Technical communication strategies for today [Second edition] 9780321907974, 129208040X, 9781292080406, 0321907973, 9781292080482, 1292080485

Table of contents :
Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 3
Copyright......Page 4
Contents......Page 5
Guiding Themes......Page 17
Visual-Spatial Reading, Thinking, and Composing......Page 18
The Activity of Technical Communication......Page 19
Acknowledgments......Page 20
Chapter 1 Communicating in the Technical Workplace......Page 23
Developing a Workplace Writing Process......Page 24
Genres and the Technical Writing Process......Page 26
Stage 1: Planning and Researching......Page 27
Stage 2: Organizing and Drafting......Page 29
Stage 5: Revising and Editing......Page 31
What Is Technical Communication?......Page 32
Technical Communication Is Interactive and Adaptable......Page 33
Technical Communication Relies on Teamwork......Page 34
Technical Communication Has Ethical, Legal, and Political Dimensions......Page 35
How Important Is Technical Communication?......Page 37
Chapter Review......Page 38
Exercises and Projects......Page 39
Chapter 2 Readers and Contexts of Use......Page 41
Profiling Your Readers......Page 42
Identifying Your Readers......Page 44
Profiling Your Readers’ Needs, Values, and Attitudes......Page 45
Profiling Contexts of Use......Page 47
Using Profiles to Your Own Advantage......Page 48
Differences in Content......Page 54
Differences in Organization......Page 55
Differences in Style......Page 56
Differences in Design......Page 57
Listen and Learn: The Key to International and Cross-Cultural Communication......Page 58
At Work: What Are Some Strategies for Communicating with People from Another Culture?......Page 59
Exercises and Projects......Page 60
Case Study: Installing a Medical Waste Incinerator......Page 62
Chapter 3 Working in Teams......Page 66
Forming: Strategic Planning......Page 67
Step 1: Define the Project Mission and Objectives......Page 68
Step 3: Define Team Member Responsibilities......Page 69
Step 5: Write Out a Work Plan......Page 70
Step 6: Agree on How Conflicts Will Be Resolved......Page 71
Running Effective Meetings......Page 76
Mediating Conflicts......Page 78
Revising Objectives and Outcomes......Page 80
Help: Virtual Teaming......Page 81
Identifying Team Roles......Page 83
Using Groupware to Facilitate Work......Page 84
The Keys to Teaming......Page 85
Exercises and Projects......Page 87
Case Study: Not a Sunny Day......Page 89
Chapter 4 Ethics in the Technical Workplace......Page 90
What Are Ethics?......Page 91
Where Do Ethics Come From?......Page 94
Social Ethics......Page 95
Conservation Ethics......Page 98
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas......Page 99
Help: Stopping Cyberbullying and Computer Harassment......Page 100
Confronting an Ethical Dilemma......Page 102
Resolving an Ethical Dilemma......Page 103
When You Disagree with the Company......Page 104
Trademarks......Page 107
Patents......Page 108
Proprietary Information......Page 109
Chapter Review......Page 110
Exercises and Projects......Page 111
Case Study: This Company Is Bugging Me......Page 112
Chapter 5 Letters, Memos, and E-Mails......Page 113
Features of Letters, Memos, and E-Mails......Page 114
Determining the Rhetorical Situation......Page 120
Introduction with a Purpose and a Main Point......Page 122
Body That Provides Need-to-Know Information......Page 125
Types of Letters, Memos, and E-Mails......Page 126
Claims or Complaints......Page 127
Refusals......Page 130
Strategies for Developing an Appropriate Style......Page 133
Designing and Formatting Letters, Envelopes, and Memos......Page 136
Using E-Mail Internationally......Page 139
Microgenre: Texting at Work......Page 142
Exercises and Projects......Page 144
Case Study: The Nastygram......Page 148
Chapter 6 Technical Descriptions and Specifications......Page 150
Planning......Page 151
Quick Start: Technical Descriptions and Specifications......Page 152
Researching......Page 8
Partitioning the Subject......Page 157
