technical writing task oriented

What is Technical Writing? The Complete Guide (2023)

With an average of $78k annually, technical writing is definitely a term you need to look into in 2022.

Technical Writers are paid an average annual salary of $78,060 according to the U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS .

The term is attributed to those who create content explaining a particular technology and /or its usage.

If you love writing and technology, you’re on the right track to becoming a technical writer.

This article is part of our Technical Writing Series , you can read the previous series before you jump to this one.

• What is Technical Writing? : We explored technical writing in-depth and get you started creating your first technical content.
• Who is a Technical Writer?:  We explore who a technical writer is, the different types of technical writers, and the different skillset required to become a technical writer.
• Types of Technical Writing:  We broke down technical writing into 3 broad types and discuss in detail these different types and how to choose a specific category.
• Technical Writing Niches: We explored the different technical writing niches or types of technical content you can specialize in as a technical writer and produce.
• The Technical Writing Process: We will explore the lean technical writing process that will help you create high-quality technical content consistently.
• How to Become a Good Technical Writer? We discussed the factors you need to make you stand out and become a good technical writer.

In this series, we will explore technical writing in-depth and get you started creating your first content through our Technical Writing Series.

What is Technical Writing?

Technical writing is a form of writing that translates complex technical topics into easily digestible and understandable content.

It covers a pattern of writing where the writer writes on a particular subject that requires breaking down the complex part of the subject to its simplest form by giving direction, instruction, or explanation about that particular subject matter.

Technical writing comes with a different style, it carries a different purpose and involves different characteristics that are different from other writing styles such as creative writing, freelance writing , business writing, or academic writing.

Some examples are discussed here in this series.

Technical writing is a very detail-oriented writing field where advanced knowledge is required.

Types of Technical Writing

It is categorized into these 3 broad categories or its assignments normally take one of three forms:

• End-user documentation
• Traditional technical writing

Technical marketing communications

End-user documentation.

The End-user documentation also known as customer-oriented documentation provides instructions for the end-user of a given product. This type lays the instructions in such a way that it is easier to understand by non-technical users.

Traditional technical Writing

Traditional technical writing is a concept where content is written by an audience with specific expertise for their peers. 

It is also called Expert to expert tech documentation or freelance technical writing.

In technical writing, companies contract freelance technical writers with a certain expert level in technologies or proven knowledge to write detailed content for companies.

These technical writers contribute to the marketing materials of a product or company at large. They need to communicate their expertise in a more user-friendly language to help the prospective buyer understand and take an interest in the product.

Here is a detailed guide on the different types and how to choose the best one.

Benefits of Technical Writing

The benefit of technical writing is enormous and cannot be over-emphasized, also it benefits both companies and technical writers in different ways and we are going to explore each of them.

The benefits are massive for companies if done right. Listed below are the common benefits companies can derive.

Educate your end-users

In this digital and information age, educating your end-users should be the most priority of companies as it builds trust among users.

According to the book “They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan” , When you educate your users, your users trust you and they buy from you and also refer their friends.

Therefore, investing in your user’s education through this form of writing is a win-win game for your company.

Keep customers informed and satisfied

It reduces your support drastically from repeated questions concerning a particular task in your product. By creating content around those questions, your support volume will reduce drastically.

With enough content that answers different technical questions of your customers, the more they are well informed and satisfied.

To individuals

As a technical writer, you can benefit in several ways too, and below is a list of common ways you can benefit as a technical writer.

• It improves your communication skills. It demonstrates how inflated one’s own image of communication skills is. This leads to self-improvement if we decide to improve our communication game.
• It is a writing niche with high demand and high pay as well especially if you know how to do any structural authoring or API documentation.
• Also, it teaches you how to be a keen observer of events and actions and how to pay attention to details. Attention to detail is an important soft skill and technical writing helps you to improve it.
• Additionally, it helps you organize your thoughts clearly and also improves your articulations. You quickly get into the habit of making lists and constructing tree-view diagrams while writing. This skill to organize information improves all other parts of one’s life and helps us live more productive lives.
• Furthermore, it helps you to understand technology better and thus increases your capacity to adapt to new waves of technologies.
• As a software engineer and a technical writer, you can easily transit to different career paths such as Developer Advocacy, Staff Technical Writer, Technical Content Manager, etc.

The benefits to companies and individuals are enormous and come with a sense of fulfillment for both parties.

In the next article series, We will explore who technical writers are and what they do in their day-to-day.

Click here to read the next series on Who is a Technical Writer?

Contentre  helps technical writers stay organized and gain more clients. Grow your technical writing career in one place.

Now that you’re here, let me briefly recap the most important features Contentre can offer you:

• Organize your content in categories, topics, and tags
• Create and manage multiple clients
• Create and manage multiple personalized portfolios
• Get statistical analytics of your content revenue, top categories, and tags.

Try it now. It’s free

Founder Contentre.io | Grow your technical writing career in one place.

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Strategies for Creating Effective Technical Documentation – Part 3

Sep 29, 2020 | Documentation

In part 2 of our blog series on creating effective technical documentation, we detailed a best practice methodology that ensures the documentation will maximize benefits for your organization ( part 1 ).

Creating effective technical documents involves more than just applying a proven methodology, however. Good technical writers bring important skills and knowledge to their profession that have been acquired from years of work in the technical writing trenches. These skills are essential for applying the above methodology effectively. In this blog, we will describe several important technical writing tips for producing world-class technical documentation.

Writing Tips for Creating Effective Technical Documentation

Choose the right documentation type. The different types of technical documentation are virtually endless – user manuals, how to guides, reviews, reports, newsletters, presentations, web pages, proposals, fliers, memos, press releases, handbooks, installation guides, FAQs, release notes, help files, SOP documents, API documentation, style guides, user requirements specification, etc. One of the first things a technical writer needs to do is determine which type of document is most appropriate to meet the customer’s needs. A thorough audience assessment and task analysis is essential for this purpose.

• Audience assessment or user analysis – An assessment of the relevant characteristics and needs/goals of the intended audience, the users of the product, is important to inform the choice of document type. The results of an audience assessment should be included in the document plan .
• Task analysis – A task analysis determines which tasks are performed by users, along with key steps involved in completing those tasks. This information will help identify which tasks need to be documented, along with which type of document is most appropriate for this purpose. A task analysis is critical to create an outline for a deliverable or develop a set of online help topics. In addition, a thorough task analysis can help project managers define project scope.

Choose the right authoring tool. One of the most challenging aspects of becoming a good technical writer is learning how to use all the different authoring tools available. The technical writer must be strongly competent in many different authoring tools, because organizations will likely require the writer to use whatever tool is available. Authoring tools generally fall into one of five different categories:

• Desktop publishing – Standalone systems that live on PCs and allow technical writers to both author and publish; for example, Google Docs, Microsoft® Word®, Adobe® FrameMaker®, Adobe® RoboHelp®, Adobe® InDesign®. These tools are good for small teams and content that is not reused or published to multiple outputs.
• Structured authoring – These types of tools are basically text editors that can be used with a markup language live XML or DITA to tag content based on predefined set of rules (e.g., document type definition or DTD). Examples include Adobe FrameMaker, oXygen, XMetaL and ArborText. Structured authoring tools are good for larger teams creating content that will be reused and/or published to multiple outlets. Structured authoring is used in content management systems (CMSs) such as MadCap® Flare and Tridion products. CMSs are particularly valued for their XML output that is used by translation services.
• Help authoring tools (HATs) – These tools are designed to deliver online help to users. Some HATs like RoboHelp can also do desktop publishing. HAT tools are good for small teams and content that does not need to be translated or managed within the tool.
• API and developer documentation – API documentation is a rapidly growing niche within the technical writing profession, as many companies are finding that technical writers are better at creating this kind of documentation than software developers. Examples include Sphinx, Swagger, Slate, and Jekyll.
• All-in-one tools – these tools combine authoring, publishing and content management into a single tool such as Author-it, IXIASOFT, easyDITA. Good for large teams and medium-sized teams that lack large budgets or technical resources.

Be brief, yet thorough. After identifying users and tasks, practicing minimalism is perhaps the most important criterion for good technical writing. While fulfilling safety, compliance, and legal requirements, technical documents should contain only as much content as required for the user to perform a task, and not a word more. Readers of technical documents are typically busy people, and they expect documentation without repetitiveness, wordiness or redundancies. Give the audience the information when and where they need it. If necessary, appendices can provide supplementary material. Minimalist technical writing saves time and money.

