I would use the book as a resource but not as a textbook for students. In that sense, they exemplify the sort of simple, crisp (if unexciting) prose that technical communication strives for. read more. Some of the sections are particularly long, and can be tiresome to scroll through. Each chapter and even sub-section has author attributions for the book itself but rarely does it reference external sources. The examples in the text and references to writers are neutral. The sections are distinct and could be read independently. Does Insurance Have a Future in Governing Cybersecurity? Again, in larger technical communication textbooks instructors would expect to find chapters dedicated to "blogs, wikis, and web pages" and "social media" platforms as in offerings by Lannon and Gurak. The 2 videos are designed by an instructor for a specific course and reference specific assignments for that course so these are not good choices for this textbook that is meant to be a general source for any Technical Writing course. Read the work of other technical writers and programmers in your field, and adopt some of the phrasing, formatting, and patterns they use that seem to be the most effective. Technical Writing contains no grammatical errors. At times, the balance feels off. With that said, additional work on representation could be added within the examples. In general, segments are only a few paragraphs in length, with modules easily excerpted for re-use or revised usage. There isnt a single convenient place to start, so begin the process by outlining your goals and paying more attention to how you communicate (both with teammates and non-experts in your field). However, there are several mentions of the technical report being the main document produced at the end of the term (which is true) and mentions of several prefatory documents needed for benchmarking along the way. This text is offered in various formats which likely will help eliminate interface issues with certain sections. I have had trouble finding resources, particularly open source ones, that are approachable but convey the key concepts in an easy to access format. Technical writing in English serves as an essential tool in communicating or conveying one's ideas, views, observations, instructions, and suggestions in a more logical and technical. I examined this textbook as a resource for a 100-level Technical Writing class. The sections about how to present information visually are helpful: contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are given the unfortunate acronym CRAP (so no doubt the reader will never forget it!) Which Australian are we voting for? The link in 8.4 to visuals that need revision is probably not useful for most classes. The book is quite well written and useful, but not comprehensive. It is less helpful, I think, to students going into health care fields and the social sciences. The text seems to keep in mind readers of various races and backgrounds and uses relevant pop culture references that are inclusive. The current section on design is specific only to reports and is really about organization, not design. While the ratings here aren't overly high, the standard of comparison was challenging. Cloud Technical and Community College on 6/19/18, Although an index/glossary is not provided, the Table of Contents organizes the material and allows for readers to see the breadth of areas and subjects within the Technical Writing textbook. In this first chapter, however, only texting, emails, memos, and letters are discussed. The chapters can easily be rearranged according to an instructors preference since the table of contents is linked to each section. The web PDF format functions as expected in Acrobat reader with the sidebar thumbnails and toc providing hyperlinks to specific pages and sections. The text is inoffensive. Furthermore, while conciseness is an essential feature of technical and professional writing, establishing an arbitrary sentence length may encourage students to emphasize conciseness at the expense of clarity and accuracy. Students would enjoy the bulleted lists and simple, readable prose. The book has a strong balance of topics. It is absolutely appropriate for a comprehensive service course, but the authors should consider another title. The pie chart doesnt say. 16 Technical Writing Tips | Indeed.com I do not find any errors of content. The focus is more on providing practical strategies and helping students develop critical thinking skills than it is about using a particular software. Subheadings are used within for easier readability; however, content is text-heavy at times. The content is almost all up-to-date. Students would appreciate the very good detail in the table of contents as well as the ease of navigating from section to section as needed. Its authors clearly understand and practice technical communication, and its integration of external tools and links are current, complete, and appropriate to the content of the text itself. The chapters lead students This optimized type of communication is one of the most challenging aspects of technical writing. I worry that this textbook potentially does a disservice to the technical communication field as well as to open-access materials, which should be of high quality and represent best practices based on an awareness of the range of communication tasks working professional undertake. These are appropriately and adequately covered. A technical writer is defined as one who writes, "about a particular subject that requires direction, instruction, or explanation." When put that way, is it no wonder that almost every company spanning an array of industries is on the hunt for technical writers? The sections felt purposefully shortened and many chapters left me wanting more information. Technical Reports: Components and Design, 11. It should be noted that different formats might have issues relating to page presentation, as I have noticed that in other primarily online references I have seen. The IEEE (Computing Curriculum Efforts) stressed the importance of including the mechanicsandprocessofwriting,acquiringtheabilitytocommunicateideaseffectively,andintegratingtheseskills intotheentirecomputerscienceprogram.Thiscertificateidentifiesandincludesonlythosecoursesthatarerelated to analytical reasoning and technical writing, including un. The information that is presented in this book is very similar (and in some cases, exactly the same) as the information I've been teaching for the ten years I've been teaching technical communication. Certainly, notions of "netiquette" and online forms might change, but the essential tech comm genres covered will remain an essential component of workplace literacies, and as such, this book should remain relevant and be easy to update as needed. