Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

20. Special Notices, David Mcmurray, Tamara Powell

Sexy Technical Communications

Special notices are an important feature of professional technical writing: they highlight special information readers need to know to understand what they are reading, to accomplish what they want to do, to prevent damage to equipment, and to keep from hurting themselves or others. Your task in this section is to learn the different types of special notices, their uses, and formats.

21. Tables, Charts, Graphs, David Mcmurray, Tamara Powell

Sexy Technical Communications

One of the nice things about technical writing courses is that most of the papers have graphics in them—or at least they should. A lot of professional, technical writing contains graphics—drawings, diagrams, photographs, illustrations of all sorts, tables, pie charts, bar charts, line graphs, flow charts, and so on. Graphics are important in technical communication. We learn more from a document when graphics are included (Gatlin, 1988). In fact, people learn about 1/3 more from a document with graphics than without (Levie and Lentz, 1982). A recent study found that readers learn faster and are better able to use the …

25. Audience Analysis, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

The audience of a technical report—or any piece of writing for that matter—is the intended or potential reader or readers. For most technical writers, this is the most important consideration in planning, writing, and reviewing a document. You "adapt" your writing to meet the needs, interests, and background of the readers who will be reading your writing. The principle seems absurdly simple and obvious. It's much the same as telling someone, "Talk so the person in front of you can understand what you're saying." It's like saying, "Don't talk rocket science to your six-year-old." Do we need a course in …

24. Writing Process: From Audience To Rough Draft, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

The writing process takes you from the very beginning of a writing project—finding topics and analyzing audience and purpose—all the way to the end—writing and revising the rough draft. The following chapters focus on some of the key phases of that process: Strategies for team-writing Audience Analysis Brainstorming and invention Narrowing Outlining Note-taking Libraries, Documentation, Cross-Referencing Strategies for Peer-Reviewing Power-Revision Techniques

26. Task Analysis And Task-Oriented Documentation, David Mcmurray, Tamara Powell

Sexy Technical Communications

When you write instructions, procedures, and "guide" or user-guide information (generally called documentation), you normally must use a task approach. That means providing steps and explanations for all the major tasks that users may need to perform. Of course, some instructions involve only one task—for example, changing the oil in a car. But we are concerned here with more complex procedures. While this chapter uses computer software as an example, these techniques can apply to any multi-task procedure—for example, operating a microwave oven. Chapter Objectives At the end of this chapter, students will be able to 1. Define documentation 2. …

28. Power-Revision Techniques, David Mcmurray, Jonathan Arnett

Sexy Technical Communications

The linked chapters here cover some of the most important aspects of writing—what's more important than the information you put in a document, how you organize it, how you link it all up together? When you look at all these powerful ways you can review (look for potential problems) and then revise (fix those problems), you might think they're tedious and time-consuming. They do take some time, but don't worry...this stuff becomes second nature rather quickly. If you spend some time analyzing writing in the ways outlined in this chapter, the way you write and the way you review what …

29. Searching Libraries, Documenting Borrowed Information, And Cross-Referencing, David Mcmurray, Cassandra Race

Sexy Technical Communications

This section in this appendix focuses on: Libraries—Finding information libraries Documentation—Indicating sources of borrowed information Cross-referencing—Pointing to other information in your own documents and those of others.

31. Common Grammar, Usage, And Punctuation Problems, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

In this chapter, we will cover only those grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling problems that give people the biggest headaches. Technical writing professionals try to simplify grammar rules as much as possible without hurting the language or putting themselves in straitjackets. Typically, they work in teams and frequently move in and out of projects—so that the same document may be worked on by different writers and editors during the space of just a few years. That's why any guidelines based on interpretation or personal style or judgment must be avoided.

