The Informational Sketch — A Major Vice of the Technical Writer

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
George H. Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Technical Paper ◽  
Technical Writer ◽  
Narrative Functions

The author of this article argues that all too often teachers of technical writing spend too much time pressuring their students to write simply and without jargon, and that as a result they often get writing that is bad because it is skeletal and undeveloped writing lacking in continuity and narrative functions. The technical writer is often overjoyed to submit outline-writing because it requires small effort, not realizing that it shifts the burden of interpretation to the reader. The author recommends a number of cures for the skeletal technical paper.

Technical Writing in the Eighties

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Schmelzer
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Information Storage And Retrieval ◽  
Information Storage ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Nineteen Eighties ◽  
Storage And Retrieval ◽  
Interactive Lectures ◽  
Technical Writer ◽  
Information Bank

Three present-day developments are very likely to have a major influence upon technical writing in the nineteen eighties. These are: interactive lectures, information storage and retrieval, and the development of an ultra-small electronic camera for movies, television, and still pictures. Carefully tested interactive lectures will provide individual attention for learners at the time it is most needed. Under a perfected system of information storage and retrieval, the technical writer would suggest to the reader the kinds of information to request from a nation-wide information bank. He would also assist in the screening of information so that learners would not be deluged by surplus information. The small electronic camera will enable the technical writer to illustrate his instructions on the user's TV set. Thus, the technical writer of the eighties could well become a writer-producer.

Readability and Creativity in Technical Writing

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert Edens
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Technical Writer

The work of a technical writer must be readable and easy to understand. Indeed, we have methods to teach students how to be readable. But is it reasonable to request creativity in their work? There are differences between the style of a technical writer and of a novelist. But there are also similarities. To be creative in his technical writing, the technical writer must be influenced by the novelist. I advise especially the study and writing of essays and poems.

Fictional Techniques in Technical Writing

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-98
Author(s):  
Richard S. Ruch ◽  
Jan C. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Intended Audience ◽  
Technical Writer

Technical papers should be constructed as coherent wholes, using those organizational, stylistic, and informational devices necessary to communicate their intended message to the intended audience. Since messages and audience vary tremendously, so also must techniques of technical writing. The technical writer will find that techniques normally associated with the writing of fiction, including creation of hypothetical situations, composite characters, invented dialogue, and dramatic story lines, aid greatly in achieving improved technical communication.

New Directions in Teaching Technical Report Writing

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Traditional Instruction ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Report Writing ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Technical Report ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Technical Writer

The traditional instruction of technical report writing leans heavily on the conventions of English grammar and on principles advocated by grammarians, journalists, and literature scholars. The effect has been so strong—particularly in North America—that the word “technical” in technical writer, technical writing, and technical reports has literally become almost meaningless. This article discusses a few important differences between technical and nontechnical writing. It also explains some shortcomings of the traditional instruction and suggests methods of improvement.

Feedforward (ff) en Metaforische Transfer (mt) -Dimensies Van Technical Writers'

1984 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 116-124
Author(s):  
J.W. Broer
Keyword(s):  
Professional Identity ◽  
Technical Communication ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Visual Elements ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
Writing Problems ◽  
Technical Writers ◽  
The World ◽  
Technical Writer ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

A map of the world of 'technical' communication shows the (a, ß)-universe, flat country filled with language experts and scientists, including engineers. In the centre Technical Writing is situated, a territory in turmoil, on the border of α-land and ß-land. In the U.S.A. the territory is developing fast as the professional core of a new skill. As emigrants, many people of an α-type or ß-type nature end up in the territory. Having a problem of professional identity they possess a hy-brid personality. The attention paid to this problem causes them to lose sight of the two 'natural' forces of an emigrating individual, that is to say feedforward — an anticipative composition principle — and metaphoric transfer — 'as-if use of knowledge from the individual's professional past, to solve the communication problems met at present. Feedforward (Ivor A. Richards, 1893-1979) is a principle of creative action, proceeding from more generic to less (a top-down hier-archy); a number of 'formators' (Charles W. Morris and Bess Sondel), the tools for making text according to the feedforward scheme, are discussed. Nowadays visual elements as formators receive more emphasis. Text is seen as a distribution of three types of elements ('knowing', 'feeling', 'acting') glued into a unit, the communicative 'whole', by the formators. The textual whole should match the type of readers as originally anticipated by the technical writer (27 types, a classification based upon estimating three levels of knowing, feeling, acting; examples are included). Some prescriptions for solving Technical Writing problems found by metaphoric transfer are discussed. To illustrate the traffic of ideas arising from metaphoric transfer, a detailed map of the border area science/ technical writing is shown.

