Practical strategies for technical communication second edition pdf

mech_Markel_PracticalStrategies2e_SE_093015

Mike Markel

FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Practical Strategies

S E C O N D E D I T I O N

Practical Strategies for Technical Communication offers easy-to-follow strategies for writing and designing all of the major documents you’ll encounter in the workplace. This thoroughly updated new edition takes a boldly visual approach to technical communication, featuring “Thinking Visually” graphics addressing key principles and concepts, as well as new sample documents annotated with commentary from the professionals who created them. This book includes the assignments you need in order to succeed in the course and in your career.

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Where Students Learn

Practical Strategies for Technical Communication includes cross-references to LaunchPad with document analysis activities, tutorials, document-based case scenarios, and more. If your book did not come packaged with an access code, you can purchase access to LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication at macmillanhighered.com/ps2e.

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Practical Strategies for Technical Communication is available in a variety of e-book formats. For details, visit macmillanhighered.com/ps2e/catalog.

Mike Markel

for Technical communicaTion

Practical Strategies

S E C O N D E D i t i O N

mech_Markel_PracticalStrategies2e_SE_093015

Guidelines

Determining Fair Use 23 Dealing with Copyright Questions 24 Using Social Media Ethically and Legally 27 Managing Your Project 37 Listening Effectively 38 Setting Your Team’s Agenda 39 Communicating Diplomatically 41 Critiquing a Colleague’s Work 41 Participating in a Videoconference 44 Writing for Readers from Other Cultures 68 Researching a Topic 85 Evaluating Print and Online Sources 93 Conducting an Interview 100 Creating a Professional Persona 110 Revising Headings 115 Dividing Long Paragraphs 119 Creating Effective Lists 131 Avoiding Sexist Language 150 Using the People-First Approach 152 Planning Your Design 160 Understanding Learning Theory and Page Design 167 Making Your Document Easy To Navigate 188 Designing Simple, Clear Web Pages 192 Integrating Graphics and Text 204 Creating Effective Tables 213 Creating Effective Bar Graphs 216 Creating Effective Infographics 219

Creating Effective Line Graphs 221 Creating Effective Pie Charts 222 Presenting Photographs Effectively 230 Organizing a Memo 255 Following Netiquette 256 Representing Your Organization on a Microblog 260 Building the Foundation of Your Professional Brand 267 Presenting Your Professional Brand 268 Using LinkedIn’s Employment Features 272 Elaborating on Your Education 274 Formatting a Plain-Text Résumé 281 Demonstrating Your Professionalism in a Proposal 300 Introducing a Proposal 302 Responding to Readers’ Questions in a Field Report 324 Projecting an Appropriate Tone in a Progress or Status

Report 326 Writing Recommendations 350 Writing an Executive Summary 356 Writing Effective Sentence Definitions 390 Providing Appropriate Detail in Descriptions 399 Designing Clear, Attractive Pages 407 Drafting Introductions for Instructions 411 Drafting Steps in Instructions 412 Introducing and Concluding the Presentation 428 Using Memorable Language in Oral Presentations 442 Paraphrasing Accurately 451 Summarizing 453

ThinkinG Visually

Tech Tips

Characteristics of a Technical Document 7 Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents 8 Principles for Ethical Communication 31 Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration 36

Determining the Important Characteristics of Your Audience 60

Characteristics of an Effective Graphic 200 Delivering the Presentation 444

How To Set Up Pages 169 How To Create Borders and Screens 180 How To Create Text Boxes 180 How To Insert and Modify Graphics 204 How To Use Drawing Tools 221 How To Create and Insert Screen Shots 233

How To Create a Gantt Chart 307 How To Format Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers 354 How To Create a Table of Contents 354 How To Create a Master Page Design in Presentation

Slides 433 How To Set List Items to Appear and Dim During a

Presentation 434

Presenting Clear Instructions 418 Mechanism Description Using Interactive Graphics 419

and Process Description Using Video Animation 419 and Instructions Using Video Screen Capture 419 and

Instructions Using a Combination of Video Demonstration and Screen Capture 419 and

Definition Using Video Animation 419 and Integrating Graphics and Text on a Presentation Slide 441

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Where Students Learn

LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication provides an interactive e-book, engaging content, and new ways to get the most out of your course.

• LearningCurve: adaptive, game-like practice that helps you focus on the technical communication topics where you need the most help

• Real-world case scenarios built around common workplace documents

• Analysis activities based on multimodal sample documents including video instructions and interactive visual reports

• Downloadable versions of helpful forms discussed in the text

• A test bank with quizzes and additional cases and exercises for every chapter

• Tutorials on digital composition, tech tips, and documentation

• Video-based modules on team writing

Take full advantage of the LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication. If your book did not come packaged with an access code, you can purchase access at macmillanhighered.com/ps2e.

Need help designing presentation slides or editing photos for a document?

Tutorials included in LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication will help you learn and apply digital composition skills for your assignments.

Try this in LaunchPad

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Inside LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication

CASES

CASE 1: Using the Measures of Excellence in Evaluating a Résumé

CASE 2: The Ethics of Requiring Students To Subsidize a Plagiarism-Detection Service

CASE 3: Accommodating a Team Member’s Scheduling Problems

CASE 4: Focusing on an Audience’s Needs and Interests CASE 5: Revising a Questionnaire CASE 6: Emphasizing Important Information in a Technical

Description CASE 7: Designing a Flyer

CASE 8: Creating Appropriate Graphics To Accompany a Report CASE 9: Setting Up and Maintaining a Professional

Microblog Account CASE 10: Identifying the Best-of-the-Best Job-Search Sites CASE 11: Revising a Brief Proposal CASE 12: Writing a Directive About Using Agendas for

Meetings CASE 13: Analyzing Decision Matrices CASE 14: Choosing a Medium for Presenting Instructions CASE 15: Understanding the Claim-and-Support Structure

for Presentation Graphics

Document-based cases, previously included at the end of each chapter, are now presented online, where you can familiarize yourself with each scenario, download and work with related documents, and access assignment questions in a single space.

Missing something? Instructors may assign the online materials that accompany this text. For access to them, visit macmillanhighered.com/ps2e. LaunchPad materials are identified throughout the text with the icon.

E-BOOKS

Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication, Second Edition, by Roger Munger, features seven realistic scenarios in which you can practice workplace writing skills. Team Writing, by Joanna Wolfe, covers strategies for collaborating successfully in the workplace through written communication.

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITIES

Interactive Graphic: Tom Giratikanon and David Schutz, How Hard the Wind Will Hit Your Area, and When (Chapter 8)

Online Portfolio: Blane C. Holden’s Online Portfolio (Chapter 10)

Proposal Delivered as a Prezi Presentation: Andrew Washuta, Marketing Project Proposal (Chapter 11)

Report Presented as a Website: United States Geological Survey, High Plains Water-Level Monitoring Study (Chapter 12)

Interactive Graphic: Matthew C. Hansen et al., University of Maryland, Google, USGS, and NASA, “Global Forest Change” Interactive Map (Chapter 12)

Recommendations Presented as an Audio Podcast: Centers for Disease Control, Influenza 2010–2011, ACIP Vaccination Recommendations (Chapter 13)

Mechanism Description Using Interactive Graphics: Hybridcenter.org and Union of Concerned Scientists, Hybrids Under the Hood (Part 2) (Chapter 14)

Process Description Using Video Animation: North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Diverging Diamond Interchange Visualization (Chapter 14)

Instructions Using Video Screen Capture: TechSmith, Jing Learning Center, Capture a Video (Chapter 14)

Explore real multimedia documents that harness digital technologies in exciting new ways, and respond to prompts that will help you analyze them.

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TEAM WRITING MODULES

These modules, built around five short videos of real team interactions, focus on the role of written communication in teamwork. They’ll teach you how to use written documentation to manage a team by producing task schedules, minutes, charters, and other materials and also provide models for working on large collaborative documents.

TUTORIALS

DIGITAL WRITING TUTORIALS Cross-Platform Word Processing with CloudOn, Quip, and

More (Chapter 3) Tracking Sources with Evernote and Zotero (Chapter 5) Photo Editing Basics with GIMP (Chapter 8) Building Your Professional Brand with LinkedIn, Twitter, and

More (Chapter 10) Creating Presentations with PowerPoint and Prezi (Chapter 15) Audio Recording and Editing with Audacity (Chapter 15)

DIGITAL TIpS TUTORIALS Creating Styles and Templates (Chapter 3) Scheduling Meetings Online (Chapter 3) Reviewing Collaborative Documents (Chapter 3) Incorporating Tracked Changes (Chapter 3) Conducting Online Meetings (Chapter 3)

Using Wikis for Collaborative Work (Chapter 3) Using Collaborative Software (Chapter 3) Proofreading for Format Consistency (Chapter 7)

DOCUMENTATION TUTORIALS How To Cite a Database in APA Style (Appendix, Part A:

Documenting Your Sources) How To Cite a Website in APA Style (Appendix, Part A:

Documenting Your Sources) How To Cite a Book in MLA Style (Appendix, Part A:

Documenting Your Sources) How To Cite an Article in MLA Style (Appendix, Part A:

Documenting Your Sources) How To Cite a Website in MLA Style (Appendix, Part A:

Documenting Your Sources) How To Cite a Database in MLA Style (Appendix, Part A:

Documenting Your Sources)

Engaging tutorials show you helpful tools and tips for creating your projects along with guidance on how to best use them, as well as the documentation process for citing the sources you use in MLA and APA style.

Instructions Using a Combination of Video Demonstration and Screen Capture: Texas Tech University, Multiple Literacy Lab (MuLL), Recording Audio with iPod + iTalk (Chapter 14)

Definition Using Video Animation: ABC News, What Is the Cloud? (Chapter 14)

LEARNINGCURVE

Working in the Technical Communication Environment Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose Researching Your Subject Organizing and Emphasizing Information Writing Correct and Effective Sentences

Articles and Nouns for Multilingual Writers Prepositions for Multilingual Writers Sentence Structure for Multilingual Writers Verbs for Multilingual Writers

Master the material covered in the first six chapters of the text as well as key skills for multilingual writers with LearningCurve, an adaptive quizzing program that meets you where you are and gives you the extra support you need when you need it.

DOWNLOADABLE FORMS

Work-Schedule Form (Chapter 3) Team-Member Evaluation Form (Chapter 3) Self-Evaluation Form (Chapter 3)

Audience Profile Sheet (Chapter 4) Oral Presentation Evaluation Form (Chapter 15)

Download and work with a variety of helpful forms discussed throughout the text.

TEST BANK

A test bank offers multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions for every chapter in the text.

