Technical Communication
ISBN: 9781428263932 | 1428263934
Edition: 7thFormat: Paperback
Publisher: Cengage Learning
Pub. Date: 3/17/2010
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Thousands have successfully improved their writing and design skills using Anderson's TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION: A READER-CENTERED APPROACH. Guiding you step by step through the writing process, this new edition includes added coverage digital communication, team communication, the latest APA and MLA citation guidelines, a new visual design, and much more.
| Introduction | |
| Communication, Your Career, and This Book | |
| Communication Expertise Will Be Critical to Your Success | |
| Characteristics of Workplace Writing | |
| At Work, Writing Is an Action | |
| The Main Advice of This Book: Think Constantly about Your Readers | |
| Qualities of Effective On-the-Job Communication: Usability and Persuasiveness | |
| The Dynamic Interaction betwee... MORE | |
| Some Reader-Centered Strategies You Can Begin Using Now | |
| Communicating Ethically | |
| What Lies Ahead in This Book | |
| Guidelines, Your Creativity, and Your Good Judgment | |
| Case: Help Mickey Chelini Select the Right Forklift Truck | |
| Overview of the Reader-Centered Communication Process: Obtaining a Job | |
| Central Principles of the Reader-Centered Approach | |
| A Reader-Centered Approach to Writing Your R?sum? | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Using Tables to Design a R?sum? | |
| Electronic R?sum?s: Special Considerations | |
| A Reader-Centered Approach to Writing Your Job Application Letter | |
| Ethical Issues in the Job Search | |
| Writing for Employment in Other Countries | |
| Interviewing Effectively and Displaying Your Work | |
| Conclusion | |
| Case: Advising Patricia | |
| Defining Your Communication's Objectives | |
| Defining Your Communication's Objectives: Purpose, Reader, Context | |
| Create a Mental Movie of Your Reader in the Act of Reading | |
| Guidelines for Describing Your Communication's Purpose | |
| Describe the Task Your Communication Will Help Your Reader Perform | |
| Describe the Way You Want Your Communication to Alter Your Reader's Attitudes. | |
| Guidelines for Creating a Profile of Your Reader | |
| Describe Your Reader's Professional Characteristics | |
| Global Guideline: Describe Your Reader's Cultural Characteristics | |
| Learn Who ALL Your Readers Will Be | |
| Guidelines for Understanding Your Reader's Context | |
| Describe the Context in Which Your Reader Will Read | |
| Guidelines for Other Important Considerations | |
| Identify Any Constraints on the Way You Write | |
| Ethics Guideline: Identify Your Communication's Stakeholders | |
| Conclusion | |
| Case: Announcing the Smoking Ban | |
| Planning | |
| Planning for Usability | |
| Process for Planning for Usability | |
| Identify The Information Your Readers Need | |
| Organize Around Your Readers' Tasks | |
| Identify Ways to Help Readers Quickly Find What They Want | |
| Techniques for Planning for Usability | |
| Look for a Technical Writing Superstructure You Can Adapt | |
| Plan Your Graphics | |
| Outline, If This Would Be Helpful | |
| Global Guideline: Determine Your Readers' Cultural Expectations About What Makes a Communication Usable | |
| Check Your Plans With Your Readers | |
| Ethics Guideline: Investigate Stakeholder Impacts | |
| Conclusion | |
| Case: Filling the Distance Learning Classroom | |
| Planning Your Persuasive Strategies | |
| Persuasion to Influence Attitudes and Action | |
| Persuasion to Help a Team Explore Ideas Collaboratively | |
| How Persuasion Works | |
| The Sources of This Chapter's Advice | |
| Listen--and Respond Flexibly to What You Hear | |
| Focus on Your Readers' Goals and Values | |
| Address--and Learn from--Your Readers' Concerns and Counterarguments | |
| Reason Soundly | |
| Organize to Create a Favorable Response | |
| Build an Effective Relationship with Your Readers | |
| Decide Whether to Appeal to Your Readers' Emotions | |
| Global Guideline: Adapt Your Persuasive Strategies to Your Readers' Cultural Background | |
| Ethics Guideline: Employ Ethical Persuasive Techniques | |
