B101 5 secret sound guesses

Technically-Write!

Ron B l i c q Lisa Moretto RGI International

S ix t h Ed i t i on

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Columbus, Ohio

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Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

ISBN :0-536-45204-0

Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Editor in Chief: Stephen Helba Executive Editor: Gary Bauer Editorial Assistant: Natasha Holden Production Editor: Louise N. Sette Design Coordinator: Diane Ernsberger Cover Designer: Monica Kompter Cover art: Comstock Production Manager: Brian Fox Marketing Manager: Leigh Ann Sims

This book was set by Phyllis Seto. It was printed and bound by Courier Kendallville, Inc. The cover was printed by Phoenix Color Corp.

Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department.

Pearson Prentice Hall™ is a trademark of Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson® is a registered trademark of Pearson plc Prentice Hall® is a registered trademark of Pearson Education, Inc.

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ISBN 0-13-114878-8

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Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

v

Contents

About the Authors xi

Preface xiii

People as “Communicators” xv

Chapter 1 Why Technical People Need to Write Well 1

The First Fifty Years 1 A Change in Style 2

Chapter 2 A Technical Person’s Approach to Writing 4

Simplifying the Approach 4 Planning the Writing Task 5 Writing the First Draft 12 Taking a Break 15 Reading with a Plan 16

Checking for Clarity 16 Checking for Correct Tone and Style 18 Checking for Accuracy 21

Revising Your Own Words 21 Assignments 23

Chapter 3 Letters, Memos, and Emails 24

Using the Pyramid 24 Identifying the Main Message 24 Getting Started 25 Avoiding False Starts 27

Planning the Letter 27 Opening Up the Pyramid 29 Writing to Inform 31 Writing to Persuade 32

Creating a Confident Image 37 Be Brief 37 Be Clear 40

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Be Definite 41 Close on a Strong Note 41

Adopting a Pleasant Tone 42 Know Your Reader 42 Be Sincere 43 Be Human 43 Avoid Words That Antagonize 43 Know When to Stop 45

Using a Businesslike Format 45 Letter Styles 46 Interoffice Memo 49 Fax Cover Sheet 50

Writing Electronic Mail 51 Email Netiquette 52 Email Guidelines 54

Assignments 57

Chapter 4 Short Informal Reports 66

Internal Versus External 66 Writing Style 67 Incident Report 68 Trip Report 73

Short Trip Reports 73 Longer Trip Reports 74

Progress or Status Reports 77 Occasional Progress Report 77 Periodic Progress Report 77 Personal Progress Report 83

Project Completion Report 84 Inspection Report 86 Laboratory Report 89 Assignments 93

Chapter 5 Longer Informal and Semiformal Reports 100

Investigation Report 100 Conducting a Comparative Analysis 105 Opening with a Summary Page 107

Evaluation Report/Feasibility Study 109 Assignments 118

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ISBN :0-536-45204-0

Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter 6 Formal Reports 124

Major Parts 125 Summary 125 Introduction 127 Discussion 129 Conclusions 134 Recommendations 135 Appendixes 135

Subsidiary Parts 136 Cover 136 Title Page 137 Table of Contents 137 References (Endnotes), Bibliography, and Footnotes 138 Cover Letter 146 Executive Summary 147

The Complete Formal Report 147 The Main Parts 147 Traditional Arrangement of Report Parts 148 Pyramidal Arrangement of Report Parts 153

Assignments 177

Chapter 7 Technical Proposals 186

Overall Writing Plan 187 Short Informal Proposal 188 Longer Informal or Short Semiformal Proposal 188 Student Project Proposal 198 Longer Semiformal Proposal: Single Solution 199 Longer Semiformal Proposal: Multiple Solutions 200 Writing Plan Flexibility 203 The Language of Proposal Writing 203

1. Present Only Essential Information 203 2. Use the Active Voice 203 3. Avoid Wishy-washy Words 204 4. Avoid Giving Opinions 204

Assignments 205

Chapter 8 Other Technical Documents 208

User’s Manual 208 Identify the Audience 208

Contents vii

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Writing Plan 209 Describing the Product 209 Using the Product 210

Technical Instruction 214 Start with a Plan 215 Give Your Reader Confidence 216 Avoid Ambiguity 217 Write Bite-Size Steps 218 Insert Fail-Safe Precautions 220 Insist on an Operational Check 220