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Second edITIon

Mike Markel Boise State University

Bedford /St. Martin’s A Macmillan Education Imprint

Boston • New York

Practical Strategies For Technical communicaTion

© Getty Images/John Rensten

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For Bedford/St. Martin’s Vice President, Editorial, Macmillan Higher Education Humanities: Edwin Hill Editorial Director, English and Music: Karen S. Henry Senior Publisher for Composition, Business and Technical Writing, Developmental Writing: Leasa Burton Executive Editor: Molly Parke Developmental Editor: Regina Tavani Media Producer: Melissa Skepko-Masi Publishing Services Manager: Andrea Cava Senior Production Supervisor: Lisa McDowell Executive Marketing Manager: Joy Fisher Williams Director of Rights and Permissions: Hilary Newman Senior Art Director: Anna Palchik Text Design: Maureen McCutcheon Design Cover Design: John Callahan Cover Art: © Getty Images/John Rensten Composition: Graphic World, Inc. Printing and Binding: RR Donnelley and Sons

Copyright © 2016, 2013 by Bedford/St. Martin’s.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher.

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For information, write: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617-399-4000)

ISBN 978-1-319-00336-4

Acknowledgments Acknowledgments and copyrights appear on the same page as the text and art selections they cover; these acknowledgments and copyrights constitute an extension of the copyright page. It is a violation of the law to reproduce these selections by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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Practical StrategieS for technical communication is a shorter version of Technical Communication, which for 11 editions has remained a best- selling text for introductory courses in technical communication. Practical Strat- egies focuses on the essential topics, writing strategies, and skills students need to succeed in the course and in their professional lives. Its streamlined and reorganized chapters make it more concise than the larger book, but it remains an accessible and thorough introduction to planning, drafting, designing, and revising technical documents. Practical Strategies also offers detailed advice on the most common applications such as proposals, reports, and instructions.

Evident throughout this book is a focus on the expanding role of collabo- ration in the world of technical communication. Technical communication has always involved collaboration. A writer who needed to produce a user manual for a new software package would likely have interviewed the engi- neer who wrote the code. The company might also have convened a focus group to find out what users liked and didn’t like about the prototype of the software. Now, however, there is more interaction than ever before between the people who produce technical documents and those who consume them. Often, that interaction goes in both directions. Using social media and new technologies, technical communicators can collaborate with their audiences at every step of the communication process. And thanks to online publishing, audience members contribute to the development of technical documents even after they have been published, by asking and answering questions, revising existing information, and contributing new information.

The types of documents that technical communicators routinely produce have changed as well. Microblog posts, contributions to discussion boards and wikis, and status updates to one’s LinkedIn profile—once the raw materi- als of longer and more-formal documents—are now routinely used to com- municate important messages.

Despite these changes, the fundamentals of technical communication are at least as important as they always have been. An inaccuracy in a microblog post communicating a project update is every bit as big a problem as an inac- curacy in a traditional progress report. And even though we live and work in an era that values brevity and quick turnaround, some information can be properly communicated only through the longer, detailed documents that have always been at the center of technical communication.

Preface for Instructors

v

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Preface for Instructors vi

I have revised this new edition of Practical Strategies for Technical Communica- tion to help students learn how to communicate effectively in the fast-paced, highly collaborative world in which they will work. Employers have never valued communication skills as much as they value them today, and for good reason. Today’s professionals need to communicate more frequently, more rapidly, more accurately, and with more individuals than ever before. This book will help prepare students to do so—in their courses and in their careers.

Organization and Features of the Text Practical Strategies for Technical Communication is organized into five parts.

• Part 1, “Working in the Technical-Communication Environment,” orients students to the practice of technical communication, introducing important topics such as the roles of technical communicators, a basic process for writing technical documents, ethical and legal considerations, effective collaboration, and uses for social media in collaboration.

• Part 2, “Planning and Drafting the Document,” focuses on rhetorical and stylistic concerns: considering audience and purpose, gathering information through primary and secondary research, and writing coherent, clear documents.

• Part 3, “Designing User-Friendly Documents and Websites,” introduces students to design principles and techniques and to the creation and use of graphics in technical documents and websites.

• Part 4, “Learning Important Applications,” offers practical advice for preparing the types of technical communication that students are most likely to encounter in their professional lives: letters, memos, emails, and microblogs; job-application materials; proposals; informational reports, such as progress and status reports; recommendation reports; definitions, descriptions, and instructions; and oral presentations.

• The appendix, “Reference Handbook,” provides help with paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing sources; documenting sources in the APA, IEEE, and MLA styles; and editing and proofreading documents.

Help with the writing process is integrated throughout the book in the form of two prominent features.

• Choices and Strategies charts (see page 83, for example) are designed to help students at decision points in their writing. These charts summarize various writing and design strategies and help students choose the one that best suits their specific audience and purpose.

• Focus on Process boxes in each of the applications chapters (see page 293, for example) highlight aspects of the writing process that require special consideration when writing specific types of technical communication. Each Focus on Process box in Part 4 relates back to a complete overview of the writing process in Chapter 1 (see page 12).

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Preface for Instructors vii

New to This Edition The Second Edition recasts the text’s features in the context of today’s pro- fessional environment. Chapter 1, thoroughly revised in light of the input of fellow technical-communication instructors, sets the stage for the text’s new focus. The chapter about audience includes an expanded introduction that prepares students who are, for the first time, considering audiences other than their instructors. In addition, this chapter presents techniques for analyzing social-media data to better understand those audiences. The correspondence chapter now includes guidelines on how to represent one’s organization on a microblog. The chapter on definitions, descriptions, and instructions covers the new role of discussion boards, wikis, and videos in disseminating information. Updated sample documents, both in the print text and online, provide opportunities for students to analyze the types of documents they’ll need to produce or contribute to, such as a municipal government app that enables residents to report infrastructure problems from their phones, as well as an interactive map of global forest changes that allows different audiences to customize their viewing experience to obtain the precise information they need. New to the Second Edition of Practical Strategies are sample documents annotated with insights from conversations with the professionals who created them, such as a Prezi frame built for a sustainability startup’s presentation at an investor conference.

In keeping with its promise of serving as a model of the principles it teaches, the new edition communicates in new ways. Reflecting the increas- ingly visual nature of today’s learners and of technical communication itself, the Second Edition includes new “Thinking Visually” graphics, developed with feedback from instructors. This feature provides an accessible, modern take on key principles and concepts throughout the text. Online resources, labeled in the text with an icon, are located in LaunchPad, a customiz- able online course space including a full e-book that can be packaged with new copies of the text for a significant discount. Cases are now presented in LaunchPad so that students can easily download and work with related documents. Tutorials introduce tools for multimodal composition, present helpful technology tips, and offer another means of learning documenta- tion. LearningCurve adaptive quizzing activities, covering the first six chap- ters, help students master and apply concepts in a new, personalized way. LearningCurve activities for multilingual writers are also available here, as are video-based team writing modules that help students learn collabora- tive writing skills. Also available in LaunchPad are two full-length e-books: Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication, Second Edition, by Roger Munger, and Team Writing, by Joanna Wolfe. Finally, instructors can access a variety of instructor resources here, including a new test bank featuring multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions for each chapter.

The table on the next two pages describes the updates made to each chap- ter in the Second Edition.

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Preface for Instructors viii

chapTer WhaT’S neW

chapter 1 Introduction to Technical Communication

• New focus on continuous collaboration between technical communicators and stakeholders • A discussion of the challenges related to producing technical communication and how to

meet them • Thinking Visually: Characteristics of a Technical Document • Thinking Visually: Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents • A discussion of the skills and qualities shared by successful workplace communicators • New annotated sample documents that set the stage for those that will follow throughout

the text, such as a company blog post and comment thread

chapter 2 Understanding Ethical and Legal Obligations

• A discussion of ethical and legal issues related to social media, including guidelines for using social media ethically in the workplace

• Document Analysis Activity: Presenting Guidelines for Using Social Media • Thinking Visually: Principles for Ethical Communication

chapter 3 Writing Collaboratively

• Thinking Visually: Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration • Advice on choosing the best digital writing tool for a project • Tutorials on scheduling and conducting meetings online, creating styles and templates,

reviewing collaborative documents, incorporating tracked changes, using wikis for collaborative work, and using collaborative software

• Screenshots of a real team collaborating on a press release, annotated with insights from team members

• LearningCurve: Working in the Technical-Communication Environment, covering Chapters 1–3

chapter 4 Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

• Thinking Visually: Determining the Important Characteristics of Your Audience • A new, more-detailed introduction to the role of audience and purpose • Advice on using social-media data in audience analysis • Case: Focusing on an Audience’s Needs and Interests • LearningCurve: Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

chapter 5 Researching Your Subject

• Advice on using social-media data in research • LearningCurve: Researching Your Subject

chapter 6 Writing for Your Readers

• New focus on emphasizing important information at various document levels • Instruction on writing grammatically correct sentences relocated from the Reference

Handbook • Case: Emphasizing Important Information in a Technical Description • LearningCurve: Organizing and Emphasizing Information • LearningCurve: Writing Correct and Effective Sentences

chapter 7 Designing Print and Online Documents

• Advice on designing documents for mobile screens • A tutorial on proofreading for format consistency

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Preface for Instructors ix

chapTer WhaT’S neW

chapter 8 Creating Graphics

• Thinking Visually: Characteristics of an Effective Graphic • A discussion of infographics • Document Analysis Activity: Interactive Graphic • Tutorial on editing photos

chapter 9 Writing Correspondence

• Guidelines for representing your organization on a microblog

chapter 10 Writing Job-Application Materials

• Advice on establishing your professional brand • Guidelines on creating and using a LinkedIn profile • Tutorial on building a professional brand online • Document Analysis Activity: Online Portfolio • Case: Identifying the Best-of-the-Best Job-Search Sites

chapter 11 Writing Proposals

• Sample internal proposal: Tablet Study at Rawlings Regional Medical Center • Document Analysis Activity: Proposal Delivered as a Prezi Presentation

chapter 12 Writing Informational Reports

• Sample progress report: Tablet Study at Rawlings Regional Medical Center • Document Analysis Activity: Report Presented as a Website • Document Analysis Activity: Interactive Graphic

chapter 13 Writing Recommendation Reports

• Sample recommendation report: Tablet Study at Rawlings Regional Medical Center • Document Analysis Activity: Recommendations Presented as an Audio Podcast

chapter 14 Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions

• Guidelines for designing instructional videos • Document Analysis Activity: Presenting Clear Instructions • Document Analysis Activity: Mechanism Description Using Interactive Graphics • Document Analysis Activity: Process Description Using Video Animation • Document Analysis Activity: Instructions Using Video Screen Capture • Document Analysis Activity: Instructions Using a Combination of Video Demonstration and

Screen Capture • Document Analysis Activity: Definition Using Video Animation • Case: Choosing a Medium for Presenting Instructions

chapter 15 Making Oral Presentations

• Thinking Visually: Delivering the Presentation • Advice on creating presentation materials using Prezi • A sample Prezi presentation annotated with insights from its designer • Tutorials on creating presentation slides and on recording and editing audio for recorded

presentations and other projects

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Preface for Instructors x

Get the Most out of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, Second Edition The Second Edition of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication lives not only in print but also online, where you and your students will find an array of engaging resources to enhance your course. Bedford/St. Martin’s offers resources and format choices that help you and your students get even more out of your book and course. To learn more about or to order any of the following products, contact your Macmillan sales representative, email sales support (salessupport@macmillan.com), or visit the website at macmillanhighered.com/ps2e.

