A Concise Guide to Technical Communication

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ISBN: 9780321391681 | 0321391683
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 7/20/2006

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A Concise Guide to Technical Communicationtakes a situational approach, emphasizing issues of audience and purpose for any technical communication task. The first text of its kind to acknowledge that most technical communication today takes place electronically, thisConcise Guideoffers a seamless connection between the new and old worlds of technical communication.

Preface

xix

Part One Technical Comunnication Techniques and Considerations

CHAPTER 1 An Introduction to Technical Communication

(13)

Communicating About Technology

(1)

Main Characteristics of Technical Communication

(3)

Accessibility

(1)

Usability

(1)

Relevance

(2)

Types of Communication

(2)

Technical Communication in the Workplace

(1)

Teamwork, Virtual Teams, and Project management

(3)

Teamwork: How to Manage a Collaborative Project

(1)

Tools: How to Use Digital Technology to the Best Advantage of the Team

(1)

Societal Dimensions of Technical Communication

(1)

Ethical Dimensions of Technical Communication

(1)

CHECKLIST FOR QUALITY IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

(1)

EXERCISES

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

(2)

CHAPTER 2 A World of People and Purposes

(18)

People, Purposes, and Communities

(4)

Identify Discourse Communities

(2)

Provide Information Your Audience Needs

(1)

Define Your Primary and Secondary Purposes

(2)

Analyzing Your Audience

(3)

Analyzing the Communication Purpose

(1)

Analyzing the Communication Context

(1)

Conducting an Audience-Purpose Interview

(1)

More Tools for Understanding Audience

(1)

Using Information from Your Analysis

(1)

Recognizing That Audiences Are Not Passive

(1)

Typical Audiences and Purposes for Technical Communication

(2)

CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING AUDIENCE, PURPOSE, AND CONTEXT

(1)

EXERCISES

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

(1)

CHAPTER 3 Designing Usable Information

(21)

Usability and Technical Information

(1)

Usability During the Planning Stages

(2)

Perform an Audience and Purpose Analysis

(1)

Perform a Task Analysis

(2)

Develop an Information Plan

(1)

Do the Research

(1)

Usability During the Writing and Design Process

(3)

Test Early Versions of Your Communication Product

(2)

Revise Your Plan and Your Product

(1)

Create Documentation That Is Context-Sensitive

(1)

Usability After the Information Is Released

(1)

Provide Mechanisms for User Feedback

(1)

Plan for the Next Version or Release

(1)

Writing and Organizing Information for Usability

(8)

Using Appropriate Grammar and Style

(5)

Creating an Overview

(1)

Chunking Information

(1)

Creating Headings

(2)

Using the Margins for Commentary

(1)

Proofreading Your Final Draft

(3)

CHECKLIST FOR DESIGNING USABLE INFORMATION

(1)

EXERCISES

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

(2)

CHAPTER 4 Conducting Research for Technical Communication

(21)

Thinking Critically About Research

(1)

Primary Research

(3)

Informative Interviews

(1)

Surveys and Questionnaires

(1)

Public Records and Organizational Publications

(1)

Personal Observation and Experiments

(1)

Internet and Digital Research

(7)

Online News Sites and Magazines

(1)

Government Research Sites and Other Government Documents

(1)

Community Discussion Groups and Bulletin Boards

(1)

Blogs and Wikis

(1)

Email Lists

(1)

Library Databases That Are Searchable via the Internet

(1)

Other Web Sites

(1)

Evaluating Sources from the Web

(3)

Managing Your Information

(1)

Other Electronic Research Tools

(1)

Compact Discs

(1)

Online Retrieval Services

(1)

Card Catalog

(1)

Hard Copy Research

(6)

Bibliographies

(1)

Encyclopedias

(1)

Dictionaries

(1)

Handbooks

(1)

Almanacs

(1)

Directories

(1)

Guides to Literature

(1)

Indexes

(1)

Abstracts

(1)

Access Tools for U.S. Government Publications

(1)

Microforms

(6)

CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCH

(1)

EXERCISES

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

(2)

CHAPTER 5 Technical Communication in a Digital World

(19)

Communicating in Digital Space

(1)

Designing Information for the New Media

(4)

Writing Issues

(2)

Design Issues

(2)

Technical Issues

(1)

Online Documentation and Interface Design

(4)

Online Documentation

(2)

Interface Design

(1)

Corresponding Over the Wires: Email, Blogs, and Instant Messaging

(7)

(3)

Blogs

(1)

Instant Messaging

(6)

CHECKLIST FOR DIGITAL COMMUNICATION

(1)

EXERCISES

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

(1)

CHAPTER 6 Ethical Issues in Technical Communication

(18)

Ethics, Technology, and Communication

(1)

Examples of Ethical Issues in Technical Communication

(3)

Three Mile Island

(1)

The Space Shuttle Challenger

(1)

The Pentium III Chip

(1)

