PREFACE

Technical Communication for Readers and Writers, Second Edition, has two goals: to prepare students for the many writing tasks they will encounter in the workplace and to provide technical communication instructors with a flexible, comprehensive teaching tool. Beneath these two goals lies the foundation of this book—the belief that writing is more than simply putting words on paper or a computer screen and that students learn best to write by understanding their readers and by writing and revising. This book, therefore, contains samples of student and workplace writing and exercises by which students can apply the principles of technical communication.

Technical communication goes far beyond reporting facts. Technical communication is a series of deliberate problem-solving activities—activities that require critical thinking. Before writers can effectively put words on a computer screen or report facts, they must understand why they are writing, who is reading, and why the readers are reading. Without this information, a document will most likely fail to achieve its desired purpose. When writers understand their purpose and their readers, they can communicate more effectively.

Technical Communication for Readers and Writers presents principles designed to give students the tools and practice they need to respond effectively to varied writing situations. With these principles, students can determine the organization, layout, and content that will best meet the needs of readers.

Overview of the Second Edition

In addition to a brief introduction to technical communication in Chapter 1, Technical Communication for Readers and Writers contains four major sections and two appendixes.

Part I: Understanding the Role of the Writer

Part I helps students to understand their roles as writers in the workplace. In Chapter 2, “Understanding and Writing for Your Readers,” students learn principles for examining workplace writing from several vantage points: that of the writer, the readers, and the workplace. In Chapter 3, “Facing Ethical and Legal Challenges,” students learn to consider the ethical dimensions of their communications. In Chapter 4, “Collaborating and the Writing Process,” students see how to adapt to the interpersonal challenges and opportunities of collaborative writing. This chapter also suggests ways for students to use electronic media to facilitate collaborative writing.

Part II: Knowing the Tools of the Writer

Part II presents principles students need to create effective, reader-oriented documents. In Chapter 5, “Researching Information Using Primary and Secondary Sources,” students learn strategies for formulating research questions and exploring and evaluating primary and secondary sources—including electronic resources. Chapter 6, “Organizing Information for Your Readers,” presents techniques for structuring documents that readers can understand and use. In Chapter 7, “Writing Reader-Oriented Sentences and Paragraphs,” and Chapter 8, “Using Reader-Oriented Language,” students learn and practice style principles at the sentence, paragraph, and word levels. These principles provide students with strategies they can use to write clear, concise, reader-oriented documents. Chapter 9, “Designing Documents for Your Readers,” and Chapter 10, “Creating Effective Visual Aids for Your Readers,” demonstrate the rhetorical implications of document design and visual aids. These chapters give students “how-to” information that they can easily apply to their own documents and information. Finally, Chapter 11, “Preparing Front and Back Matter,” shows students how to prepare the elements required for longer, more formal documents—elements such as covers, title pages, tables of contents, and appendixes.

Part III: Producing Effective Documents and Presentations for Your Audience

Part III applies earlier principles and tools to planning and producing various types of technical documents and presentations. Students learn to apply these principles and tools to proposals (Chapter 12), informal reports (Chapter 13), formal reports (Chapter 14), instructions and manuals (Chapter 15), Web sites (Chapter 16), and oral presentations (Chapter 17). Students examine sample documents written by other students and workplace professionals. These documents include annotations that point out how the documents demonstrate the principles presented in the chapters.

Part IV: Using the Writer’s Tools to Correspond with Your Readers

Part IV applies the text’s principles and tools to letters, memos, e-mail, and job correspondence. In Chapter 18, “Writing Reader-Oriented Letters, Memos, and E-Mail,” students learn rhetorical strategies, principles, and formats for writing correspondence that conveys what they intend and that meets the needs of the readers. In Chapter 19, “Writing Reader-Oriented Job Correspondence,” students learn strategies for looking for jobs and for writing résumés, letters of application, and follow-up letters. This chapter also guides students through the electronic job search, including how to effectively use online job boards and how to create electronic and scannable résumés.

Appendixes

This book has two appendixes. Appendix A, “Documenting Your Sources,” presents information on citing sources using APA and MLA style. Appendix B, “Review of Common Sentence Errors, Punctuation, and Mechanics,” provides a convenient, brief handbook.

Features to Enhance Learning

Technical Communication for Readers and Writers offers students five recurring features that enhance student learning:

• Worksheets at the end of each chapter provide a checklist that students can use as they apply the principles presented in each chapter.
  