Foster efficiency by topic-based authoring. Topic-based technical writing is a modular approach to creating content that is structured around topics, where each “topic” has an identifiable purpose (procedure, concept, reference) that does not require external context to understand. This type of authoring fosters efficiency in technical writing, as it allows the different modules to be mixed and reused in different contexts. Topic-based writing can streamline content, as minimalism dictates. Topics are also the backbone of component content management systems, where technical writers assemble topics into documents.

Practice task-oriented technical writing. Technical documentation helps the user perform a task that accomplishes real-world goals. As such, task-oriented writing that provides a workflow to do something is preferred over writing with a functional orientation. For technical writers, writing with a functional orientation (for example, systematically explaining each function, feature, or interface element of a product) is only appropriate in functional specifications and some SOPs. Functional writing can be a burden to the user. Every good technical writer is proficient at writing task-oriented topics.

Task-oriented writing requires a comprehensive task analysis prior to the start of the writing. Technical writers or marketing staff should interview users and observe what they do, an activity called contextual inquiry. Tasks can be discovered by reviewing voice-of-the-customer material from marketing and customer logs from technical support. After the tasks and workflows are defined, technical writers can then develop the documentation.

Use templates for consistent on-page design. Templates lock in structure and consistency. They are a good tool to plan documentation. For example, a template for a single-chapter protocol contains headings and boilerplate text:

• Title and document part number – What the document is about and how it is referenced including version number and date.
• Before you begin – Prerequisites to complete before performing a task.
• Materials required – All items needed to complete the task, usually tabulated with part numbers.
• Step -wise procedure – Numbered steps in a workflow. The steps also include notes. Notes format are included in the template.
• Graphics – Formats for diagrams, photographs, and tables to support the text.
• Read next – Related documents that the user may find useful.

Use visuals. Whenever possible, use pictures, diagrams, graphics, tables, and bulleted lists to visualize the content. Show, not tell. In addition to being an effective way to communicate information, visuals will help improve the readability of documentation by breaking up the monotony, length, and complexity of the text. The principle of minimalism applies to visuals for maximum impact and meaning.

Use examples. When trying to make a concept crystal clear, first verbally describe the concept, then add a visual illustration, and finally provide an example of the concept. Let’s apply this tip to an elementary algebraic concept.

• Verbal description: Pythagoras’ theorem is an equation in Euclidean geometry that relates to right triangles. The theorem states that the area of the square whose side is opposite the right angle (i.e., the hypotenuse) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides.
• Illustration: Pythagorean Theorem  

• Example: In the diagram above, if a = 2 meters and b = 1.5 meters, then

c 2 = 2 2 + 1.5 2 = 4 + 2.25 = 6.25 meters 2

Thus, c = √6.25 meters 2 = 2.5 meters

By following the methodology described in part 2 of this series, and the writing tips described in this blog, technical writers can develop complete technical documentation to meet the requirements of all stakeholders, including customers, marketing, regulatory, safety, legal, and QA. Successful technical documentation reduces training time and costs, builds company value, improves outsources, supports IT, and reduces the burden on customer support.

Many company executives and managers make the mistake of viewing technical documentation as something that just needs to get done in order to satisfy customer or regulatory agency demands. This can lead to a scenario where an organization tries to create technical documentation in-house when they do not have the expertise on staff to be successful. Unless there are good technical writers on staff, or engineers and/or developers with good technical writing skills, best practice is to outsource technical documentation to a qualified third-party consultant.

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Jay is a principal technical content specialist at Kalleid Consulting. Before he became a technical writer, he supported R&D research in radiochemistry, signal transduction, and protein synthesis. As a technical writer, he has focused on developing useful documentation for genomics scientists. Jay, his wife, and cat live in San Francisco.

About Kalleid

Kalleid, Inc. is a boutique IT consulting firm that has served the scientific community since 2014. We work across the value chain in R&D, clinical and quality areas to deliver support services for software implementations in highly complex, multi-site organizations.

At Kalleid, we understand that people are at the center of any successful business transformation. Providing high quality technical documentation services to support our clients is therefore one of the key aspects of our integrated approach to IT projects. Kalleid has a team of experienced technical and content writers, editors, and instructional designers who can help you develop content (GxP compliant when required) to support your products, processes, and software. If you are interested in exploring how Kalleid documentation services can benefit your organization, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

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Technical Writing 101: A Real-World Guide to Planning and Writing Technical Documentation, Second Edition 2nd Edition

There is a newer edition of this item:.

This updated second edition features the latest information on single sourcing and a new chapter on how trends in structured authoring and Extensible Markup Language (XML) affect technical writers.

• ISBN-10 097047332X
• ISBN-13 978-0970473325
• Edition 2nd
• Publisher Scriptorium Pr
• Publication date July 1, 2003
• Language English
• Dimensions 7 x 0.75 x 8 inches
• Print length 288 pages
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

From the author.

If you're working toward a degree in technical writing, this book is a great complement to your more theoretical classes.

About the Author

Sarah S. O’Keefe is founder and president of Scriptorium Publishing Services, Inc. Sarah is an experienced FrameMaker trainer; she has both Certified Technical Trainer (CTT) and FrameMaker Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) credentials. Her background also includes technical writing, technical editing, production editing, and extensive online help development with various help authoring tools. Sarah is coauthor of FrameMaker 7: The Complete Reference . Currently, she works as a consultant to assist companies in implementing publishing solutions, including XML-based structured authoring.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

If you're a talented writer with an interest in technical topics, writing technical documentation can be quite lucrative. This book gives you the advice and tools you'll need to get started in this challenging field.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scriptorium Pr; 2nd edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 097047332X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0970473325
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.75 x 8 inches
• #800 in Technical Writing Reference (Books)
• #1,874 in Business Writing Skills (Books)
• #74,021 in Engineering (Books)

About the authors

Sarah o'keefe.

Sarah O'Keefe is the founder of Scriptorium Publishing (www.scriptorium.com) and a content strategy consultant. Sarah's focus is how to use technical content to solve business problems; she is especially interested in how new technologies can streamline publishing workflows to achieve strategic goals. Her latest book is Content Strategy 101: Transform Technical Content into a Business Asset.

Sarah speaks fluent German, is a voracious reader, and enjoys swimming, kayaking, and other water sports along with knitting and college basketball. She has strong aversions to raw tomatoes, eggplant, and checked baggage.

Alan S. Pringle

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Technical Writing

(28 reviews)

Annemarie Hamlin, Central Oregon Community College

Chris Rubio, Central Oregon Community College

Copyright Year: 2016

ISBN 13: 9781636350653

Publisher: Open Oregon Educational Resources

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Amine Oudghiri-Otmani, Instructor, Marshall University on 10/15/22

This text offers a good amount of instruction (though at times limited) underlying effective workplace and technical writing/communication. Having personally examined a number of technical writing materials, this is by far one of the very few... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text offers a good amount of instruction (though at times limited) underlying effective workplace and technical writing/communication. Having personally examined a number of technical writing materials, this is by far one of the very few texts that incorporate a section about texting. Freshman students will benefit from this introductory-level text and will appreciate the authors' emphasis on conventional technical documents including emails, letters, memos, reports, and proposals. The textbook, however, may not satisfy the needs of students in advanced technical writing courses looking for guidance on complex documents beyond the conventional ones identified here. Visual representation of information could be improved, and the organization of chapters could be more strategic. A separate section about reports with important introductory information, for instance, could precede the progress reports and technical reports sections.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

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 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.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Although the materials are relevant to orthodox technical writing contexts, the text could benefit from a separate section that introduces writing in the digital world to reflect the evolving nature and changing landscape of technical communication. As part of the additional section, for instance, the authors could discuss potential similarities/differences between documents produced traditionally (e.g., pencil and paper, in addition to those developed by means of regular Word processor) and those produced digitally using various contemporary media. Similarities and/or differences could be discussed in light of prose and rhetorical strategies, among others.

Clarity rating: 5

The authors use simple, clear, and easy-to-understand prose. After all, sentence structure in technical writing is expected to be short, concise, and to the point. This text fits under this category of direct and unambiguous language. In addition to the authors identifying and covering essential technical terminology, the reader will appreciate the combination of descriptive (i.e., regular declarative) and direct (i.e., imperative, instructional) language. The memo, for instance, "has a header that clearly indicates who sent it and who the intended recipients are," and the reader is asked to "always consider the audience and their needs when preparing a memo."