At Work: How Does Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) Help Write Descriptions?......Page 158
Introduction with an Overall Description......Page 162
Description by Features, Functions, or Stages......Page 163
Description by Senses, Similes, Analogies, and Metaphors......Page 164
Help: Using Digital Photography in Descriptions......Page 166
Graphics That Illustrate......Page 168
Microgenre: Technical Definitions......Page 171
Exercises and Projects......Page 175
Case Study: In the Vapor......Page 179
Chapter 7 Instructions and Documentation......Page 181
Planning and Researching......Page 182
Quick Start: Instructions and Documentation......Page 183
Planning......Page 184
Researching......Page 193
Planning for Cross-Cultural Readers and Contexts......Page 194
Design Considerations......Page 195
Introduction......Page 196
List of Parts, Tools, and Conditions Required......Page 197
Sequentially Ordered Steps......Page 198
Safety Information......Page 204
Using Style and Design......Page 207
Help: On-Screen Documentation......Page 209
Plain Style with a Touch of Emotion......Page 210
Functional, Attractive Page Layout......Page 211
Graphics That Reinforce Written Text......Page 212
Microgenre: Emergency Instructions......Page 214
Chapter Review......Page 216
Exercises and Projects......Page 217
Case Study: The Flame......Page 219
Chapter 8 Proposals......Page 220
Planning......Page 221
Quick Start: Proposals......Page 222
Researching......Page 227
Writing the Introduction......Page 228
Describing the Current Situation......Page 230
Describing the Project Plan......Page 231
Concluding with Costs and Benefits......Page 238
A Balance of Plain and Persuasive Styles......Page 241
An Attractive, Functional Design......Page 244
Microgenre: The Elevator Pitch......Page 246
Chapter Review......Page 248
Exercises and Projects......Page 249
Case Study: The Mole......Page 259
Chapter 9 Activity Reports......Page 260
Briefings and White Papers......Page 261
Quick Start: Activity Reports......Page 262
Laboratory Reports......Page 264
Planning and Researching......Page 268
Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation......Page 271
Writing the Body......Page 273
Writing the Conclusion......Page 274
Using Design and Graphics......Page 276
Microgenre: The Status Report......Page 277
Exercises and Projects......Page 279
Case Study: Bad Chemistry......Page 281
Chapter 10 Analytical Reports......Page 282
Types of Analytical Reports......Page 283
Quick Start: Analytical Report......Page 284
Planning......Page 285
Researching......Page 290
Writing the Introduction......Page 295
At Work: What Is the Most Efficient Way to Write a Report?......Page 296
Summarizing the Results of the Study......Page 297
Stating Your Overall Conclusions and Recommendations......Page 298
Help: Using Google Drive to Collaborate with International Teams......Page 311
Developing Front Matter......Page 312
Using Plain Style in a Persuasive Way......Page 316
A Straightforward Design......Page 317
Microgenre: The Poster Presentation......Page 321
Chapter Review......Page 322
Exercises and Projects......Page 323
Case Study: The X-File......Page 325
Chapter 11 Starting Your Career......Page 326
Using a Variety of Job-Seeking Paths......Page 327
Quick Start: Career Materials......Page 328
Chronological Résumé......Page 332
At Work: How Has the Internet Changed the Job Search Process?......Page 338
Designing the Résumé......Page 341
Content and Organization......Page 343
Help: Designing a Scannable/Searchable Résumé......Page 345
Style......Page 347
Creating a Professional Portfolio......Page 351
Collecting Materials......Page 352
Assembling the Portfolio in a Binder......Page 353
Creating an Electronic Portfolio......Page 354
Preparing for the Interview......Page 355
At the Interview......Page 356
Writing Thank You Letters and/or E-Mails......Page 357
Microgenre: The Bio......Page 359
Chapter Review......Page 360
Exercises and Projects......Page 361
Case Study: The Lie......Page 363