Types of Ethical Choices

(1)

Legal Versus Ethical

100

(3)

101

(1)

Plagiarism

102

(1)

Privacy

102

(1)

Additional Ways in Which Actions Can Be Unethical

103

(2)

Yielding to Social Pressure

103

(1)

Mistaking Groupthink for Teamwork

104

(1)

Suppressing Knowledge the Public Needs

104

(1)

Exaggerating Claims About Technology

105

(1)

Exploiting Cultural Differences

105

(1)

Types of Technical Communication Affected by Ethical Issues

105

(3)

Graphics

105

(2)

Web Pages and the Internet

107

(1)

Memos

107

(1)

Instructions

107

(1)

Reports

107

(1)

Proposals

108

(1)

Oral Presentations

108

(1)

Responding to Ethical Situations

108

(2)

CHECKLIST FOR ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

110

(1)

EXERCISES

110

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

111

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

112

(1)

CHAPTER 7 Copyright and Privacy

113

(17)

Why Technical Communicators Need to Understand Copyright and Privacy

114

(1)

Section One: Copyright

114

(8)

114

(5)

How Copyright Infringement Differs from Plagiarism

115

(1)

How Copyright Law Differs from Patent or Trademark Law

115

(1)

How Individuals and Companies Establish Copyright

116

(1)

What Rights a Copyright Holder Can Claim

116

(1)

When You Can and Cannot Use Copyrighted Material

116

(3)

When Your Company Owns the Material

119

(1)

Documenting Your Sources

119

(1)

Electronic Technologies and Copyright

120

(2)

Photocopiers and Scanners

120

(1)

The Web as a Marketplace of Ideas and Information

120

(1)

Using Material from the Internet

121

(1)

Locating Copyright-Free Clip Art

121

(1)

Email and Electronic Messages

122

(1)

CD-ROMs and Multimedia

122

(1)

Section Two: Privacy

122

(6)

Privacy—An Overview

122

(1)

Computer Technologies, Privacy, and Technical Communication

123

(8)

Privacy in Cyberspace

123

(1)

Shopping Online

123

(4)

Privacy and Documentation

127

(1)

Privacy and Videotapes

127

(1)

CHECKLIST FOR COPYRIGHT AND PRIVACY

127

(1)

EXERCISES

128

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

129

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

129

(1)

CHAPTER 8 Page Layout and Document Design

130

(24)

Creating Visually Effective Documents

131

(3)

How Page Design Transforms a Document

131

(1)

How Readers View a Page

131

(3)

Electronic Pages

134

(1)

Formatting the Page Effectively

134

(7)

Using a Grid Structure

135

(1)

Creating Areas of Emphasis Using White Space

135

(2)

Using Lists

137

(1)

Using Headings

138

(3)

Using Typography Effectively

141

(2)

Selecting Fonts

141

(1)

Combining Fonts

142

(1)

Choosing Fonts for Readability

143

(1)

Providing Effective Search Options

143

(3)

Table of Contents, Index

143

(1)

Running Heads and Feet

144

(1)

Electronic Searching

144

(2)

Designing Electronic Documents

146

(3)

Web Pages

146

(1)

Online Help

147

(1)

Adobe Acrobat and PDF Files

148

(1)

CDs and Other Media

148

(1)

Creating and Using Style Sheets and Tools

149

(3)

Organizational Style Guides and Style Sheets

150

(1)

Style Tools Using Word-Processing and Page Layout Software

150

(1)

Style Tools Using CSS and HTML for Web Pages

150

(9)

CHECKLIST FOR PAGE LAYOUT AND DOCUMENT DESIGN

151

(1)

EXERCISES

152

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

152

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

153

(1)

CHAPTER 9 Graphics and Visual Information

154

(29)

The Power of the Picture

155

(1)

When to Use Visuals

155

(1)

Different Visuals for Different Audiences

156

(3)

Numbers into Images

159

(8)

Graphs

159

(4)

Charts

163

(4)

Illustrations

167

(2)

Diagrams

169

(2)

Exploded Diagrams

169

(1)

Cutaway Diagrams

170

(1)

Symbols and Icons

171

(1)

Wordless Instruction

172

(1)

Photographs

172

(1)

Maps

172

(3)

Visualization and Medical Imaging

175

(1)

Software and Web-Based Images

175

(1)

Using Color

176

(2)

Avoiding Visual Noise

178

(1)

Visuals and Ethics

178

(1)

Cultural Considerations

179

(1)

CHECKLIST FOR VISUAL COMMUNICATION

180

(1)

EXERCISES

180

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

181

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

181

(2)

Part Two Technical Communication Situations and Applications

183

(112)

CHAPTER 10 Everyday Communication Situations

185

(40)

186

(3)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

186

(1)

Types of Email

186

(1)

Typical Components of Email

187

(1)

Usability Considerations

188

(1)

CHECKLIST FOR EMAIL

189

(1)

