Chapter 1 : Introduction to technical writing

All technical communication documents are meant to help people learn, cary out tasks , and make
decisions.
A study by more than 100 American companies found that writing is a more important skills for
today’s professionals : - if your job applications are written poorly, they would hold against you.
examples of written communication ( whether on a paper or online ) :
- an email
- a wiki with instructions that explains how to carry out a new task
- a proposal to persuade management to authorize a project
- A report
- oral communication to explain a new policy to employees
- Letters
- Website
- Podcasts , videos, and posts on social media to introduce new project …
- Research report
- Articles & journals.
the fact of corporate life today : if you cannot communicate well , you are less valuable , if you can ,
you’re more valuable.

What is technical communication?

- It has two meanings:
• a process of making and sharing information in the workplace.
• a set pf applications - the documents you write and the presentations you deliver.
- the four communication skills are : reading , writing, speaking , and listening. Professionals use
these skills to create, design , and transmit technical information so that people understand it
easily, and use it safely, effectively, and efficiently.
- Technical writing focuses in people and audience.

What are your roles as a communicator?

- regardless whether you are a technical professional ( chemist , accountant , ..etc) or a technical
communicator ( a person whose main job to create applications ) , you are likely to have 3 major
roles:
1. the writer of a document : you will be the main author of documents .
2. a member of a project team: as you are a member you will participate in writing.
3. an information resource for people inside or outside your organization: you will communicate to
your co- workers as well as your suppliers , customers, ..etc

Characteristics of a technical document:

1. it addresses a particular reader : this helps you decide what kind of documents to write , how to
structure it, how much detail to include , what sentences style , and what vocabulary. Moreover,
you must consider future differences of your audience if you are wiring for people from different
cultures.
2. Helps readers solve problems : it help readers learn something or carry out a task. your read it
or watch it because you need information to analyze a situation and move a problem.
3. Reflects the organization’s goals and culture:.
4. it produced collaboratively: you will work as a team to produce more complicated documents
because no one person has all information ,skills, or time to create a large document.
5. uses design to increase readability: to accomplish 3 basic goals

I. to make document look attractive and professional

II. to help readers navigate the document : helps readers see where they are and get to where they
want to be in large documents
III.To help readers understand the document : better able to recognize the importance of the
information.
6. Consists of words or images or both : images helps writers perform 5 main functions :
I. make the document more interesting and appealing to the reader.
II. Communicate and reinforce difficult concepts
III.communicate instructions , and descriptions of objects and processes
IV.Communicate large amounts of quantifiable data
V. Communicate with nonnative speakers.

SEE SLIDES ( PHOTOS) TO ADDRESS CHARACTERISTICS

Measures of excellence in technical communication:

1. Honesty : most important one. it means that you tell the truth and not mislead the reader. for 3
reasons:
I. it is the right thing to do. Technical communication is meant to help people to make wise
choices.
II. If you are dishonest, readers can get hurt. Can defraud , or even kill people.
III.if you are dishonest your organization could face serious legal charges.

2. Clarity: conveys a single meaning that readers can understand easily for 2 reasons:
I. Unclear technical communication can be dangerous.
II. Unclear technical communication is expensive. can increase the cost of a customer support
center for example.

3. Accuracy : Get your facts street. Inaccuracy can confuse the readers , annoys them ,
expensive , and dangerous. Accuracy is a question of ethics . Technical communication must be
objective and unbiased.

4. Comprehensiveness : provides all information readers need. it contains background, details,

supporting materials, and any needed attachments.

5. Accessibility : readers should not be forced to flip through the pages or click links unnecessarily
to find the appropriate section.

6. Conciseness: by eliminating unnecessary phrases, choosing shorter words, and using

economical grammatical forms. it is about how to convey a lot of information economically.

7. Professional appearance: matches the standards of the organization, or your field, well designed
, and neatly printed.

8. Correctness: in terms of grammar, punctuations, spelling..etc . Incorrect writing can confuse the
readers, make your writing inaccurate, and makes you look unprofessional.
Chapter 4 : writing collaboratively

the explosive growth of social media has greatly expanded the scope of workplace
collaboration, reducing earlier barriers of time and space.

Advantages and disadvantages of collaboration :

- Advantages :
• Collaboration draws on a greater knowledge base. it can be more comprehensive and accurate
than a single author document.
• Collaboration draws on a greater skills base.
• it provides a better idea of how the audience will read the document. it offers more questions
and suggestions.
• It improves communication among employees. they learn about each other’s jobs,
responsibilities..etc
• it helps acclimate new employees to an organization: new employees learn how things work as
well as what are the organization values such as code of ethics.
• it motivates employees to help an organization grow: everyone teaches and learns from
everyone else , and the organization benefits.

