Students like to become acquainted with a consistent format across a book's chapters so they know where to find answers/resources that they need, regardless of the topic. This text provides a solid basis for any course in technical writing, though. Professional and academic proposals are robust documents which cite sources, so that background information would be useful earlier. I also appreciate the chapter on information literacy, which includes information on scholarly, professional and general publications. But percent of what? In terms of usability in relation to comprehensiveness, the table of contents is nicely detailed, but no index appears so locating overlaps of information among and between chapters would not be as simple or straightforward as it could be. Elicit.org. Although the concept of linking to examples and additional information is an excellent use of this medium, the choice of links could be improved. Consistent use of headers and special highlights (e.g., boldface, etc.) I would consider using this text in an introductory technical writing class, with the addition of several notable sections identified elsewhere in this review. Some of the basic material related to communication and being concise will be consistently useful. I would love to see this text updated with more sections. As mentioned in my first comment, the textbook could benefit from separating technical writing and professional writing as they are separate disciplines. You need to be able to: Know differences between academic and technical writing. Identify the components of good design. Clear, common sense prose. Content is cited and derived from David McMurrey, who has experience and a plethora of knowledge in all aspects of technical writing. In fact, much professional writing starts with an abstract, executive summary, or cover sheet that obviates the need for a conclusion. However, each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings, so navigating to specific concepts and ideas is not difficult without the use The text seems to keep in mind readers of various races and backgrounds and uses relevant pop culture references that are inclusive. However, locating the table of contents may not be intuitive for some students, and some students may not know how to navigate through each chapter's subsections. I would be most inclined to use the chapters on ethical issues, research, and proposals. The authors provide some excellent, labeled figures and graphics so that students can comprehend the main ideas quickly. It ends with a section on "Thinking About Writing" that is pretty clearly designed for more advanced readers, and I think that's an effective choice. PDF CIT 702-TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING - nou.edu.ng The text gives full explanation of the content. The authors make the useful point in several places that a business, agency, journal etc. It seems this book has the unique ability to fit many different kinds of teaching styles, learning environments, and student abilities--and the book's design and functionality allows for professors to be very malleable in their pedagogy. Workplace Writers Parallel Structure in Professional Writing Tone in Business Writing HATS: A Design Procedure for Routine Business Documents Some arguments cannot be made in three short paragraphs. Further, students are seeing a poor example of a strong technical writing style because the sentences are written in a vague style that would lead to comprehension and translation errors. Clear, consistent headings and sub-headings are used throughout. Effective use of white space. Reviewed by Michael Nern, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Ohio University Zanesville on 2/1/18, The book does not contain an index or a glossary. Presentations are another key genre for technical communication that is overlooked in the textbook. It is noteworthy that it does not have questions in the back of each section, so its not designed for, say, test development or study for exams. For example, starting with Audience Analysis rather than with a variety of workplace communication genres (text, email, memos, etc.) For the most part, the book is internally consistent. Modularity is well done. PDF A guide to technical report writing - Institution of Engineering and In this book, short chapters are split up into tiny subparts, and navigation between them is tricky in the web-native version. . What is though doing in this sentence? This book is concise and covers an array of Technical Communication topics and genres. Lacking examples, explanations, or a declaration of prerequisite knowledge, the answer to both questions is no.. The text does not have interfacing issues. Writing is perhaps the most important way in which you will convey your ideas to managers, other engineers, and customers. The field of technical and professional communication tends to use terms somewhat synonymously, so the conflation of certain terms in the text is not unusual in the field. If the objectives of the report have been clarified, the writer will know the appropriate level of technical language and the correct tone for the readership. Hamdard University, Islamabad Campus, Pakistan. For my own teaching, this is not an issue (I try to craft assignments that fit the culture of my students' academic programs), but I could see it limiting the use of this book for other professors who would like corresponding assignments and readings. Another issue with the book is the lack of writing exercises and assignments. There is no culturally insensitive or offensive language in the text, however, the text is not inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in its examples or images. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. The authors use an interesting example of cultural differences, using a world map to illustrate the different meanings of the color red in different countries. It would be stronger with a little more emphasis on presentations and video, as noted, which are important as digital communications tools for STEM majors. Due to the objective nature of most technical writing, this book certainly follows suit and contains little in terms of bias or subjectivity. As mentioned before, the more casual tone of the textbook does not help with modeling technical and professional communication. The book is very well-written and contains no grammatical errors. The visual weight of Chapter Attribution Information, which is currently the same as chapter titles, should be reduced. There is abundant use of the colon to introduce lists, and the authors use bullet points frequently. This has worked very well in that role in this semester, and I am hoping to keep it on my list of resources moving forward. The ones that exist are obvious and instructors can correct them if they use those chapters. The text is geared towards an American culture. Cultural Relevance - The text appears to be culturally sensitive of all races, nationalities and ethnicities. This text Examples are frequently included, although even more examples would be a welcome addition. The book does not model the level of clarity needed for technical writers. Sometimes the authors refer to specific genres (like reports, in section 5.1) in a way that would confuse students (because writers cite sources in proposals, memos, and presentations, not just reports), and those errors should be addressed lest the students be misled about the conventions of the genres. Figure 13 in Chapter 11.4, however, doesnt offer a resume sample for the exercise and simply states Text of fake resume here. Students would appreciate the very good detail in the table of contents as well as the ease of navigating from section to section as needed. Why are citations in between Proposals and Progress Reports? Despite an opening comment in the Introduction that claims students will learn to write "in such a way that even Grandad can understand," a which is a bit insulting to grandpas everywhere (it's ageist), the book seems to be culturally respectful and appropriate. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. Plagiarism is the representation of another person's ideas or writing as one's own. There is no index or glossary. It signals a contrast which isnt there. Whatever your major is, you are developing . In some chapters, that information is repeated before every section, which adds visual clutter. The index is helpful; there is no glossary, but this does not seem to be an omission as there is little jargon used throughout the book. Reviewed by Ethan Jordan, Lecturer, Bowling Green State University on 2/1/18, The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course. One of the earliest chapters is about texting. Things in that field are always changing, but the authors could provide information about where to find the most up-to-date recommendations on inclusive language, such as the acceptability of "they" as a singular personal pronoun for gender nonbinary people, and what language is appropriate to describe ethnic groups etc. University of Minnesota, 330 Wulling Hall, 86 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. This format does not have a much-needed index or glossary. Further, references to "your paper" and "paper" demonstrate lack of focus on rhetorical concepts of audience and purpose that should drive every technical communicator in every task. Which Australian are we voting for? The attribution information at the end of each chapter is the only reference provided, contradicting the authors' recommendation to support one's writing with material from outside research. Reviewed by Amanda Izenstark, Professor, Reference & Instructional Design Librarian, University of Rhode Island on 2/1/18, This text covers numerous facets related to technical writing, including basic business correspondence and determining how best to reach the audience for the particular type of technical writing being done. The overall organization progresses logically from shorter forms of technical writing to longer, more complex ones. Figures and tables are not always labeled correctly. A more contemporary text would no doubt include online collaborative tools and meeting platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Assembling the Information Talking to Joe Arranging the Facts Standard Sequences 3. Special terms are explained and defined. The book does not contain an index or a glossary. The text is written at a level accessible for college-level students, and perhaps some high school students. Again, a question about prerequisite knowledge arises. While the book does cover a great of texts that are useful for students studying engineering and computer science, it may provide fewer examples and cover less in terms of students looking for technical communication instruction in medical fields, journals, legal fields. The online version of the book is hosted on the Pressbooks platform, which is intuitive to use, but long sections require significant scrolling. A full citation guide is not provided, which may not reflect well on the credibility of the authors and/or the accuracy of the information provided. The content generally seems up-to-date, and the chapter organization and breakdown appear to lend themselves to easy updating. In this first chapter, however, only texting, emails, memos, and letters are discussed. The activity and try this in these chapters would be helpful in other chapters, too. This textbook highlights important components of technical writing, including various forms of technical writing in the workplace and also approaches to audience analysis, graphics, and ethics within the writing of these documents. The text is broken up into sections reflecting key components of researching, developing, and producing a technical report. This link in 4.3 is no longer valid: The Research Cycle derived from A Cycle of Revolving Research by UC Libraries, CC: BY-NC-SA 3.0 Audience analysis comes much earlier (chapter 2) but not before texts, emails, and netiquette. The interface for the Web version of the book is clear, simple, and unobtrusive. This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. Technical Writing & Presentation - 1st Edition - Elsevier The online interface I used was generally very easy; with both arrows and a table of contents, writers can easily move to where they need to get their information. The authors do a good job of defining terms, but students will need to read the text to discover the important terms; no sidebars or lists are used to call attention to specialized vocabulary. [How to vote this image is on a blog that is CC-licensed but I dont think the author used the image with permission. Later chapters jump between concepts and genres with no obvious logic to the order. Topics common to technical writing courses are explored in this text and include an important section (4.6) on evaluating sources as well as sections on plagiarism and the importance