Consistency rating: 4

Consistency is off a few times throughout the text. At the beginning of the first chapter, "Professional Communications," for instance, the authors write, "From text messages to reports, how you represent yourself with the written word counts." In this first chapter, however, only texting, emails, memos, and letters are discussed. Reports are mentioned only briefly under the cover letter to a technical report section, but no prior background about reports is provided.

Modularity rating: 5

Consistent use of headers and special highlights (e.g., boldface, etc.) helps chapter sub-sections and other important information stand out. The headings and sub-headings minimize potential distractions or other inconsistencies in modular presentation of chapter content.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Chapter organization throughout the text consists of introduction and discussion. A conclusion in which a general, targeted final reflection is provided, however, is missing. 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. The introduction section could benefit from a few sentences previewing this across-the-board structure.

Chapter lineup could also be more strategic. The chapter "Ethics in Technical Writing," for instance, could go first before "Information Literacy" and "Citations and Plagiarism."

Interface rating: 4

Readers may be distracted by the number of blank pages at the end of chapters. Readers looking to print individual chapters with ample text on each page (or those simply interested in saving trees by minimizing the number of pages printed in multiple jobs) may be disappointed. Text navigation and individual chapter selection, however, are made easy thanks to the hyperlink attached to each line/item under "Contents." Readers looking to go to a specific chapter do not need to engage in much scrolling and are given the opportunity to jump straight to the specific chapter or chapter sub-section by clicking the link.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

No grammar errors have been detected. The authors' occasional use of the "conversational" tone may not be an issue, especially in terms of deciding whether the language matches the universal, agreed-upon conventions of technical writing. The textbook being an introduction to technical writing is meant to provide a general overview of the field, and technicality at the clause level is not required. The latter is expected to be a feature of advanced-level texts. The authors, however, could consider adding a separate section that discusses style and tone (in addition to orthodox grammar/sentence structure error patterns like splices, fragments, etc.). That the language used in the text may not match the conventions of technical writing - in terms of style and tone - could also be emphasized.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Chapter 13, "Communicating Across Cultures," introduces the reader to the importance of considering the variety of cultures and culture uniqueness (and peculiarity) in technical communication, which I believe does the job. Advanced-level texts may delve deeper into the requisite component of culture and culture sensitivity in both drafting certain technical documents and deciding on the style/tone to be used, context dependent. This textbook subscribes to the general/introductory category in this (i.e., discussion of culture) respect.

Reviewed by Sylvia Hayes, English Instructor, Midlands Technical College on 7/26/21

This book is concise and covers an array of Technical Communication topics and genres. This text provides flexibility in the fact that it focuses on Technical Communication for a more generalized audience and therefore this would work well as a... read more

This book is concise and covers an array of Technical Communication topics and genres. This text provides flexibility in the fact that it focuses on Technical Communication for a more generalized audience and therefore this would work well as a Technical Communications text for a First-Year Writing course at a 2 or 4-year college. The organization of the section is not very logical, luckily most instructors do not use textbook chapters in order. The text could use more examples for students in the medical and legal fields. It could use more visual support within the chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The information presented in this text is accurate, error-free, and unbiased; however, there are no references to original sources for most of the content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content of this text is written so students can use the information in many different technical communication settings.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear, the prose is accessible and it defines and provides adequate context for concepts college-level students may find unfamiliar. There are multiple instances of the text directing you to a hyperlink to another resource that explains the concept in more depth. However, the text does not model the level of clarity necessary for technical communication. There are various sections that are underdeveloped and need more graphics and examples.

Consistency rating: 3

Due to the sheer number of contributing authors, it is hard to create a consistent framework for the chapters. They each seem to be designed by the separate contributors in ways that make sense to them and are not uniform to the book. In terms of terminology, the text is consistent.

Modularity rating: 3

This text is broken up into sections and subsections, that can be assigned at different points within a course. As the organization of the chapters is chaotic, I believe most instructors would have to move sections around as assign them individually instead of starting at chapter 1 and working through the textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 1

The organization of chapters is confusing. Why are citations in between Proposals and Progress Reports? Chapters refer to students learning of concepts found later in the textbook.

Interface rating: 2

Not all sections are set up the same, which makes it harder to navigate and find information. In some versions of the text, you can't see the graphics. You cannot search the text using normal search indicators "AND," "NOT," etc. this makes searching this text much more difficult than some others. Why are there so many blank pages in the PDF, if someone was to print the text they would waste about 1/4 of the pages.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

There weren't any noticeable grammatical errors. The sentence structure is varied, however, there were some long, wordy, confusing sentences. The tone is very casual and not professional.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

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.

Reviewed by Mary Larsen, Instructor, Pittsburg State University on 5/14/21

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. This text also... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

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. This text also includes information about resumes and employment, which is very applicable to technical writing and provides readers with a dual layer of content.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content within this text is accurate and mostly error-free. The content is based off of multiple authors rather than one single-viewpoint, which provides additional insights into topics versus only one limited view. Content is cited and derived from David McMurrey, who has experience and a plethora of knowledge in all aspects of technical writing.

The text is relevant to writing in the workplace as it covers aspects of "netiquette," which is something technical writers will encounter more and more as workplace functions are moved more to online formats. The formats covered are also frequently used forms of communication in the workplace, such as email, letters, memos, proposals etc. This provides a large scope of relevant documents that readers could encounter when writing in the workplace.

This text is written in plain language and easy to read. Content is sectioned off pretty well for easier readability and there were few, if any, areas of jargon or overly technical language. Tips are provided in various sections that assist readers in actually applying the content.

Consistency rating: 5

How text and visuals are presented and the sense of organization of various chapters and sections are all consistently presented within.

Modularity rating: 4

Subheadings are used within for easier readability; however, content is text-heavy at times. Content jumps around some, but is otherwise organized into a logical progression of points (such as discussing audience and types of documents in the beginning and saving design and employment content for later in the text).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization follows a logical progression of ideas and concepts that would be presented within a technical writing course. The Table of Contents includes easily recognized sections and page numbers and each new section is noted at the top of the page. At times the images presented conflict with the text and spacing on pages, but is otherwise easy to attribute to the content pertaining to the image.

Interface rating: 5

Some of the images / videos are pixelated. The textbook includes links to videos and images that further touch upon the concepts of a chapter, which is very helpful and engaging. Images link to direct PDF files for easier access of a document. Seems to be some unnecessary space left on pages or between section changes.

Text is mostly free of grammatical errors, although a few minor grammar mistakes were present. For example, "insure" is used instead of "ensure" in Section 3.7.

Chapter 13 of the text is "Communication Across Cultures," which lends to its response to cultural sensitivity. The text seems to keep in mind readers of various races and backgrounds and uses relevant pop culture references that are inclusive. If anything, the textbook could incorporate aspects of gender in relation to technical writing in the workplace.

This textbook covers most all of the content I currently use in my own technical / professional writing courses and I am considering adopting this textbook in future courses that I teach.

Reviewed by Bjorn Smars, Career Instructor, University of Oregon on 7/2/20

As far as I can tell, this textbook does not include an index or glossary. 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... read more

As far as I can tell, this textbook does not include an index or glossary. 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 of an index. My only complaint about this text, at least in regards to its comprehensiveness, is that many of the sections or pages are underdeveloped or do not contain sufficient explanation and/or examples to illustrate important concepts. For example, the chapter on communicating across cultures provides useful tips that students can use to think critically about cross-cultural communication, but these suggestions are limited in that they are designed to apply broadly to most situations in which cross-cultural communication occurs and therefore do not offer clear guidelines or practical strategies for students to learn about and identify a particular culture's communication norms.

As far as I can tell, the information presented in this text is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. The purpose of this textbook is to serve as an introduction to technical writing, and as such is designed to provide students with practical strategies for engaging in effective technical communication.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, most of the content in this textbook is written in such a way that it can be applied practically and broadly to a variety of situations in which students may find the need to engage in technical writing and/or communication. The focus is more on providing practical strategies and helping students develop critical thinking skills than it is about using a particular software.

The prose is clear and accessible to college-level readers, and unfamiliar concepts are either defined in-text by the textbook's authors or via hyperlink to another source. For example, in chapter "13.2 Understanding Cultural Context," the authors provide a link to a YouTube video that explains the differences between high-context and low-context cultures in more depth.

The textbook uses consistent terminology and frameworks throughout.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the organization of the textbook is easy to navigate and understand. Each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings. My only complaint is that there is some inconsistency between the lengths of each chapter's subsections. Some sections are very short (150-300 words max) while others are much longer, ranging in the 2,000-3,000 word range. That said, each section is clearly labeled, and the headings are highly descriptive.