- Disadvantages:
• it takes more time than individual writing.
• it can lead to groupthink : no one wants to cause a scene by asking tough questions.
• can yield a disjointed document. Sections can repeat each other or be written in different styles.
To prevent these, writers need to plan and edit the document carefully.
• it can lead to inequitable workloads. some people will end up doing more work than others.
• it can reduces the person’s motivation to work hard on the document.
• it can lead to interpersonal conflict. it can create disagreements that hurt working relationships
during the project and long after.

Managing projects:
Collaborators need to spend time managing the project to ensure that it is not only meets the
needs of the audience but also it is completed on time , and if appropriate within budget.
I. Break down a large project into several smaller tasks :
It involves making steps of what your team must take to complete the project. After you have a list
of tasks to complete, you can begin plan for your project, assign responsibilities, and set deadlines.
I. Plan your project :
it allows collaborators to develop an effective approach, reach an agreement quickly, and prevent
small problems before they become big problems.
I. Create and maintain an accurate schedule : it helps collaborators plan ahead, allocate their
time, and meat declines . Update the schedule when changes are made, place up to date
schedule and send it to each member. When deadlines are missed, immediately create a new
deadline.
II. put your decisions in writing: so that the team remember what happened.
III.Monitor the project: by tracking the progress of the project.
IV.Distribute and act on information quickly: it helps ensure that the team makes effective decisions
and steady progress toward completing the project.
V. Be flexible regarding schedule and responsibilities: adjust the plan when new information
becomes available or problems arise.
Conducting meetings:
1. listening effectively :
Differences between hearing and listening: Hearing involves receiving and processing sound
waves while listening involves understanding what the speaker saying and interpreting the
information.
- Guidelines for effective listening:
I. Pay attention to the speaker
II. Listen for main ideas: pay attention to phrases that signal important information such as “ the
point is ……”.
III.Don’t get emotionally involved with the speaker’s idea: Even if you disagree keep listening, don’t
stop listening so you can plan what you are going to say next.
IV.Ask questions to clarify what the speaker said : for instance , “ what you said is……..did you
mean that..?”
V. Provide appropriate feedback : the most important feedback is to look into the speaker’s eyes.
Appropriate feedback assures that he or she is communicating effectively.

1. Setting your team’s agenda :

I. define the team’s task: every team member has to agree on the task, the deadline, the length of
the document , audience , purpose,..etc
II. Choose a team leader : the leader serves the link between the team and management. He/ she
represents in communicating with instructor , keeps the team on track , leads the meetings , and
coordinates communication .
III.Define tasks for each team member : there are 3 main ways to divide the tasks
- according to technical expertise
- According to stages of the writing process
- According to sections of the document
I. Establish working procedures
II. Establish a procedure for resolving conflict productively : disagreements of the project can lead
to a better product. Give collaborators a chance to express their ideas fully , and ten resolve the
conflict with a vote.
III.create a style sheet
IV.Establish a work schedule
V. Create evaluation materials

Conducting efficient meeting :

To help make meetings efficient and effective , team members should drive in time and stick to the
agenda. One team member should record the important decisions. At the end of the meeting, the
team leader should summarize the team’s accomplishments. if possible, he should give each team
member informal set of meeting minutes.

Communicating diplomatically:
when you speak in a team meeting, you want to appear helpful , not critical or overbearing.
I. Listen carefully without interpreting.
II. Give everyone a chance to speak.
III.Avoid personal remarks : be tolerant and respectful of other’s people’s views and working
methods.
IV.Don’t overstate your position: Statements like “ I think “ or “ it seems to me” is an effective signal
to listeners that you realize that everyone may not share your views.
V. don’t get emotionally attached to your own ideas: when people oppose you , try to understand
why.
VI.Ask pertinent questions: Asking questions encourages other team members to examine what
they hear.
VII.Pay attention to nonverbal communication .

Critiquing a team member’s work :

I. Start with a positive comment : even if work is week start with things like “ you’ve obviously put a
lot of work into this … “
II. Discuss with large issues first : begin with big issues like “ organization development , logic ,
design and graphs . then work with smaller issues like such as word choice, paragraph
development …etc
III.Talk about the document not the writer: ( SEE EXAMPLES IN THE BOOK )

Culture and collaboration:

The challenge for all team members is to understand ways in which cultural differences can affect
team behavior. People form other cultures:
• Might find it difficult to assert themselves in collaborative teams
• Might be unwilling to respond with a definite “ no”
• Might be reluctant to admit when they are confused or ask for clarification
• Might avoid criticizing others
• might avoid initiating new tasks or performing creatively
Chapter 6 : Researching your subject

Regardless of which technique people use, the challenge is to sort the relevant information from
the irrelevant , and the accurate from the bogus.

Primary research : creating information yourself.