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. Further, the authors state that plagiarism is institution-specific, but that's only true in our academic bubble. However, the book is arranged in a logical progression through the different aspects of research and writing the formal report. The PDF version has 242 pages but I would recommend to students that they only print selectively as many pages are blank. Basically, I find that students seem to flourish when a class (and a textbook) regularly comes back to explicitly stated themes, and the book didn't necessarily have those. The text could do more to explore cultural contexts in which technical documents are planned, prepared, and consumed, especially given increasing internationalization of workforces. The text is written at a level accessible for college-level students, and perhaps some high school students. In general I dont teach with a textbook, so my comments should be taken in the context of someone who uses texts more as a resource than a work that guides the entirety of our semesters journey as writers. This text provides a solid basis for any course in technical writing, though. As a result, the content will regularly have to be updated as modes and media of communication and writing evolve. If I had to point to one area where it might need updating, it might be in allowing more space for instructions, presentations and video content, as these are emerging as valuable tools and I am not seeing a lot in the text. Another issue with the book is the lack of writing exercises and assignments. Technical writing is the writing of technical content, particularly relating to industrial and other applied sciences, with an emphasis on occupational contexts. Each chapter's subsection has navigational arrows that allow the reader to move on to the next section easily, and the table of contents is easily accessible on every page. A class geared toward a specific aspect of the field - engineering or a medical field, for example - would need to add material. I did not expect to find an open textbook as useful or well-constructed as this is. Where it summarizes the key details, it does so with general clarity and the links to other, more detailed resources appear to be effective, although one or two are dated. While some references to the writer are logical, it inconsistently directly addresses readers or talks about writers in general. Business Writing Online Technical Writing Online It also includes a couple of sections I wouldn't necessarily expect, but that would be very useful in any professional writing class: discussions of the ethics involved in report writing, information literacy, and document design. The chapters appear randomly, with an early chapter often referring to material that has not been introduced yet. After all, sentence structure in technical writing is expected to be short, concise, and to the point. The book has a dropdown menu with a table of contents and a search feature in the reader. Among the genres that are discussed, accuracy falters due to a handful of random, undocumented prescriptions. CC BY-NC-SA, Reviewed by Amine Oudghiri-Otmani, Instructor, Marshall University on 10/15/22, This text offers a good amount of instruction (though at times limited) underlying effective workplace and technical writing/communication. In my 30 years of experience in the technical workforce, I have read, and written, countless e-mails longer than three short paragraphs. E.g., "Geert Hofstede views culture as consisting of mental programs, calling it softwares of the mind, meaning each person 'carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned throughout their lifetime. The authors may have heard this, because they mention ASME in section 5.1, but they give no examples of what ASME looks like in practice. Does the text assume students understood the interaction of purpose, stance, and genre in a writing project? A graduate of Iowa State University, Im now a full-time freelance writer and business consultant. read more. While I agree that students should keep e-mails short and direct, especially when corresponding with the instructor, there is nothing inherently wrong about a longer e-mail message. 9.3 . Reviewed by Elizabeth Aydelott, Part-Time Instructor, Lane Community College on 6/26/20, This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. When the authors refer to student assignments, they might call them "assignments," not "papers." The text is broken up into sections reflecting key components of researching, developing, and producing a technical report. The writing in section 5.2 needs editing. It's great to include APA, but that social-science emphasis should be balanced with another professional style such as ASME or IEEE. Instructions get no mention, although giving directions and documenting procedures are common workplace tasks. Examples are frequently included, although even more examples would be a welcome addition. The framework and organization of the textbook is consistent and easy to follow. Many chapters are short (some are quite detailed, though), which can be a real asset, but the lack of technical writing theory might be a concern for instructors looking to balance practice with understanding approach. Many widowed headings (which the text advises to avoid). The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. Pages 15-16, on netiquette, uses headings, along with simply, un-bolded bullet points. Special terms are explained and defined. Suggestions for assessing student writing will also be provided. If you're . Larry Alton is a professional blogger, writer, and researcher who contributes to a number of reputable online media outlets and news sources. But most technical writing courses dont focus on exams (there may be quizzes on concepts) so that is not a significant barrier. Because the text can function in ways that benefit the class, this is not an issue. The writing attempts to be engaging but is not rich enough in evidence, references, or good, contemporary examples for university students. The text is written clearly and concisely. I also appreciate the chapter on information literacy, which includes information on scholarly, professional and general publications. This text is consistent in its approach, terminology, and framework. The topics in the book are not likely to become dated