Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

From Big Ag To Campus Cafeterias: Intersections Of Food-Supply Networks As Technical Communication Pedagogy, Jessie Lynn Richards, Joshua Lenart, David Sumner, Douglas Christensen

Faculty Publications

This article presents a pedagogical approach to teaching technical and professional writing with an eye toward cultivating awareness and generating informed research among undergraduate students about food production and its various, intricate networks between Big Ag and campus cafeterias. Our pedagogy, influenced by interdisciplinary content, is designed to teach students to differentiate between food processes—such as production versus distribution and consumption—by viewing these networks as communicative practices rather than as inevitable chains or simple functions of one another. Our approach encourages students to locate and analyze differences between interdependent, but seemingly disparate pathways and to make visible communicative intersections that …

Using Infographics To Educate Stem Students About Interpersonal Communication, Anna Ziesak

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the viability of infographics in educating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics students about interpersonal communication skills. To determine if infographics are viable tools, the study used two surveys to gather information. The first survey was formatted as a needs assessment and revealed three areas with which STEM students wanted help: presentations, group projects, and communication. Three infographics were created to address these concerns, and a second survey was used to assess these infographics. Results from the second survey indicate that STEM students learned new information from the infographics and wanted to see …

Creating Effective Style Documents: A Practicum In Trade Publication, Kristen Tardio

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

It is no secret that the field of publication thrives on collaboration: among publishers, editorial and production team members, designers, marketing and publicity staff, sales representatives and promoters, authors, illustrators, reviewers, and, of course, readers. However, an equally important yet less-explored relationship exists within this industry, between publishing staff and a text itself. As such, despite this crucial connection, the technical means by which the final product is created may also be overlooked.

This practicum examines these technical resources: style guides/sheets (especially for house style), their creation, and their usage in publishing, specifically how they pertain to sales material. Also …

A Word From The Writing Center (November 2017), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Stylish academic writing
• The Write Stuff

A Word From The Writing Center (October 2017), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Selecting a target journal using journalguide.com
• Teaching and Communication Skills workshops

The Write Stuff - Autumn 2017 (Vol. 14, No. 4), Research Medical Library

Write Stuff 2017

• ICMJE member journals to begin requiring data sharing statements
• Online tools for researchers
• Changes to NIH forms for studies involving human subjects
• Unusual terms used in scientific writing and publishing: Text recycling

1993 Shrine Of Mary Revitalized

St. Norbert Times

• News
  • 1993 Shrine of Mary Revitalized
  • Booking It
  • Old Doors, New Look
  • Campus Bikes Are Back
  • CNS Book Acquisition
• Opinion
  • Rally the Orgs
  • A Guide to Introversion
  • Your Voice Goes Beyond Voting
• Features
  • Go Greek or Social on Campus
  • Climate Change
  • The Marian Shine Through Time
  • SNC Day 2017
  • A Letter from the Editors
  • Oh, What a Beautiful SNC Day!
• Entertainment
  • Junk Drawer: What’s on Netflix?
  • Upcoming Events
  • Sudoku
  • Did You Know?
  • The Animation Corner: “The Iron Giant”
  • Are Comeback Albums a Good Idea?
  • Faculty Spotlight: Katie Ries
• Sports
  • Soccer Plays Final Games Before Conference Openers
  • 2002 Oakland Athletics vs. …

A Word From The Writing Center (September 2017), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Writing Tip: Sentences that start with the word there
• Communication Skills Workshop Series: Communicate Like a Pro: Think like a...

Final Ma Portfolio, Erica Pax

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio is a compilation of graduate research and writing completed as the capstone project for the Master of Arts in English degree with a specialization in professional writing and rhetoric. The first selection is a research paper that reviews how embellishments in graphical representations and infographics affect viewer perception. The second research paper is a content analysis that explores the extent to which visual metaphors are used in ISO public information graphical symbols. The third research paper explores how to create effective video software tutorials and reorganizes existing guidelines into eighteen distinct guidelines in three major categories: accessibility, cognitive …

Curricular Analysis Of The University Of Arkansas Composition I Pilot Course: Engl 1013, Community Ethnography, Morgan Lindsay Scholz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes a new first-year writing course that is under consideration for implementation as the standard Composition I course at the University of Arkansas. The course utilizes an ethnographic approach to teaching critical writing skills to students. This thesis presents evaluation through a metacognitive lens and explores the course through a case study approach. This thesis also examines the expectations and concluding reflections of three stakeholder groups: students, instructors, and administrators.

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 …

A Word From The Writing Center (July 2017), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Grammar tip: affect vs effect
• Opportunity for online writing workshop for scientists

Technical Communication, Tamara Powell, Jonathan Arnett, Monique Logan, Cassandra Race, Tiffani Reardon, Lance Linimon, James Monroe

Communication Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Technical Communication was created under a Round Three ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

The Write Stuff - Summer 2017 (Vol. 14, No. 3), Research Medical Library

Write Stuff 2017

• Grant Writers' seminars return in October
• Increase INTEREST in your grant proposals
• Academic search engine optimization: Help readers find your research
• Plagiarism policies of journals preferred by MD Anderson authors
• Tips for writing Introduction sections for NIH “resubmission” grant applications
• Unusual terms used in scientific writing and publishing: Journalology

A Word From The Writing Center (June 2017), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Writing tip: Purpose of semicolons and colons
• Tips on preparing posters

Write Place At The Write Time: A Study Of How Writing Contexts Affect Rates Of Productivity And Perceptions Of Success In Creative Writing, Sydnie R. Long

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This research explores the writing contexts of a few creative writers in an effort to learn more about the habits and conditions with which creative writers prefer to work. My goal is to observe how different contexts affect the success or productivity a writer experiences. I will build my project off the central question, is there a correlation between writing contexts and success in writing? From there, I will divide the project into three subsections guided by four subquestions aiming to explore where and how writers write, and gain an insight to their views on what success and productivity mean …

A Word From The Writing Center (May 2017), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Grammar writing tip on ZOMBIE nouns!
• Keep Reading with BrowZine

Merging Mediums: Applying Document Design To Online Help Systems To Increase Usability, Meghan M. Smith

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Document design is an essential part of print, and more recently, web documents, but recent application to the usability of document design in the current iteration of online help systems has been lacking. As an attempt to fill this gap, I conducted a study testing three document design principles—color, navigation structures (headings/hyperlinks), and visuals—to determine how they should be applied in online help systems to increase usability. I constructed an online help system for the online infographic creator Piktochart, and used these three principles according to theories and practices from prior research on print and web documents. Participants used the …

Science, Between The Lines: Rosalind Franklin, Rachael Renzi

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this paper is to contrast scientific rhetoric with creative biographical writing style. Both forms of communication rely on specific syntax and styles to describe research findings to the appropriate audiences, but the often passive format of scientific literature excludes the passionate reasonings of the researcher. In order to understand why the scientist is kept separate from his or her published findings, I am going to experiment with the two contrasting forms. Throughout the paper, each form will be tested and used at varying levels. Both scientific and creative writing will be mixed. To emphasize the technically dense …

Creating A Web Presence For A Small Business Using A Holistic Content Strategy Approach, Tabitha Akins

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Creating a Web Presence for a Small Business Using a Holistic Content Strategy Approach details the content strategy process used and work done to revise a small business website, in order to better meet the content needs of both the business and its customers.