Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace
Technical Communication: The Workplace’s Central Nervous System
Innovation, Genres, and the Technical Writing Process
Stage 1: Researching and Planning
Stage 2: Organizing and Drafting
Stage 3: Improving the Style
Stage 4: Designing
Stage 5: Revising and Editing
How Are Technical Communication and Entrepreneurship Related?
Key Characteristics of Technical Communication
Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
How Important Is Technical Communication?
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
2. Profiling Your Readers
What Motivates People
Creating a Reader Profile
Step 1: Identify Your Readers
Step 2: Identify Your Readers’ Needs, Values, and Attitudes
Step 3: Identify the Contexts in Which Readers Will Experience Your Document
Using Reader Profiles to Your Advantage
Global and Transcultural Communication
Differences in Content
Differences in Organization
Differences in Style
Differences in Design
Listen and Learn: The Key to Global and Transcultural Communication
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: Installing a Medical Waste Incinerator
3. Working in Teams
The Stages of Teaming
Forming: Strategic Planning
Step 1: Define the Project Mission and Objectives
Step 2: Identify Project Outcomes
Step 3: Define Team Member Responsibilities
Step 4: Create a Project Calendar
Step 5: Write Out a Work Plan
Step 6: Agree on How Conflicts Will Be Resolved
Storming: Managing Conflict
Running Effective Meetings
Mediating Conflicts
Firing a Team Member
Norming: Determining Team Roles
Revising Objectives and Outcomes
Redefining Team Roles and Redistributing Workload
Going Mobile and Virtual
Performing: Improving Quality
The Keys to Teaming
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Entrepreneurship Case Study: Burning Daylight
4. Managing Ethical Challenges
What Are Ethics?
Where Do Ethics Come From?
Personal Ethics
Social Ethics
Conservation Ethics
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
Step 1: Analyze the Ethical Dilemma
Step 2: Make a Decision
Step 3: React Appropriately When You Disagree with Your Employer
Ethics in the Entrepreneurial Workplace
Patents
Copyright Law
Trademarks
Copyright Law in Technical Communication
Asking Permission
Copyrighting Your Work
Plagiarism
Cyberbullying and Cyberharassment
Preventing It
Stopping It
Avoiding Doing It Yourself
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Entrepreneurship Case Study: The Burrito Drone
5. Starting Your Career
Building Your Résumé
Quick Start: Career Materials
Types of Résumés
Chronological Résumé
Functional Résumé
Designing the Résumé
Writing Effective Application Letters
Content and Organization
Style
Revising and Proofreading the Résumé and Letter
Creating a Professional Portfolio
Collecting Materials
Organizing Your Portfolio
Assembling a Print Portfolio
Creating an Electronic Portfolio
Finding a Job
Setting Goals
Making Your Plan
How to Nail an Interview
Preparing for the Interview
At the Interview
Writing Thank You Letters and/or E-Mails
Microgenre: The Bio or Personal Statement
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: The Lie
6. E-mails, Letters, and Memos
Types of E-mails, Letters, and Memos
Quick Start: E-mails, Letters, and Memos
Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
Step 2: Decide What Kind of E-Mail, Letter, or Memo Is Needed
Inquiries
Responses
Transmittals
Claims or Complaints
Adjustments
Refusals
Step 3: Organize and Draft Your Message
Introduction with a Purpose and a Main Point
Body That Provides Need-to-Know Information
Conclusion That Restates the Main Point
Microgenre: Workplace Texting and Tweeting
Step 4: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
Strategies for Developing an Appropriate Style
Formatting Letters
Formatting Envelopes
Formatting Memos
Using E-Mail for Transcultural Communication
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: The Nastygram
7. Technical Descriptions and Specifications
Types of Technical Descriptions
Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
Planning
Quick Start: Technical Descriptions and Specifications
Researching
Step 2: Partition Your Subject
Step 3: Organize and Draft Your Technical Description
Specific and Precise Title
Introduction with an Overall Description
Description by Features, Functions, or Stages
Description by Senses, Similes, Analogies, and Metaphors
Conclusion
Step 4: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
Plain, Simple Style
Page Layout That Fits the Context of Use
Graphics That Illustrate
Medium That Allows Easy Access
Microgenre: Technical Definitions
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: In the Vapor
8. Instructions and Documentation
Types of Technical Documentation
Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
Planning
Quick Start: Instructions and Documentation
Researching
Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Documentation
Specific and Precise Title
Introduction
List of Parts, Tools, and Conditions Required
Sequentially Ordered Steps
Safety Information
Conclusion That Signals Completion of Task
User-Testing Your Documentation
Step 3: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
Plain Style with a Touch of Emotion
Functional, Attractive Page Layout
Graphics That Reinforce Written Text
Medium That Improves Access
Working with Transcultural Documentation
Verbal Considerations
Design Considerations
Microgenre: Emergency Instructions
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: Purified Junk
9. Proposals
Types of Proposals
Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