Launchpad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication: Where Students Learn LaunchPad provides engaging content and new ways to get the most out of your course. Get an interactive e-book combined with unique, book-specific materi- als in a fully customizable course space; then mix our resources with yours.

• Prebuilt units—tutorials, quizzes, and more—are easy to adapt and assign. Add your own materials and mix them with our high-quality multimedia content and ready-made assessment options, such as LearningCurve adaptive quizzing.

• LaunchPad also includes access to a gradebook that provides a clear window on the performance of your whole class and individual students, overall and on individual assignments.

• A streamlined interface helps students focus on what’s due, and social- commenting tools let them engage, make connections, and learn from each other. Use LaunchPad on its own or integrate it with your school’s learning management system so that your class is always on the same page.

LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, Second Edition, includes the following book-specific media materials:

• Cases Previously located at the end of each chapter, these document- based cases now live online, making it easy for students to familiarize themselves with the case scenarios, download and work with related documents, and complete their assignments.

• Document Analysis Activities The online equivalent of the Document Analysis Activities included in the print book, these models introduce students to the kinds of multimedia documents that can exist only online—such as a recommendation report presented as a podcast and a definition delivered via video and animation. Each model is accompanied by a set of assessment questions to guide students in their analysis.

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Preface for Instructors xi

• Downloadable Forms Students can download and work with a variety of forms discussed throughout the text, including an audience profile sheet, a team-member evaluation form, and an oral presentation evaluation form.

• LearningCurve LearningCurve is an adaptive, game-like quizzing program that helps students master comprehension and application of the course material. LearningCurve activities cover the technical- communication environment, audience and purpose, research, organizing and emphasizing information, writing effective sentences, and communicating persuasively. Activities on reading and grammar topics, including common issues for multilingual writers, are also available.

• Team Writing Assignment Modules Based on Team Writing by Joanna Wolfe, these modules focus on the role of written communication in teamwork. The modules are built around five short videos of real team interactions. They teach students how to use written documentation to manage a team by producing task schedules, minutes, charters, and other materials and also provide models for working on large collaborative documents.

• Test Bank Instructors using LaunchPad have access to a robust test bank that offers multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions for each chapter.

• Tutorials Engaging tutorials present digital tips and introduce students to helpful multimodal composition tools, such as Prezi and Audacity, providing guidance on how to best use them for projects. Documentation tutorials provide a visual way for students to learn citation.

For a complete list of LaunchPad content, see pages i and ii of this book.

To get the most out of your course, order LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication packaged with the print book at a significant dis- count. (LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication can also be purchased on its own.) An activation code is required. To order LaunchPad for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication with the print book, use ISBN 978-1-319-04774-0.

choose from alternative Formats of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication Bedford/St. Martin’s offers a range of affordable formats, allowing students to choose the one that works best for them. For details, visit macmillanhighered.com/ps2e.

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Preface for Instructors xii

Select Value packages Add more value to your text by packaging one of the following resources with Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, Second Edition. To learn more about package options for any of the products below, contact your Macmillan sales representative or visit macmillanhighered.com/ps2e/catalog.

Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication, Second Edition, by Roger Munger, Boise State University, offers realistic writing tasks based on seven context-rich scenarios, with more than 50 examples of documents that students are likely to encounter in the workplace. To order the textbook pack- aged with Document-Based Cases for Technical Communication for free, use ISBN 978-1-319-04773-3.

Team Writing by Joanna Wolfe, University of Louisville, is a print supple- ment with online videos that provides guidelines and examples of collaborat- ing to manage written projects by documenting tasks, deadlines, and team goals. Two- to five-minute videos corresponding with the chapters in Team Writing give students the opportunity to analyze team interactions and learn about communication styles. Practical troubleshooting tips show students how best to handle various types of conflicts within peer groups. To order the textbook packaged with Team Writing, use ISBN 978-1-319-04775-7.

Instructor resources You have a lot to do in your course. Bedford/St. Martin’s wants to make it easy for you to find the support you need—and to get it quickly.

Computerized Test Bank for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, Second Edition, is a new test bank that features multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions for every chapter in the text. The test bank offers a convenient way to provide additional assessment of students. Instructors using LaunchPad will find the test bank material available in the “Resources” section, where they can add the items they wish to their units for the course. The test bank files are also available to download from the Bedford/St. Mar- tin’s online catalog macmillanhighered.com/ps2e/catalog.

Instructor’s Resource Manual for Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, Second Edition, is available in the “Resources” section of LaunchPad and as a PDF file that can be downloaded from the Bedford/St. Martin’s online catalog macmillanhighered.com/ps2e/catalog. In addition to sample syllabi, chapter summaries, and suggested teaching approaches, the Instructor’s Resource Manual includes suggested responses to every Document Analysis Activity, exercise, and case in the book. The manual also includes a unique series of teaching topics.

Additional Cases and Exercises for every chapter are available in LaunchPad, and you can choose which ones you assign to students. Sug- gested responses to each case and exercise are also available.

Lecture Slides are available to download and adapt for each chapter.

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Preface for Instructors xiii

Acknowledgments All of the examples in this book—from single sentences to complete documents—are real. Some were written by my students at Boise State University. Some were written by engineers, scientists, health-care providers, and businesspeople, with whom I have worked as a consultant for more than 40 years. Because much of the information in these documents is proprietary, I have silently changed brand names and other identifying information. I thank the dozens of individuals—students and professionals alike—who have graciously allowed me to reprint their writing. They have been my best teachers.

The Second Edition of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication has benefited greatly from the perceptive observations and helpful suggestions of my fellow instructors throughout the country. I thank Lisa Angius, Farmingdale State College; Katie Arosteguy, University of California, Davis; Monique Babin, Clackamas Community College; Jenny Billings Beaver, Rowan Cabarrus Community College; Sheri Benton, University of Toledo; Charles Bevis, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Olin Bjork, University of Houston–Downtown; An Cheng, Oklahoma State University; Elijah Coleman, Washington State University; Crystal Colombini, University of Texas at San Antonio; Teresa Cook, University of Cincinnati; Matthew Cox, East Carolina University; Ed Cuoco, Wentworth Institute of Technology; Jerry DeNuccio, Graceland University; Charlsye Smith Diaz, University of Maine; Carolyn Dunn, East Carolina University; Tomie Gowdy-Burke, Washington State University; Sandy Johnston, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Amber Kinonen, Bay College; Tamara Kuzmenkov, Tacoma Community College; Jodie Marion, Mt. Hood Community College; Donna Miguel, Bellevue College; Bonni Miller, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Mary Ellen Muesing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Ervin Nieves, Kirkwood Community College; Sabrina Peters-Whitehead, University of Toledo; Ehren Pflugfelder, Oregon State University; Neil Plakcy, Broward College; Kathleen Robinson, Eckerd College; Paula Sebastian, Bellevue College; Stella Setka, Loyola Marymount University; Terry Smith, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Russel Stolins, Institute of American Indian Arts; Virginia Tucker, Old Dominion University; Gabriela Vlahovici-Jones, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Lynne Walker, Bellevue College; Beverly Army Williams, Westfield State University; and several anonymous reviewers.

I would like to acknowledge the contributions of one of my colleagues from Boise State University, Russell Willerton. Russell developed two of the LearningCurve activities and contributed substantially to the test bank and to various instructor resources. I greatly appreciate his expertise and hard work. I wish to thank Elaine Silverstein, who developed the other three LearningCurve activities with great patience, wisdom, and care. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Jerilyn Bockerick and Alisha Webber at Cenveo for

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Preface for Instructors xiv

helping to design the new “Thinking Visually” feature that appears in the Second Edition.

I have been fortunate, too, to work with a terrific team at Bedford/St. Martin’s, led by Regina Tavani, an editor of great intelligence, judgment, and energy. Regina has helped me improve the text in many big and small ways. I also want to express my appreciation to Joan Feinberg, Denise Wydra, Karen Henry, Leasa Burton, Molly Parke, Andrea Cava, Eliza Kritz, Anna Palchik, Carrie Thompson, Kathleen Karcher, Chelsea Rodin, Quica Ostrander, and Sally Lifland. For me, Bedford/St. Martin’s continues to exemplify the highest standards of professionalism in publishing. The people there have been end- lessly encouraging and helpful. I hope they realize the value of their contri- butions to this book.

My greatest debt is, as always, to my wife, Rita, who, over the course of many years, has helped me say what I mean.

A Final Word I am more aware than ever before of how much I learn from my students, my fellow instructors, and my colleagues in industry and academia. If you have comments or suggestions for making this a better book, please send an email to techcomm@macmillan.com. I hope to hear from you.

Mike Markel

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xv

ThE SECOND EDITION of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication offers a wealth of support to help you complete your technical-communication projects.

Introduction for Writers

annotated examples make it easier for you to learn from the many model documents, illustrations, and screen shots throughout the text.

CREATING GRAPHICS8 222

Pie Charts The pie chart is a simple but limited design used for showing the relative sizes of the parts of a whole. You can make pie charts with your spreadsheet software. Figure 8.13 (on page 224) shows typical examples.

Figure 8.12 Line Graph Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2012, p. 13: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/pdfs/climateindicators-full-2012.pdf.

Note that the title is lengthy because it specifically names the main variables presented in the graph. Name all the important data in the title; it is better for a title to be lengthy than to be imprecise or unclear.

The designer has included a caption that explains how to read the graph. Because this graph is illustrating several items that are measured in different units and therefore cannot be plotted on the same scale (including population and greenhouse gas emissions), the designer chose to have the y-axis express variations from a norm. In this case, the norm is represented by the quantity of each item in the year 1990. If this graph illustrated several items that were measured in the same units, such as the sales figures, in dollars, of several sales- persons, the designer would start the y-axis at zero.

Because the four data lines are sufficiently far apart, the designer placed the appropriate data label next to each line. Alternatively, the designer could have used a separate color-coded legend.

Each axis is labeled clearly.

Using different colors and thicknesses for the lines helps readers distinguish them.

