Response to Technical Writing by Brandon and Amanda

I think the most important point that was made in their definition is that technical writing is about learning to adjust to the audience whether it be for a client or someone in the same field of work. I think another point that they made about technical writing possibly being different for each profession is sort of correct because from reading about what everybody else posted about their future careers it seems to me there are some similarities and differences in each professions form of technical writing. I think I have to agree with the other points that they made in their definition.

4 articles

All four of the articles give many specifics of technical writing and the many different ways it is used. The first and the third articles say pretty much the same thing about technical writing. Basically that it doesn’t have to be writing at all, it incorporates many different things such as making videos. The second articles talked more about actual writing, its different forms and the importance of each. The last article talked about ways to improve your technical writing skills. I feel that in my major (packaging) I could benefit from all of these articles considering I will be doing many different forms of technical writing throughout my career.

Reponse to Emmanuel's "4 Articles"

After reading this post, it helped to fully understand how one career's technical writing differs from another's. Emmanuel focused primarily on technical writing in the engineering field. He looked and talked about points that I skimmed over because they didn't really pertain to technical writing in the communications field. I liked how he pointed out that it's important for engineers to be able to make things like manuals so that people who don't understand, can understand. I think the best of the articles was the tips for technical writing. These tips applied for all careers and seem to be very helpful. I didn't disagree with any aspect of this post, I found it more as an illustration of the differences in technical writing among careers.

Collaborative project?

Hi,
I was wondering if the collaborative project can be on any problem that a non-profic org. has? Also on our syllabus it says that the proposal is due today? I thought in class you said it was due on monday? What if our org. is not going to get back to us until Friday?
Thank you,
Kristin

Four Articles

The first article explains that technical writing isn’t necessarily writing. Jobs in the technical writing field include conducting experiments and studies, making videos, and/or organizing events. However, the second article specifically focuses on the writing and editing part of technical writing. The third article was similar to the first in that it helps you realize that technical communication can is used in things that we take for granted every day. The fourth article also stresses that technical communication is used every day and most of the time, we don’t even realize it.

Similarly, in all four articles, the importance of technical writing and communication is shown.

In Interior Design, the most important part of technical communication laid out in these articles is probably how the designer communicates ideas with the client. After listening to the clients wants, needs and monetary resources, the designer has to compile some ideas and then communicate these back to the client for approval. Without good communication skills, a designer might be doomed.

Brandon & Amanda: Technical Writing

Technical writing is a term that encompasses the various forms of written communication and the essential elements making writing successful. For every different profession the forms may be different. For a social worker technical writing could mean case reports. For someone in another profession technical writing could include memos or e-mails. For a person who wants to enter the professional world technical writing usually entails a resume. Although many of these different professions include different types of technical writing, there are many tools and procedures that could be applicable to many professions. Technical writing also includes learning to write for a specific audience whether it may be an employer or a potential client. It is very important for someone hoping to enter the professional world to learn the forms and techniques of technical writing, because success always requires clear communication of thoughts, ideas, and goals.

Emmanuel and Matt: Technical Writing Definition

Technical writing is writing done in an understandable language for a specific field of work. For example technical writing in engineering is based upon writing proposals, project progress reports, memos, and interim reports that depend upon the project being worked on and the client the work is being done for. In packaging science technical writing involves emails to suppliers and customers and formal research papers. Also for technical writing you must make sure you communicate in terms that your audience can understand whether it be for others in your field or the general public. Overall technical writing is based upon how well you communicate in a given field of work.

Hilary and Lindsay: Defining Technical Writing

There is much more technical writing involved in every career than most people imagine. Without it, most businesspeople couldn't function throughout the day. Throughout most of the interviews, the technical
writing was used in one common way. This involves simple communicating with clients, managers, and coworkers. Although communication may be a small part of each person's career, it seems to play a huge part in the technical writing aspect of each one. Each career can utilize technical writing in a different way. While some may consider it to be writing proposals, others may look at it as creating a manual for a certain piece of equipment. It is important to learn and master the definition of technical writing your future career uses in order to be prepared. Whichever way technical writing is used, there are all used as a communication tool. The interviews show that technical writing demonstrates good communication with others, and a successful career as well.

