Technical Writing : Principles, Strategies, and Readings

Technical Writing: Principles, Strategies and Readingsoffers a flexible combination of instructional chapters and readings that reflect today's technical writing classroom. The fifteen instructional chapters offer a comprehensive introduction to technical communication, while articles from professional journals and Web siteswhich comprise about one-fourth of the textoffer insight and advice on specific communication topics, including writing for the Web. Each concise, self-contained instructional unit includes extended models and exercises which can be used in class or for collaborative or homework assignments. Students who study technical writing as part of their career preparation in science, business, engineering, social services and technical fields will find this text particularly useful.

A former Department Chair, and Full Professor of the English Department at the University of Akron, Dr. Diana Reep is on the Editorial Review Board of the _Journal of Business Communication_, and specializes in business and technical communication and film studies. She is the author of several publications, including _The Educator's Writing Handbook_ and _Business and Technical Writing: An Annotated Bibliography of Books from 1880-1980_. Her books of literary criticism are _Margaret Deland and the Rescue and Romance_. She has also published a novel and numerous articles on television and gender roles, soap operas, the saloon in western films, Anne Rice's _Interview with the Vampire_, and issues of business and technical communication.

Thematic Table of Contents for Part 2 Readings

Directory of Models

Preface      

 

NOTE:  Chapters 1-16 end with

• Chapter Summary
• List of Supplemental Readings in Part 2 (where relevant)
• Endnotes
• Models
• Exercises 

 PART 1: Technical Writing: Ways of Writing

1 Technical Writing on the Job

            Writing in Organizations

                  Diversity in Technical Writing

                  Reader/Purpose/Situation

            Writing as a Process

                  One Writer’s Process

                  Stages of Writing

           

2 Collaboration and Ethics

            Writing with Others

                  Writing with a Partner

                  Writing on a Team

                  Writing for Management Review

                  Writing for Multiple Reviewers

                  Writing with a Technical Editor

                  Writing with an Online Team

                  Writing Ethically

                        Plagiarism

                        Copyright

                        Social Networks

                 

 3 Audience

            Analyzing Readers

                  Subject Knowledge

                  Position in the Organization

                  Personal Attitudes

                  Reading Style

                  Multiple Readers

                  International Readers

            Finding Out about Readers

                  Informal Checking

                  Interviewing

            Testing Reader-Oriented Documents

                  Readers Working as a Group

                  Readers Answering Questions

                  Readers Performing a Task

                  Readers Thinking Aloud

           

4 Organization

            Sorting Information

                  Select Major Topics

                  Identify Subtopics

            Constructing Outlines

                  Informal Outlines

                  Formal Outlines

                  Topic Outlines

                  Sentence Outlines

            Developing Effective Paragraphs

                  Unity

                  Coherence

                  Development

                  Patterns for Presenting Information

           

5 Revision and Style

            Creating a Final Draft

                  Global Revision

                  Fine-Tuning Revision

                  Revising On-Screen

            Making Global Revisions

                  Content

                  Organization

            Making Fine-tuning Revisions

                  Overloaded Sentences

                  Clipped Sentences

                  Lengthy Sentences

                  Passive Voice

                  Jargon

                  Sexist Language

                  Concrete versus Abstract Words

                  Gobbledygook

                  Wordiness

           

6   Document Design

            Understanding Design Features

                  Purpose of Design Features

                  Design Principles

            Creating Graphic Aids

                  Purpose of Graphic Aids

                  Tables

                  Figures

            Using Format Elements

                  Written Cues

                  White Space

                  Color

                  Typographic Devices

           

7 Writing for the Web

            Planning a Web Site

            Organizing Web Pages

                  Homepage

                  Information Pages

            Writing Effectively

            Designing Elements for Special Groups

                  Senior Users

                  Special Needs Users

                  International Users

            Evaluating Your Web Site

           