See previous comment.

Each chapter's subsection has navigational arrows that allow the reader to move on to the next section easily, and the table of contents is easily accessible on every page. 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.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, this text could provide more examples to help students better understand cultural differences in terms of communication. More examples that are relevant to students attending one of Oregon's many colleges or universities would help to illustrate these cultural differences and provide students with a practical, real-world strategies for engaging with their peers, professors, and other folks from other cultures and/or regions.

Overall, I found this textbook very useful, though I had to supplement much of the information either with links to other sources or with material I developed personally. It's a useful and accessible introduction to technical writing for most undergraduate students, but it is not a comprehensive document and therefore may require the instructor to provide additional information or resources.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Aydelott, Part-Time Instructor, Lane Community College on 6/26/20

This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. A class geared toward a specific aspect of the field - engineering or a medical field, for example - would need to add material. This text... read more

This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. A class geared toward a specific aspect of the field - engineering or a medical field, for example - would need to add material. This text provides a solid basis for any course in technical writing, though.

The information is accurate, the citation guide up-to-date, and most material is relevant to any aspect of the field.

The content is almost all up-to-date. I would suggest adding a section on conference calls in the chapter on Professional Communications. That format has its own specific netiquette rules, ethics, and audience considerations. And conference calls, in a variety of formats, are increasingly essential to the working life.

Clear, common sense prose. The beginning of each chapter should probably be titled "Overview" or something similar, perhaps with a brief outline, for more clarity.

The book's structure changes with each format. I suggest that the instructor designate a preferred version for the class. Within the text, however, it becomes fairly easy to navigate through the material.

This text would be easy to assign in appropriate chunks for the students.

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.

Interface is fairly straightforward and clear. Some of the videos, particularly in the beginning, are a bit referential to a specific course rather than to the topic in general.

Grammar has no problem. I wish, though, that a general chapter on grammar was included for the students.

I really appreciated the chapter on Communicating Across Cultures, but I wish it had been included earlier in the book. Perhaps a reference to Cultural Literacy within the chapter on Audience.

I'm confused about why the Open Textbook Library lists the book with only one author instead of the seven listed in the book itself.

Reviewed by Christopher Schott, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Missouri - St. Louis on 4/23/20

This book really does cover a great deal of ground. However, I found the pacing and the organization of the section to be a little sporadic, especially if the book were to be read linearly by students. This may not be a serious concern as,... read more

This book really does cover a great deal of ground. However, I found the pacing and the organization of the section to be a little sporadic, especially if the book were to be read linearly by students. This may not be a serious concern as, especially in a digital format, the book can be navigated easily from topic to topic. Many chapters are short (some are quite detailed, though), which can be a real asset, but the lack of technical writing theory might be a concern for instructors looking to balance practice with understanding approach. 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. Another issue, when it comes to comprehensiveness, is the lacking of exercises and assignments. 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.

As a reader, this book seems unbiased to me. That said, there are some prescriptive outlooks on crafting documents that may lead a reader to believe there is a one-size-fits-all way to compose a text. For example, there is a recommendation that emails are limited to three paragraphs, which is a very narrow view of that genre (shouldn't it depend on the rhetorical context, audience, etc.?). Overall, the content in the book appears accurate, even if a little prescriptive at times. However, this can be remedied through instruction from the professor.

The information that is presented in this book is very similar (and in some cases, exactly the same) as the information I've been teaching for the ten years I've been teaching technical communication. Some concepts in this course, such as audience, purpose, tone, precision--these will forever be touchstones of any professional writing course, technical writing is no exception. I very much am happy to see a chapter on information literacy, which is honestly and unfortunately absent from a surprising amount of existing (and expensive) technical writing textbooks. Some of the information does seem to not work (some links, for example), which may hurt longevity, but the authors do note this might be a possibility when using the book.

This book is clear. As a technical communication text, I would hope it would be and I was happy to see the authors not utilize jargon, instead stick to very explicitly presented ideas, sentence structure, and offering simple language that will appeal to readers, make them feel smart, all while retaining the level of academic rigor a text like this needs.

The chapters in this book are all formatted relatively the same. This offers readers a consistent and predictive reading experience (which, in itself, is a valuable technical communication skill). Each chapter starts with a very useful introduction, leading nicely into the rest of the chapter. There are, at times, inconsistencies in how thoroughly topics are treated and covered, but that is to be expected with many textbooks.

This text seems to be designed for purposeful fragmentation in a course. By this, I mean that the text does not have to be read linearly to be useful for students. In fact, and this is something the authors may have had in mind when writing, but most textbooks are not read and interacted with linearly anyway. Chapters are skipped, brought back, and revisited. I think this is just fine and, in many ways, provides a more fruitful reading experience.

Along with the previous idea of Modularity, I do not think the text is perfectly organized. One could argue that a textbook should move from more simple to more complex concepts. However, I disagree and do not think this needs to be the case. Instead, while the chapters here might seem a bit out of order in terms of their "difficulty," to do seem to be ordered nicely in terms of some theoretical understanding (though, very little) into more genre-based writing. Because the text can function in ways that benefit the class, this is not an issue.

The book is incredibly easy to navigate and use. Some links are broken, which can be frustrating, but it doesn't distract from the usefulness of the book overall.

I did not notice any grammar and mechanical errors in the text.

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. I am a big fan of the cultural sensitivity section in the book, which I think is very carefully and thoughtfully presented to readers. There are topics that can be included that were not. In technical communication, it's important to remember that standards are always changing in business and this will undoubtedly shift the way professionals communicate, interact, and write. For example, a section on language inclusivity would be useful.

I'm grateful for this book. The authors have really put together a text that is useful in terms of what it can do in different kinds of technical communication classroom. I've seen many different kinds of technical writing courses and they are all taught differently. 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.

Reviewed by Brian Ballentine, Professor, West Virginia University on 4/20/20

The book is being reviewed the book in the web PDF format. At least one other reviewer has noted that there are inconsistency issues across various formats in which the book is offered. The web PDF format functions as expected in Acrobat reader... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

The book is being reviewed the book in the web PDF format. At least one other reviewer has noted that there are inconsistency issues across various formats in which the book is offered. The web PDF format functions as expected in Acrobat reader with the sidebar thumbnails and toc providing hyperlinks to specific pages and sections. This format does not have a much-needed index or glossary. The book does not have the same comprehensive content that a student would find in one of the large, mainstream, and admittedly costly technical communication texts by authors like Markel and Selber, Lannon and Gurak, or Anderson. There isn't enough or any coverage on important topics like instruction sets, technical procedures or definitions, user experience testing (including testing instruction sets and other technical documentation), and oral presentations. Documents like instruction sets are mentioned but only in passing. E.g., "Examples are one of the most powerful ways to connect with audiences, particularly in instructions" (2.3). There is content on preparing PPT slides but no content on giving a presentation.

The content does not cite original sources. Each chapter and even sub-section has author attributions for the book itself but rarely does it reference external sources. This becomes particularly obvious for writing instructors in parts of the book like chapter 14 that contend with genre, genre analysis, and genre systems but with no references to the writing scholars we attribute to genre studies (Miller, Bawarshi, Russell). This is not to say that the content is automatically inaccurate but one of the points the authors themselves make about the need to cite sources is the importance of using those sources to build confidence in the audience.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 1

The book opens with content on texting and email but then largely abandons digital communication platforms. Again, in larger technical communication textbooks instructors would expect to find chapters dedicated to "blogs, wikis, and web pages" and "social media" platforms as in offerings by Lannon and Gurak. A more contemporary text would no doubt include online collaborative tools and meeting platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. The recommendation here would be to create a separate chapter or chapters dedicated to technology platforms with the idea that it would be easier to update in the future.

Clarity rating: 2

The writing is more conversational than professional. The book does not model the level of clarity needed for technical writers. E.g., section 9.2 on "Presentation of Information" begins with a longer paragraph that attempts to summarize the space shuttle Challenger disaster as an example of why clear communication is important. The textbook authors write: "Possibly the engineers were just poor writers; possibly they did not consider their audience; or possibly they did not want to look bad and therefore emphasized all the things that were right with the Challenger. (Incidentally, the O rings had worked fine for several launches.)" Edward Tufte's now famous case study of the Challenger contradicts this summary. The rocket company and its engineers did indeed make a no launch recommendation (their first in 12 years) precisely because they had data showing the O-rings failed in cold temperatures. It is moments like these in the textbook that give me pause.

