak and the government’s inadequate and problematic responses. In doing so, Fang Fang uses her own positionality and privilege to challenge problematic …

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Intercultural Content Reuse And Social Justice: Comparing Chinese And U.S. Media Coverage Of Anti-Asian Racism During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chenxing Xie 2022 North Carolina State University

Intercultural Content Reuse And Social Justice: Comparing Chinese And U.S. Media Coverage Of Anti-Asian Racism During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chenxing Xie

Journal of Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization

The outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic has brought human society tremendous pressure and significant changes. Asian Americans suffered from both the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian racism. Organizations were established to fight against anti-Asian hate and related crimes. An organization named Stop AAPI Hate publishes yearly reports regarding anti-Asian hate, and the content is reused by mass and social media worldwide. This study adopts theories of content reuse, intercultural communication, immaterial labor, and social justice to conduct a qualitative content analysis of the content reused by mass and social media in China and the United States. The results show …

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Who’S Curious About The Correct Use Of “Who” And “Whom”?, Ashli Villarreal 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Who’S Curious About The Correct Use Of “Who” And “Whom”?, Ashli Villarreal

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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A Word From The Writing Team (October 2022), Pam Walter, MFA, Liz Declan, MA, MFA 2022 Thomas Jefferson University

A Word From The Writing Team (October 2022), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

  • Upcoming Workshop
  • Writing Retreats
  • Consultations
  • East Falls Update

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Should You Have Used “Would Have” Or “Would Of”?, Bryan Tutt 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Should You Have Used “Would Have” Or “Would Of”?, Bryan Tutt

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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A Word From The Writing Team (September 2022), Pam Walter, MFA, Liz Declan, MA, MFA 2022 Thomas Jefferson University

A Word From The Writing Team (September 2022), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

  • Upcoming Workshops
  • Writing Opportunity

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Synergism And Synergy: Are They Synonyms?, Sunita Patterson 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Synergism And Synergy: Are They Synonyms?, Sunita Patterson

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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Title Case Versus Sentence Case: A Capital Thing To Master, Don Norwood 2022 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Title Case Versus Sentence Case: A Capital Thing To Master, Don Norwood

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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A Word From The Writing Team (August 2022), Pam Walter, MFA, Liz Declan, MA, MFA 2022 Thomas Jefferson University

A Word From The Writing Team (August 2022), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

  • Upcoming Workshops
  • Writing Opportunity
  • Summer's End

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Reviewer Perceptions Of Englishes In The International Journal Of Nuclear Security, Rachel Brooks 2022 University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Reviewer Perceptions Of Englishes In The International Journal Of Nuclear Security, Rachel Brooks

Masters Theses

Linguistic bias in academic publishing, the idea that a manuscript would be rejected due to its language alone, is a growing area of concern and study. Scholars are particularly concerned that EAL (English as an Additional Language, often referred to as “non-native”) writers face this bias more than first-language English authors. The research on linguistic bias relies on understanding the perceptions about language that belong to reviewers, authors, and other parties involved in publication. This MA thesis project investigates peer reviewer perceptions of English language usage in the manuscripts that they review using the International Journal of Nuclear Security (IJNS) …

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Don’T Let “That” And “Which” Bowl You Over!, Editing Services, Research Medical Library (formerly Scientific Publications) 2022 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Don’T Let “That” And “Which” Bowl You Over!, Editing Services, Research Medical Library (Formerly Scientific Publications)

Word for Word 2022

No abstract provided.

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Featured Publications

Popular Authors

Based on downloads in November 2022

Rhonda Hoffman Grand Valley State University

Julian Toscano Grand Valley State University

Adam Krusniak Grand Valley State University

Jenniffer Eckert Grand Valley State University

Rachel Norman Grand Valley State University

Anessa Fehsenfeld Grand Valley State University

Tami McCoy Grand Valley State University

Mark Schaub Grand Valley State University

Jonathan Arnett Kennesaw State University

Richard Schmitt Prairie View A&M University

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