Scientific Paper 221 Appearance 221 Writing Style 222 Organization 222

Technical Papers and Articles 226 Assignments 232

Chapter 9 Illustrating Technical Documents 238

Primary Guidelines 238 Computer-Designed Graphs and Charts 239 Graphs 239

Single Curve 240 Multiple Curves 240 Scales 242 Simplicity 245

Charts 246 Bar Charts 246 Histograms 249 Surface Charts 249 Pie Charts 253

Diagrams 253 Photographs 254 Tables 256 Positioning the Illustrations 257 Working with an Illustrator 258 Assignments 260

Chapter 10 Technically-Speak! 262

The Technical Briefing 262

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Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Establish the Circumstances 262 Find a Pattern 263 Prepare to Speak 264 Now Make Your Presentation 267

The Technical Paper 270 Taking Part in Meetings 272

The Chairperson’s Role 272 The Participants’ Role 275 The Secretary’s Role 276

Assignments 278

Chapter 11 Communicating with Prospective Employers 282

The Employment-Seeking Process 283 Using the Internet in Your Job Search 284 Developing a Personal Data Record 285

Education 286 Work Experience 286 Extracurricular Activities 286 References 287

Preparing a Resume 288 Resume Formats 288

The Traditional Resume 289 The Focused Resume 292 The Functional Resume 294

Electronic Resume Formats 302 Plain Text Resumes 302 Keyword Summary Resumes 304 Scanned Resumes 305 HTML Web Portfolios 305

Writing a Letter of Application 306 The Solicited Application Letter 307 The Unsolicited Application Letter 310

Completing a Company Application Form 310 Attending an Interview 312

Prepare for the Interview 312 Create a Good Initial Impression 314 Participate Throughout the Interview 314

Accepting a Job Offer 316 Assignments 318

Contents ix

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Chapter 12 The Technique of Technical Writing 322

The Whole Document 322 Tone 322 Style 324 Appearance 326 Use Good Language 331

Paragraphs 332 Unity 332 Coherence 333 Adequate Development 335 Correct Length 336

Sentences 337 Unity 337 Coherence 338 Emphasis 339 Completeness 341

Words 343 Words That Tell a Story 344 Combining Words into Compound Terms 345 Long Versus Short Words 346 Low-Information-Content Expressions 346

Some Fine Points 348 Using Parallelism to Good Effect 348 Abbreviating Technical and Nontechnical Terms 352 Writing Numbers in Narrative 353 Writing Metric Units and Symbols (SI) 354 Writing Non-Gender-Specific Language 356

Writing for an International Audience 359 Writing Business Correspondence 360 Revising the Writing Plan 361 Writing Guidelines 362

Assignments 363

Glossary of Technical Usage 374

Index 401

Marking Control Chart 409

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ISBN :0-536-45204-0

Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

xi

About the Authors

on Blicq and Lisa Moretto are Senior Consultants with RGI International, a consulting company specializing in oral and written communication. They teach workshops, based on the Pyramid

Method of Writing presented in this book, to audiences all over the world. In 2001, they opened a second company—RGI Learning Inc.—specifical- ly to deliver their courses on the Web. Their web site is www.rgilearning. com.

Ron is Senior Consultant at RGI’s Canadian office. He has extensive experience as a technical writer and editor with the Royal Air Force in Britain and CAE Industries Limited in Canada, and taught technical com- munication at Red River College from 1967 to 1990. Ron has authored five books with Pearson Education and has written and produced six edu- cational video programs, such as Sharpening Your Business Communication Skills and So, You Have to Give a Talk? He is a Fellow of both the Society for Technical Communication and the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, and a Life Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. Ron lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Lisa is Senior Consultant at RGI’s United States office. She has expe- rience as an Information Developer for IBM in the US and as a Learning Products Engineer for Hewlett-Packard in the UK. Lisa holds a B.S. in Technical Communication from Clarkson University in New York, and an M.S. in User Interface Design from the London Guildhall University in England. Her specialties include developing online interactive information, designing user interfaces, and writing product documen- tation. She is a senior member of the Society for Technical Communication and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. Lisa lives in Rochester, New York.

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(Photo: Mary Lou Stein)

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Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

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Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

xiii

Preface

his book presents all aspects of technical communication that you, as a technician, technologist, engineer, scientist, computer and envi- ronmental specialist, or technical manager, are likely to encounter in

industry. It contains numerous examples of letters, reports, and proposals, all based on the unique “pyramid” method for structuring information, a technique that has helped countless technical people overcome “writer’s block.”