The grid lines—both vertical and horizontal— help readers see the specific value for any data point on the graph.

(continued)

Creating Effective Pie Charts Follow these eight suggestions to ensure that your pie charts are easy to understand and professional looking.

Restrict the number of slices to no more than seven. As the slices get smaller, judging their relative sizes becomes more difficult.

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http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/pdfs/climateindicators-full-2012.pdf
xvi Introduction for Writers

Guidelines boxes throughout the book sum- marize crucial information and provide strategies related to key topics.

Ethics Notes in every chapter remind you to think about the ethical implications of your writing and oral presentations.

WRITING INFORMATIONAL REPORTS 12 324

Responding to Readers’ Questions in a Field Report

When you write a field report, be sure to answer the following six questions:

What is the purpose of the report?

What are the main points covered in the report?

What were the problems leading to the decision to perform the procedure?

What methods were used?

What were the results?

What do the results mean?

If appropriate, also discuss what you think should be done next.

We would recommend, however, that the pump be modified as follows:

1. Replace the front-end bell with a tungsten carbide-coated front-end bell. 2. Replace the bearings on the impeller. 3. Install insulation plugs in the holes in the front-end bell.

Further, we recommend that the pump be reinspected after another 30-day run on Kentucky #10.

If you have any questions or would like to authorize these modifications, please call me at 555-1241. As always, we appreciate the trust you have placed in us.

Sincerely,

Marvin Littridge Director of Testing and Evaluation

page 2

Informational reports sometimes include recommendations.

The writer concludes politely.

Figure 12.2 A Field Report (continued)

Writing Progress and Status Reports A progress report describes an ongoing project. A status report, sometimes called an activity report, describes the entire range of operations of a depart- ment or division. For example, the director of marketing for a manufacturing company might submit a monthly status report.

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WRITING FOR YOUR READERS 6 146

Avoid Euphemisms A euphemism is a polite way of saying something that makes people uncomfortable. For instance, a near miss between two airplanes is officially an “air proximity incident.” The more uncomfortable the subject, the more often people resort to euphemisms. Dozens of euphemisms deal with drinking, bathrooms, sex, and death. Here are several euphemisms for firing someone:

personnel-surplus reduction dehiring

workforce-imbalance correction decruiting

rightsizing redundancy elimination

indefinite idling career-change-opportunity creation

downsizing permanent furloughing

administrative streamlining personnel realignment

synergy-related headcount restructuring

ETHICS NOTE

EUphEmISmS AND TRUTh TEllING There is nothing wrong with using the euphemism restroom, even though few people visit one to rest. The British use the phrase go to the toilet in polite company, and nobody seems to mind. In this case, if you want to use a euphemism, no harm done.

But it is unethical to use a euphemism to gloss over an issue that has important implications for people or the environment. People get uncomfortable when discussing layoffs—and they should. It’s an uncomfortable issue. But calling a layoff a redundancy elimination initiative ought to make you even more uncomfortable. Don’t use language to cloud reality. It’s an ethical issue.

BE CONCISE The following five principles can help you write concise technical documents:

• Avoid obvious statements. • Avoid filler. • Avoid unnecessary prepositional phrases. • Avoid wordy phrases. • Avoid fancy words.

Avoid Obvious Statements Writing can become sluggish if it over­ explains. The italicized words in the following example are sluggish:

sluggish The market for the sale of flash memory chips is dominated by two chip manufacturers: Intel and Advanced Micro Systems. These two chip manufacturers are responsible for 76 percent of the $1.3 billion market in flash memory chips last year.

improved The market for flash memory chips is dominated by Intel and Advanced Micro Systems, two companies that claimed 76 percent of the $1.3 billion industry last year.

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Document Analysis Activities, located both in print and online, allow you to apply what you have just read as you analyze a real business or tech- nical document.

Choosing EffECtivE LanguagE Delivering an oral presentation is more challenging than writing a document because listeners can’t reread something they didn’t understand. In addition, because you are speaking live, you must maintain your listeners’ attention, even if they are hungry or tired or the room is too hot. Using language effec- tively helps you meet these two challenges.

Even if you use graphics effectively, listeners cannot “see” the organization of a presentation as well as readers can. For this reason, use language to alert your listeners to advance organizers, summaries, and transitions.

• Advance organizers. Use an advance organizer (a statement that tells the listener what you are about to say) in the introduction. In addition, use advance organizers when you introduce main ideas in the body of the presentation.

Nucleus Chromosomes

Daughter helix

Daughter helix

Separating strands of

parent DNA

Thymine

Phosphate

Deoxyribose Hydrogen Carbon Oxygen

A single nucleotide

DNA Details

•   number of chromosomes:   22 pairs + 1 pair  sex-determining  chromosomes = 46

    -   one chromosome of each   pair donated from each   parent’s egg or sperm

    -   sex chromosomes: X,Y for  males; X,X for females

    -   largest chromosome: #1 =   ~263 million base pairs (bp)

    -   smallest chromosome: Y =  ~59  million bp

Chromosome Facts

Integrating Graphics and Text on a Presentation Slide The following slide is part of a presentation about the Human Genome Project. The questions below ask you to think about the discussion of preparing presentation graphics (on pp. 429–40).

Document AnAlysis Activity

1. How effective is the Human Genome Project logo in the upper left-hand corner of the slide?

2. How well does the graphic of DNA support the accom- panying text on chromo- some facts?

3. Overall, how effective is the presentation graphic?

Preparing the Presentation 441

15

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xvii Introduction for Writers

Tech Tips for using basic software tools give you step-by- step, illustrated instructions on topics such as tracking changes, creating graphics, and modify- ing templates. Keywords in each Tech Tip help you use the Help menu in your word-processing software to find additional information.

Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic 8 233

How To Create and Insert Screen Shots

To show your reader what appears in a window on your com- puter monitor, you can insert a screen shot.

Select Screenshot from the Illustrations group on the Insert tab. You will see a small version of each window you have open on your desktop. Click the screen you want to show your readers, and Word will insert the picture into your document.

If your active screen has a dialog box open, you will see it pictured under Available Windows. Click on the picture of the dialog box to insert it.

To insert part of an active screen other than a dialog box, select Screen Clipping. You will see the active screen with a white shade over it. Use your cursor to draw a rectangular box around the part that you want in your screen shot.

You can modify screen shots by using the Picture Tools For- mat tab. For example, you can use the Crop tool in the Size group to hide unnecessary details.

If you plan to create many screen shots, consider using soft- ware designed to capture and edit screen images efficiently. Search the Internet for “screen capture software,” such as TechSmith’s SnagIt.

KEYWORDS: screen shot, screen capture, format tab, crop

FiguRE 8.26 Phantom, Cutaway, and Exploded Views

a. Phantom drawings show parts hidden from view by outlining external items that would ordinarily obscure them.

b. Cutaway drawings “remove” a part of the surface to expose what is underneath.

c. Exploded drawings separate components while maintaining their physical relationship.

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Writer’s checklists summarize important concepts and act as handy reminders as you draft and revise your work.

cases in every chapter present real- world writing scenarios built around common workplace documents that you can critique, download, and revise.

5 105

Writer’s Checklist

to schedule meetings between 11:30 and 1:30, to make it easier for their people to choose one of the less-popular times.

The body of a document is also a good place to discuss important nonquan- titative data. For example, you might wish to discuss and interpret several representative textual answers to open-ended questions.

ETHICS NOTE

RepoRting and analyzing data Honestly When you put a lot of time and effort into a research project, it’s frustrating if you can’t find the information you need or if the information you find doesn’t help you say what you want to say. As discussed in Chapter 2, your responsibility as a professional is to tell the truth.

If the evidence suggests that the course of action you propose won’t work, don’t omit that evi- dence or change it. Rather, try to figure out why the evidence does not support your proposal. Present your explanation honestly.

If you can’t find reputable evidence to support your claim that one device works better than another, don’t just keep silent and hope your readers won’t notice. Explain why you think the evidence is missing and how you propose to follow up by continuing your research.

If you make an honest mistake, you are a person. If you cover up a mistake, you’re a dishonest person. If you get caught fudging the data, you could be an unemployed dishonest person. If you don’t get caught, you’re still a smaller person.

WrITEr’S CHECklIST

Did you determine the questions you need to answer for your document? (p. 82)

Did you choose appropriate secondary-research tools to answer those questions, including, if appropriate,

online catalogs? (p. 86)

reference works? (p. 86)

periodical indexes? (p. 86)

newspaper indexes? (p. 87)

abstract services? (p. 88)

government information? (p. 88)

social media and other interactive resources? (p. 90)

In evaluating information, did you carefully assess

the author’s credentials? (p. 93)

the publisher? (p. 93)

the author’s knowledge of literature in the field? (p. 94)

the accuracy and verifiability of the information? (p. 94)

the timeliness of the information? (p. 94)

Did you choose appropriate primary-research methods to answer your questions, including, if appropriate,

social-media data analysis? (p. 94)

observations and demonstrations? (p. 96)

inspections? (p. 97)

experiments? (p. 97)

field research? (p. 98)

interviews? (p. 99)

inquiries? (p. 101)

questionnaires? (p. 102)

Did you report and analyze the data honestly? (p. 105)

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264 WRITING CORRESPONDENCE9

Sea-Tasty Tuna Route 113 Lynchburg, TN 30563 www.seatastytuna.com

April 20, 2017

Mr. Seth Reeves 19 Lowry’s Lane Morgan, TN 30610

Dear Mr. Reeves:

We were very sorry to learn that you found a fly in your tuna fish.

Here at Sea-Tasty we are very careful about hygiene at our plant. The tuna are scrubbed thoroughly as soon as we receive them. After they are processed, they are inspected visually at three different points. Before we pack them, we rinse and sterilize the cans to ensure that no foreign material is sealed in them.

Because of these stringent controls, we really don’t see how you could have found a fly in the can. Nevertheless, we are enclosing coupons good for two cans of Sea-Tasty tuna.

We hope this letter restores your confidence in us.

Truly yours,

To: Paul From: Louise

Sometimes I just have to wonder what you’re thinking, Paul.

>Of course, it’s not possible to expect perfect resumes. But I >have to screen them, and last year I had to read over 200. I’m >not looking for perfection, but as soon as I spot an error I >make a mental note of it and, when I hit a second and >then a third error I can’t really concentrate on the writer’s >credentials. Listen, Paul, you might be a sharp editor, but the rest of us have a different responsibility: to make the products and move them out as soon as possible. We don’t have the luxury of studying documents to see if we can find errors. I suggest you concentrate on what you were hired to do, without imposing your “standards” on the rest of us.

>From my point of view, an error can include a >misused tradmark.

Misusing a “tradmark,” Paul? Is that Error Number 1?