36. Logic: How To Do It Wrong, Steve Miller, Cherie Miller

Sexy Technical Communications

To the mind that's yet to be "enhanced" by some strains of modern thought, the above quote probably comes across as amusing, but useless. After all, who would deny something as basic as the law of non-contradiction or the basic laws of logic? If saying "My roommate annoys me" is no different than saying "My roommate doesn't annoy me," then how can we ever say anything meaningful? Moreover, the very act of denying non-contradiction assumes the law to be true. Yet, some argue that our brains, like our opposable thumbs and other body parts, evolved not to perfect our logic, …

39. Collaborative Writing, Monique Logan

Sexy Technical Communications

Perhaps you are just beginning your collegiate career, or you may be finishing it up. Either way, whether you’re someone new to college or someone who has been around the block for a period of time, you’ve probably had some experience working in a group or on a team of some sort. You’ve probably been a part of an athletic or academic team. Perhaps not. Perhaps you have some group experience from being a cheerleader, a boy scout or girl scout or a member of the 4H Club. Either way, I’m sure you’re familiar with the inner workings of a …

40. Technical Editing, Jonathan Arnett

Sexy Technical Communications

This chapter focuses on editing technical documents. In particular, this chapter will address some of the most common types of technical editing you can do, as well as processes, resources, and techniques you can use. Overview of technical editing General procedure for editing Contracts Levels of edit Editors' resources Strategies for writing comments Strategies for marking up technical materials Hard-copy editing marks Special ideas for editing visual materials Special ideas for editing websites

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?

41. Introduction To Html, Tiffani Reardon

Sexy Technical Communications

At the end of this chapter and the practice activities, readers will be able to: Goal 1: define HTML and identify what it stands for Goal 2: build a simple web page using HTML coding Objective 1: identify and use common HTML tags Objective 2: explain and apply basic tag rules Objective 3: explain attributes and use them to stylize text and images Objective 4: embed videos and other embeddable items into HTML web pages Goal 3: identify websites where readers can learn more and practice their HTML skills

2. Business Correspondence And Resumes, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

This chapter focuses on business correspondence--general format and style for business letters as well as specific types of business letters. Specifically: Overview of business correspondence: format and style Inquiry letters Complaint and adjustment letters Application letters Resumes

5. Proposals, David Mcmurray, Jonathan Arnett

Sexy Technical Communications

This chapter focuses on the proposal—the kind of document that gets you or your organization approved or hired to do a project

6. Progress Reports, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

You write a progress report to inform a supervisor, associate, or customer about progress you've made on a project over a certain period of time. The project can be the design, construction, or repair of something, the study or research of a problem or question, or the gathering of information on a technical subject. You write progress reports when it takes well over three or four months to complete a project.

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

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.

11. Handbook Basics, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

A handbook, as we are defining it here, is a combination of concept, instruction, and reference information focused on a specific topic for a specific audience's needs.

12. Titles, Abstracts, Introductions, Conclusions, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

Formal technical reports over eight to ten pages contain several components that deserve their own focus because they are important in technical reports and because people are unfamiliar with them: Titles explores strategies for making document titles specific but not paragraphs long. Abstracts provide several kinds of summaries of the report contents and conclusions. Introductions get readers ready to read reports by indicating the topic, purpose, intended audience, contents, and orther such matters. Conclusions shape how readers view and understand the report upon leaving it.

17. Common Page Design, David Mcmurray, Jonathan Arnett

Sexy Technical Communications

Page design means different things to different people, but here it will mean the use of typography and formatting such as you see in professionally-designed documents. Our focus here is technical documentation, which implies modest, functional design.