Consistency rating: 2

The multiple authors on this textbook likely pose challenges for creating consistency across the project. For example, in the chapter dedicated to Proposals, the first section is titled "Some preliminaries" and it offers a narrative overview of proposals and the roles they may play. In the chapter dedicated to "Progress Reports," the first section offers "functions and contents of progress reports" that has just two bullet lists. 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.

The textbook does contain self-referential content but overall the chapters could be used in a modular fashion to supplement other learning materials/readings in a technical writing course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

Even if the textbook was designed to be modular, it is still prepared and presented in a specific order (with linked toc in the PDF version). Concepts of genre and genre analysis are presented as fundamental to understanding the writing process yet they come at the end of the text. Audience analysis comes much earlier (chapter 2) but not before texts, emails, and netiquette. Proposals are in chapter 3 but information literacy, including instruction on how to begin research for a proposal isn't until chapter 4. Organizing a textbook toc must be incredibly challenging but there are many models out there that overcome some of these organizational challenges.

Interface rating: 3

The PDF version of the textbook works as expected in terms of the links in the toc and the thumbnails visible in Acrobat. It can be challenging to orient yourself in the text especially because there are many pages with minimal content. The PDF version has 242 pages but I would recommend to students that they only print selectively as many pages are blank.

Despite having many authors (and some open source content), the book does not have an abundance of grammatical errors. As mentioned before, the more casual tone of the textbook does not help with modeling technical and professional communication. There are grammatical issues (or perhaps more stylistic issues) that could be edited. E.g., the book uses the opening phrase, "In other words..." ten times throughout the book. Overall, though, the book scores high in the grammatical category.

Chapter 13 is dedicated to "Communicating Across Cultures" and offers students an overview of "culture" as a term as well as some important guidance on global communication. The book does break some of its own advice in these sections with references to authors with no attribution. E.g., "Geert Hofstede views culture as consisting of mental programs, calling it softwares of the mind, meaning each person 'carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned throughout their lifetime.'” This chapter could make more specific references to technical communication and globalization. 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.

I would like to thank all of the authors as well as David McMurrey for their efforts in writing and editing this open source textbook. I will likely use chapters or sections to supplement other course materials in an effort to save students money on textbook costs. It may be possible to pair chapters from this textbook with one of the smaller "handbooks" on technical communication out there. While the ratings here aren't overly high, the standard of comparison was challenging. I am looking for options to supplant one of the large, mainstream technical communication textbooks and that is a high bar.

Reviewed by Lars Soderlund, Associate Professor of English, Western Oregon University on 3/7/19

The book has a strong balance of topics. In addition to the mix of genres that it discusses, the book is also effective in its coverage of different aspects of writing such as audience, context, ethics, etc. read more

The book has a strong balance of topics. In addition to the mix of genres that it discusses, the book is also effective in its coverage of different aspects of writing such as audience, context, ethics, etc.

The book contains no inaccuracies as far as I could tell, nor any political or social bias.

The book is relevant in a way that seems sustainable. It is not at the cutting edge of technical writing technologies or software, but it is the sort of book that would have (and probably has) helped students a decade ago and will still be useful in another decade owing to its coverage of general topics and its emphasis on writing fundamentals.

The book is extremely easy to read, and should not hold any students back.

The book's format changes occasionally, probably owing to the various authors involved, but it is not especially noticable and does not affect the book in a negative way.

The book seems to have been designed for modular use, and indeed that is how I plan to use it in my future classes. The way that the book starts with a quick reference guide to genres and then moves into the big-picture writing theory is evidence that the writers want the book to be immediately useful.

The book's organization seems maximally effective for teachers and students. As I mentioned above, the book starts by covering genres with relative swiftness, then it digs into essential writing topics, and then it covers larger genres in more detail. 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.

The book was extremely easy to navigate and to use.

The book is very well-written and contains no grammatical errors.

The book is fairly dry, and so I did not notice cultural issues that might be of note.

The book is very good, and I look forward to using it.

But I do want to say that although above the book got 5-stars across the board, I'm not sure if I would give it a perfect review if I were to rate it. Basically, I find that students seem to flourish when a class (and a textbook) regularly comes back to explicitly stated themes, and the book didn't necessarily have those. They were there (audience, genre, etc.), but they weren't really up-played in a way that students will definitely get.

Still, again, this is a very strong book and I plan to redesign my future Technical Writing class with it.

Reviewed by Kathryn Northcut, Professor, Missouri University of Science and Technology on 1/13/19

The book is offered in various formats, and they aren't parallel. The organization of chapters in the web-native version defies logic. The expandable table is tricky to get used to because the hyperlink from the Chapter title goes to the chapter... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 1 see less

The book is offered in various formats, and they aren't parallel. The organization of chapters in the web-native version defies logic. The expandable table is tricky to get used to because the hyperlink from the Chapter title goes to the chapter but the arrow on the right shows the subsections. It's hard to remember where you are as you navigate. I did not locate a glossary or index, and the book is not fully searchable in the web-native version because all sections can't be expanded onto one screen.

Content Accuracy rating: 1

Almost none of the content has references to original sources, and far too little theory is made explicit. Too much of the writing is chatty and conversational to provide a model of technical writing for university students.

The first section includes both platforms and genres. However, currently relevant platforms like Twitter are excluded from this section. Mixing platforms and genres seems odd logically. Later chapters jump between concepts and genres with no obvious logic to the order.

The style is accessible but not professional. The writing attempts to be engaging but is not rich enough in evidence, references, or good, contemporary examples for university students.

Consistency rating: 1

Unfortunately, the book consistently raises questions about whether these authors/editors have worked in technical contexts recently. Their advice seems to be off-base, including comparing omitting a conclusion to slamming down a phone on a caller. In fact, much professional writing starts with an abstract, executive summary, or cover sheet that obviates the need for a conclusion. The worst thing we can do in much scientific and technical discourse is build suspense and save the point, answer, or recommendations to the end. The way this book is designed and written does not seem to engage the exigencies of technical writing as I'm familiar with them. Other textbooks, whether consistent or not, provide better examples of practices from many industries to help prepare students from writing after college. This textbook focuses not just on the college experience, but on the Central Oregon Community College experience to the exclusion of other contexts.

Modularity rating: 2

The text does not contain modules that stand independently, despite appearing at the outset to be designed that way. Many phrases such as "as seen in the last section," make it difficult for students to follow what's happening. The videos address students in a single section writing a specific assignment and the content of the videos is not transferable to other contexts. The videos I viewed would not work in my courses, ever. Further, the textbook refers constantly to watered-down assignments that I would not assign. In my courses, students DO write a full proposal, not just an academic topic proposal. No one in industry writes topic proposals, so I would not teach that genre in my technical writing course. In fact, this textbook constantly focuses on the specific introductory assignments and methods at Central Oregon Community College, so a more ambitious, advanced curriculum would directly contradict the information in the textbook. If you wanted to teach your students to write proposals, you would be better off with online examples of successful proposals and top-of-the-head commentary than this textbook.

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?" One of my specializations is teaching proposals. This book doesn't handle proposal writing in a way that fits what I know of proposal writing outside of essay topic proposals used in composition courses. Why is information on Citations and Plagiarism after the chapter on proposals? Professional and academic proposals are robust documents which cite sources, so that background information would be useful earlier. Despite the textbook attempting to be modular, numbering chapters does suggest that there is a logic to the order. Non-numbered TOC might be a solution to this problem. In this book, short chapters are split up into tiny subparts, and navigation between them is tricky in the web-native version. Other Technical Writing/Communication textbooks, from Burnett's 2005 Technical Communication 5th Ed., to the current editions of Markel (and Selber) and Lannon (and Gurak) are superior in terms of internal logic, as is the Engineering Communication Manual (House et al) if the authors/editors need better examples of structure.

Interface rating: 1

I found the design appealing initially. Using it was confusing and there are many incompatibilities between the various versions available. The students would have difficulty locating the correct version of the textbook unless a PDF were provided to them by the instructor, and the PDF is problematic in terms of design and omission of content. In the web-native version, the sections are all very short and navigating to the next section requires clicking back and re-finding your place every time. Not having a "next section" button or arrow almost ensures that students will not complete the readings because they will think, incorrectly, that they are done with the (very short) chapter. The PDF version has many blank pages, making navigation cumbersome. The PDF document is much thinner than the large number of pages suggests. If a student were to print the PDF, much paper would be completely wasted and blank.