C ase 9: Setting Up and Maintaining a Professional Microblog Account

As the editor-in-chief of your college newspaper, you have recently been granted permission to create a Twitter account. The newspaper’s faculty advisor has requested that, before you set up the account, you develop a statement of audience and purpose based on your school’s own social-media policy statement and statements from other schools, newspapers, and organizations. To begin putting together a bibliography to guide your research and craft your statement, go to LaunchPad.

6. Louise and Paul work for the same manufacturing company. Louise, a senior engineer, is chairing a committee to investigate ways to improve the hiring process at the company. Paul, a technical editor, also serves on the committee. The excerpts quoted in Louise’s email are from Paul’s email to all members of the committee in response to Louise’s request that members describe their approach to evaluating job- application materials. How would you revise Louise’s email to make it more effective?

7. Because students use email to communicate with other group members when they write collaboratively, your college or university would like to create a one-page handout on how to use email responsibly. Using a search engine, find three or four netiquette guides on the Internet that focus on email. Study these guides and write a one-page student guide to using email to communicate with other students. Somewhere in the guide, be sure to list the sites you studied, so that students can visit them for further information about netiquette.

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For quick reference, many of these features are indexed on the last book page and the inside back cover of this book.

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Preface for Instructors v Introduction for Writers xv

Part 1 Working in the Technical-Communication Environment 1 1 Introduction to Technical Communication 2 2 Understanding Ethical and Legal Obligations 17 3 Writing Collaboratively 34

Part 2 Planning and Drafting the Document 53 4 Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose 54 5 Researching Your Subject 79 6 Writing for Your Readers 108

Part 3 Designing User-Friendly Documents and Websites 157 7 Designing Print and Online Documents 158 8 Creating Graphics 197

Part 4 Learning Important Applications 239 9 Writing Correspondence 240 10 Writing Job-Application Materials 265 11 Writing Proposals 292 12 Writing Informational Reports 318 13 Writing Recommendation Reports 340 14 Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions 386 15 Making Oral Presentations 424

APPENDIX Reference Handbook 449 A Documenting Your Sources 450 B Editing and Proofreading Your Documents 485

References 505 Index 509 Index of Features 526

Brief Contents

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Preface for Instructors v Introduction for Writers xv

Contents

xxi Additional resources for each chapter can be found in LaunchPad: macmillanhighered.com/ps2e

1 Introduction to Technical communication 2 What Is Technical communication? 3

The challenges of producing Technical communication 5

Skills and Qualities Shared by Successful Workplace communicators 6

ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Characteristics of a Technical Document 7

ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents 8

how communication Skills and Qualities affect your career 10

a process for Writing Technical documents 11

FocuS on proceSS: Writing Technical Documents 12

a Look at Three Technical documents 13

2 understanding ethical and Legal obligations 17 a Brief Introduction to ethics 18

your ethical and Legal obligations 20 ObLIGATIONS TO YOUR EMPLOYER 20

ObLIGATIONS TO THE PUbLIC 21

ObLIGATIONS TO THE ENvIRONMENT 22

ObLIGATIONS TO COPYRIGHT HOLDERS 22 GUIDELINES: Determining Fair Use 23

GUIDELINES: Dealing with Copyright Questions 24

ETHICS NOTE: Distinguishing Plagiarism from Acceptable Reuse of Information 24

The role of corporate culture in ethical and Legal conduct 25

understanding ethical and Legal Issues related to Social Media 26 GUIDELINES: Using Social Media Ethically and Legally 27

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Presenting Guidelines for Using Social Media 30

Part 1 Working in the Technical-Communication Environment 1

EXERCISES 16

CASE 1: USING THE MEASURES OF EXCELLENCE IN EvALUATING A RéSUMé 16 and

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communicating ethically across cultures 29 COMMUNICATING WITH CULTURES WITH DIFFERENT ETHICAL bELIEFS 29

COMMUNICATING IN COUNTRIES WITH DIFFERENT LAWS 29

ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Principles for Ethical Communication 31

3 Writing collaboratively 34 ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration 36

Managing projects 37 GUIDELINES: Managing Your Project 37

conducting Meetings 38 LISTENING EFFECTIvELY 38

GUIDELINES: Listening Effectively 38

SETTING YOUR TEAM’S AGENDA 38 GUIDELINES: Setting Your Team’s Agenda 39

ETHICS NOTE: Pulling Your Weight on Collaborative Projects 40

CONDUCTING EFFICIENT MEETINGS 40

COMMUNICATING DIPLOMATICALLY 40

CRITIqUING A TEAM MEMbER’S WORk 40 GUIDELINES: Communicating Diplomatically 41

GUIDELINES: Critiquing a Colleague’s Work 41

using Social Media and other electronic Tools in collaboration 42 WORD-PROCESSING TOOLS 43

MESSAGING TECHNOLOGIES 43 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Critiquing a Draft Clearly and Diplomatically 43

vIDEOCONFERENCING 44 GUIDELINES: Participating in a Videoconference 44

WIkIS AND SHARED DOCUMENT WORkSPACES 45 ETHICS NOTE: Maintaining a Professional Presence Online 48

Gender and collaboration 49

culture and collaboration 49

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 32

EXERCISES 32

CASE 2: THE ETHICS OF REqUIRING STUDENTS TO SUbSIDIzE A PLAGIARISM-DETECTION SERvICE 33 and

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 50

EXERCISES 51

CASE 3: ACCOMMODATING A TEAM MEMbER’S SCHEDULING PRObLEMS 52 and

Additional resources for each chapter can be found in LaunchPad: macmillanhighered.com/ps2e

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4 analyzing your audience and purpose 54 understanding audience and purpose 56

using an audience profile Sheet 57 ■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Responding to Readers’ Attitudes 58

Techniques for Learning about your audience 59 DETERMINING WHAT YOU ALREADY kNOW AbOUT YOUR AUDIENCE 59

INTERvIEWING PEOPLE 59

READING AbOUT YOUR AUDIENCE ONLINE 59

ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Determining the Important Characteristics of Your Audience 60

SEARCHING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DOCUMENTS YOUR AUDIENCE HAS WRITTEN 62

ANALYzING SOCIAL-MEDIA DATA 62

communicating across cultures 63 UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL vARIAbLES “ON THE SURFACE” 63

UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL vARIAbLES “bENEATH THE SURFACE” 64

CONSIDERING CULTURAL vARIAbLES AS YOU WRITE 67 GUIDELINES: Writing for Readers from Other Cultures 68

USING GRAPHICS AND DESIGN FOR MULTICULTURAL READERS 69

applying What you have Learned about your audience 69 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Examining Cultural Variables in a Business Letter 70 ETHICS NOTE: Meeting Your Readers’ Needs Responsibly 74

Writing for Multiple audiences 74

determining your purpose 74

5 researching your Subject 79 understanding the differences Between academic and Workplace research 80

understanding the research process 81

FocuS on proceSS: Researching a Topic 81

choosing appropriate research Methods 82 ■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing Appropriate Research Techniques 83 ■ GUIDELINES: Researching a Topic 85

Part 2 Planning and Drafting the Document 53

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 76

EXERCISES 77

CASE 4: FOCUSING ON AN AUDIENCE’S NEEDS AND INTERESTS 78 and

Additional resources for each chapter can be found in LaunchPad: macmillanhighered.com/ps2e

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conducting Secondary research 85 USING TRADITIONAL RESEARCH TOOLS 86

OnLIne CATALOGS 86 / ReFeRenCe WORkS 86 / PeRIODICAL InDexeS 86 / neWSPAPeR InDexeS 87 / AbSTRACT SeRVICeS 88 / GOVeRnMenT InFORMATIOn 88

USING SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER INTERACTIvE RESOURCES 89 DISCUSSIOn bOARDS 89 / WIkIS 89 / bLOGS 90 / TAGGeD COnTenT 91 / RSS FeeDS 91

EvALUATING THE INFORMATION 92 GUIDELINES: Evaluating Print and Online Sources 93

conducting primary research 94 ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL-MEDIA DATA 94

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Evaluating Information from Internet Sources 95

ObSERvATIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS 96

INSPECTIONS 97

EXPERIMENTS 97

FIELD RESEARCH 98

INTERvIEWS 99 GUIDELINES: Conducting an Interview 100

INqUIRIES 101

qUESTIONNAIRES 102 ASkInG eFFeCTIVe QUeSTIOnS 102 / TeSTInG THe QUeSTIOnnAIRe 104 / ADMInISTeRInG THe QUeSTIOnnAIRe 104 / PReSenTInG QUeSTIOnnAIRe DATA In YOUR DOCUMenT 104

■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing Types of Questions for Questionnaires 103 ETHICS NOTE: Reporting and Analyzing Data Honestly 105

6 Writing for your readers 108 presenting yourself effectively 109

GUIDELINES: Creating a Professional Persona 110

using Basic organizational patterns 110 ■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing Effective Organizational Patterns 111

Writing clear, Informative Titles and headings 112 GUIDELINES: Revising Headings 115

Writing clear, Informative paragraphs 114 STRUCTURE PARAGRAPHS CLEARLY 116

THe TOPIC SenTenCe 116 / THe SUPPORTInG InFORMATIOn 117 / PARAGRAPH LenGTH 118

ETHICS NOTE: Avoiding Burying Bad News in Paragraphs 118 GUIDELINES: Dividing Long Paragraphs 119

USE COHERENCE DEvICES WITHIN AND bETWEEN PARAGRAPHS 120

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 105

EXERCISES 106

CASE 5: REvISING A qUESTIONNAIRE 107 and

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ADDInG TRAnSITIOnAL WORDS AnD PHRASeS 120 / RePeATInG keY WORDS 122 / USInG DeMOnSTRATIVe PROnOUnS FOLLOWeD bY nOUnS 122

Writing Grammatically correct Sentences 123 AvOID SENTENCE FRAGMENTS 124

AvOID COMMA SPLICES 125

AvOID RUN-ON SENTENCES 125

AvOID AMbIGUOUS PRONOUN REFERENCES 126

COMPARE ITEMS CLEARLY 127

USE ADjECTIvES CLEARLY 128

MAINTAIN SUbjECT-vERb AGREEMENT 128

MAINTAIN PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT 129

USE TENSES CORRECTLY 129

Structuring effective Sentences 130 USE LISTS 130

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Lists 131

EMPHASIzE NEW AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION 130

CHOOSE AN APPROPRIATE SENTENCE LENGTH 134 AVOID OVeRLY LOnG SenTenCeS 134 / AVOID OVeRLY SHORT SenTenCeS 134

FOCUS ON THE “REAL” SUbjECT 135

FOCUS ON THE “REAL” vERb 136

USE PARALLEL STRUCTURE 137

USE MODIFIERS EFFECTIvELY 138 DISTInGUISH beTWeen ReSTRICTIVe AnD nOnReSTRICTIVe MODIFIeRS 138 / AVOID MISPLACeD MODIFIeRS 139 / AVOID DAnGLInG MODIFIeRS 140

choosing the right Words and phrases 140 SELECT AN APPROPRIATE LEvEL OF FORMALITY 140

bE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC 141 USe ACTIVe AnD PASSIVe VOICe APPROPRIATeLY 141 / be SPeCIFIC 143 / AVOID UnneCeSSARY JARGOn 143 / USe POSITIVe COnSTRUCTIOnS 144 / AVOID LOnG nOUn STRInGS 145 / AVOID CLICHéS 145 / AVOID eUPHeMISMS 146