immediately. Missing are sections on topics often included in technical writing: instructions, procedures, descriptions and definitions. Much of the focus felt repetitive and covered skills students in technical writing should already possess. Overall, the content appears accurate, error-free, and generally unbiased. Overall, the content in the book appears accurate, even if a little prescriptive at times. The text's focus on report writing seems limiting, and its approach to technical writer as largely autonomous does not accurately reflect the complexity of technical writing workplaces. . Perhaps For example, some of the elements of chapter 12 related to cover letters and resumes use color, and have more modern examples than those in chapter 1, which focuses on online etiquette. read more. This text is written in plain language and easy to read. In fact, between July 2017, when I downloaded a PDF copy for review, and October 2017, when I began writing the review, the authors added chapter 11 on design and readability, and chapter 12 on writing employment materials. 9.3 uses her/himself, s/he, and his/her.. There is an important missing link in 9.2. The content is up to date; however, it may require revision as technologies evolve and change. The text is well-organized for assigning smaller sections of reading at different points within a course. Pages 12-13 list characteristics of e-mail with bullets featuring a bolded opening phrase. Having personally examined a number of technical writing materials, this is by far one of the very few The books Introduction advises, plan to write in such a way that even Grandad can understand! (3). Text navigation and individual chapter selection, however, are made easy thanks to the hyperlink attached to each line/item under "Contents." For instance, the link to examples (titled "Online Technical Writing: Contents") uses yellow background and blue lettering, and does not include any explanatory text. The order in which the books contents are presented is somewhat arbitrary. The body of the text goes into an adequate depth in the explanation of key concepts. This text includes several sections that I would expect to see in a technical writing textbook: job search materials, reports, proposals, using graphics, professional communications, and audience analysis. The content generally seems up-to-date, and the chapter organization and breakdown appear to lend themselves to easy updating. Chapter 1, on correspondence, uses at least three different formats for bullet points. 218-239. Technical Writing for Engineers: Overview and Tips When there is time, the editors and/or authors should review the book to check for errors and broken links. It reads like the authors are speaking directly to the audience. In other situations, technical writers help convey complex scientific or . The materials are logically arranged and easy to understand. Professional writing Feasibility reports economic . While all of the topics are relevant, it sticks to the basics of each topic without exploring innovations and trends in the field. First, can instructors assume that students will recognize this intricate interaction? The text has a logical order, but I would assign the last chapters first since I usually begin with employment application materials and then cultural awareness almost immediately afterwards. The excellence of technical writing is judged by clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, and correctness. Some links are broken, which can be frustrating, but it doesn't distract from the usefulness of the book overall. There were missed opportunities to expand some of the more relevant topics, like the importance of visual rhetoric in page layout; solicited and unsolicited proposals; and, analytical report writing like feasibility studies. Consistent use of headers and special highlights (e.g., boldface, etc.) Within the text, however, it becomes fairly easy to navigate through the material. This text would be easy to assign in appropriate chunks for the students. For example, Chapters 11 and 13 are structured with interactive activities not found in other chapters. Content itself seemed accurate. The authors should also focus on plain language in this book, and exemplify it in their prose. The expandable table is tricky to get used to because the hyperlink from the Chapter title goes to the chapter Technical writers research, prepare and produce various types of technical documents, such as journal articles or user manuals. To be clear, MLA is not used in a single industrial or professional context I am aware of, outside English departments and literature-oriented professions. I am a big fan of the cultural sensitivity section in the book, which I think is very carefully and thoughtfully presented to readers. However, locating the table of contents may not be intuitive for some students, and some students may not know how to navigate through each chapter's subsections. Content jumps around some, but is otherwise organized into a logical progression of points (such as discussing audience and types of documents in the beginning and saving design and employment content for later in the text). Students like to become acquainted with a consistent format across a book's chapters so they know where to find answers/resources that they need, regardless of the topic. The first section includes both platforms and genres. Sentences over 30 words are to be mistrusted. Again, I wondered, Says who? Had the authors cited evidence a study finding that sentences over 25 words are ignored by readers, for instance the claim might be more compelling. IEEE All rights reserved. Annemarie Hamlin is an Associate Professor of English at Central Oregon Community College. Also, while the book has examples, I would appreciate even more examples. The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course. Another missed opportunity occurs on page 16, where the authors admonish culture and even gender can play a part in how people communicate. While this is undoubtedly true, two questions arise. There is abundant use of the colon to introduce lists, and the authors use bullet points frequently. The interface for the Web version of the book is clear, simple, and unobtrusive. Why is information on Citations and Plagiarism after the chapter on proposals? The text clearly focuses on research and report writing in a business context. The text is accessible and concise in delivery. Topics common to technical writing courses are explored in this text and include an important section (4.6) on evaluating sources