COMING SOON 14-February-2025

Practical Strategies for Technical Communication

Fifth Edition

Publication Date: February 14, 2025

Paperback ISBN: 9781319589776

Practical skills for a changing digital world.

Practical Strategies prepares students for entering the workplace, providing a concise, yet accessible guide of everything they need to know about audience and purpose, document design, research, style and more. Full of clear, practical advice and real-world examples, students can begin to...
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ISBN: 9781319589776
Practical Strategies for Technical Communication

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Part 1 Working in the Technical-Communication Environment

1 Introduction to Technical Communication

  • What Is Technical Communication?
  • Why Technical Communication Skills Are Important in Your Career
  • The Challenges of Producing Technical Communication
  • Thinking Visually: Characteristics of a Technical Document
  • Thinking Visually: Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents
  • Skills and Qualities Shared by Successful Workplace Communicators
  • A Look at Three Technical Documents
  • Exercises

2 Understanding Ethical and Legal Obligations

  • A Brief Introduction to Ethics
  • Your Legal Obligations
  • The Role of Corporate Culture in Ethical and Legal Conduct
  • Understanding Ethical and Legal Issues Related to Social Media
  • Communicating Ethically Across Cultures
  • Thinking Visually: Principles for Ethical Communication
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

3 Writing Collaboratively

  • Thinking Visually: Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration
  • Managing Projects
  • Conducting Meetings
  • Using Electronic Tools in Collaboration
  • Strategies for Online Communication: Jenny Gilbert on Crowdsourcing Data and Information
  • Gender and Collaboration
  • Culture and Collaboration
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

Part 2 Planning and Drafting the Document

4 Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

  • Understanding Audience and Purpose
  • Using an Audience Profile Sheet
  • Techniques for Learning About Your Audience
  • Thinking Visually: Determining the Important Characteristics of Your Audience
  • Communicating Across Cultures
  • Applying What You Have Learned About Your Audience
  • Writing for Multiple Audiences
  • Determining Your Purpose
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

5 Researching Your Subject

  • Understanding the Research Process
  • Choosing Appropriate Research Methods
  • Choices and Strategies: Research Questions and Methods
  • Conducting Secondary Research
  • Using AI Chatbots
  • Conducting Primary Research
  • Choices and Strategies: Choosing Types of Questions for Questionnaires
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

6 Writing for Your Readers

  • Presenting Yourself Effectively
  • Using Conventional Patterns of Organization
  • Choices and Strategies: Choosing Effective Organizational Patterns
  • Writing Clear, Informative Titles
  • Writing Clear, Informative Headings
  • Writing Clear, Informative Paragraphs
  • Writing Grammatically Correct Sentences
  • Structuring Effective Sentences
  • Choosing the Right Words and Phrases
  • Use Inoffensive Language
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

Part 3 Designing User-Friendly Documents and Websites

7 Designing Print and Online Documents

  • Goals of Document Design
  • Planning the Design of Print and Online Documents
  • Understanding Design Principles
  • Designing Print Documents
  • Designing Digital Documents
  • Consider Matters of Accessibility
  • Design for Multicultural Audiences
  • Combining Print and Digital Documents
  • Strategies for Online Communication: Calvin Jones on Using Multiple Modalities
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

8 Creating Graphics

  • The Functions of Graphics
  • Thinking Visually: Characteristics of an Effective Graphic
  • Understanding the Process of Creating Graphics
  • Using Color Effectively
  • Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic
  • Choices and Strategies: Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic
  • Illustrating Numerical Information
  • Illustrating Logical Relationships
  • Illustrating Process Descriptions and Instructions
  • Illustrating Visual and Spatial Characteristics
  • Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural Readers
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

Part 4 Learning Important Applications

9 Corresponding in Print and Online

  • Understanding the Process of Writing Correspondence
  • Choices and Strategies: Choosing a Type of Correspondence
  • Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence
  • Use the Appropriate Level of Formality
  • Communicate Correctly
  • Project the “You Attitude”
  • Avoid Correspondence Clichés
  • Communicate Honestly
  • Elements of a Letter
  • Common Types of Letters
  • Writing Memos
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

10 Applying for a Job

  • Establishing Your Professional Brand
  • Understanding Job Search Strategies
  • Elements of the Chronological Résumé
  • Elements of the Skills Résumé
  • Preparing a Plain-Text Résumé
  • Writing Job-Application Letters
  • Preparing for a Job Interview
  • Writing Follow-up Letters or Emails After an Interview
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

11 Writing Proposals

  • The Logistics of Proposals
  • Internal and External Proposals
  • Solicited and Unsolicited Proposals
  • The “Deliverables” of Proposals
  • Research Proposals
  • Goods and Services Proposals
  • Persuasion and Proposals
  • Understanding Contexts
  • Describing What You Plan To Do
  • Demonstrating Your Professionalism
  • The Structure of the Proposal
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Proposed Program
  • Qualifications and Experience
  • Budget
  • Appendixes
  • Task Schedule
  • Description of Evaluation Techniques
  • Sample Internal Proposal
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

12 Writing Informational Reports

  • Organizing Progress and Status Reports
  • Concluding Progress and Status Reports
  • Sample Progress Report
  • Writing Incident Reports
  • Writing Meeting Minutes
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

13 Writing Recommendation Reports

  • Understanding the Role of Recommendation Reports
  • Using a Problem-Solving Model for Preparing Recommendation Reports
  • Identify the Problem or Opportunity
  • Establish Criteria for Responding to the Problem or Opportunity
  • Determine the Options
  • Study Each Option According to the Criteria
  • Draw Conclusions About Each Option
  • Formulate Recommendations Based on the Conclusions
  • Writing Recommendation Reports
  • Writing the Body of the Report
  • Writing the Front Matter
  • Writing the Back Matter
  • Sample Recommendation Report
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

14 Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions

  • Writing Definitions
  • Analyzing the Writing Situation for Definitions
  • Writing Sentence Definitions
  • Writing Extended Definitions
  • Writing Descriptions
  • Analyzing the Writing Situation for Descriptions
  • Indicating Clearly the Nature and Scope of the Description
  • Introducing the Description Clearly
  • Providing Appropriate Detail
  • Ending the Description with a Brief Conclusion
  • A Look at Several Sample Descriptions
  • Writing Instructions
  • Strategies for Online Communication: Suzanne Barnhill on Moderating User Forums
  • Understanding the Role of Instructional Videos
  • Designing a Set of Instructions
  • Drafting Effective Instructions
  • Revising, Editing, and Proofreading Instructions
  • A Look at Several Sample Sets of Instructions
  • Writing Manuals
  • Writer’s Checklist
  • Exercises

15 Making Oral Presentations

  • Understanding the Role of Oral Presentations
  • Preparing the Presentation
  • Analyzing the Speaking Situation
  • Organizing and Developing the Presentation
  • Preparing Presentation Graphics
  • During a Presentation
  • Choosing Effective Language
  • Rehearsing the Presentation
  • Thinking Visually: Delivering the Presentation
  • Presenting to All Audiences
  • Answering Questions After a Presentation
  • Speaker’s Checklist
  • Exercises

Appendix: Reference Handbook

A Documenting Your Sources

  • APA Style
  • IEEE Style
  • MLA Style

B Editing and Proofreading Your Documents

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