With each previous edition of Technically-Write!, changes were intro- duced to reflect the way technical professionals were currently presenting information in the various industries and in engineering consulting firms. This edition is no exception—in fact we have made more changes than ever before. Here are some of the most noticeable revisions:

● There is a new, opening chapter that traces how, over 100 years ago, the engineering community recognized that more attention needed to be placed on increasing a technical professional’s ability to commu- nicate effectively, and how lecturers at universities and colleges responded.

● Chapter 3 has more information on how to plan and write email messages.

● Chapter 4 now includes a personal progress report which helps keep managers informed of the writer’s activities.

● There is a comprehensive new chapter (Chapter 7) on how to write informal and semiformal proposals.

● The chapter on writing resumes and attending interviews (Chapter 11) has been enlarged to include new techniques for submitting elec- tronic resumes.

● The glossary has been enlarged to include more computer-related terms.

If you have seen previous editions, you will have noticed that the shape of the book has also changed. The shape will seem slimmer because we have reduced the number of pages by about 7%. We did this partly to help reduce the cost for purchasers, and partly to place some of the assign- ments and exercises in an instructor’s manual and for electronic delivery.

Information about the two companies—H. L. Winman and Associates and Macro Engineering Inc.—has been removed, but many of the model let- ters and reports, and end-of-chapter assignments, still retain these two com- panies to provide a logical environment for the documents and exercises.

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xiv Preface

Along the way, we have very much appreciated the friendly advice and many helpful suggestions from users of the book, both teachers and stu- dents, and the advice of reviewers. In particular, we would like to thank the following reviewers: John Roberts (Mohawk College), Lisa Wolanski- McGirr (Keewatin College), George Scott (Seneca College), Alexa Campbell (Red River College), Elizabeth Smyth and Joe Benge (Camosun College). Their ideas have guided us in preparing this sixth edition. We are also celebrating, for it’s 32 years since the first edition of Technically- Write! was published!

R.B. & L.M.

Supplements The sixth edition of Technically-Write! is supported by a comprehensive supplements package, which includes the following:

● Instructor’s Resource Manual with Transparency Masters ISBN 0-13-117238-7

● Test Item File ISBN 0-13-117237-9 ● Test GenEQ ISBN 0-13-117236-0 ● Text-Enrichment Website ISBN 0-13-117234-4 ● Instructor Resource CD ISBN 0-13-117526-2

ISBN :0-536-45204-0

Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

xv

People as “Communicators”

e are equipped with a highly sophisticated communication sys- tem, yet we consistently fail to use it properly. The system com- prises a transmitter and receiver combined into a single package

controlled by a built-in computer, the brain. It accepts multiple inputs and transmits in three mediums: action, speech, and writing.

We spend many of our waking hours communicating, half the time as a transmitter, half as a receiver. If, as a receiver, we mentally switch off or permit ourselves to change channels while someone else is trans- mitting, we contribute to information loss. Similarly, if as a transmitter we permit our narrative to become disorganized, unconvincing, or sim- ply uninteresting, we encourage frequency drift. Our listeners detune their receivers and let their computers think about the lunch that’s immi- nent, or wonder if they should rent a video tonight.

As long as a person transmits clearly, efficiently, and persuasively, people receiving the message keep their receivers “locked on” to the transmitting frequency (this applies to all written, visual, and spoken transmissions). Such conditions expedite the transfer of information, or “communication.”

In direct contact, in which one person is speaking directly to another, the receiver has the opportunity to ask the transmitter to clarify vaguely presented information. But in more formal speech situations, and in all forms of written and most visual communication, the receiver no longer has this advantage. He or she cannot stop a speaker who mumbles or uses unfamiliar terminology to ask that parts of a talk be repeated or clarified; neither can the receiver easily ask a writer in another city to explain an incoherent passage of a business letter, or the producer of a video program to describe the point the video is trying to make.

The results of failure to communicate efficiently soon become appar- ent. If people fail to make themselves clear in day-to-day communica- tion, the consequences are likely to differ from those they anticipated, as Cam Collins has discovered to his chagrin.

Cam is a junior electrical engineer at Macro Engineering Inc., and his specialty is high-voltage power generation. When he first read about a recent extra-high-voltage (EHV) DC power conference, he wanted urgently to attend. In a memorandum to Fred Stokes, the company’s chief engineer, Cam described the conference in glowing terms that he hoped would convince Fred to approve his request. This is what he wrote:

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Fred

The EHV conference described in the attached brochure is just the thing we

have been looking for. Only last week you and I discussed the shortage of

good technical information in this area, and now here is a conference featur-

ing papers on many of the topics we are interested in. The cost is only $228 for

registration, which includes a visit to the Freeling Rapids Generating Station.