18. Headings, David Mcmurray, Cassandra Race

Sexy Technical Communications

One of the most useful characteristics of technical writing is the use of headings. Headings are the titles and subtitles you see within the actual text of much professional scientific, technical, and business writing. Headings are like the parts of an outline that have been pasted into the actual pages of the document. Headings are an important feature of professional technical writing: they alert readers to upcoming topics and subtopics, help readers find their way around in long reports and skip what they are not interested in, and break up long stretches of straight text. They make text easy to …

27. Articulating Technical Information, David Mcmurray, Jonathan Arnett, Tamara Powell

Sexy Technical Communications

The ability to explain complex, technical matters with ease, grace, and simplicity so that nonspecialist readers understand almost effortlessly is one of the most important skills you can develop as a technical writer. This ability to "translate" or articulate difficult-to-read technical discussions is important because so much of technical writing is aimed at nonspecialist audiences. These audiences include important people such as supervisors, executives, investors, financial officers, government officials, and, of course, customers. This chapter provides you with some strategies for articulating technical discussions, that is, specific strategies you can use to make difficult technical discussions easier for nonspecialist readers …

30. Basic Patterns And Elements Of The Sentence, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

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 sentence grammar, see English Fundamentals by Emery, Kierzek, and Lindblom (Macmillan) for a thorough discussion of sentence grammar, along with exercises.

33. Strategies For Peer-Reviewing And Team-Writing, David Mcmurray

Sexy Technical Communications

Peer reviewing (also called peer-editing) means people getting together to read, comment on, and recommend improvements on each other's work. Peer-reviewing is a good way to become a better writer because it provides experience in looking critically at writing. Team writing, as its name indicates, means people getting together to plan, write, and revise writing projects as a group, or team. Another name for this practice is collaborative writing—collaborative writing that is out in the open rather than under cover (where it is known as plagiarism).

37. Logic: Recognizing Fallacies, Steve Miller, Cherie Miller

Sexy Technical Communications

I often read comments on blog posts or articles or Facebook discussions which accuse the writer of committing a specific logical fallacy and thus declaring the argument thoroughly debunked, typically with an air of arrogant finality. While the debunker may feel quite smug, intelligent participants consider him quite sophomoric.*text annotation indicator In reality, he's typically failed to even remotely understand the argument, much less apply the fallacy in a way that's relevant to the discussion. Surely this fallacy deserves a proper name and should be listed with other fallacies. Thus I'll define "The Fallacy Fallacy" as "Improperly connecting a fallacy …

38. Usability Testing, Cassandra Race

Sexy Technical Communications

I will never forget a Christmas Eve many years ago, when the kids were finally asleep and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus began the assembly of the much desired "brand name" doll house. Out came the tools, out came a hundred or so tiny plastic parts, and out came an instruction sheet written by someone clearly from another land far away. After several hours of attempting to decipher some of the worst instructions ever written, we recruited a neighbor's 12 year old, a seasoned veteran in the world of dream houses, and the assembly was completed in time for Christmas …

42. Standard Operating Policies And Procedures, David Mcmurray, Tamara Powell

Sexy Technical Communications

This chapter introduces you to policies and procedure documents and to standard operating procedure documents. Click on the links, below, to see samples.

Hand-washing policies for health care personnel

Accounting policies and procedures

Standard operating procedures: pouring dental impressions

The Role Of Occupational Branding In The Professionalization Of Technical Communication, Chelsea Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between professional identity and professional status by exploring the quest for professionalization within technical communication. An established professional identity is crucial to an occupation's professionalization process, as it enables members of a given field to create a common sense of being and facilitates a recognizable personal and collective identity. Such recognition is vital to an occupation's rise to professional status, as it creates a distilled image of the ideal practitioner for outsiders and forms the basis upon which claims of expertise may be made. By constructing the meaning surrounding their profession, members are able to …

Sexy Technical Communication, Tamara Powell, Jonathan Arnett, Monique Logan, Cassandra Race, Tiffani Reardon

2016 Faculty Bookshelf

Sexy technical writing…we’ve got to be kidding, right? But no, we aren’t. Good technical writing is powerful and clear and gets the job done. It brings people together and solves problems. Good technical writing purrs and hums like that BMW you plan to be driving someday.What’s not sexy about that? On the other hand, poor technical writing skills may lead to a lifetime of asking people if they want fries with that…or worse, selling vacuum cleaners door to door. There’s no need to ask what’s not sexy about that!

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