of citing sources. The structural framework of the text is effective for online reading. The text has a logical order, but I would assign the last chapters first since I usually begin with employment application materials and then cultural awareness almost immediately afterwards. This text also As far as I can tell, this textbook does not include an index or glossary. Chapter 1, on correspondence, uses at least three different formats for bullet points. The differences do not render the text unreadable, just lack cohesive than the average textbook. There were missed opportunities to expand some of the more relevant topics, like the importance of visual rhetoric in page layout; solicited and unsolicited proposals; and, analytical report writing like feasibility studies. read more. The way this book is designed and written does not seem to engage the exigencies of technical writing as I'm familiar with them. I'm not sure why the chapters are ordered this way. Technical communicationor technical writing, as the course is often calledis not writing about a specific technical topic such as computers, but about any technical topic. The text contains no grammatical errors. Are the authors saying that longer arguments are better suited for a memorandum or a letter? 3. However, currently relevant platforms like Twitter are excluded from this section. Problems with organization: Technical Writing & Presentation - 1st Edition Browse by subject Agricultural & Biological Sciences Microbiology and Virology Pharmaceutical Sciences Book sale: Save up to 25% Offer details R Brown, G. Chandler, W. A. Davis 1. Thought was given to the order of the text and it is logical and predictable. These are in addition to the grammatical issues. the action is probably unethical oversimplifies -- one can lose a job for being ethical as well. There are clear signals that link each section to the main section. First, can instructors assume that students will recognize this intricate interaction? The book is extremely easy to read, and should not hold any students back. Technical Writing contains no grammatical errors. A longer paragraph in 13.4 on intercultural communication uses sheep as an example when there are so many ways to talk about the importance of good technical writing in support of technical products and services when they go global. No one in industry writes topic proposals, so I would not teach that genre in my technical writing course. The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume. This is a problem of all technical writing texts, but it's particularly acute as it relates to an online text, which will likely be expected to be current, relevant, and inclusive of the latest trends in technology and writing. The book contains relevant content that could be updated with relative ease. The text works to reinforce technical communication concepts both in its subject matter and in the style of the text itself. This guide provides guidelines to engineering students for writing technical reports (for example on vacation work, experiments, design projects and final year projects), theses and dissertations. Reviewed by Cynthia Kimball Davis, Chair of the Integrative & Interdisciplinary Studies (IES) Department, Southern Utah University on 8/2/18, Comprehensiveness - Appears to offer all of the standard technical writing topics with an excellent easy bulleted table of contents. outlining) and genres to follow. Sentences over 30 words are to be mistrusted. Again, I wondered, Says who? Had the authors cited evidence a study finding that sentences over 25 words are ignored by readers, for instance the claim might be more compelling. This and other sections could offer updates, particularly regarding electronic and online documents. The authors cover related and integral The sections in the book are effectively broken into segments which are short but emphasize key points in about a page or so. The section on research rightly emphasizes electronic sources, and this too, may need updating as library databases and other electronic sources may change. For instance, visual rhetoric and page layout were lumped together with audience. Where it summarizes the key details, it does so with general clarity and the links to other, more detailed resources appear to be effective, although one or two are dated. Concepts of genre and genre analysis are presented as fundamental to understanding the writing process yet they come at the end of the text. The organization of the textbook appears to be clear and clean, but gets difficult to manage once specific questions are asked, such as, "how should I assign readings to prepare my students for specific assignments?" And conference calls, in a variety of formats, are increasingly essential to the working life. read more. It also seems that "Outlines" might be addressed sooner since those could apply to writing proposals as well as progress reports. What makes a good technical report? Another missed opportunity occurs on page 16, where the authors admonish culture and even gender can play a part in how people communicate. While this is undoubtedly true, two questions arise. There are some areas with a "Try This" section, but not very many of them, and the assignments lack an assessment component. The emphasis is on professional communication throughout so chapters are linked through that context. The content does not cite original sources. Shows how these principles can be applied. she Subject Matter c. Readers; Identify what the people in the technical profession are required to write. Still, the ordering of the text is not confusing. Although the same chapter structure is used throughout the text, which will help keep the reader focused as they navigate subsequent chapter content, the authors could discuss chapter presentation, structure, and framework prior to the first chapter. If I had to point to one area where it might need updating, it might be in allowing more space for instructions, presentations and video content, as these are emerging as valuable tools and I am not seeing a lot in the text. In fact, between July 2017, when I downloaded a PDF copy for review, and October 2017, when I began writing the review, the authors added chapter 11 on design and readability, and chapter 12 on writing employment materials. With the inclusion of sections on MLA and APA citation style as well as the job application chapters, it would need to be updated in about 5 years to reflect changes to those areas.