  
• Tips boxes in every chapter summarize key information that students need to create effective documents or to think about critical issues such as ethics. Visually distinguished from the rest of the text and indexed on the inside front cover, students will find it easy to retrieve this information when working on their own assignments.
  
  
• “Taking It into the Workplace” boxes present up-to-date research in technical communication from the vantage point of the workplace professional. These boxes include quotes from workplace professionals and technical communication scholars, as well as an assignment that requires students to learn about communicating and writing in the workplace.
  
  
• “The Reader’s Corner” boxes present anecdotal information about technical communication—past, present, and future—and suggestions for students to follow when writing.
  
  
• Case studies at the end of most chapters give students the opportunity to apply the principles of a particular chapter in extended workplace scenarios. Several of the case studies give students the opportunity to practice collaborative writing.

New Design Elements to Make Learning Easier

The second edition’s new design makes the book easier for instructors and students to use. The new design models the principles of effective technical communication:

• Full-color design uses color for a purpose—not merely as decoration. The color presents information clearly and easily and shows accurate design elements in screen shots, Web pages, and color-printed documents.
  
  
• Marginal comments direct students to related information in the text or to additional information on the Web.
  
  
• Expanded annotations in the sample documents highlight how the writers have applied the principles and tools presented in the chapters.

New Chapters to Reflect the Changing Workplace

The second edition has three new chapters. These chapters reflect a wider range of the types of documents and presentations that students may produce in the workplace.

• Chapter 13, “Writing Reader-Oriented Informal Reports,” presents principles for writing informal reports. The chapter focuses on four commonly written informal reports: progress reports, meeting minutes, field and lab reports, and trip reports. The chapter includes annotated examples of each type of informal report and tip boxes for writing each type of informal report. It also includes charts showing the conventional elements for each report and the questions that readers may ask while reading each element.
  
  
• Chapter 16, “Creating User-Oriented Web Sites,” presents students with a process for creating user-oriented Web sites. This chapter helps students to focus on designing text, visual aids, and navigational elements to meet the needs of the users and to fulfill the writer’s intended purpose. The chapter includes sample Web pages with annotations on how the writers applied the principles and tools presented in the chapter. The chapter gives students advice about designing Web sites for users with disabilities and for global users. It also presents information on copyright and legal issues related to Web sites.
  
  
• Chapter 17, “Creating and Delivering Oral Presentations,” presents students with principles for planning, rehearsing, and presenting effective oral presentations. The chapter focuses on extemporaneous and scripted presentations and gives students specific advice about the types of media that they can use for presenting visual aids.

Expanded Information to Better Reflect Technical Communication Today

This second edition includes expanded information that reflects the ever-changing world of technical communication and the environment and tools of the workplace.

• Ethics. Chapter 3, “Facing Ethical and Legal Challenges,” now includes a more in-depth approach to understanding ethics in the workplace. The chapter presents principles that students can apply to ensure that their technical documents are ethical and that the language they use is ethical.
  
  
• Researching tools. Chapter 5, “Researching Information Using Primary and Secondary Sources,” includes new and updated information on using the primary research tools of interviews and questionnaires. It also includes a greatly expanded section on using electronic resources, particularly the Web, for gathering information. The chapter includes important tips boxes and charts on using search engines and various electronic resources. Using screen shots of Web searches, the chapter focuses on how to effectively use electronic resources to gather information. The chapter ends with a section on helping students evaluate online resources.
  
  
• Formal reports. Chapter 14, “Writing Reader-Oriented Formal Reports,” now gives students a plan for preparing the formal report. This plan focuses on drawing valid conclusions and making recommendations.
  
  
• Electronic job search. Chapter 19, “Writing Reader-Oriented Job Correspondence,” now includes tips for using Internet job boards. The chapter also gives students information on preparing electronic and scannable résumés. This new information provides students with the tools they need to conduct an electronic job search.
  
  
• Documentation styles. Appendix A includes expanded information on APA and MLA documentation styles. The sections on both styles include models for citing electronic sources.

I’d Enjoy Hearing from You

If you have any comments or suggestions for improving this book, I’d enjoy hearing them. Please contact me at the Department of English at the University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203. My phone numbers are (940) 565-2115 and (940) 565-2050, and my e-mail is sims@unt.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.

Brenda R. Sims