4 Articles

From the first article it basically talked about how technical communicators must have some knowledge of technical writing in just about every field of work that involves technology. I think since technical writers also take knowledge from the engineering field and present it in a way that different audiences can understand, I believe this point right is something that I will have to do in my career. Clients will expect to know what is going on with a project my future company will be doing for them, so as an engineer I will have to put it in terms that they can understand.

The second article has technical writers as people who develop technical materials such as equipment manuals, appendixes, or operating and maintenance instructions. Also it said that technical writers design project proposals and work with engineers to develop technical subjects into something generally readable and they also help to improve the design on a project, and oversee diagrams and illustrations. All of the things I have pointed out I see myself doing in the future career as an engineer because as I said before as an engineer I may have to break things do into layman terms for a client. Of course as an engineer I must also be able to improve designs of projects that I have to do.

Article three basically says that same things about technical communicators being able to take scientific, technical, and practical knowledge and break it down for a variety of audiences.

Article four talks about 10 ways of improving your technical writing, which are knowing who you are writing for, be clear, be concise, be consistent, use technical terms only when needed, avoid big words, be specific, make short sections, use visuals, and use the active voice when writing. I believe the ten pointers in the article will help anybody trying to write something technical in a field of work.

Kim and Kristin - What is technical writing

All of the information that we have received and the articles that we have read have helped to clarify our definition of technical writing. This is a professional style of writing done in a particular format for a specific audience. These writings are designed to be very concise yet as detailed as possible. They are involving only as much jargon as necessary because they need to be easily understood, and keep the attention of the readers. Everything in these documents are designed around the reader, the style, the content, the level of difficulty, and even the language. Before reading these articles my thoughts on technical writing were vague, but now they are more clear and defined.

Four Articles

As a communicatoin studies major, I still am not exactly sure which career I would like to pursue. I feel as though I can use my degree towards any type of career. A job in sports communication would be ideal, and mixed with journalism could create an exciting career that I would enjoy. I evaluated the four articles based on those factors.

The first article pertaining to technical writing, seemed to see the more science and technological aspect of communication. It discussed technical writers as translators that help make complicated things seem simpler. This definition did not exactly deal with the type of career I am choosing for my profession.

The second article seemed to fit my field of work more accurately. One key point that I recognized was the fact that technical writers should have a degree in communications. Seeing as I am pursuing that degree, it seemed to fit. The article also discussed editors, freelance writers, advertisers, and public relations specialists. Their definition of technical writing was about relaying information through some form of media; whether it be a newspaper, advertisement, or press release. The third article was similar to this one as it associated technical writing with newsletters, brochures, and sales/public relations campaigns. It did discuss technical writing as manuals and websites also, but the parts pertaining mostly to my field of interest stuck out.

The fourth article can also be relevant to a sports communication major. Tips on keeping technical writing simple and conversational are ones that my communication instructors tell me with the papers I write now. In respect to this defintion, I find it important to utilize these tips, especially when writing for a newspaper or magazine. No one wants to read something they hardly understand.

The majority of the articles focused primarily on the type of technical writing I will utilize in my future career. Technical writing as a simple way of communicating information to the public.

The links that were combined for this week's readings . . .

. . . should be working now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Three Interviews

After reading three of my classmates interviews, I can see how technical writing can differ depending on the field of work. The technical writing for management (interior design), politician, and real estate agent were all similar to the interview I conducted with the journalist. While management mentioned that most of the writing and communication was informal, the politician commented that much of their technical writing was formal. I think this applies to both aspects of journalism and communication studies. Notes from interviews are informal; however, the articles that result from those interviews have a higher formality. The politician's technical writing pertains to the public relations aspect of communications. He emphasized importance in the precision of writing before sent to the media. Also, a lot of the communicating was done through the media. The real estate agent's technical writing was also like my chosen field of study. Technical writing through advertisements and proposals were similar to the advertisements and proposals created by advertising or PR companies. These articles helped me to understand that although technical writing can differ significantly from job to job, they can also have many similarities.

Articles

Since all of the links lead to the same article I cannot compare the four but the one article had many points that were relevant to the writing that I believe that I will be doing. It is particularly important to make sure that as a teacher the material that you write appropriately for your grade level. Another thing that is extremely important is that you must keep things concise because students are notorious for having short attention spans. You also must make sure that everything is very consistent because displaying intelligence in front of the students is very important.