Planning
Quick Start: Proposals
Researching
Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Proposal
Writing the Introduction
Describing the Current Situation
Describing the Project Plan
Describing Qualifications
Concluding with Costs and Benefits
Step 3: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
A Balance of Plain and Persuasive Styles
An Attractive, Functional Design
A Dynamic Use of Medium
Microgenre: The Elevator Pitch
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Entrepreneurship Case Study: That Guilty Conscience
10. Brief Reports
Types of Brief Reports
Progress Reports
White Papers and Briefings
Quick Start: Brief Reports
Incident Reports
Laboratory Reports
Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
Analyzing the Situation
Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Brief Report
Writing the Introduction
Writing the Body
Writing the Conclusion
Step 3: Choose the Style, Design, and Format
Keeping the Style Plain and Straightforward
Designing for Simplicity and Illustrating with Graphics
Writing for Electronic Media
Microgenre: Postmortem
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: Bad Chemistry
11. Formal Reports
Types of Formal Reports
Quick Start: Formal Reports
Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
Planning
Researching
Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Report
Writing the Introduction
Describing Your Methodology
Summarizing the Results of the Study
Discussing Your Results
Concluding with Recommendations
Step 3: Draft the Front Matter and Back Matter
Developing Front Matter
Developing Back Matter
Step 4: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
Using Plain Style in a Persuasive Way
A Straightforward Design
Using Google Drive to Collaborate on Global Projects
Microgenre: The Poster Presentation
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: The X-File
12. Researching in Technical Workplaces
Beginning Your Research
Step 1: Define Your Research Subject
Mapping Out Your Ideas
Narrowing Your Research Subject
Step 2: Formulate a Research Question or Hypothesis
Step 3: Develop a Research Methodology
Mapping Out a Methodology
Describing Your Methodology
Using and Revising Your Methodology
Step 4: Collect Evidence Through Sources
Using Electronic Sources
Using Print Sources
Using Empirical Sources
Step 5: Triangulate Your Sources
Step 6: Take Careful Notes
Taking Notes
Documenting Your Sources
Step 7: Appraise Your Evidence
Is the Source Reliable?
How Biased Is the Source?
Am I Biased?
Is the Source Up to Date?
Can the Evidence Be Verified?
Have I Plagiarized Any of My Sources?
Step 8: Revise, Accept, or Abandon Your Hypothesis
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: The Life of a Dilemma
13. Designing Documents and Interfaces
Five Principles of Design
Design Principle 1: Balance
Weighting a Page or Screen
Using Grids to Balance a Page Layout
Design Principle 2: Alignment
Design Principle 3: Grouping
Using Headings
Using Borders and Rules
Design Principle 4: Consistency
Choosing Typefaces
Labeling Graphics
Creating Sequential and Nonsequential Lists
Inserting Headers and Footers
Design Principle 5: Contrast
Transcultural Design
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Entrepreneurship Case Study: The Designers Fobbed Up
14. Creating and Using Graphics
Guidelines for Using Graphics
Guideline One: A Graphic Should Tell a Simple Story
Guideline Two: A Graphic Should Reinforce the Written Text, Not Replace It
Guideline Three: A Graphic Should Be Ethical
Guideline Four: A Graphic Should Be Labeled and Placed Properly
Displaying Data with Graphs, Tables, and Charts
Line Graphs
Bar Charts
Tables
Pie Charts
Flowcharts
Using Photos and Drawings
Photographs
Inserting Photographs and Other Images
Illustrations
Using Transcultural Symbols
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Case Study: Looking Guilty
15. Presenting and Pitching Your Ideas
Planning and Researching Your Presentation
Defining the Situation
Allotting Your Time
Choosing the Right Presentation Technology
Organizing the Content of Your Presentation
Building the Presentation
The Introduction: Tell Them What You’re Going to Tell Them
The Body: Tell Them
The Conclusion: Tell Them What You Told Them
Preparing to Answer Questions
Choosing Your Presentation Style
Creating Visuals
Designing Visual Aids
Using Graphics
Slides to Avoid
Delivering the Presentation
Body Language
Voice, Rhythm, and Tone
Using Your Notes
Giving Presentations with Your Mobile Phone or Tablet
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse
Evaluating Your Performance
Working Across Cultures with Translators
What You Need to Know
Exercises and Projects
Entrepreneurship Case Study: The Geek and the Pitch
Appendixe A: Grammar and Punctuation Guide
The Top Ten Grammar Mistakes
Comma Splice
Run-On Sentence
Fragment
Dangling Modifier
Subject-Verb Disagreement
Pronoun-Antecedent Disagreement
Faulty Parallelism
Pronoun Case Error (I and Me, We and Us)
Shifted Tense
Vague Pronoun
Punctuation Refresher
Period, Exclamation Point, Question Mark
Commas
Semicolon and Colon
Apostrophe
Quotation Marks
Dashes and Hyphens
Parentheses and Brackets
Ellipses
Appendixe B: Documentation Guide
APA Documentation Style
APA In-Text Citations
The References List for APA Style
Creating the APA References List
CSE Documentation Style (Citation-Sequence)
The References List for CSE Citation-Sequence Style
Creating the CSE References List (Citation-Sequence Style)
MLA Documentation Style
MLA In-Text Citations
The Works Cited List for MLA Style
Creating the MLA Works Cited List
References
Credits
Index
Sample Documents