Memos

189

(4)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

190

(1)

Types of Memos

190

(1)

Typical Components of a Memo

190

(2)

Usability Considerations

192

(1)

Letters

193

(9)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

193

(1)

Types of Letters

194

(2)

Typical Components of a Letter

196

(2)

Specialized Components of a Letter

198

(2)

Usability Considerations

200

(2)

CHECKLIST FOR LETTERS

202

(1)

Résumés

202

(5)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

203

(1)

Typical Components of a Résumé

203

(1)

Organization of a Résumé

204

(1)

Online Resume Services

204

(1)

New Types of Résumés

204

(3)

CHECKLIST FOR RÉSUMÉS

207

(1)

Short Reports

207

(8)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

208

(1)

Types of Short Reports

208

(3)

Typical Components of Short Reports

211

(1)

Usability Considerations

211

(4)

CHECKLIST FOR MEMOS AND SHORT REPORTS

214

(1)

Oral Communication

215

(8)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

215

(1)

Types of Oral Presentations

216

(1)

Typical Components of Oral Presentations

217

(3)

Usability Considerations

220

(6)

CHECKLIST FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS

222

(1)

EXERCISES

223

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

224

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

224

(1)

CHAPTER 11 Product-Oriented Communication Situations

225

(31)

Specifications

226

(6)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

226

(3)

Types of Specifications

229

(1)

Typical Components of Specifications

229

(2)

Usability Considerations

231

(1)

CHECKLIST FOR SPECIFICATIONS

232

(1)

Brief Instructions

232

(4)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

232

(1)

Types of Brief Instructions

232

(3)

Typical Components of Instructions

235

(1)

Usability Considerations

235

(1)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

236

(1)

Procedures

236

(5)

Types of Procedures

237

(1)

Typical Components of Procedures

237

(3)

Usability Considerations

240

(1)

Documentation and Manuals

241

(7)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

242

(1)

Types of Manuals

243

(1)

Typical Components of Manuals

243

(2)

Usability Considerations

245

(3)

CHECKLIST FOR INSTRUCTIONS, PROCEDURES, AND MANUALS

247

(1)

Technical Marketing Material

248

(5)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

248

(1)

Types of Technical Marketing Material

248

(2)

Typical Components of Technical Marketing Material

250

(1)

Usability Considerations

250

(7)

CHECKLIST FOR TECHNICAL MARKETING MATERIAL

253

(1)

EXERCISES

253

(1)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

254

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

254

(2)

CHAPTER 12 Complex Communication Situations

256

(39)

Definitions and Descriptions

257

(10)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

257

(1)

Types of Definitions and Descriptions

257

(7)

Typical Components of Definitions and Descriptions

264

(1)

Usability Considerations

265

(2)

CHECKLIST FOR DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS

267

(1)

Long Reports

267

(15)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

268

(1)

Types of Long Reports

268

(1)

A General Model for Long Reports

269

(2)

Front Matter and End Matter in Long Reports

271

(2)

Usability Considerations

273

(9)

CHECKLIST FOR LONG REPORTS

282

(1)

Proposals

282

(9)

Audience and Purpose Analysis

282

(1)

Types of Proposals

283

(4)

Typical Components of Proposals

287

(2)

Usability Considerations

289

(2)

CHECKLIST FOR PROPOSALS

290

(1)

EXERCISES

291

(3)

THE COLLABORATION WINDOW

294

(1)

THE GLOBAL WINDOW

294

(1)

APPENDIX A Grammar

295

(16)

Punctuation

296

(2)

Lists

298

(2)

Embedded Lists

298

(1)

Vertical Lists

298

(2)

Avoiding Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences

300

(2)

Avoiding Sentence Fragments

300

(1)

Avoiding Run-On Sentences

301

(1)

Usage (Commonly Misused Words)

302

(2)

Subject-Verb and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

304

(1)

Faulty Modification

305

(3)

Parallel Structure

306

(1)

Transitions Within and Between Paragraphs

307

(1)

Mechanics

308

(3)

Abbreviations

308

(1)

Hyphenation

309

(1)

Capitalization

309

(1)

Use of Numbers

310

(1)

Spelling

310

(1)

APPENDIX B Documenting Sources

311

(28)

Quoting the Words of Others

312

(1)

Paraphrasing the Words of Others

312

(1)

What You Should Document

312

(1)

How You Should Document

313

(1)

MLA Documentation Style

313

(12)

MLA Parenthetical References

314

(1)

MLA Works Cited Entries

315

(10)

MLA Works Cited Page

325

(1)

APA Documentation Style

325

(10)

APA Parenthetical References

326

(1)

APA References Entries

327

(8)

APA References List

335

(1)

CSE and Other Numbered Documentation Styles

335

(4)

CSE Numbered Citations

336

(1)

CSE References Entries

336

(3)

References

339

(4)

Credits

343

(2)

Index

345

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A Concise Guide to Technical Communication

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials