Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

05.04: Articulating Technical Information, David Mcmurrey, Jonathan Arnett, Tamara Powell

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Explain and apply strategies for articulating technical discussions to nonspecialist readers.
2. Use audience analysis to decide what information to include or exclude from a document and how to discuss that information.

05.05: Power-Revision Techniques, David Mcmurrey, Jonathan Arnett

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Revise common structure-level problems in technical writing.
2. Revise common sentence-level problems in technical writing.

05.07: Basic Patterns And Elements Of The Sentence, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain and apply basic patterns of the sentence as they relate to technical writing.
2. Explain and apply basic elements of the sentence as they relate to technical writing.

This section is a quick review of the fundamentals of the sentence. If you encounter unfamiliar terminology in this textbook or in your class, refer to this section for help. For more on grammar, see the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

05.08: Common Grammar, Usage, And Punctuation Problems, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain and apply essential punctuation rules.
2. Explain and apply essential grammar rules.
3. Explain and apply essential capitalization rules.
4. Explain and apply essential numbering rules.
5. Explain and apply essential symbol and abbreviation rules.

05.11: Information Structures, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Define information structure.
2. Explain the contents and organization of different types of information structures.

05.10: Strategies For Peer-Reviewing And Team Writing, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain and apply strategies for peer reviewing.
2. Explain and apply strategies for team writing.

05.12: Organizing Information, Tamara Powell

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to explain and apply common paragraph organization patterns.

05.13: Logic - Common Fallacies, Steve Miller, Cherie Miller

Open Technical Communication

Taken with kind permission from the book Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense by J. Steve Miller and Cherie K. Miller.

05.14: Logic - How To Do It Wrong, Steve Miller, Cherie Miller

Open Technical Communication

Taken with kind permission from the book Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense by J. Steve Miller and Cherie K. Miller.

05.15: Logic - Recognizing Fallacies, Steve Miller, Cherie Miller

Open Technical Communication

Taken with kind permission from the book Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense by J. Steve Miller and Cherie K. Miller.

06: Usability Testing, Cassandra Race

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain the characteristics of a usable document.
2. Conduct a usability test.

08: Technical Editing, Jonathan Arnett

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain the general procedure for technical editing.
2. Explain the different levels of edit.
3. Explain the purposes of style guides and style sheets.
4. Use copyediting symbols appropriately.
5. Use proofreading symbols appropriately.

09: Introduction To Html, Tiffani Reardon

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Define HTML and identify what it stands for.
2. Build a simple web page using HTML coding.
• Identify and use common HTML tags.
• Explain and apply basic tag rules.
• Explain attributes and use them to stylize text and images.
• Embed videos and other embeddable items into HTML web pages.
3. Identify websites where readers can learn more and practice their HTML skills.

10: Examples, Cases, And Models Index, Tiffani Reardon

Open Technical Communication

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? (And then send it to us at [email protected])

07: Collaborative Writing, Monique Logan

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Define successful and effective collaborative writing.
2. Explain and employ strategies for effective collaboration.
3. Explain and employ strategies for dealing with differences and conflict.

01: Introduction To Technical Communication, Cassandra Race

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Define technical writing.
2. Summarize the six characteristics of technical writing.
3. Explain basic standards of good technical writing.

02.02: Types Of Technical Reports, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Identify common types of technical documents.
2. Summarize the purposes and formats of common types of technical documents.

02.04: Proposals, David Mcmurrey, Jonathan Arnett

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Explain the purpose of a proposal.
2. Identify and explain the different types of proposals.
3. Navigate and apply the format and structure of a proposal.

02.03: Business Plans, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Explain the purpose of a business plan.
2. Identify and define common sections of business plans.
3. Navigate and apply the format of business plans.

02.05: Progress Reports, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Explain the purpose of a progress report.
2. Navigate and apply the format and structure of a proposal.
3. Explain common components of a progress report.