Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

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.

02.06: Instructions, David Mcmurrey, Cassandra Race

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Analyze and evaluate a set of technical instructions.
2. Write clear and accurate instructions with an introduction and conclusion.
3. Develop and design an instruction manual for a specific audience.

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.

02.08: Standard Operational Policies And Procedures, David Mcmurrey, Tamara Powell

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Explain the purpose of standard operating policies and procedures.
2. Identify basic structure of standard operating policies and procedures.
3. Review examples and apply concepts from them to their writing.

04.07: Tables, Graphs, And Charts, David Mcmurrey, Tamara Powell

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Distinguish between tables, charts, and graphs.
2. Identify chief characteristics of tables, charts, and graphs.
3. Identify and apply best practices in creating tables, charts, and graphs in technical communication.

05.06: Libraries, Documentation, And Cross-Referencing, David Mcmurrey, Cassandra Race

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain and apply how to find information in libraries.
2. Explain and apply how to indicate sources of borrowed information.
3. Explain and apply how to cross-reference.

05.09: Common Spelling Problems, David Mcmurrey, Tiffani Reardon

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Identify and correctly spell commonly misspelled words.
2. Define and distinguish between similar-sounding words.

02.01: Business Correspondence And Resumes, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Summarize the basics of format and style in business correspondence.
2. Explain and distinguish between three common types of business letters.
3. Explain and apply basic guidelines for resume-writing.

02.07: User Guides, David Mcmurrey, Tamara Powell

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:
1. Explain the purpose of a user guide.
2. Define the technical writing concepts of this textbook that apply to user guides.
3. Explain and apply the style, format, components, and process for creating user guides.

04.02: Book Design, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Recognize the standard components of a front cover, back cover, and title page.
2. Recognize the common front matter of a book including edition notices, disclaimers, trademarks, warranties, safety notices, and communication statements.
3. Recognize the common organization strategies of books including tables of contents, tables of figures, a preface, and body chapters.
4. Explain and apply typical book layout and design.

04.03: Page Design, David Mcmurrey

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Explain and apply design guidelines for heading and list use in technical documents.
2. Explain and apply design guidelines for including notices in technical documents.
3. Explain and apply design guidelines for table and figure use in technical documents.
4. Explain and apply design guidelines for text highlighting and alignment in technical documents.
5. Explain and apply design guidelines for font and color in technical documents.

04.04: Headings, David Mcmurrey, Cassandra Race

Open Technical Communication

Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to:
1. Identify the uses of headings.
2. Distinguish between the different levels of headings.
3. Evaluate the use of headings in technical documents.
4. Use the Styles tool in Microsoft Word to create custom headings.
5. Create and use headings in your own documents.