The conversational tone isn't ideal for educating students who will need to do technical writing in industry, but there are few overt typographic and spelling errors. The ones that exist are obvious and instructors can correct them if they use those chapters. 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. 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. Most of our work is electronic/digital/online, so references to paper may not be incorrect, but they are largely archaic. When the authors refer to student assignments, they might call them "assignments," not "papers." The writing in section 5.2 needs editing. Overuse of "it" and "there" and back-referencing through pronouns ensures that students will have difficulty parsing the information. 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. Further, the authors state that plagiarism is institution-specific, but that's only true in our academic bubble. In fact, plagiarism is an important IP (intellectual property) concern globally, so reference to international publication and copyright standards would be far more useful to students, who are students for 4 years or so, but professionals for up to 40 years.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

Ideally, the authors would employ a plain style to avoid usability problems for non-American-dialect users. In the section (2.1 types of audiences) about audience, an opportunity is missed by not getting into user profiles and usability theory. Contrary to what is stated, technicians do not always lack sophisticated theoretical knowledge. It is not true that executives are always the audience for whom our students will or should write. The lack of robust user-based terminology is a problem with this book. I wonder if any of the authors are currently active in the technical communication community or have worked in nonacademic technical environments on communication design tasks. If they have, I would implore them to use better industry examples and the jargon of writers in technical professions. The authors should also focus on plain language in this book, and exemplify it in their prose. Karen Schriver's work is a good starting point.

I recommend this book (only) to instructors at Central Oregon Community College, where it perhaps serves a useful, important purpose. Its structure and content is unsuitable for majors in professional fields including engineering and science, and therefore is not a good choice for instructors teaching at most institutions where the course is offered. The emphasis on MLA style demonstrates the limited appeal of the textbook (to English majors). To be clear, MLA is not used in a single industrial or professional context I am aware of, outside English departments and literature-oriented professions. No mention is made of IEEE, which is the largest professional society in the world and which publishes professional ethics and authorial style guides that many professionals will encounter. It's great to include APA, but that social-science emphasis should be balanced with another professional style such as ASME or IEEE. The authors may have heard this, because they mention ASME in section 5.1, but they give no examples of what ASME looks like in practice. I worry that this textbook potentially does a disservice to the technical communication field as well as to open-access materials, which should be of high quality and represent best practices based on an awareness of the range of communication tasks working professional undertake. David McMurrey's work was far more technical and usable in its time; I'm sad to conclude that this textbook does not build productively on his legacy.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wilde, Adjunct instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/18/18

The text does many things very well, but it is too uneven to be truly comprehensive. It will work best as an introduction to technical communication and business writing. It is less helpful, I think, to students going into health care fields and... read more

The text does many things very well, but it is too uneven to be truly comprehensive. It will work best as an introduction to technical communication and business writing. It is less helpful, I think, to students going into health care fields and the social sciences. Chapters are brief and pragmatic, with no discussion of theory, no instruction on clarity or sentence structure, and little discussion of diction and style. 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. Some of the chapters are extremely brief and rudimentary, while others are detailed and nuanced. An example of the former is the section headed "Types of audiences", and an example of the latter is the section on ethics of technical writing. One of the earliest chapters is about texting. There are useful chapters dedicated to resumes, incident reports, proposals, and several other genres - and there is an interesting, though perhaps not as practical, discussion of genres in writing. Like most other technical writing resources, this book has nothing to say about case reports, medical or nursing notes, letters to the editor or position papers for professional and trade journals, all of which are pertinent to the daily work of many professionals in human services or advocacy. Another issue with the book is the lack of writing exercises and assignments. There are some areas with a "Try This" section, but not very many of them, and the assignments lack an assessment component.

The book seems unbiased, although some advice feels a little arbitrary, such as the recommendation to limit emails to three paragraphs. I do not find any errors of content. There is a technical error in the middle of the book, where the author refers to a graph about voting in Australia; that graph does not exist on the page but there is this editorial comment that was no doubt not intended for publication: [“How to vote…” – this image is on a blog that is CC-licensed but I don’t think the author used the image with permission. Is it possible to find a sub?] Who is who? Which Australian are we voting for?

Much of the advice will be appropriate forever: know your audience, know your purpose in writing, be respectful, be specific and clear rather than general and vague. The sections about how to present information visually are helpful: contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are given the unfortunate acronym CRAP (so no doubt the reader will never forget it!) I also appreciate the chapter on information literacy, which includes information on scholarly, professional and general publications. This includes trade journals, something that WR 121 classes tend not to mention but are important for technical writing students. Of course, there is some information about PowerPoint that is likely already past its best-buy date, but the authors discuss that and point the reader towards existing and upcoming technologies other than PowerPoint. I was able to see the video on the writing situation but not all of the other links worked. The authors include a caveat that not all links will work, so that seems fair, but a comprehensive resource would not rely on links to external sources with all their potential foibles.

The authors resist the temptation to use jargon, and they stick to simple sentence structures for the most part. In that sense, they exemplify the sort of simple, crisp (if unexciting) prose that technical communication strives for. There is abundant use of the colon to introduce lists, and the authors use bullet points frequently.

The book is highly consistent. Each chapter starts with a brief introduction to what comes in the sections included in the chapter. That means that the first segment of each chapter is extremely short, followed by more detailed segments. What is not consistent is the amount of time spent on various elements of technical writing, which, as mentioned in the section on comprehensiveness, varies quite a bit.

Chapters could be read out of order, and instructors can certain assign some sections and not others. I would be most inclined to use the chapters on ethical issues, research, and proposals. I think that's OK, but the book is almost too modular. Chapters do not relate to one another and the order in which they appear feels arbitrary. There is some redundancy - for example, the issue of audience is addressed repeatedly without adding anything new on the subject. I generally prefer a text in which each chapter leads logically to the material in the next chapter and adds to the student's understanding of technical writing, but there are advantages to a source like this, too.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is highly modular and the chapters do not flow into one another. I'm not sure why the chapters are ordered this way. I would tend to put some basic information about what constitutes technical writing at the beginning, followed by some guidance around doing research and writing ethically, followed by chapters on different types of technical writing: texts, emails, case reports, letters, resumes, proposals, recipes, instruction manuals, position papers, abstracts, encounter notes from a visit or interview, letters to the editor, mini-biographies and autobiographies ("about the author"), annotations. I would include an appendix about conventions: when to use a colon, how to convey numbers, the rules of capitalization, and the like.

The navigation was extremely simple and easy to use. The charts and images that are used are minimal but every one is highly useful and easy to see. Some links are broken.

I am prone to noticing grammatical and punctuation errors, but nothing jumped out at me in this textbook.

There is an ageist comment about "so easy that Grandpa could understand it" in the early pages defining technical vs academic writing. There is a very thoughtful section on cultural sensitivity. 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. However, it seems like a serious omission to leave out a discussion of inclusive language. 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.

The book is quite well written and useful, but not comprehensive. I would love to see this text updated with more sections. Chapters on lab/case reports, medical/interview notes, abstracts, introductions, mini-biographies, position papers and letters to the editor would enhance this text and broaden its appeal to new audiences, especially social science/health care students. I would love to see sections on effective sentences, collaborative writing, inclusive language, and grammatical conventions. Finally, an effective text on this topic should include assignments along with discussion of how to assess the assignments.

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. It also contains an excellent index and glossary. read more

Comprehensiveness - Appears to offer all of the standard technical writing topics with an excellent easy bulleted table of contents. It also contains an excellent index and glossary.

Content Accuracy - Appears to provide accurate content.

Relevance Longevity - Information appears to fit the relevant longevity category with the exception of the Professional Communication chapter; however, that would be an easy update.

Clarity - Information is presented in a simple and clear format.

Consistency - Information was not found to be incongruent in any way.

Modularity - The text is laid out in chapters with clear and simple sub-headings underneath each one.

Organization Structure Flow - The flow of the text is easy to follow.

Interface - The images could be more ascetically pleasing to the eye. In come cases, it appears that a high school student made them. Investing in a graphic designer might make the graphics more ascetically appealing. Furthermore, breaking the text apart with colorful questions and answers, activities, quotes, etc., is suggested.

Grammatical Errors - There were no grammatical errors found.

Cultural Relevance - The text appears to be culturally sensitive of all races, nationalities and ethnicities.

A text I definitely want to consider for my Technical Writing course. :)

Reviewed by Adam Karnes, Adjunct Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/19/18

The book covers the typical range of topics for a technical writing guide. At times, the balance feels off. A significant amount of the length is dedicated to topics usually covered in other classes (including research, citations, outlining). I... read more

The book covers the typical range of topics for a technical writing guide. At times, the balance feels off. A significant amount of the length is dedicated to topics usually covered in other classes (including research, citations, outlining). I would have preferred to have more info about the modes typical to technical writing, but what the book has is useful. Also, while the book has examples, I would appreciate even more examples. The book has a dropdown menu with a table of contents and a search feature in the reader.