Pointers that may help in my career

Kristin Sutter
After I read the readings I found that there were many aspects discussed in them that I will be able to apply to my future career. The article on Improving your Technical Writing really helped me to be able to identify some important aspects of technical writing that I had not considered before. For one the reading stressed the fact that technical writing comes in many forms and that the form of technical writing that you do is going to depend on the rules that you should follow. I think that this is important to keep in mind while trying to write technically. I also know that this is true after reading several of the interviews that people in our class conducted. In every interview I read about there was a different technical writing needed depending on the field of work.
The article also discussed how it is important to know your reader, keep things simple and, be consistent in your writing. I think that this is important because firstly if you don’t know who your writing for or what their histories are then there is no way that you can technically write effectively. Also I can see why keeping things simple would be important because if your reader cannot understand what you are saying because you are using terms to technical then the message is not being conveyed correctly. Lastly if the work is not consistent than the reader will question the validity of what you are trying to say. I can see how all three of theses aspects would be important in the field of real estate. Clients have to be able to trust you if they are going to buy from you so what you tell them needs to be consistent. Also as I said before they need to be able to understand what you are talking about so, simplicity is important as well. Lastly you need to be able to know where they are coming from to meet their needs effectively.

What I learned

Kristin Sutter
The three interviews that I looked at were the journalist interview, the mayor interview and, the engineer interview. I thought that it was very interesting to see the differences between the different kinds of communication needed in theses three different kinds of professions. The journalist required both skills in oral and written communication. In order to be a journalist I learned that it is important to be able to communicate while interviewing and, important to be able to take good notes. In the mayor interview I learned that a lot of persuasive writing is important along with email writing. For the engineer interview I learned that technical writing especially proposals, project progress reports, and, memos in term reports are most important. After learning about what type of comm. is important in these different fields I then compared them to my interview with the real estate agent. I believe that the communication needed by the journalists is closest to that of a real estate agent. The reason I believe this is that I learned that both of these professions require heavy verbal communication skills.

Three Classmates

After reading all of entries from my classmates the thing that surprised me the most was that there are so many different things that are involved in each profession. As a teacher you need to communicate with parents and with the state. As a real estate agent you have to be able to create all kinds of different paper work. Even as an Interior designer you need specific types of technical writing. I think it surprised me that there are so many types of writing that you need to be able to do in order to competent in the work force. Another thing that surprised me was that almost every profession included a need for being able to correctly use e-mail in a business environment.

Three Classmates

I read the interview highlights for the Mayor, the management, and the civil engineer. I guess the thing that I found most interesting from the interview with the Mayor is that he actually took the time to go and find the Mayor for an interview. The highlights of the interview were pretty much what I suspected. For the rest of them I found that this class seems pretty important no matter what field of work you wish to pursue because everybody needs to communicate in some way weather it be formal or not.

What surprised me most:

I read the posts about real estate, journalism, and teaching. What surprised me most was how much work (not only writing) is involved with all of them. I guess when you consider a profession, such as architecture, you only think of someone designing a building. You don't think about how much work is actually involved with it, like customer contact and communication, the logistics of the job, and the hours involved. It was also interesting to read what people pulled from their interviews.

Interview with a Mayor

Since I am interested in a career in politics, I decided to interview Mayor Terence Roberts of Anderson, South Carolina. He is a first term Mayor and said that communication and writing are the most important skills any politician can have. It is essential to be able to communicate with several different groups, and they all require different skills. Those three groups are fellow City Council members, personnel on the City of Anderson Staff, and the residents of Anderson, which often includes dealing with the media.

Communicating with other council members often involves e-mails and other personal correspondence. Although these are often private, they are by no means informal. Often this is one of the best ways of discussing an issue before it comes up publicly, and it provides an opportunity to look for ways of overcoming any obstacles and challenges that are likely to appear. These wittings are heavy on persuasion. It is good to have a mix of logic and data, but it is also essential to know how to make an emotional plea as well.

Directing the activities of the staff is a little different. Many different publications are used to clearly define goals for the staff to accomplish and follow them to completion. It can often be a simple as a memorandum or an email. However, it can be as elaborate as a complete operational plan, a budget, or an ordinance. It always important to clearly state goals, set performance measures, and motivate them to be a part of the team.
Speaking to constituents is the most complex, but also the most important. A great deal of the communication happens through the media. There are certain ways in which the government interacts with the various media outlets, some of them are very formalized like news releases while others are less defined, especially on the internet. However, it is important to understand the expectations of the media and the information they want because they are an important facet of keeping the citizens informed. There are also direct communications like speeches (which should always be written and often distributed in print), personal correspondence, editorials, and other newer interactions like blogging. It is important to understand the audience you hope to reach and tailor your message to mean the most to them.

Technical & Writing

Writing is any permanent way in which we share our ideas through language. It is completely separated from the other way we share language and ideas, which is through speaking, by its permanence. Words can be shared through conversation, but they are gone as soon as they are spoken. Even the memory of those involved can never be a perfect account of what was shared or discussed. Therefore, we write things down and there is a permanent record of those ideas and thoughts.

Technical is a terms that deals with mechanics. The technical aspects of any thing or subject are the elements, nuts and bolts, making it work. A technician is someone who knows those elements and also knows how to utilize them most efficiently to accomplish success.

It is because writing has a permanence to it that it is good to know the technical aspects of it. When recording words to be read and scrutinized by others for all time it is important to communicate effectively, clearly, and sometimes persuasively.


(P.S. Sorry to be so late y'all...there has to be at least one slacker in the class, and this one is not as good as he should be with technology either.)

Three of My Classmates

The three post that I read were the ones from the future interior designer, the engineer, and the real estate agent. I was surprise at how many things they all have in common with my own future profession of teaching. There were memos, emails, proposals, and letters all of which are things that I will have to do when I go into my profession. I think that almost all of the interviewees would agree that this course that we are taking is very important, which surprised me because this just isn't one class that you think about a great deal. Another thing that I found a little bit shocking is the amount of writing that is necessary for any of these professions, mine included. the writing and the paper work are the things that everyone likes to forget about.

Technical Writing in Management

I would like to pursue a career in Interior Design. I tried numerous times to get in touch with an Interior Designer in the area, but my work schedule didn't allow me to get up with anyone this week. Instead, I interviewed a professor that I have worked closely with in the Management department at Clemson. This professor is the only one that I have had that I have chosen to take more than one semester, and she is willing to do anything for the better of the student.

Highlights:

1. How much of an average day/week is spent writing?
about 30% (emails, letters of recommendation, memos)
also writing a book

2. What are the genres specific to the field?
mostly informal (communication)
technical papers, describing works or projects

3. How did you learn to write those genres?
graduated with a BS in Chemistry - proficient in writing lab reports (helped with technicality)
graduated with an MS in Computer Science - also helped technical ability

4. How well prepared were you when you graduated?
learned a lot through experience after entering the workforce
well prepared in technical aspects

Technical Writing from an Engineer

I did an email interview with a civil engineer and here are some of the highlights:

For his job he said the types of technical writings he does are proposals, project progress, memos, and interim reports. All this stuff must be done for his clients to keep them informed about what exactly will be done for a certain project and to keep them informed about the progress of the project. Each task depends on the progress of a project and what new projects the company has gotten. He also believes that learning technical writing is essential for all engineers in the workplace.





For Mrs Fishman:
It is late, but we discussed it.