ETHICS NOTE: Euphemisms and Truth Telling 146

bE CONCISE 146 AVOID ObVIOUS STATeMenTS 146 / AVOID FILLeR 147 / AVOID UnneCeSSARY PRePOSITIOnAL PHRASeS 147 / AVOID WORDY PHRASeS 148 / AVOID FAnCY WORDS 149

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Revising for Conciseness and Simplicity 151

USE INOFFENSIvE LANGUAGE 149 nOnSexIST LAnGUAGe 149 / PeOPLe-FIRST LAnGUAGe FOR ReFeRRInG TO PeOPLe WITH DISAbILITIeS 150

GUIDELINES: Avoiding Sexist Language 150

GUIDELINES: Using the People-First Approach 152

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 152

EXERCISES 153

CASE 6: EMPHASIzING IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN A TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 156 and

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7 designing print and online documents 158 Goals of document design 159

planning the design of print and online documents 160 GUIDELINES: Planning Your Design 160

understanding design principles 161 PROXIMITY 161

ALIGNMENT 162

REPETITION 162

CONTRAST 164

designing print documents 164 ACCESSING AIDS 164

■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Creating Accessing Aids 165

PAGE LAYOUT 164 PAGe GRIDS 168 / WHITe SPACe 170

GUIDELINES: Understanding Learning Theory and Page Design 167

TECH TIP: How To Set Up Pages 169

COLUMNS 171

TYPOGRAPHY 172 TYPeFACeS 172 / TYPe FAMILIeS 172 / CASe 173 / TYPe SIze 173 / LIne LenGTH 174 / LIne SPACInG 174 / JUSTIFICATIOn 175

ETHICS NOTE: Using Type Sizes Responsibly 174

TITLES AND HEADINGS 176 TITLeS 176 / HeADInGS 176

OTHER DESIGN FEATURES 177 TECH TIP: How To Create Borders and Screens 180 TECH TIP: How To Create Text Boxes 180

analyzing Several print-document designs 177 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Analyzing a Page Design 185

designing online documents 177 USE DESIGN TO EMPHASIzE IMPORTANT INFORMATION 186

CREATE INFORMATIvE HEADERS AND FOOTERS 186

HELP READERS NAvIGATE THE DOCUMENT 186 GUIDELINES: Making Your Document Easy To Navigate 188

INCLUDE EXTRA FEATURES YOUR READERS MIGHT NEED 186

HELP READERS CONNECT WITH OTHERS 189

DESIGN FOR READERS WITH DISAbILITIES 190

DESIGN FOR MULTICULTURAL AUDIENCES 191 ETHICS NOTE: Designing Legal and Honest Online Documents 191

AIM FOR SIMPLICITY 191 GUIDELINES: Designing Simple, Clear Web Pages 192

Part 3 Designing User-Friendly Documents and Websites 157

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analyzing Several online-document designs 191

8 creating Graphics 197 The Functions of Graphics 198

ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Characteristics of an Effective Graphic 200

understanding the process of creating Graphics 201 PLANNING GRAPHICS 201

■ ETHICS NOTE: Creating Honest Graphics 203

PRODUCING GRAPHICS 203 TECH TIP: How To Insert and Modify Graphics 204

■ GUIDELINES: Integrating Graphics and Text 204

REvISING GRAPHICS 205

CITING SOURCES OF GRAPHICS 205

using color effectively 206

choosing the appropriate kind of Graphic 209 ILLUSTRATING NUMERICAL INFORMATION 209

TAbLeS 209 / bAR GRAPHS 215 / InFOGRAPHICS 219 / LIne GRAPHS 221 / PIe CHARTS 222

■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic 211 GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Tables 213

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Bar Graphs 216

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Infographics 219

TECH TIP: How To Use Drawing Tools 221 GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Line Graphs 221

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Pie Charts 222

ILLUSTRATING LOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS 224 DIAGRAMS 224 / ORGAnIzATIOn CHARTS 224

ILLUSTRATING PROCESS DESCRIPTIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS 224 CHeCkLISTS 226 / FLOWCHARTS 226 / LOGIC TReeS 229 / TeCHnIQUeS FOR SHOWInG ACTIOn OR MOTIOn 229

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Analyzing a Graphic 226

ILLUSTRATING vISUAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS 229 PHOTOGRAPHS 229 / SCReen SHOTS 231 / LIne DRAWInGS 231 / MAPS 234

GUIDELINES: Presenting Photographs Effectively 230

TECH TIP: How To Create and Insert Screen Shots 233

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 194

EXERCISES 194

CASE 7: DESIGNING A FLYER 196 and

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creating effective Graphics for Multicultural readers 234

9 Writing correspondence 240 understanding the process of Writing correspondence 241

FocuS on proceSS: Writing Correspondence 241

■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing a Type of Correspondence 242

presenting yourself effectively in correspondence 242 USE THE APPROPRIATE LEvEL OF FORMALITY 242

COMMUNICATE CORRECTLY 243

PROjECT THE “YOU ATTITUDE” 243

AvOID CORRESPONDENCE CLICHéS 244

COMMUNICATE HONESTLY 245 ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Business Correspondence 245

Writing Letters 245 ELEMENTS OF A LETTER 245

COMMON TYPES OF LETTERS 247 InQUIRY LeTTeR 247 / ReSPOnSe TO An InQUIRY 248 / CLAIM LeTTeR 248 / ADJUSTMenT LeTTeR 251

Writing Memos 253 GUIDELINES: Organizing a Memo 255

Writing emails 255 GUIDELINES: Following Netiquette 256

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Following Netiquette in an Email Message 259

Writing Microblogs 258 GUIDELINES: Representing Your Organization on a Microblog 260

Writing correspondence to Multicultural readers 261

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 235

EXERCISES 236

CASE 8: CREATING APPROPRIATE GRAPHICS TO ACCOMPANY A REPORT 238 and

Part 4 Learning Important Applications 239

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 262

EXERCISES 263

CASE 9: SETTING UP AND MAINTAINING A PROFESSIONAL MICRObLOG ACCOUNT 264 and

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10 Writing Job-application Materials 265 establishing your professional Brand 266

GUIDELINES: Building the Foundation of Your Professional Brand 267

GUIDELINES: Presenting Your Professional Brand 268

ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Job-Application Materials 269

understanding Four Major Ways To Look for a position 269 GUIDELINES: Using LinkedIn’s Employment Features 272

Writing résumés 270 ELEMENTS OF THE CHRONOLOGICAL RéSUMé 273

IDenTIFYInG InFORMATIOn 273 / SUMMARY STATeMenT 274 / eDUCATIOn 274 / eMPLOYMenT HISTORY 275 / InTeReSTS AnD ACTIVITIeS 278 / ReFeRenCeS 278 / OTHeR eLeMenTS 279

GUIDELINES: Elaborating on Your Education 274

ELEMENTS OF THE SkILLS RéSUMé 280

PREPARING A PLAIN-TEXT RéSUMé 280 GUIDELINES: Formatting a Plain-Text Résumé 281

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Preparing a Résumé 285

Writing Job-application Letters 286

Writing Follow-up Letters or emails after an Interview 286

11 Writing proposals 292 FocuS on proceSS: Writing Proposals 293

The Logistics of proposals 294 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PROPOSALS 294

InTeRnAL PROPOSALS 294 / exTeRnAL PROPOSALS 294

SOLICITED AND UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS 295 SOLICITeD PROPOSALS 295 / UnSOLICITeD PROPOSALS 295

The “deliverables” of proposals 295 RESEARCH PROPOSALS 295

GOODS AND SERvICES PROPOSALS 297

persuasion and proposals 298 UNDERSTANDING READERS’ NEEDS 298

ReADeRS’ neeDS In An InTeRnAL PROPOSAL 298 / ReADeRS’ neeDS In An exTeRnAL PROPOSAL 298

DESCRIbING WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO 299

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 289

EXERCISES 290

CASE 10: IDENTIFYING THE bEST-OF-THE-bEST jOb-SEARCH SITES 291 and

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DEMONSTRATING YOUR PROFESSIONALISM 299 GUIDELINES: Demonstrating Your Professionalism in a Proposal 300

ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Proposals 300

The Structure of the proposal 301 SUMMARY 301

INTRODUCTION 301 GUIDELINES: Introducing a Proposal 302

PROPOSED PROGRAM 301 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Writing the Proposed Program 303

qUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 304

bUDGET 305

APPENDIXES 305 TASk SCHeDULe 305 / DeSCRIPTIOn OF eVALUATIOn TeCHnIQUeS 308

TECH TIP: How To Create a Gantt Chart 307

Sample Internal proposal 308

12 Writing Informational reports 318 FocuS on proceSS: Writing Informational Reports 319

Writing directives 320 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Writing a Persuasive Directive 322

Writing Field reports 323 GUIDELINES: Responding to Readers’ Questions in a Field Report 324

Writing progress and Status reports 324 ETHICS NOTE: Reporting Your Progress Honestly 325

ORGANIzING PROGRESS AND STATUS REPORTS 325

CONCLUDING PROGRESS AND STATUS REPORTS 326 GUIDELINES: Projecting an Appropriate Tone in a Progress or Status Report 326

Sample progress report 326

Writing Incident reports 335

Writing Meeting Minutes 337

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 316

EXERCISES 316

CASE 11: REvISING A bRIEF PROPOSAL 317 and

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 339

EXERCISES 339

CASE 12: WRITING A DIRECTIvE AbOUT USING AGENDAS FOR MEETINGS 339 and

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13 Writing recommendation reports 340 understanding the role of recommendation reports 341

using a problem-Solving Model for preparing recommendation reports 342

IDENTIFY THE PRObLEM OR OPPORTUNITY 343

ESTAbLISH CRITERIA FOR RESPONDING TO THE PRObLEM OR OPPORTUNITY 343

DETERMINE THE OPTIONS 344

STUDY EACH OPTION ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA 344

DRAW CONCLUSIONS AbOUT EACH OPTION 346

FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS bASED ON THE CONCLUSIONS 346 ETHICS NOTE: Presenting Honest Recommendations 347