| Conclusion | |
| Case: Debating a Company Drug-Testing Program | |
| Conducting Reader-Centered Research | |
| Special Characteristics of the On-the-Job Research | |
| What Readers Want | |
| Guiding You through the Reader-Centered Information-Gathering Process | |
| Define Your Research Objectives | |
| Identify the Full Range of Sources that May Have Helpful Information | |
| Gather Broad, Credible Information from Each Source | |
| Gather Information that Can Be Analyzed in Subgroups | |
| Create an Efficient and Productive Research Plan | |
| Carefully Evaluate What You Find | |
| Take Careful Notes | |
| Ethics Guideline: Observe Intellectual Property Law and Document Your Sources | |
| Conclusion | |
| Writer's Reference Guide to Using Five Reader-Centered Research Methods | |
| Exploring Your Own Memory and Creativity | |
| Searching the Internet | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Three Ways to Search Efficiently on the Internet | |
| Using the Library | |
| Interviewing | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Conducting Efficient Library Research | |
| Conducting a Survey | |
| Analyzing and Interpreting Information and Data for Your Readers | |
| Guiding Your Through the Reader-Centered Process for Analyzing Information and Data | |
| Review Your Research Objectives | |
| Arrange Your Information in an Analyzable Form | |
| Find Meaningful Relationships in the Information | |
| Examine Subgroups of Information | |
| Interpret the Relationships for Your Readers | |
| Identify the Significance of the Relationships to Your Readers | |
| Recommend Actions Based on Your Analysis | |
| Think Critically Throughout Your Analysis | |
| Conclusion | |
| Drafting Prose Elements | |
| Drafting Paragraphs, Sections, and Chapters | |
| The Bridge from Planning to Drafting | |
| The Similarities of Paragraphs, Sections, and Chapters | |
| Guidelines for Beginning a Segment | |
| Begin by Announcing Your Topic | |
| How Topic Statements Increase Usability | |
| Present Your Generalizations Before Your Details | |
| Guidelines for Organizing the Information in Your Segments | |
| Move from Most Important to Least Important | |
| Consult Conventional Strategies When Having Difficulties Organizing | |
| Global Guideline: Consider Your Readers' Cultural Backgrounds When Organizing | |
| Guidelines for Helping Readers See the Organization of Your Segments | |
| Add Signposts that Create a Map of Your Communication's Organization | |
| Smooth the Flow of Thought from Sentence to Sentence | |
| Ethics Guideline: Examine the Human Consequences of What You're Drafting | |
| Conclusion | |
| Case: Increasing Organ Donations | |
| Writer's Reference Guide to Using Seven Reader-Centered Organizational Patterns | |
| Formal Classification (Grouping Facts) | |
| Informal Classification (Grouping Facts) | |
| Comparison | |
| Description of an Object (Partitioning) | |
| Description of a Process (Segmenting) | |
| Cause and Effect | |
| Problem and Solution | |
| Combinations of Patterns | |
| Developing an Effective Style | |
| Creating Your Voice | |
| Find Out What's Expected | |
| Consider the Roles Your Voice Creates for Your Readers and You | |
| Consider How Your Attitude toward Your Subject Will Affect Your Readers | |
| Say Things in Your Own Words | |
| Global Guideline: Adapt Your Voice to Your Readers' Cultural Background | |
| Ethics Guideline: Avoid Stereotypes | |
| Constructing Sentences | |
| Simplify Your Sentences | |
| Put the Action in Your Verbs | |
| Use the Active Voice Unless You Have a Good Reason to Use the Passive Voice | |
| Emphasize What's Most Important | |
| Vary Your Sentence Length and Structure | |
| Global Guideline: Adapt Your Sentences for Readers Who Are Not Fluent in Your Language | |
| Selecting Words | |
| Use Concrete, Specific Words | |
| Use Specialized Terms When--and Only When--Your Readers Will Understand Them | |
| Use Words Accurately | |
| Choose Plain Words Over Fancy Ones | |
| Choose Words with Appropriate Associations | |
| Global Guideline: Consider Your Readers' Cultural Background When Choosing Words | |
| Ethics Guideline: Use Inclusive Language | |