REAL ESTATE AGENT INTERVIEW

Kristin Sutter
Dr. Teresa Fishman
ENGL 314 Online
27 May 2007
When I graduate I hope to go into the real estate business and; eventually I would like to open up my own real estate company by myself or with one other person. For my interview I interviewed Alicia Hack who is an agent for Hartwell lake properties in Anderson. I asked her a lot of questions involving everything from her career background to how being a real estate agent has had an effect on her personally. Here were her answers.
1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE FIELD?: Two Years.
2. WHAT MADE YOU GO INTO REAL ESTATE?: Tired of the car business (selling Mercedes Benz cars for 21 years)
3. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS ARE NEEDED BY SOMEONE IN THIS BUSINESS?: Outgoing, need to be a people person, have a sense of money management, and, have a lot of time on your hands.
4. WHAT KIND OF REAL ESTATE DO YOU SO?: Property and residential
5. WHAT PREPARATION WOULD BENEFIT A PERSON WANTING TO GO INTO THIS BUSINESS?: You have to go to real estate school, pass the class exam and the pass the required state exams in the states you want to sell in.
6. WHAT HOURS DO YOU WORK?: It varies depending on how busy you are and how many clients you have. In most firms there are set “floor” hours that all of the agents rotate so that when customers or potential customers walk in someone is always there to help them.
7. WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART ABOUT YOUR JOB?: “The paperwork” A real estate agent most of the time has to write their own ads, write contracts, make settlement sheets, be able to tell a customer what their potential “net” will be for a property, get in touch with people by email calling etc and make many appointments especially if a client lives out of state.
8. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?: “Meeting people and showing houses”.
9. WHAT IS LOOKED FOR IN POTENTIAL REAL ESTATE AGENTS BY YOUR BROKER?: Personality, flexibility, willingness to have time and personal presence.
10. HOW ARE CUSTOMERS OBTAINED?: Referral, walk-ins, people see your sold sign in front of a house, personal mailings and, magazine advertisements.
11. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE GOING WHO WANTS TO GO INTO THIS BUSINESS?: “You need to have at least one year’s income saves up to support yourself in case you don’t sell a lot of houses/properties in your first year”.You also need to know that there are a lot of personal expenses involved in the business like gas, advertisements, cards etc. especially when you first enter the business. Lastly she told me that it takes time to build up a customer base and a name for yourself in the business.

Interview with Boss

I am currently co-oping at Bosch in Anderson. I interviewed my boss on the types of technical writing that he does throughout the day. This interview was done over the phone because he is on vacation right now so it was very brief. The most important form of writing he does is communication through email with our other locations throughout the world. From time to time he will have to design a new package for Bosch and have to write a formal research type paper, but that is not very common any more considering we just contract out design projects to other companies. So this comes back to email communication.

Interview with a Journalist

As a communication studies major, I interviewed an individual with a journalist as her profession. As a journalist, she finds that communication is indefinitely an intricate part of her job. Whether it be written or oral communication, it always plays a major role in determining how successful she can become. She believes that interviews are perhaps the most important. With these interviews, comes oral skills as well as written. Being able to understand and interpret what the interviewee is saying allows for a well-written article. Written skills are needed to take notes from the interviews conducted. Follow-up emails, phone calls, and even thank you notes are all included in the written communication skills needed. Obviously, basic writing skills and accuracy in grammar is also important for the journalism profession.
As far as preparation, my interviewee had a few suggestions to follow. She said that manners and politeness are always important for interviewing. Learning how to be punctual is always necessary in the business world, but when meeting people for lunches and such, it is exceptionally necessary. Brushing up on grammar rules prior to writing and editing your articles is important as well. As far as oral communication preparation goes, practicing having a positive attitude and a smile on your face is most important. Journalists should always have a friendly manner, which allow those getting interviewed to feel more comfortable talking to them and answering questions.
I enjoyed interviewing my friend about her profession. As a result, she re-emphasized important points that were taught to me, but also helped me to realize some things I could do to prepare myself for the “real world” of journalism.

Writing as a teacher

When I conducted my interview I learned a great deal and many things that I knew, but never would have thought about were brought to my attention. The most important writings for a teacher to do are things like grant proposals, letter in the form of emails mostly. I was also told that one of the most important ways to prepare for this field is to practice with spelling and grammar because it parents feel very uncomfortable if their child's teachers are not competent. My interviewee also stated that the best way to evaluate your writing as a teacher is to have it peer reviewed, the ease at which your students can understand what is expected of them, or the ease of the parents to understand your communications with them. Writing as a teacher is more extensive than I thought, thats why I think an interview like this is helpful. Even though my interviewee said that practice with spelling and grammar is the most important thing to do in order to prepare for the field, I think it is having as much contact with people in your desired profession and asking as many questions as possible.

What is "technical" and "writing"

Kristin Sutter
Dr. Teresa Fishman
ENGL 314 online
24 May 2007
I looked up the term “technical” in several different sources so that I could get the best understanding of the term possible. According to dictionary.com technical means, “using terminology or treating subject matter in a manner peculiar to a particular field, as a writer or a book”. For example a technical report for a biology class would be use language and refer to subject matter that relates specifically to biology. Some other definitions I found were, “belonging or relating to a particular subject” according to The American Heritage Dictionary or “used in or peculiar to a specific field or profession”. An example of this would be how people specialize in certain fields that use language that is specific to that field.
I think that this is what we are supposed to be thinking about when we are studying the “technical” of technical writing. To me it is important to understand the “technical” aspect of the field that I want to go into when I graduate. I think that being able to already be familiar with the technical language and the specific type of writing that my chosen field will require will make my adjustment into my field a little bit easier.
When I looked up “writing” on dictionary.com two of the definitions that I found were, “to express or communicate in writing” and, “to give a written account of”. Theses definitions are consistent with my own personal definition of what I think of when I think of writing. To me writing is the physical action of putting one’s thoughts down on a surface so that they can be visibly seen. Some examples would be writing letters, emails, books, papers, etc.
When I graduate I want to go into the real estate business. Real estate requires different types of technical writing specific to the profession. In real estate descriptive writing is a type of technical writing that is important because a realtor has to be able to describe the house/property in a way that the potential buyer can visualize it. This type of writing is very important in order for houses to be portrayed in they best way they possibly can. For example it sounds better to say the house comes with a
Whirlpool style hot tub than to just say it comes with one. Descriptive writing is also used in the hospitality field. I know this because I currently work at a restaurant. Instead of saying the burger comes with lettuce and tomatoes we have to say it comes with hand-torn lettuce and vine-ripen tomatoes. The burger and what is comes with stays the same but how things are said make all the difference.
I don’t necessarily think that the terms “technical” and “writing” mean something different to me personally than they do in the business of real estate. To me the word technical translates into specific and; the specificity is going to vary depending on the subject matter. As I already stated before to me writing is the actual physical process and this process is not going to be different because of the subject matter or profession. I do think that the types of technical writing that are important will vary from profession to profession but; I don’t think that what technical writing means to me personally varies that much from what it means in the profession I want to go into.

The Meaning of Technical Writing

When I think of the term "technical", words like precision and accuracy immediately come to mind. When I think of "writing", I think of communication through a written form. Together, these two words create a whole new meaning. I think of “technical writing” as grammatically correct and precise written communication in many forms, whether it be a story, essay, memo, or even an e-mail. Differing from what these terms mean to me personally, I now have come to understand that these two words can also mean writing within a particular field of work or study when applied to professions.

Technical writing plays a large role within the field of communications. Seeing as writing is already a form of communication, it is important to understand and master writing in order to be successful. In this field of work, technical writing can be communication amongst employees and co-workers as well as communication between mass media and the public. Newspapers, press releases, and advertisements are all examples of this relationship.

Definitions of Technical and Writing

Technical is the specialization or a developed use of something. The meaning of technical can change depending on what it is being used for, such as for a particular job. Writing is the way people express or communicate something using an instrument such as a pencil to place symbols on medium. Writing can also take place electronically through a medium of email.

The definitions I have chosen for 'technical' and 'writing' are definitions that I believe apply to the engineering world and I also believe that those are the meanings for me personally.

What is technical writing?

Technical means that something is in a particular format; it is something that you are specifically trained for. Writing is when words and thoughts are transcribed either electronically or onto paper. Technical writing is writing professionally, to a specific audience, with a particular purpose. I feel like this can mean something different in my particular field even though there are undeniable similarities in every field. It can involve emails or memos to other faculty and staff members along with parents, there are also letters or newsletters to be set home. As a member of the education field my technical writing can also involve the way that information is presented to the students and even the lesson plans that I will have to create. Personally technical writing so far does not include much of the above. Most of the writings that I have to do are done for no other specific audience except the teacher and do not have an extremely specific format, they are only essays.

Definition of "Technical"

According to the dictionary, “technical” means belonging to an art or science. I believe that “technical” is the non-flexible aspects in a field, practice, or activity. Technical directions must be done in a certain way; they aren’t open to interpretation.

Within my profession, Interior Design, these terms mean the same thing as they do to me personally. When writing proposals and communicating with clients, certain technical aspects must be followed and cannot be changed or altered. For example, proposals must include which direction the designer plans to take and an estimate on how much it costs. If the proposal doesn’t include this information, it is incomplete.