Writing recommendation reports 347 WRITING THE bODY OF THE REPORT 348

InTRODUCTIOn 348 / MeTHODS 349 / ReSULTS 349 / COnCLUSIOnS 350 / ReCOMMenDATIOnS 350

GUIDELINES: Writing Recommendations 350

WRITING THE FRONT MATTER 351 LeTTeR OF TRAnSMITTAL 351 / COVeR 351 / TITLe PAGe 351 / AbSTRACT 351 / TAbLe OF COnTenTS 352 / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOnS 353 / exeCUTIVe SUMMARY 355

TECH TIP: How To Format Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers 354 TECH TIP: How To Create a Table of Contents 354 GUIDELINES: Writing an Executive Summary 356

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Analyzing an Executive Summary 357

WRITING THE bACk MATTER 356 GLOSSARY AnD LIST OF SYMbOLS 356 / ReFeRenCeS 358 / APPenDIxeS 359

Sample recommendation report 359

14 Writing definitions, descriptions, and Instructions 386 FocuS on proceSS: Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions 388

Writing definitions 388 ANALYzING THE WRITING SITUATION FOR DEFINITIONS 389

■ CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing the Appropriate Type of Definition 389

WRITING SENTENCE DEFINITIONS 390 GUIDELINES: Writing Effective Sentence Definitions 390

WRITING EXTENDED DEFINITIONS 390 GRAPHICS 391 / exAMPLeS 391 / PARTITIOn 391 / PRInCIPLe OF OPeRATIOn 392 / COMPARISOn AnD COnTRAST 392 / AnALOGY 393 / neGATIOn 393 / eTYMOLOGY 393 / A SAMPLe exTenDeD DeFInITIOn 394

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 384

EXERCISES 385

CASE 18: ANALYzING DECISION MATRICES 385 and

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Writing descriptions 394 ANALYzING THE WRITING SITUATION FOR DESCRIPTIONS 396

DRAFTING EFFECTIvE DESCRIPTIONS 396 InDICATe CLeARLY THe nATURe AnD SCOPe OF THe DeSCRIPTIOn 396 / InTRODUCe THe DeSCRIPTIOn CLeARLY 397 / PROVIDe APPROPRIATe DeTAIL 398 / COnCLUDe THe DeSCRIPTIOn 398

■ GUIDELINES: Providing Appropriate Detail in Descriptions 399

A LOOk AT SEvERAL SAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS 398

Writing Instructions 402 UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL vIDEOS 405

DESIGNING A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS 405 GUIDELINES: Designing Clear, Attractive Pages 407

PLANNING FOR SAFETY 408 ETHICS NOTE: Ensuring Your Readers’ Safety 408

DRAFTING EFFECTIvE INSTRUCTIONS 410 DRAFTInG TITLeS 411 / DRAFTInG GeneRAL InTRODUCTIOnS 411 / DRAFTInG STeP-bY-STeP InSTRUCTIOnS 412 / DRAFTInG COnCLUSIOnS 413

GUIDELINES: Drafting Introductions for Instructions 411

GUIDELINES: Drafting Steps in Instructions 412

REvISING, EDITING, AND PROOFREADING INSTRUCTIONS 413

A LOOk AT SEvERAL SAMPLE SETS OF INSTRUCTIONS 413 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Presenting Clear Instructions 418

Writing Manuals 419

15 Making oral presentations 424 FocuS on proceSS: Preparing an Oral Presentation 425

preparing the presentation 426 ANALYzING THE SPEAkING SITUATION 426

AnALYzInG YOUR AUDIenCe AnD PURPOSe 426 / bUDGeTInG YOUR TIMe 427

ORGANIzING AND DEvELOPING THE PRESENTATION 427 GUIDELINES: Introducing and Concluding the Presentation 428

PREPARING PRESENTATION GRAPHICS 429 CHARACTeRISTICS OF An eFFeCTIVe SLIDe 431 / GRAPHICS AnD THe SPeAkInG SITUATIOn 432 / USInG GRAPHICS TO SIGnAL THe ORGAnIzATIOn OF A PReSenTATIOn 434

TECH TIP: How To Create a Master Page Design in Presentation Slides 433 TECH TIP: How To Set List Items To Appear and Dim During a Presentation 434 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Integrating Graphics and Text on a Presentation Slide 441

CHOOSING EFFECTIvE LANGUAGE 441 GUIDELINES: Using Memorable Language in Oral Presentations 442

REHEARSING THE PRESENTATION 443

WRITER’S CHECkLIST 420

EXERCISES 421

CASE 14: CHOOSING A MEDIUM FOR PRESENTING INSTRUCTIONS 423 and

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ThInkInG VISuaLLy: Delivering the Presentation 444

answering Questions after a presentation 446 ETHICS NOTE: Answering Questions Honestly 446

A documenting your Sources 450 note Taking 450 apa Style 454 Ieee Style 467 MLa Style 472

B editing and proofreading your documents 485 punctuation 486 Mechanics 496 proofreading Symbols and Their Meanings 503

SPEAkER’S CHECkLIST 447

EXERCISES 447

CASE 15: UNDERSTANDING THE CLAIM-AND-SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR PRESENTATION GRAPHICS 447 and

APPENDIX Reference Handbook 449

References 505 Index 509 Index of Features 526

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Working in the Technical-

Communication Environment

Part 1

© Getty Images/John Rensten

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1Insert Chapter Title What Is Technical Communication? 3

The Challenges of Producing Technical Communication 5

Skills and Qualities Shared by Successful Workplace Communicators 6

ThInkIng VISually: Characteristics of a Technical Document 7

ThInkIng VISually: Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents 8

how Communication Skills and Qualities affect your Career 10

a Process for Writing Technical Documents 11

FoCuS on ProCeSS: Writing Technical Documents 12

a look at Three Technical Documents 13

exerCISeS 16

CaSe 1: Using the Measures of Excellence in Evaluating a Résumé 16 and

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What Is Technical Communication? 1 3

This TexTbook explores how people in the working world find, create, and deliver technical information. Even if you do not plan on becoming a technical communicator (a person whose main job is to produce documents such as manuals, reports, and websites), you will often find yourself writing documents on your own, participating in teams that write them, and contributing technical information for others who read and write them. The purpose of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication is to help you learn the skills you need to communicate more effectively and more efficiently in your professional life.

People in the working world communicate technical information for a number of purposes, many of which fall into one of two categories:

• To help others learn about a subject, carry out a task, or make a decision. For instance, the president of a manufacturing company might write an article in the company newsletter to explain to employees why management decided to phase out production of one of the company’s products. Administrators with the Social Security Administration might hire a media-production company to make a video that explains to citizens how to sign up for Social Security benefits. The board of directors of a community-service organization might produce a grant proposal to submit to a philanthropic organization in hopes of being awarded a grant.

• To reinforce or change attitudes and motivate readers to take action. A wind-energy company might create a website with videos and text intended to show that building windmills off the coast of a tourist destination would have many benefits and few risks. A property owners’ association might create a website to make the opposite argument: that the windmills would have few benefits but many risks. In each of these two cases, the purpose of communicating the information is to persuade people to accept a point of view and encourage them to act—perhaps to contact their elected representatives and present their views about this public-policy issue.

Notice that when you communicate in the workplace, you always have a clear purpose—what you want to achieve—and an audience—one or more people who are going to read the document, attend the oral presentation, visit the website, or view the video you produce.

What Is Technical Communication? Technical information is frequently communicated through documents, such as proposals, emails, reports, podcasts, computer help files, blogs, and wikis. Although these documents are a key component of technical communica- tion, so too is the process: writing and reading tweets and text messages, for example, or participating in videoconference exchanges with colleagues. Technical communication encompasses a set of activities that people do to discover, shape, and transmit information.

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InTroDuCTIon To TeChnICal CoMMunICaTIon1 4

Technical communication begins with listening, speaking, and reading. For instance, an executive reads an article about a new kind of computer security threat. She doesn’t understand all the details of the threat, but she concludes that it could hurt her company’s IT infrastructure. She sets up a meeting with her IT supervisor to see whether he knows about it and thinks it could be a problem. It turns out that he is aware of the issue and has been doing some research about it. The executive asks him to keep going, discuss it with his IT colleagues, and contact her next week.

A week goes by, and the IT supervisor gets back to the executive. He tells her that his research suggests the threat is real and serious. She asks him to write a recommendation report discussing the nature and scope of the threat and presenting a strategy for combatting it.

How does the IT supervisor begin to write that report? He starts by speak- ing with his colleagues in the company and outside it, and then reading dis- cussion boards, blogs, and trade magazines online. Next, he devises a plan to have various people in IT draft sections of the report, and he creates a sched- ule for posting their drafts to the company’s online writing space, Google Drive, so that all the team members can read and comment on the report as it develops. Ten days later, after he and his team have revised, edited, and proofread the report, he sends it to the executive.

But that’s not the end of the story. The executive reads the report and agrees with the team’s findings: the company needs to make some changes to the IT infrastructure and invest in new software to combat this serious security threat. She decides to meet with her own colleagues to see if they agree. She points them to the report and sets up a meeting for later that week.

When you produce technical communication, you use the four basic com- munication skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—to analyze a problem, find and evaluate evidence, and draw conclusions.

These are the same skills and processes you use when you write in col- lege, and the principles you have studied in your earlier writing courses apply to technical communication. The biggest difference between technical communication and the other kinds of writing you have done is that techni- cal communication has a somewhat different focus on audience and purpose.

In most of your previous academic writing, your audience has been your instructor, and your purpose has been to show your instructor that you have mastered some body of information or skill. Typically, you have not tried to create new knowledge or motivate the reader to take a particular action— except to give you an “A” for that assignment.

By contrast, in technical communication, your audience will likely include peers and supervisors in your company, as well as people outside your company. Your purpose will likely be to reinforce or change their attitudes toward the subject you are writing about, to motivate them to take particular actions, or to help them carry out their own tasks.

For example, suppose you are a public-health scientist working for a fed- eral agency. You and your colleagues just completed a study showing that, for

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The Challenges of Producing Technical Communication 1 5

most adults, moderate exercise provides as much health benefit as strenuous exercise. After participating in numerous meetings with your colleagues and after drafting, critiquing, and revising many drafts, you produce four different documents:

• a journal article for other scientists

• a press release to distribute to popular print and online publications

• a blog post and podcast for your agency’s website

In each of these documents, you present the key information in a different way to meet the needs of a particular audience.

The Challenges of Producing Technical Communication Most people in the working world don’t look forward to producing technical communication. Why? Because it’s hard to do.

