Technical Writing for Success / Edition 3

by Darlene Smith-Worthington, Sue Jefferson

Overview

An engaging writing style that appeals to today's students is combined with a strong practical approach to technical writing - what it is, who reads it, and how to achieve success in this highly relevant field. Coverage includes both technical writing and technical reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780538450485
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	02/08/2010
Series:	Applied English
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Darlene Smith-Worthington is a former instructor and administrator for Pitt Community College in Winterville, North Carolina, where she taught technical writing for two decades. Recently retired, she also edited a weekly newspaper, directed public relations, and managed a small business during her 30-year professional career. Ms. Smith-Worthington feels passionate about education and strives to produce instructional materials that are engaging, based in reality, and useful.


Sue Jefferson has taught technical writing for more than ten years. Currently a community college instructor, she has also taught in middle school and high school, and owned and managed several businesses. Ms. Jefferson uses her business background and teaching experience to develop practical materials and instructions that prepare students for meaningful, lifelong careers.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. WHAT IS TECHNICAL WRITING?. You Are a Technical Writer!. Characteristics of Technical Writing. How Technical Writing Compares to Other Writing. Chapter 2. AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE. Meeting the Audience s Needs. Planning Your Document s Purpose, Scope, and Medium. Chapter 3. TECHNICAL RESEARCH. Researching at Work. Finding Secondary Data. Documenting Secondary Sources. Evaluating Sources. Taking Notes from Sources. Collecting Primary Data. Chapter 4. WRITING PROCESS. A Process for Technical Writing. Planning. Drafting and Revising. Copyediting and Publishing. Writing Collaboratively. Chapter 5. BRIEF CORRESPONDENCE. Introduction to Text Messages, E-mails, Memos, and Letters. Audience. Prewriting. Formatting. Composing the Message. Chapter 6. DOCUMENT DESIGN AND GRAPHICS. Designing the Document. Who Reads Graphics?. Designing Graphics. Constructing Graphics. Chapter 7. WRITING FOR THE WEB. Getting Started on Web Pages. Organizing and Designing Web Pages. Writing Text for the Web. Special Web Pages. Chapter 8. INFORMATIVE REPORTS. Getting Started on Informative Reports. Summary and Abstract. Mechanism Description. Periodic Reports. Progress Reports. News Release. Chapter 9. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS. Incident Report. Trip Report. Science Lab Reports. Forensic Reports. Chapter 10. INSTRUCTIONS. Getting Started on Instructions. Organizing and Formatting Instructions. Composing Instructions. Chapter 11. EMPLOYMENT COMMUNICATION. Getting Started on Employment Communication. Formatting and Organizing Resumes. Types of Resumes. Composing Resumes. Composing Employment Letters. Chapter 12. PRESENTATIONS. Getting Started on Presentations. Planning. Organizing and Composing. Preparing. Rehearsing. Presenting. Organizing a Group Presentation. Chapter 13. RECOMMENDATION REPORTS. What is a Recommendation Report?. Starting a Recommendation Report. Formatting and Organizing. Recommendation Reports. Composing Recommendation Reports. Chapter 14. PROPOSALS. What is a Proposal?. Getting Started on Proposals. Composing Informal Proposals. Composing Formal Proposals. Chapter 15. ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE. What is Ethics?. Creating a Culture of Ethics. What to Do When Faced with an Ethical Dilemma. Why is it So Difficult to Behave Ethically?. Chapter 16. TECHNICAL READING. Technical Reading vs. Literary Reading. Before You Read. As You Read. INSIDE TRACK. Organizing with the Direct Approach. Tone. Parallelism. Economy. Using Numbers. Clarity. Active and Passive Voice. Gender Unbiased Language. You Attitude. Effective Transitions.

Editorial Reviews

The changes to this textbook make it highly appealing to me as an instructor who teaches technical writing. I believe that students would greatly benefit from the information provided and how it is presented to them in textbook format.


"I like [the new Writing in the Disciplines feature] a lot, as it shows immediate need within the writing/business industry and how that need relates to the skills and background necessary to succeed in that field. I also enjoy the range of careers sampled in the "Writing in the Disciplines" sections. This shows how the material is applicable in a variety of settings, and it lowers the chance that a student, "doesn't see his or herself" in the position".

From the Publisher