Travel and accommodation will be about $850 extra. I’m informing you of this

early so you can make a decision in time for me to arrange flight bookings

and accommodation.

Cam

Fred Stokes was equally enthusiastic and wrote back: Cam

Thanks for informing me of the EHV DC conference. I certainly don’t want to

miss it. Please make reservations for me as suggested in your memorandum.

Fred

Cam was the victim of his own carelessness: he had failed to com- municate clearly that it was he who wanted to go to Freeling Rapids!

Elizabeth Drew, on the other hand, did not realize she had missed a golden opportunity to be first with an innovative computer technique until it was too late to do anything about it. Her story stems from an incident that occurred several years ago, when she was a recently gradu- ated engineer employed by a manufacturer of agricultural machinery. Elizabeth’s job was to design modifications to the machinery, and then prepare the change procedure documentation for the production depart- ment, service representatives, sales staff, and customers.

“For each modification I had to coordinate three different docu- ments,” she explained to us over lunch. “First, there had to be a design change notice to send out to everyone concerned. And then there had to be an ‘exploded’ isometric drawing showing a clear view of every part, with each part cross-referenced to a parts list. And finally there had to be the parts list itself, with every item labeled fully and accurately.”

Elizabeth found that cross-referencing a drawing to its parts list was a tedious, time-consuming task. The isometric drawing of the part was computer generated by the drafting department. The parts list was also keyed into a computer, but by a separate department. However, because the two computer systems were incompatible, cross-referencing had to be done manually.

“And then I hit on a technique for interfacing the two programs,” Elizabeth explained. “It was simple, really, and I kept wondering why no one else had thought of it!”

Without telling anyone, she modified one of the company’s software programs and tested her idea with five different modification kits. “It worked!” she laughed. “And, best of all, I found that cross-referencing could be done in one-tenth of the time.”

xvi People as ”Communicators”

Cam’s request fails to

convince

Elizabeth has a good

idea...

...it was simple and effi-

cient...

ISBN :0-536-45204-0

Technically – Write! Sixth Edition, by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto.Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Elizabeth felt her employer should know about her idea: possibly the company could market the software, or even help her copyright it. So the following day she stopped Mr. Haddon, the Engineering Manager, as they passed in the hallway, and blurted out her suggestion. This is the conversation that ensued:

People as ”Communicators” xvii

Elizabeth Oh! Mr. Haddon! You know how long it takes to do the documenta- tion for a new part…?

The problem is in trying to inter- face between the graphics com- puter and the parts list…

…It has to be done by hand, you see…

Oh, yes! They do. I was just trying to help them…to speed up their work a bit.

Oh, no! It was just an idea I had— to modify the software we use…

No. You didn’t. I was doing it on my own… (She meant she was doing it on her own time.)

Well—uh—no. Not exactly…

(Reluctantly) Uh-huh.

I wanted to try…

Mr. Haddon

Yes..s..s..?

(Mr. Haddon appeared to be lis- tening politely, but internally he was growing impatient.)

Doesn’t the drafting department do all that?

You’re working for the chief draftsman now?

I don’t remember issuing you a work order…

You mean the I.T. people asked you to do it?

But you have been modifying one of our software programs? Without authority?

I thought I had made it quite clear to all the staff: No projects are to be undertaken without my approval! (His tone was cold and abrupt.)

That’s final! (And he turned on his heel and continued down the hall.)

...but Elizabeth didn’t

know how to articulate

her ideas clearly

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Elizabeth’s simple suggestion had become lost in a web of misunder- standing. By the time she was through explaining what she had been doing, she had given up trying to offer her idea to the company. And so her idea lay dormant for two years, until a major software company came out with a comparable program. Elizabeth knew then that perhaps there had been market potential for her design.

If Cam Collins and Elizabeth Drew had paused to consider the needs of the people who were to receive their information, they would never have launched precipitously into discourses that omitted essential facts. Cam had only to start his memorandum with a request (“May I have your approval to attend an EHV DC conference next month?”), and Elizabeth with a statement of purpose (“I have designed a software pro- gram that can save us hundreds of dollars annually. May I have a few moments to describe it to you?”), to command the attention of their department heads. Both Mr. Stokes and Mr. Haddon could then have much more effectively appraised the information.