Secondary research: collecting information that other people have already covered or created. ‘

The difference between academic and workplace research:

• in academic research, the goal is to find information that will help answer a scholarly question.
They are usually more abstract than applied. they get at the underlying principles of a
phenomenon. Moreover, they usually require secondary research such as academic journals or
books. if you do primary research such as in labs experiments , you will do them only after
secondary research.
• In workplace research, the goal is to find information that help you answer a practical question
usually involves your organization. Because workplace research questions are usually focused
on improving a situation at a particular organization, they call much more primary research.

The research process : it involves 12 steps ( understand them from the BOOK).

Choosing appropriate research method:

• it means choosing the ways in which you will conduct your research.
• Different research questions require different research methods.
• you need to answer 3 questions :
I. What type of research media might you use? ( books , journals or online websites? )
II. What type of research tools might you use? ( via online catalogs or abstract services ? )
III.What type of primary research might you conduct? ( observations, inspections , demonstrations,
experiments, interviews , questionnaires, or field research?)
• Guidlines :
- be persistent: use useful information
- Record your data carefully
- Triangulate your research methods : use more than one or two methods.

SEE TABLE 6.1 , PAGE 124,125.

Conducting secondary research:

• As a worker , you might find most of the information at your organization’s information center.
Information center is the organization’s library.
• 4 types of information media :
- print such as books , journals, and reports. it is a useful tool for information that does not need to
be updated periodically. To find printed documents, you will use online catalogs.
- Online database such as LexisNexis, proQuest, InfoTrac.. that provide access to large
databases of journals, articles, ..etc
- Websites
- Social media : all of which require user- generated information. A discussion board is an online
discussion that readers contribute to by posting messages. A blog is web based periodical
published by a person or a group, to which readers can contribute comments. A wiki is a website
that users write and edit online.
• Traditional research tools :
- Online catalogs : databases of books, mirror materials..etc. it lists and describes the holdings.
- Reference works: include general dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases..etc
- Periodical indexes : a list of articles classified according to title, subject and author. there are
periodical indexes in all fields. If your library does not have the article you want , you can use :
• Interlibrary loan: your library find a library that has the article and sends it or faxes it to your
library.
• Document delivery service.
- Newspaper indexes : keep in mind that the print and the electronic version vary greatly. the print
version is the preferred one.
- Abstract services : they are like indexes but they provide abstracts: brief summaries of the
articles
- Government information: The U.S government is the world’s biggest publisher in many fields.
they are not listed in journals or abstracts but available on paper, on CD , and on the web.

Using social media and other interactive resources:

• Discussion boards: online discussion sponsored by professional organizations, private
companies and others. they are useful in providing quick, practical advice. However the advice
might not be authoritative.
• Wikis : easy to create and edit content on them . Wikis contain articles , information about
students, reading lists , book reviews, and documents. they contain information about topics that
can change day to day. They represent a much boarder spectrum of viewpoints than media
because they rely on information contributed voluntary.
• Blogs: bloggers almost invite their readers to post comments. Bloggers not always independent
voicers.
• Tagged content : descriptive keywords people use to describe contents. They can be one word
without spaces or multiword descriptors.
• RSS feeds: short for rich site summary or really simple syndications allows readers to check just
one place. it allows organizations to deliver news to a desktop computer.

Evaluating the information :

• Accurate
• Unbiased: search for sources that have no financial stake.
• Comprehensive: from different kinds of people and from people representing all viewpoints.
• Appropriately technical: detailed to respond to your needs and you can understand it.
• Current
• Clear: easy to understand.

Conducting primary research:

• Observations and demonstrations : demonstration means you are watching someone carry out a
process while observation you are carrying the process of taking notes..etc.
• Inspections : they are like observations but you participate more actively and complicated.
• Experiments : used in practical field. it include 4 phases :
- Establishing a hypothesis : a hypothesis an informed guess about the relationship between two
factors.
- Testing the hypothesis
- Analyzing the data
- reporting the data
• Field research : they are qualitative and sometimes both quantitative and qualitative. When you
are doing a field research try to minimize 2 common problems:
- the effect of the experiment on the behavior you are studying
- bias on the recording and analysis of the data
• Interviews : in choosing a respondent answer 3 questions:
1. what questions do you want to answer?
2. Who could provide this information ?
3. is the person willing to be interviewed?
Guidelines
1. Preparing for the interview: do your homework, do not ask questions already answered , prepare
good questions , check your equipment.
2. Beginning the interview: arrive on time , thank the respondent for taking the time, state the
subject and purpose of the interview , if you wish to tape the interview ask permission.
3. Conducting the interview: take notes , start with the prepared questions , be prepared to ask
follow up questions , be prepared to get the interview back on track.
4. Concluding the interview: thank the respondent , ask for follow up interview.
• Inquires : an alternative to personal interview is to send an inquiry . this inquiry can take the form
of letter , email , or a message . Physical letter is more formal and might be more appropriate for
important topics such as layoffs or safety. respondent might not answer and there is less
opportunity to follow up by asking for clarification.
• Questionnaires: