Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021
Introduction
Welcome to the future of technical communication. This book began with feedback from students in technical communication courses. They wanted a book with better visuals, organization, and models. They wanted a book that was easy to navigate and streamlined for their needs. They wanted a useful and practical book with a price tag that didn’t make them break out in a cold sweat. At every step of the way, the instructors who contributed to this book had you in mind.
We invite you to approach this textbook as a term-length usability study. In usability testing, the developers of a product evaluate its performance by observing how the target audience use the product. This textbook is designed to provide you with solid tools, useful models, interesting scenarios, and a vocabulary of technical terms that will allow you to communicate effectively as part of a fast-paced, global workforce.
To get the most out of this book, you must first read the pages assigned by your instructor. After you’ve done that, take a step back and consider how the book, chapter, or section you just read works as an example of technical communication. Like any text, you should approach this book with a curious and critical mind. If one of the book’s models or templates helps you understand a concept, let your instructor know. If we fail to follow our own rules, let your instructor know. You are part of our development team now.
Key Features
” Abstracts: The abstracts at the beginning of each chapter demonstrate concise, specific writing that sums up the chapter. This pedagogical element reinforces an essential technical skill.
” Annotated models: Marginal notes accompany every model to identify places where the document is working or needs work. The notes encourage you to interact critically with the documents and understand specific examples of the chapter’s concepts.
” Bold terms and glossary: Each chapter begins with a list of key terms that will be introduced. When important terms are first mentioned, they are always in bold and accompanied by a sentence definition. This book has an entire chapter on technical descriptions and definitions, but each bold term can be treated as a mini-lesson in writing effective definitions. The glossary at the end collects all the definitions for easy reference.
” Case studies: At the end of each chapter, case studies invite you to think about ways to apply the concepts you’re learning. These compact scenarios show how individuals interact with technical communication principles in the workplace and beyond.
” Checklists: The checklists at the end of each chapter break down complex tasks into smaller steps. They are designed to be used, so check off each box to track your progress.
” Extended technical scenarios: In each chapter, you will follow a character who must create a technical document. As with any good story, each character encounters challenges, and their drafts serve as a starting place to begin seeing yourself as a technical communicator.
” Figures, tables, and charts: Whenever possible, this book aims to translate concepts into visuals to support the text.
” Instructional captions: The captions are designed to reinforce the visual information provided by the figures. Rather than restating the book’s content, the captions provide bite-sized supplemental information about the concept to enhance understanding.
” “Looking Ahead” sections: Every chapter opens with a table of contents in miniature. This section offers a quick overview of the chapter to assist in your preparation for class.
” Marginal notes: The notes in the margins reveal the connections within the text by pointing to other chapters where a concept is discussed in greater depth.
” Problem-Solution Framework: This framework provides a conceptual model to illustrate the goals of technical communication. This model embraces the importance of purpose, audience, and message and adds to it by emphasizing how technical communicators are hired to solve problems.
” Traffic signals: Models of technical documents are accompanied by traffic signals that indicate how finished the document is. A red light indicates a document that is at the beginning stages or insufficient. The hope is that you’ll stop at these models to examine why they aren’t working. Models with a yellow light show a work in progress. Models with a green light are final versions that are ready to go out into the world.
A note for instructors
Chemeketa Press would like to build resources that align with this textbook. If you have a classroom activity, student model, assignment, or syllabus that works with this text, please share it with us. We hope to use these resources (with your permission) to create a toolbox for future instructors who use this textbook. Please feel free to contact us at collegepress@chemeketa.edu.