The book is accurate. I did not observe inaccuracies.

On the whole, the book is relevant and should remain so for several years without the need for updates.

One important consideration regarding relevancy is the thematic dominance of references to Oregon. While the frequent mention of things related to the Pacific Northwest does not limit the readability of the text, this reoccurring theme makes the book more relevant for readers from this area than from others.

The book is clear and written with appropriate vocabulary for the typical student of technical writing. The body of the text goes into an adequate depth in the explanation of key concepts. Crucial terms are adequately explained. Examples are frequently included, although even more examples would be a welcome addition. The book lacks a glossary, which would also be a helpful addition.

The text is adequately consistent from beginning to end, but at times the sections feel disconnected. In this respect, the text works well as a modular book with distinct sections. The various parts do seem separate, however. The crossover between chapters could be stronger. This is probably the case due to chapters being derived from other sources. The differences do not render the text unreadable, just lack cohesive than the average textbook.

This text excels as a modular work. The sections are distinct and could be read independently. Teachers can easily pick and choose between sections without assigning the entire text.

The order in which the book’s contents are presented is somewhat arbitrary. (The section on resumes, for example, comes at the end—in many technical writing texts, this would come at toward the beginning.) Still, the ordering of the text is not confusing.

Navigating the text can be slow, with lots of scrolling and clicking through. Some of the sections are particularly long, and can be tiresome to scroll through. However, the table of contents is accurate and helpful. The book also has a search feature.

The text has no grammatical errors. The overall quality of editing is high.

The text is geared towards an American culture. However, the text discusses at length the importance of audience awareness and cultural differences in writing, particularly applications that span multiple cultures.

The greatest value this book offers is the ease with which teachers can select limited portions to assign to students based on the class objectives. This could easily replace a standard technical writing textbook in many courses, particularly if other texts further supplemented the class.

Reviewed by Susan Engel, Instructor, St. Cloud Technical and Community College on 6/19/18

Although an index/glossary is not provided, the Table of Contents organizes the material and allows for readers to see the breadth of areas and subjects within the Technical Writing textbook. Topics common to technical writing courses are explored... read more

Although an index/glossary is not provided, the Table of Contents organizes the material and allows for readers to see the breadth of areas and subjects within the Technical Writing textbook. 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. Topics that could perhaps be added to the text include social media (LinkedIn in Chapter 12: Employment Materials, for example) and technical writing for web pages or using online technologies.

Overall, the content appears accurate, error-free, and generally unbiased. Figure 13 in Chapter 11.4, however, doesn’t offer a resume sample for the exercise and simply states “Text of fake resume here”.

Content appears to be mostly relevant and offers up-to-date information on information literacy and other important technical writing concepts. Some of the content could be further updated, however. For example, chapter 12 discusses the idea of the cover letter being potentially outdated but then proceeds to offer guidance on writing one. This and other sections could offer updates, particularly regarding electronic and online documents.

The text is accessible and concise in delivery. Further clarification is offered through examples/samples in the sections on emails, memos, outlines, cover letters, technical reports, and others. Examples could be given in sections on proposals, progress reports, and other sections to offer further clarity.

The text offers consistency through the organization of the chapters and sections. Some chapters have features that others do not have, however. For example, Chapters 11 and 13 are structured with interactive activities not found in other chapters. The “activity” and “try this” in these chapters would be helpful in other chapters, too.

Chapters and sub-units within this text are clearly labeled. Although some overlap is offered, overall chapters and sections can be used individually in a course.

The organization is clear, user-friendly, and easily navigable using all-cap chapter headings and numbers and lower case section headings and numbers.

This text is offered in various formats which likely will help eliminate interface issues with certain sections. The section on resumes and cover letters, for example, might offer display differences depending on the format.

Grammatical errors were not detected.

Much of the text appeared to be neutral, and sections were dedicated to discussing cultural sensitivity within workplace writing. With that said, additional work on representation could be added within the examples. Also, ideas for inclusivity through accessibility in design of workplace documents might be added, too, as well as an updated discussion on gender in written communications beyond using Mr. or Ms. in the sections on email, cover letters, and audience.

This text is well organized with topics appropriate to technical writing, and I will consider using it in technical writing and workplace writing courses for first- and second-year students.

Reviewed by Erica Stone, English Instructor, Technical Writing, University of Missouri Kansas City on 6/19/18

The textbook is comprehensive; however, it seems to cover both technical writing and professional or workplace writing. It is absolutely appropriate for a comprehensive service course, but the authors should consider another title. Perhaps... read more

The textbook is comprehensive; however, it seems to cover both technical writing and professional or workplace writing. It is absolutely appropriate for a comprehensive service course, but the authors should consider another title. Perhaps Technical and Professional Writing would be more accurate.

There are a few minor typos and notes from a previous editor in the document and a few leftover editing notes. Regarding bias, the entire text does seem to be written for a particular course. While it is generalized, it does refer to particular assignments and contexts, sometimes without an example given.

The content is up to date; however, it may require revision as technologies evolve and change. For example, the texting section may need to be updated within the next year to account for newer texting apps and conventions.

The entire textbook is clear and accessible. In some places, it is conversational; however, I find that quality increases its accessibility and approachability, which is necessary for a technical writing service course.

The framework and organization of the textbook is consistent and easy to follow.

The modularity is helpful, and the text is well-organized.

All of the topics are presented in a logical and clear fashion.

All of the available interfaces work well.

I did not see any grammatical errors during my review. I did, however, see a few leftover notes from the editor.

The text is culturally appropriate and all example are relevant and inclusive.

In some places, the example links do not work. When there is time, the editors and/or authors should review the book to check for errors and broken links.

As mentioned in my first comment, the textbook could benefit from separating technical writing and professional writing as they are separate disciplines.

Reviewed by Michael Nern, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Ohio University Zanesville on 2/1/18

The book does not contain an index or a glossary. The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The book does not contain an index or a glossary.

The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume.

The content is accurate. I would not call the book error free.

The book contains relevant content that could be updated with relative ease.

The book's prose is not tightly edited, but the prose is accessible.

The book's content is consistent.

The text is well-organized for assigning smaller sections of reading at different points within a course.

The book's organization is solid and clear.

The text does not have interfacing issues.

The book needs a careful and close editing by one person.

I found the short chapter on ethics to be presented almost as an afterthought and believe it would be of little help to students.

I would use the book as a resource but not as a textbook for students. I might assign certain sections for reading but would more than likely use information from the book to add to already existing lectures and discussions, of course, giving credit to the authors.

In general, I believe both the Web and open source materials provide enough material to work with that textbooks in writing courses are unnecessary.

Reviewed by Jennifer Dareneau, Assistant Teaching Professor, The Pennsylvania State University- Berks on 2/1/18

Based on the Table of Contents, all subject areas mentioned there were covered adequately. However, there are several mentions of the technical report being the main document produced at the end of the term (which is true) and mentions of several... read more

Based on the Table of Contents, all subject areas mentioned there were covered adequately. However, there are several mentions of the technical report being the main document produced at the end of the term (which is true) and mentions of several prefatory documents needed for benchmarking along the way. Only a couple of those mentioned documents are detailed or explained in the book.

There are a few minor typos and notes from a previous editor in the document, including a question about permission to use a chart. Content itself seemed accurate.

Content is up to date. 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.

Clarity of language and expression of concepts is well done. Language is easy to understand but remains at a college student's level. Special terms are explained and defined.

For the most part, the book is internally consistent. There are some inconsistent elements- some chapters include links to samples, but not all; there is a link to one video only; some chapters include an activity prompt, but others do not.

Modularity is well done. Each larger unit is broken into smaller, easily understood and relevant sub units.

Organization is simple and logical.

I did not experience any navigation problems. Some images had an editor's note next to them, or were quickly covered by a small icon in the top right. The chapters on graphics had some photos that did not connect well to technical writing, and I suspect students in a class would struggle to understand the rhetorical significance of them (particularly the sections with Obama and the girls gymnastics team).

I noticed only one or two minor typos. There were some fragments and sentences beginning with And or But, which I hope were stylistic choices.

There were no culturally insensitive examples or remarks.

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. read more

The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course.