| Conclusion | |
| Beginning a Communication | |
| Introduction to Guidelines 1 through | |
| Guideline 1 Give Your Readers a Reason to Pay Attention | |
| State Your Main Point | |
| Tell Your Readers What to Expect | |
| Encourage Openness to Your Message | |
| Provide Necessary Background Information | |
| Include a Summary Unless Your Communication Is Very Short | |
| Adjust the Length of Your Beginning to Your Readers' Needs | |
| Global Guideline: Adapt Your Beginning to Your Readers' Cultural Background | |
| Ethics Guideline: Begin to Address Unethical Practices Promptly--and Strategically | |
| Conclusion | |
| Ending a Communication | |
| After You've Made Your Last Point, Stop | |
| Repeat Your Main Point | |
| Summarize Your Key Points | |
| Refer to a Goal Stated Earlier in Your Communication | |
| Focus on a Key Feeling | |
| Tell Your Readers How to Get Assistance or More Information | |
| Tell Your Readers What to Do Next | |
| Identify Any Further Study That Is Needed | |
| Follow Applicable Social Conventions | |
| Conclusion | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Front and Back Matter | |
| How Transmittal Letters, Covers, and Front and Back Matter Increase Usability and Persuasiveness | |
| Review the Ways Your Readers Will Use the Communication | |
| Review Your Communication's Persuasive Goals | |
| Find Out What's Required | |
| Find Out What's Expected | |
| Evaluate and Revise Your Front and Back Matter | |
| Conventions and Local Practice | |
| Writing a Reader-Centered Transmittal Letter | |
| Writing a Reader-Centered Cover | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Front Matter | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Back Matter | |
| Drafting Visual Elements | |
| Creating Reader-Centered Graphics | |
| A Reader-Centered Approach to Creating Graphics | |
| Look for Places Where Graphics Can Increase Your Communication's Usefulness and Persuasiveness | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Graphics Help Readers Understand and Use Information | |
| Select the Type of Graphic That Will Be Most Effective at Achieving Your Objectives | |
| Make Each Graphic Easy to Understand and Use | |
| Use Color to Support Your Message | |
| Use Graphics Software and Existing Graphics Effectively | |
| Integrate Your Graphics with Your Text | |
| Get Permission and Cite the Sources for Your Graphics | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Creating Reader-Centered Graphs with a Spreadsheet Program | |
| Global Guideline: Adapt Your Graphics When Writing to Readers in Other Cultures | |
| Ethics Guideline: Avoid Graphics That Mislead | |
| Conclusion | |
| Writer's Reference Guide to Creating Eleven Types of Reader-Centered Graphics | |
| Tables | |
| Line Graphs | |
| Bar Graphs | |
| Pictographs | |
| Pie Charts | |
| Photographs | |
| Drawings | |
| Screen Shots | |
| Flowcharts | |
| Organizational Charts | |
| Schedule Charts | |
| Designing Reader-Centered Pages and Documents | |
| A Reader-Centered Approach to Design | |
| Design Elements of a Communication | |
| Begin by Considering Your Readers and Purpose | |
| Create a Grid to Serve as the Visual Framework for Your Pages | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Designing Grid Patterns for Print | |
| Introduction to Guidelines 3 through 6 | |
| Align Related Elements with One Another | |
| Group Related Items Visually | |
| Use Contrast to Establish Hierarchy and Focus | |
| Using Word Processors to Create Page Designs | |
| Use Repetition to Unify Your Communication Visually | |
| Select Type That Is Easy to Read | |
| Design Your Overall Document for Ease of Use and Attractiveness | |
| Conclusion | |
| Use What You've Learned | |
| Revising | |
| Revising Your Drafts | |
| The Three Activities of Revising | |
| Checking Your Draft Yourself | |
| Check from Your Readers' Point of View | |
| Check from Your Employer's Point of View | |
| Distance Yourself from Your Draft | |
| Read Your Draft More Than Once, Changing Your Focus Each Time | |
| Use Computer Aids to Find (But Not to Cure) Possible Problems | |
| Ethics Guideline: Consider the Stakeholders' Perspective | |
| Reviewing | |