8 Definition

            Understanding Definitions

            Writing Informal Definitions

            Writing Formal Sentence Definitions

            Writing Expanded Definitions

                  Cause and Effect

                  Classification

                  Comparison and Contrast

                  Description

                  Development or History

                  Etymology

                  Examples

                  Method of Operation or Process

                  Negation

                  Partition

                  Stipulation

            Placing Definitions in Documents

                  Within the Text

                  In an Appendix

                  In Footnotes

                  In a Glossary

           

9 Description

            Understanding Description

            Planning Descriptions

                  Subjects

                  Kinds of Information

                  Detail and Language

                  Graphic Aids

            Writing Descriptions

                  Organization

                  Sections of a Technical Description

           

10 Instructions, Procedures, and Process Explanations

            Understanding Instructions, Procedures, and Process Explanations

                  Instructions

                  Procedures

                  Process Explanations

                  Graphic Aids

            Writing Instructions

                  Readers

                  Organization

                  Details and Language

                  Narrative Style Instructions

                  Troubleshooting Instructions

            Writing Procedures

                  Procedures for One Employee

                  Procedures for Several Employees

                  Procedures for Handling Equipment and Systems

            Writing Process Explanations

                  Readers

                  Organization

                  Details and Language

           

11 Formal Report Elements

            Selecting Formal Report Elements

            Writing Front Matter

                  Title Page

                  Transmittal Letter or Memo

                  Table of Contents

                  List of Figures

                  List Tables

                  Abstracts and Executive Summaries

            Writing Back Matter

                  References

                  Glossary/List of Symbols

                  Appendixes

            Documenting Sources

                  APA System: Citations in the Text

                  APA System: List of References

                  Number-Reference System

           

12 Short and Long Reports

            Understanding Reports

            Developing Short Reports

                  Opening-Summary Organization

                  Delayed-Summary Organization

            Developing Long Reports

                  Planning Long Reports

                  Gathering Information

                  Evaluating Sources

                  Taking Notes

                  Interpreting Data

                  Drafting Long Reports

           

13 Types of Reports

            Understanding Conventional Report Types

            Writing a Feasibility Study

                  Purpose

                  Organization

            Writing an Incident Report

                  Purpose

                  Organization

            Writing an Investigative Report

                  Purpose

                  Organization

            Writing a Progress Report

                  Purpose

                  Organization

            Writing a Trip Report

                  Purpose

                  Organization

            Writing a Proposal

                  Purpose

                  Organization

           

14 Letters, Memos, and Email

            Understanding Letters, Memos, and Email

                  Letters

                  Memos

                  Email

            Developing Effective Tone

                  Natural Language

                  Positive Language

                  You-Attitude

            Organizing Letters, Memos, and Email

                  Direct Organization

                  Indirect Organization

                  Persuasive Organization

            Writing Memos

                  Memos from Managers

                  Memos from Subordinates

            Selecting Letter Format

                  Date Line

                  Inside Address

                  Salutation

                  Body

                  Close

                  Signature Block

                  Notations

                  Second Page

                  Envelope

            Selecting Memo Format

            Selecting Email Format

            Using the Fax

           

15 Career Communication and Workplace Strategies

            Looking for a Job

            Writing Résumés

                  Traditional Résumés

                  Scannable Résumés

                  Email Résumés

                  Web-based Résumés

            Writing Job-Application Letters

            Writing Other Job-Related Letters

                  Followup Letters

                  Answers to a Job Offer

            Understanding Workplace Culture

                  Communication Etiquette

                  Coworker Etiquette

                  Business Lunch Etiquette

           

16 Oral Presentations

            Understanding Oral Presentations

                  Purpose

                  Advantages

                  Disadvantages

                  Types of Oral Presentations

            Organizing Oral Presentations

            Preparing for Oral Presentations

            Delivering Oral Presentations

                  Rehearsal

                  Notes and Outlines

                  Voice

                  Professional Image

                  Gestures

                  Eye Contact

                  Questions

            Using Visual Aids

                  Equipment

                  Presentation Software

            Preparing Minutes of Meetings

            Joining a Team Presentation

            Facing International Audiences

           

PART 2: Technical Writing: Advice from the Workplace

            Bagin, C.B., and Van Doren, J. “How to Avoid Costly Proofreading Errors”