Next Then Although More Too—Conjunctions in Action

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Technical Writer ◽  
General Technical

The roles and importance of sentence-coupling conjunctions in general technical writing are analyzed. Based on a previous paper (which explained the meanings of these coupling words), this paper examines ways of improving logical argument, of providing continuity of thought between sentences, and of improving readability. Useful redundancy and punctuation are also briefly discussed in relation to coupling words. Comparative tables of incidental couplers, determiners, and redundant couplers are provided as practical aids to the technical writer and editor.

The Student as Consultant

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-315
Author(s):  
Steven Zachary Rothmel
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Writing Teacher ◽  
Realistic Situation ◽  
Technical Report ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Technical Writer ◽  
Oriented Approach

The technical writing course has the potential to be one of the most valuable and relevant classes that a student takes, but before his rhetorical skills can improve he must overcome his reluctance to write. The formal technical report, the most challenging and the most rewarding assignment, offers the technical writing teacher a unique opportunity to bring his course to life and to enrich each class member's learning experience. The author has developed an approach to the major report that allows the student to assume the role of a consultant in his field while simultaneously permitting him to feel independent and creative. The inexperienced technical writer must create a realistic situation in which someone would require the technical information he wishes to convey. Placing the student in the role of a consultant makes him more aware of his audience and its needs. This problem-oriented approach effectively increases the writer's liberty to choose an appropriate topic and his responsibility to present it in a coherent and professional manner.

The Technical Writer as Naturalist: Some Lessons from the Classics

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne A. Losano
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Natural World ◽  
William Bartram ◽  
Environmental Impact Statements ◽  
Technical Writer

The contemporary technical writer, who often must fill the current demand for environmental impact statements and similar environmentally oriented documents, can perhaps benefit from reading the works of some of the classic naturalists such as William Bartram, Henry Walter Bates, and Charles Darwin. These early writers show an ability to present concretely detailed observations of flora and fauna without sacrificing readability and without losing touch with the natural world under observation. The best technical writing today can combine essential efficiency with sensitive treatment of environmental subjects.

Career Opportunities for Teachers of Technical Writing: A Survey of Programs in Technical Communication

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul V. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Experienced Teachers ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Formal Study ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Technical Writers ◽  
Technical Writer

In response to a mail survey of the career opportunities they offer teachers of technical writing, twenty-four programs that prepare students for careers as technical writers and editors indicated that their technical writing faculty enjoy about the same teaching loads, salaries, and chances for promotion and tenure as do equally qualified and experienced teachers of literature at their schools. The programs also indicated that they have a growing number of openings on their faculties for teachers of technical writing. Finally, the programs ranked and rated seventeen qualifications that might be offered by applicants for those positions; the most significant conclusion drawn from the rankings and ratings is that the programs look more favorably upon experience — both in teaching and in working as a technical writer or editor — than they do upon formal study of technical writing or the teaching of it.

Irish Identification as Exigence

2012 ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Mara ◽  
Miriam Mara
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Adventure Travel ◽  
Technical Writers ◽  
Technical Writer ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
User Motivation ◽  
Tour Operator

To address some of the technical writing pressures concomitant with globalization, this chapter investigates documentation solutions implemented by an Irish Do-It-Yourself tour operator. The same identity-dependent approaches that these DIY tourism companies use to fulfill tourist expectations can provide technical writers with additional tools for analyzing user motivation. This chapter first analyzes how an Irish DIY Adventure travel company harnesses user motivations, then applies Appadurai’s (1996) globalism theories (especially his use of ethnoscapes, technoscapes, and mediascapes) to a particular use of this travel company’s documents, and finally demonstrates how user motivation intrinsic to identity formation can help the technical writer create documentation that effectively assists users in overcoming breakdowns through identity affordances.

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