as well as sections on plagiarism and the importance of citing sources. The content is up-to-date since there are not apt to be quick changes to the principles of technical writing nor to the precepts of e-mail, texting etc. . The content is accurate. The text is relevant to writing in the workplace as it covers aspects of "netiquette," which is something technical writers will encounter more and more as workplace functions are moved more to online formats. Content Accuracy - Appears to provide accurate content. There are two main reasons why technical writing skills are so important. The overall organization progresses logically from shorter forms of technical writing to longer, more complex ones. The content of this text is written so students can use the information in many different technical communication settings. The ones that exist are obvious and instructors can correct them if they use those chapters. The text does not contain modules that stand independently, despite appearing at the outset to be designed that way. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The terminology is internally consistent. Problems with organization: You probably think about technical writing in relation to communicating technical information clearly in an accessible format that meets the needs of its audience. This section may need updating since technology brings changes to workplace communications. A not-for-profit organization, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. The text is consistent in its layout. The table of contents is linked to each section for quick finding. Alas, the headings and sub-headings demarcate a haphazard arrangement of content. Further, students are seeing a poor example of a strong technical writing style because the sentences are written in a vague style that would lead to comprehension and translation errors. The online version of the book is hosted on the Pressbooks platform, which is intuitive to use, but long sections require significant scrolling. More of a concern though is the phrasing of the third choice of saving lives. As mentioned in my first comment, the textbook could benefit from separating technical writing and professional writing as they are separate disciplines. Why Writing Still Matters In Today's Tech-Driven World - Forbes Much of the text appeared to be neutral, and sections were dedicated to discussing cultural sensitivity within workplace writing. The downside is the text borders on being too modular. This has worked very well in that role in this semester, and I am hoping to keep it on my list of resources moving forward. The book's structure changes with each format. The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems or problems with display. The PDF version of the textbook works as expected in terms of the links in the toc and the thumbnails visible in Acrobat. This textbook covers most all of the content I currently use in my own technical / professional writing courses and I am considering adopting this textbook in future courses that I teach. This provides a large scope of relevant documents that readers could encounter when writing in the workplace. The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. The digital nature of the textbook assures easy editing and the potential for long-term relevance. A more logical structure might be to address the general theory in an opening section that includes examples for illustration, then to include a second section to address specific genres and types of technical writing. This linked resource is not formatted as professionally as the main text. The importance and scope of technical writing skills - ResearchGate Although the charts and graphics conveyed when printed, the videos, understandably, did not. The text introduces itself as an introductory text to technical writing (or communication), and provides a definition of technical communication You cannot search the text using normal search indicators "AND," "NOT," etc. The format of the content is very text heavy in paragraph structure, which is odd for a Technical Writing book because a general rule in Technical Writing is to use shorter, concise paragraphs with more lists, bullets, and tables for easy reading and referencing of the information. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the organization of the textbook is easy to navigate and understand. Skillset upgrade. Grammar has no problem. read more. Journalism, Media Studies & Communications, 10. Although the materials are relevant to orthodox technical writing contexts, the text could benefit from a separate section that introduces writing in the digital world to reflect the evolving nature and changing landscape of technical communication. This text provides flexibility in the fact that it focuses on Technical Communication for a more generalized audience and therefore this would work well as a Technical Communications text for a First-Year Writing course at a 2 or 4-year college. The core principles arent likely to go out of date any time soon. It may be possible to pair chapters from this textbook with one of the smaller "handbooks" on technical communication out there. The PDF document is much thinner than the large number of pages suggests. This text seems to be designed for purposeful fragmentation in a course. Its root. Ideally, the authors would employ a plain style to avoid usability problems for non-American-dialect users. However, there was no section related to manuals or instructions, which is a large gap. The Importance of Technical Writing in the Workplace | Bizfluent I appreciate the way the sections aren't overly extended or complicated - the individual components make up the larger whole and could easily be reconfigured to suit the needs of instructors. New definition of technical writing The text does an especially good job of explaining how to write proposals and reports in a clear, step-by-step manner. Some of the images are blurry and hard to see. Visuals and page layout are important features of a lot of technical writing and this text doesn't take advantage of opportunities to incorporate a variety of examples. Text is mostly free of grammatical errors, although a few minor grammar mistakes were present. Given that modules or sections can be reordered on demand, this is not a significant drawback. read more. No mention is made of IEEE, which is the largest professional society in the world and which publishes professional ethics and authorial style guides that many professionals will encounter.
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