Chapter 12 Researching and Research Methods......Page 364
Beginning Your Research......Page 366
Defining Your Research Subject......Page 367
Formulating a Research Question and Hypothesis......Page 368
Describing Your Methodology......Page 369
Using and Revising Your Methodology......Page 370
Triangulating Materials......Page 371
Using Electronic Sources......Page 372
Using Print Sources......Page 373
Using Empirical Sources......Page 375
Careful Note Taking......Page 378
Documenting Sources......Page 382
Avoiding Plagiarism......Page 384
Exercises and Projects......Page 386
Case Study: The Patchwriter......Page 388
Chapter 13 Designing Documents and Interfaces......Page 389
Design Principle 1: Balance......Page 390
Weighting a Page or Screen......Page 391
Using Grids to Balance a Page Layout......Page 394
Design Principle 2: Alignment......Page 398
Design Principle 3: Grouping......Page 399
Using Headings......Page 400
Using Borders and Rules......Page 403
Choosing Typefaces......Page 404
Creating Sequential and Nonsequential Lists......Page 406
Design Principle 5: Contrast......Page 408
Cross-Cultural Design......Page 410
Chapter Review......Page 412
Exercises and Projects......Page 413
Case Study: Scorpions Invade......Page 415
Chapter 14 Creating and Using Graphics......Page 419
Guidelines for Using Graphics......Page 420
Guideline One: A Graphic Should Tell a Simple Story......Page 421
Guideline Three: A Graphic Should Be Ethical......Page 422
Guideline Four: A Graphic Should Be Labeled and Placed Properly......Page 424
Displaying Data with Graphs, Tables, and Charts......Page 425
Line Graphs......Page 426
Bar Charts......Page 427
Tables......Page 428
Pie Charts......Page 429
Flowcharts......Page 431
Using Pictures and Drawings......Page 432
Photographs......Page 433
Inserting Photographs and Other Images......Page 434
Illustrations......Page 435
Using Cross-Cultural Symbols......Page 436
Exercises and Projects......Page 439
Case Study: Looking Guilty......Page 441
Chapter 15 Preparing and Giving Presentations......Page 443
Planning and Researching Your Presentation......Page 444
Defining the Rhetorical Situation......Page 446
Allotting Your Time......Page 448
Choosing the Right Presentation Technology......Page 449
Building the Presentation......Page 452
The Introduction: Tell Them What You’re Going to Tell Them......Page 453
Help: Giving Presentations with your iPod, MP3, or Mobile Phone......Page 456
The Body: Tell Them......Page 458
At Work: How Can I Overcome My Fear of Speaking in Public?......Page 459
The Conclusion: Tell Them What You Told Them......Page 461
Preparing to Answer Questions......Page 463
Choosing Your Presentation Style......Page 464
Designing Visual Aids......Page 466
Slides to Avoid......Page 468
Body Language......Page 469
Using Your Notes......Page 471
Evaluating Your Performance......Page 472
Working Cross-Culturally with Translators......Page 474
Exercises and Projects......Page 478
Case Study: The Coward......Page 480
Comma Splice......Page 481
Run-On Sentence......Page 482
Dangling Modifier......Page 483
Subject-Verb Disagreement......Page 484
Faulty Parallelism......Page 485
Pronoun Case Error (I and Me, We and Us)......Page 486
Vague Pronoun......Page 487
Punctuation Refresher......Page 488
Commas......Page 489
Semicolon and Colon......Page 491
Apostrophe......Page 493
Quotation Marks......Page 494
Dashes and Hyphens......Page 496
Parentheses and Brackets......Page 497
Ellipses......Page 498
Appendix B: Documentation Guide......Page 499
APA In-Text Citations......Page 500
The References List for APA Style......Page 502
Creating the APA References List......Page 505
The References List for CSE Citation-Sequence Style......Page 506
Creating the CSE References List (Citation-Sequence Style)......Page 509
MLA In-Text Citations......Page 510
The Works Cited List for MLA Style......Page 511
Creating the MLA Works Cited List......Page 514
References......Page 515
Credits......Page 517
Index......Page 519
Sample Documents......Page 530