            Barefoot, D.K. “Ten Tips on Writing White Papers”

            Caher, J.M. “Technical Documentation and Legal Liability”

            Humphries, A.C. “Business Manners”

            International Association of Business Communicators. “Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators”

            Nielsen, J. “First 2 Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye”

            Nielsen, J. “Write for Reuse”

            Raspberry, T.W. “The Buck Stops Here”

            Schafer, R.R. “Ten Tips for Writing Better Web-based Survey Questions”

            Smith, G.M. “Eleven Commandments for Business Meeting Etiquette”

            Weiss, E.H. “Taking Your Presentation Abroad”

            Wicclair, M.R., and Farkas, D.K. “Ethical Reasoning in Technical Communication: A Practical Framework”

 

Appendix: Guidelines for Grammar, Punctuation, and Mechanics

            Grammar

                  Dangling Modifiers

                  Misplaced Modifiers

                  Squinting Modifiers

                  Parallel Construction

                  Pronoun Agreement

                  Pronoun Reference

                  Reflexive Pronouns

                  Sentence Faults

                  Subject/Verb Agreement

            Punctuation

                  Apostrophe

                  Colon

                  Comma

                  Dash

                  Exclamation Point

                  Hyphen

                  Parentheses

                  Question Mark

                  Quotation Marks

                  Semicolon

                  Slash

            Mechanics

                  Acronyms and Initialisms

                  Brackets

                  Capital Letters

                  Ellipsis

                  Italics

                  Measurements

                  Numbers

                  Symbols and Equations

THEMATIC CONTENTS FOR PART 2 READINGS

Business Etiquette

            Humphries, A.C. “Business Manners”

            Smith, G.M. “Eleven Commandments for Business Meeting Etiquette”

Corporate Culture

            International Association of Business Communicators. “Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators”

            Humphries, A.C. “Business Manners”

            Raspberry, T.W. “The Buck Stops Here”

            Smith, G.M. “Eleven Commandments for Business Meeting Etiquette”

            Wicclair, M.R., and Farkas, D.K. “Ethical Reasoning in Technical Communication: A Practical Framework”

Document Design

            Barefoot, D.K. “Ten Tips on Writing White Papers”

            Nielsen, J. “First 2 Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye”

            Nielsen, J. “Write for Reuse”

Electronic Communication

            Barefoot, D.K. “Ten Tips on Writing White Papers”

            Nielsen, J. “First 2 Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye”

            Nielsen, J. “Write for Reuse”

Ethics

            Caher, J.M. “Technical Documentation and Legal Liability”

            International Association of Business Communicators. “Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators”

            Raspberry, T.W. “The Buck Stops Here”

            Wicclair, M.R., and Farkas, D.K. “Ethical Reasoning in Technical Communication: A Practical Framework”

Graphics

            Barefoot, D.K. “Ten Tips on Writing White Papers”

International Communication

            Weiss, E.H. “Taking Your Presentation Abroad”

Job Search

            Humphries, A.C. “Business Manners”

Legal Liability in Technical Writing

            Caher, J.M. “Technical Documentation and Legal Liability”

            Raspberry, T.W. “The Buck Stops Here”

Listening

            Smith, G.M. “Eleven Commandments for Business Meeting Etiquette”

Meetings

            Smith, G.M. “Eleven Commandments for Business Meeting Etiquette”

Oral Presentations

            Weiss, E.H. “Taking Your Presentation Abroad”

Proofreading

            Bagin, C.B., and Van Doren, J. “How to Avoid Costly Proofreading Errors”

 

Style

            Barefoot, D.K. “Ten Tips on Writing White Papers”

            Nielsen, J. “First 2 Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye”                     Nielsen, J. “Write for Reuse”

Surveys

            Schafer, R.R. “Ten Tips for Writing Better Web-based Survey Questions”

Usability and Web Design

            Barefoot, D.K. “Ten Tips on Writing White Papers”

            Nielsen, J. “First 2 Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye”

            Nielsen, J. “Write for Reuse”

            Schafer, R.R. “Ten Tips for Writing Better Web-based Survey Questions”