| Discuss the Objectives of the Communication and the Review | |
| Build a Positive Interpersonal Relationship with Your Reviewers or Writer | |
| Rank Suggested Revisions--and Distinguish Matters of Substance from Matters of Taste | |
| Explore Fully the Reasons for All Suggestions | |
| Convey Suggestions to the Writer in the Most Helpful Way | |
| Ethics Guideline: Review from the Stakeholders' Perspective | |
| Guidelines for Managing Your Revising Time | |
| Adjust Your Effort to the Situation | |
| Make the Most Significant Revisions First | |
| Be Diplomatic | |
| To Revise Well, Follow the Guidelines for Writing Well | |
| Revise to Learn | |
| Conclusion | |
| Testing Drafts for Usability and Persuasiveness | |
| The Logic of Testing | |
| Establish Your Test Objectives | |
| Pick Test Readers Who Truly Represent Your Target Readers | |
| Focus on Usability: Ask Your Test Readers to Use Your Draft the Same Way Your Target Readers Will | |
| Focus on Persuasiveness: Learn How Your Draft Affects Your Readers' Attitudes | |
| Interview Your Test Readers after They Have Read and Used Your Draft | |
| Avoid Biasing Your Test Results | |
| Interpret Your Results Thoughtfully | |
| Test Early and Often | |
| Global Guideline: With Communications for Readers in Other Cultures, Choose Test Readers from the Culture | |
| Ethics Guideline: Obtain Informed Consent from Your Test Readers | |
| Conclusion | |
| Applications of the Reader-Centered Approach | |
| Communicating and Collaborating in the Globally Networked World | |
| Corresponding Digitally | |
| Writing Collaboratively Online | |
| Meeting virtually | |
| Creating Communications with a Team | |
| Varieties of Team Structures | |
| Develop a Shared Understanding of the Communication's Objectives | |
| Make and Share Detailed Plans | |
| Make a Project Schedule | |
| Share Leadership Responsibilities | |
| Make Meetings Efficient | |
| Encourage Discussion, Debate, and Diversity of Ideas | |
| Choose the Computer Technology Best Suited to Your Team's Project | |
| Global Guideline: Be Sensitive to Possible Cultural and Gender Differences in Team Interactions | |
| For Virtual Teams, Foster Personal Relationships and Conversational Interchanges | |
| Conclusion | |
| Creating and Delivering Listener-Centered Oral Presentations | |
| Define Your Presentation's Objectives | |
| Plan the Verbal and Visual Parts of Your Presentation as a Single Package | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Creating a Listener-Centered Presentation | |
| Focus on a Few Main Points | |
| Use a Simple Structure--and Help Your Listeners Follow It | |
| Speak in a Conversational Style | |
| Create Easy-to-Read, Understandable Graphics | |
| Involve Your Audience in Your Presentation | |
| Prepare for Interruptions and Questions--and Respond Courteously | |
| Global Guideline: Adapt to Your Audience's Cultural Background | |
| Rehearse | |
| Accept Your Nervousness--and Work with It | |
| Making Team Presentations | |
| Conclusion | |
| Creating Reader-Centered Web Pages and Websites | |
| Creating a Website, Creating a Digital Portfolio | |
| Digital Portfolio Websites | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Using a Word Processor to Create a Digital Portfolio | |
| Guidelines for Defining Objectives | |
| Learn About Your Site's Readers and Define Its Purpose | |
| Guidelines for Planning | |
| Create the Map for a Site That Includes What Your Readers Want and Enables Them to Get It Quickly | |
| Gather the Information Your Readers Need | |
| Ethics Guideline: Respect Intellectual Property and Provide Valid Information | |
| Guidelines for Drafting | |
| Design Pages That Are Easy to Use and Attractive | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Designing Grid Patterns for Web Pages | |
| Provide Navigational Aids That Help Your Readers Move Quickly through Your Site to the Information They Want | |
| Unify Your Site Verbally and Visually | |
| Ethics Guideline: Construct a Site That Readers with Disabilities Can Use | |
| Global Guideline: Design Your Site for International and Multicultural Readers | |
| Help Readers Find Your Site on the Internet | |
| Revising Guideline | |
| Test Your Site Before Launching It | |
| Writer's Guide and Other Resources | |
| Conclusion | |
| Managing Client and Service-Learning Projects | |
| Overall Project Management Strategy | |
| Determine Exactly What Your Client Wants and Why | |
| Develop Your Own Assessment of the Situation | |
| Create a Project Management Plan | |
| Submit a Written Proposal to Your Client--and Ask for a Written Agreement | |
| Communicate with Your Client Often--Especially at All Major Decisions | |
| Advocate and Educate, But Defer to Your Client | |
| Hand Off the Project in a Helpful Way | |
| Conclusion | |
| Superstructures | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Letters and Memos | |
| Adopt a Reader-Centered "You-Attitude." Guideline 2 State Your Main Point Up Front--Unless Your Reader Will React Negatively | |
| Keep It Short Guideline 4 Give Your Readers the Background They Need | |
| Use Headings, Lists, and Graphics | |
| Global Guideline: Learn the Customs of Your Readers' Culture | |
| Follow Format Conventions | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Letters | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Writing Letters | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Memos | |
| Writer's Tutorial: Writing Memos | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Proposals | |
| The Variety of Proposal-Writing Situations | |
| Features of Proposals That Help You | |
| The Questions Readers Ask Most Often | |
| Superstructure for Proposals | |
| Guiding You Through the Process of Preparing Proposals | |
| Crafting the Major Elements of a Proposal | |
| Sample Proposal | |
| Writer's Guides and Other Resources | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Empirical Research Reports | |
| Typical Writing Situations | |
| Features of Empirical Research Reports That Help You | |
| The Questions Readers Ask Most Often | |
| Superstructure for Empirical Research Reports | |
| Guiding You Through the Process of Preparing Empirical Research Reports | |
| Crafting the Major Elements of an Empirical Research Report | |
| Sample Empirical Research Reports | |
| Writer's Guides and Other Resources | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Feasibility Reports | |
| Features of Feasibility Reports That Help You | |
| The Questions Readers Ask Most Often | |
| Superstructure for Feasibility Reports | |
| Guiding You Through the Process of Preparing Feasibility Reports | |
| Crafting the Major Elements of a Feasibility Report | |
| Sample Feasibility Report | |
| Writer's Guides and Other Resources | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Progress Reports | |
| Typical Writing Situations | |
| Readers' Concern with the Future | |
| The Questions Readers Ask Most Often | |
| Superstructure for Progress Reports | |
| Features of Progress Reports That Help You. | |
| Guiding You Through the Process of Preparing Progress Reports | |
| Crafting the Major Elements of a Progress Report | |
| Tone in Progress Reports | |
| Writer's Guides and Other Resources | |
| Writing Reader-Centered Instructions | |
| Features of Instructions That Help You | |
| The Questions Readers Ask Most Often | |
| Superstructure for Instructions | |
| Guiding You Through the Process of Preparing Instructions | |
| Crafting the Major Elements of Instructions | |
| Web Page Instructions | |
| Digital Movie Instructions | |
| Writer's Guide and Other Resources | |
| Documenting Your Sources | |
| Choosing a Format for Documentation | |
| Deciding Where to Place In-Text Citations | |
| Writing APA In-Text Citations | |
| Writing An APA References List | |
| Writing MLA In-Text Citations | |
| Writing an MLA Works Cited List | |
| Projects | |
| R?sum? and Job Application Letter | |
| Digital Portfolio | |
| Informational Web Site | |
| Informational Page | |
| Unsolicited Recommendation | |
| Brochure | |
| Instructions | |
| Digital Movie Instructions | |
| User Test and Report | |
| Project Proposal | |
| Progress Report | |
| Formal Report or Proposal | |
| Oral Briefing I: Project Plans | |
| Oral Briefing II: Project Results | |
| Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved. |