For instance, your supervisor has finally approved your request to buy a scanning-electron microscope (SEM) for your department and given you a budget for buying it. It would be nice if all you had to do now was list the important features you need in an SEM, read a couple of articles about SEMs, check off the ones that have those features, and then buy the best one that fits your budget.

Unfortunately, life is not that simple, and neither is technical communica- tion. If it were, this book would be about a dozen pages long.

Technical communication is challenging, and not primarily because SEMs are complex devices, although they are. Technical communication is chal- lenging because people are complicated, and collaborating with people is at the heart of the process.

As soon as you have decided you need an SEM that can detect signals for secondary electrons, for instance, someone on your team argues that you also need to detect signals for back-scattered electrons and character- istic X-rays. Someone else on the team disagrees, arguing that an SEM that detects those additional signals costs an additional $15,000, putting it beyond your budget, and that on those rare occasions when you need those func- tions you can send the samples out for analysis. Another team member sug- gests that you wait until next year, when SEM manufacturers are expected to release products with improved signal-detection functions. You realize that with the complications your colleagues have presented, you won’t be pur- chasing an SEM any time soon. You do more research, keeping their concerns in mind.

The good news is that there are ways to think through these kinds of com- plications that will help you communicate better. No matter what document you produce or contribute to, you need to begin by considering three sets of factors:

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InTroDuCTIon To TeChnICal CoMMunICaTIon1 6

• Audience-related factors. Does your audience know enough about your subject to understand a detailed discussion, or do you need to limit the scope, the amount of technical detail, or the type of graphics you use? Does your audience already have certain attitudes or expectations about your subject that you wish to reinforce or change? Will the ways in which your audience uses your document, or the physical environment in which they use it, affect how you write? Does your audience speak English well, or should you present the information in several languages? Does your audience share your cultural assumptions about such matters as the need to spell out details or how to organize the document, or do you need to adjust your writing style to match a different set of assumptions? Does your audience include people with disabilities who have needs you want to meet?

• Purpose-related factors. Before you can write, you need to determine what you want your audience to know or believe or do after having read your document. Although much technical communication is intended to help people perform tasks, such as installing a portable hard drive for a computer, many organizations large and small devote significant communication resources to branding: creating an image that helps customers distinguish the company from competitors. Most companies now employ community specialists to coordinate the organization’s day- to-day online presence and its social-media campaigns.

• Document-related factors. Does your budget limit the number of people you can enlist to help you or limit the size or shape of the document? Does your schedule limit how much information you can include in the document? Does your subject dictate what kind of document (such as a report or a blog post) you choose to write? Does the application call for a particular writing style or level of formality? (For the sake of convenience, I will use the word document throughout this book to refer to all forms of technical communication, from written documents to oral presentations and online forms, such as podcasts and wikis.)

Because all these factors interact in complicated ways, every technical document you create involves a compromise. If you are planning to make a video about installing a water heater and you want the video to be easily understood by people who speak only Spanish, you might decide to make two videos: one in English and one in Spanish.

Skills and Qualities Shared by Successful Workplace Communicators People who are good at communicating in the workplace share a number of skills and qualities. Four of them relate to the skills you have been honing in school and in college:

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Characteristics of a Technical Document

It addresses particular READERS.

Knowing who your readers are, what they understand about the subject, how well they speak English, and how they will use the document will help you determine the type of document to create.

It helps readers solve PROBLEMS.

You might produce a video that shows your company’s employees how to select their benefits, or a text document that explains the company’s social-media policy.

It reflects the organization’s GOALS and CULTURE.

Organizations produce documents that help them further their goals and that demonstrate their values and culture to the outside world.

It uses DESIGN to increase readability.

Design features such as typography, spacing, and color help make a document attractive, navigable, and understandable.

Almost every technical document that

gets the job done has six major

characteristics.

Clockwise from top left: (1) Colorlife/Shutterstock; (2) Palsur/Shutterstock; (4) puruan/Shutterstock; (5) Brothers Good/Shutterstock; (6) PureSolution/Shutterstock

It consists of WORDS or IMAGES or both.

Images—both static and moving—can communicate difficult concepts, instructions, descriptions of objects and processes, and large amounts of data. They can also communicate information to nonnative speakers.

It is produced COLLABORATIVELY.

No one person has all the skills, information, or time to create a large document. You will work with a variety of technical professionals inside and outside your organization to obtain the information you need.

THINKING VISUALLY

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Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents

Clockwise from top left: (1) Visual Idiot/Shutterstock; (2) RedKoala/Shutterstock; (3) Voodoodot/Shutterstock; (4) Armita/Shutterstock; (5) Brothers Good/Shutterstock; (6) graphixmania/Shutterstock; (7) ProStockStudio/Shutterstock; (8) Ramcreativ/Shutterstock

Eight characteristics

distinguish excellent technical

documents.

HONESTY The most-important measure of excellence is honesty. Not only are dishonest documents unethical, but they can hurt readers and can result in serious legal repercussions.

CLARITY An unclear technical document can be dangerous and incur additional expenses.

ACCURACY A slight inaccuracy can confuse and annoy your readers; a major inaccuracy can be dangerous and expensive.

COMPREHENSIVENESS A comprehensive document provides readers with a complete, self-contained discussion.

ACCESSIBILITY Because few people will read a document from beginning to end, your job is to make its various parts easy to locate.

CONCISENESS You can shorten most writing by 10 to 20 percent by eliminating unnecessary phrases, choosing shorter words, and using economical grammatical forms.

PROfESSIONAL APPEARANCE If the document looks professional, readers will form a positive impression of it and of you. Your document should adhere to the format standards of your organization or your field, and it should be well designed.

CORRECTNESS A correct document adheres to the conventions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, mechanics, and usage. Incorrect writing can confuse readers, make your document inaccurate, and make you look unprofessional.

THINKING VISUALLY

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• Ability to perform research. Successful communicators know how to perform primary research (discovering new information through experiments, observations, interviews, surveys, and calculations) and secondary research (finding existing information by reading what others have written or said). Successful communicators seek out information from people who use the products and services, not just from the manufacturers.

• Ability to analyze information. Successful communicators know how to identify the best information—most accurate, relevant, recent, and unbiased—and then figure out how it helps in understanding a problem and finding ways to solve it.

• Ability to solve problems. Successful communicators know how to break big problems into smaller ones, figure out what isn’t working, and identify and assess options for solving the problems. They know how to compare and contrast the available options to achieve the clearest, most objective understanding of the situation.

• Ability to speak and write clearly. Successful communicators know how to express themselves clearly and simply, both to audiences that know a lot about the subject and to audiences that do not. They take care to revise, edit, and proofread their documents so that the documents present accurate information, are easy to read, and make a professional impression. And they know how to produce different types of documents, from tweets to memos to presentations.

In addition to the skills just described, successful workplace communicators have seven qualities that relate to professional attitudes and work habits:

• They are honest. Successful communicators tell the truth. They don’t promise what they know they can’t deliver, and they don’t bend facts. When they make mistakes, they admit them and work harder to solve the problem.

• They are willing to learn. Successful communicators know that they don’t know everything—not about what they studied in college, what their company does, or how to write and speak. Every professional is a lifelong learner.

• They display emotional intelligence. Because technical communication usually calls for collaboration, successful communicators understand their own emotions and those of others. Because they can read people— through body language, facial expression, gestures, and words—they can work effectively in teams.

• They are generous. Successful communicators share information willingly. (Of course, they don’t share confidential information, such as trade secrets, information about new products being developed, or personal information about colleagues.)

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• They monitor the best information. Successful communicators seek out opinions from others in their organization and in their industry. They monitor the best blogs, discussion boards, and podcasts for new approaches that can spark their own ideas. They know how to use social media and can represent their organization online.

• They are self-disciplined. Successful communicators are well organized and diligent. They know, for instance, that proofreading an important document might not be fun but is always essential. They know that when a colleague asks a simple technical question, answering the question today—or tomorrow at the latest—is more helpful than answering it in a couple of weeks. They finish what they start, and they always do their best on any document, from the least important text message to the most important report.

• They can prioritize and respond quickly. Successful communicators know that the world doesn’t always conform to their own schedules. Because social media never sleep, communicators sometimes need to put their current projects aside in order to respond immediately when a stakeholder reports a problem that needs prompt action or publishes inaccurate information that can hurt the organization.

How Communication Skills and Qualities Affect Your Career Many college students believe that the most important courses they take are those in their major. Some biology majors think, for example, that if they just take that advanced course in genetic analysis, employers will con- clude that they are prepared to do more-advanced projects and therefore hire them.

Therefore, many college students are surprised to learn that what employ- ers say they are looking for in employees are the communication skills and qualities discussed in the previous section. Surveys over the past three or four decades have shown consistently that employers want people who can communicate. Look at it this way: when employers hire a biologist, they want a person who can communicate effectively about biology. When they hire a civil engineer, they want a person who can communicate about civil engineering.

A 2013 survey of 500 business executives found that almost half—44 percent—think that recent hires are weak in soft skills (including commu- nication and collaboration), whereas only 22 percent think recent hires are weak in technical skills (Adecco Staffing US, 2013). According to another 2013 survey, by the Workforce Solutions Group at St. Louis Community College, more than 60 percent of employers believe that job seekers are weak in com-

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a Process for Writing Technical Documents 1 11

munication and interpersonal skills. This figure is up 10 percentage points from 2011 (TIME, 2013).

Job Outlook 2014, a report produced by the National Association of Col- leges and Employers, found that communication skills were second only to problem-solving skills among the abilities employers seek (National Associa- tion, 2014, p. 8). On a 5-point scale, communication skills scored a 4.6, as did the ability to obtain and process information. Also scoring above 4 were the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work (4.5); the ability to analyze quan- titative data (4.4); technical knowledge related to the job (4.2); and proficiency with computer software programs (4.1). The ability to create and/or edit writ- ten reports and the ability to sell or influence others scored a 3.6 and a 3.7, respectively. Most of these skills relate to the previous discussion about the importance of process in technical communication.

A 2014 study of more than 400 freelancer profiles conducted by the online grammar-checking service Grammarly found a direct correlation between the number of errors in a freelancer’s client service profile on the website Elance and that freelancer’s client rating (Grammarly, 2014). This pattern held across eight industries. Grammarly also found that in most skill-driven jobs, better writers tended to earn more money from clients. This was especially true in the fields of engineering and manufacturing, finance and management, legal, and sales and marketing.

You’re going to be producing and contributing to a lot of technical docu- ments, not only in this course but also throughout your career. The facts of life in the working world are simple: the better you communicate, the more valuable you are. This textbook can help you learn and practice the skills that will make you a better communicator.

A Process for Writing Technical Documents Although every technical document is unique, in most of your writing you will likely carry out the tasks described in the Focus on Process box on page 12.