Due to the objective nature of most technical writing, this book certainly follows suit and contains little in terms of bias or subjectivity. The document genres covered fit with standards in the field, and I have found very few errors.

I agree that this book will remain relevant over time. Certainly, notions of "netiquette" and online forms might change, but the essential tech comm genres covered will remain an essential component of workplace literacies, and as such, this book should remain relevant and be easy to update as needed.

The textbook is written in a voice that is straightforward and no-nonsense for students. It isn't the most scintillating reading, but a book on technical writing clearly doesn't need to be! The voice of the text is one that I feel students would appreciate - let's get to the point!

I don't see any major inconsistencies. The text works to reinforce technical communication concepts both in its subject matter and in the style of the text itself. Clarity and intelligibility are essentials, and the text appears to work within those frameworks.

I appreciate the way the sections aren't overly extended or complicated - the individual components make up the larger whole and could easily be reconfigured to suit the needs of instructors. I feel like this is less of a textbook to read in order, but a set of modules for instructors to customize.

The overall structure of the piece makes sense, and I found myself following the process outlined within the overall book structure. It also is able to be modified quite easily if needed, so that's a plus.

Some of the graphics are a bit low-res, but nothing that would inhibit meaning... it's well presented overall.

Very few that I can see!

I see no issues here - it's quite objective overall.

I'm really happy I found this one! It will be a huge help in my upcoming course, and I'm excited to use this as a supplement to my in-class discussions!

Reviewed by Elizabeth McClure, Lecturer, University of Maryland, College Park on 2/1/18

This text includes several sections that I would expect to see in a technical writing textbook: job search materials, reports, proposals, using graphics, professional communications, and audience analysis. It also includes a couple of sections I... read more

This text includes several sections that I would expect to see in a technical writing textbook: job search materials, reports, proposals, using graphics, professional communications, and audience analysis. It also includes a couple of sections I wouldn't necessarily expect, but that would be very useful in any professional writing class: discussions of the ethics involved in report writing, information literacy, and document design. However, there was no section related to manuals or instructions, which is a large gap.

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.

In general, the information in the text is accurate, although some areas and issues would benefit from more nuanced or complex discussion. For example, in the section on job materials, professional advice varies widely related to the design of resumes, but this text does not discuss any of the variety of advice.

One minor note: There are several sentence-level errors (i.e., subject-verb agreement) that don't compromise communication but are occasionally jarring.

The content generally seems up-to-date, and the chapter organization and breakdown appear to lend themselves to easy updating.

Clarity rating: 3

The text’s language is clear and accessible. Sufficient background information is presented to give context for new concepts.

Other structures that would enhance clarity are not consistently present, however. For example, not all chapters provide examples to illustrate concepts or discussion/reflection questions to encourage students to apply concepts to other situations. Additionally, most chapters have no graphic material – pull-out text boxes, illustrations, summary lists, etc. – that would offer a different presentation method for readers.

This text is consistent in its approach, terminology, and framework.

This text is divided into sections in such a way that individual sections could easily be assigned out of order and at different points in a course. There are few, if any, instances in the text that refer to earlier material in a way that would make non-consecutive reading unworkable or unwieldy. In general, sections are relatively short and are organized under useful headings. Few subheadings are used within the text itself, although chapters are broken down into sections, each of which is labeled on the page and in the table of contents with a heading. These headings should make finding relevant sections in the text fairly easy.

The topics in this text progress clearly enough to avoid confusion, but less clearly than they could. For example, starting with Audience Analysis rather than with a variety of workplace communication genres (text, email, memos, etc.) would be more rhetorically sensible. The progression from Proposals to Information Literacy (research) to Citations to Progress Reports makes sense in that it follows the progression one might follow in a particular workplace project. However, while the order of chapters follows the process of writing a workplace document (proposal, research, progress report, technical report), it doesn’t necessarily follow the order of writing skills. For example, research is usually an integral part of developing a writing topic rather than something that happens at a single defined point mid-way through a project; likewise, a discussion of ethics should happen before a technical report is underway, perhaps in relation to an analysis of audience or to a discussion of the rhetorical situations present in professional writing generally. Because these chapters can be read out of order, the problem isn’t serious, but the chapter order doesn’t make as much use of logical development as it could.

In general, the text’s interface is user-friendly. There are a couple of places, however, notably in the chapter on design, where graphics don’t appear above the caption.

The text is overall clean but there are a handful of grammatical errors.

The text is inoffensive. Its examples aren’t culturally specific – examples don’t refer to particular groups at all, so diversity does not seem to be at issue.

Reviewed by Pam Orel, Senior Lecturer , University of Maryland College Park on 2/1/18

This is a very compact book, with easily managed lessons in basic concepts that are a quick and easy read for most students in the sciences and technology fields (STEM). Where it summarizes the key details, it does so with general clarity and the... read more

This is a very compact book, with easily managed lessons in basic concepts that are a quick and easy read for most students in the sciences and technology fields (STEM). 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. It is not designed as a comprehensive or exhaustive resource on technical writing and avoids a heavily academic tone.

The book’s advice, while brief, is extremely solid, backed up by authoritative evidence, and easy to follow. 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. Charts, where used, easily help students find the key differences in concepts, which is something that more detailed, less approachable textbooks tend to overlook.

In general I don’t teach with a textbook, so my comments should be taken in the context of someone who uses texts more as a resource than a work that guides the entirety of our semester’s journey as writers. This is a very relevant work for busy writers who need to grasp the essentials quickly, and get leads on how to find more detail as needed. It is particularly good at using graphics to shape ideas which is a factor in more and more writing courses. 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. It appears to focus a lot on the preparation of reports and print materials, but is a good basic resource in those areas.

Very clear, with short, effective paragraphs and guides to other resources clearly labeled as such. As noted earlier, graphics are well supported in the version that I reviewed. It should be noted that different formats might have issues relating to page presentation, as I have noticed that in other primarily online references I have seen.

It can be inconsistent in terms of the amount of space given to, say, some issues over others. However, in general the issues which are not treated in great detail are those for which often there are other, key resources focusing on general principles involved that are attached. Also, in some instance (plagiarism is one example) there are a wealth of other resources available in most higher education communities.

The sections in the book are effectively broken into segments which are short but emphasize key points in about a page or so. This is one of the areas where it might be most attractive to students who rely on it as a reference rather than a week-to-week resource. Teachers who wish to use, say, one or two segments while not using others would find this a very helpful resource.

This is an area of strength for this publication, as it shapes very well around ideas for most proposal writers as well as the ethics of the field as we know it today. Ethical concepts are generally brief, but clear as to impact on the STEM fields. 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.

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. It is noteworthy that it does not have questions in the back of each section, so it’s not designed for, say, test development or study for exams. But most technical writing courses don’t focus on exams (there may be quizzes on concepts) so that is not a significant barrier.

I was not able to find any significant errors in grammar.

This could be stronger in its approach to culture across the STEM communities, which is not a small issue in a global economy. However, one challenge with that is attempting to keep it current -- culture, like everything else in science and technology, changes very rapidly.

I have taught from a range of different resources, which change from year to year as it’s important to keep a course relevant in the rapidly evolving STEM fields. I have had trouble finding resources, particularly open source ones, that are approachable but convey the key concepts in an easy to access format. Students in my classes use a text as needed, rather than as the foundation of an entire course. 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.

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 authors cover related and integral... read more

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 authors cover related and integral elements that help writers produce better documents, including using outlines and graphics as well as information literacy skills that writers should have. While there is no index or glossary, the table of contents clearly displays the content of the text. It’s worth noting that the table of contents on the Open Textbook Library website does not include the two final sections of the book, which cover “Design and Readability of Publications” and “Employment Materials.”

The book is accurate, and even in sections where elements might change - such as screenshots in the Information Literacy chapter - they are general enough that even if the interface changes, the instructions will be relatively similar.

The topics in the book are not likely to become dated immediately. Some of the basic material related to communication and being concise will be consistently useful. While some of the linked material may change over time, that isn’t the fault of the authors. When I reviewed this text, the links tested were still working and relevant.

The text is written at a level accessible for college-level students, and perhaps some high school students. The materials are logically arranged and easy to understand.

As some of the material includes elements remixed from other open texts, there are some differences in the language and layout of chapters. For example, some of the elements of chapter 12 related to cover letters and resumes use color, and have more modern examples than those in chapter 1, which focuses on online etiquette.

Many of the chapters will do well on their own. I plan to adopt this for my information literacy and writing course, and anticipate re-arranging sections to fit the course structure.

This may be a result of my background as a teacher of information literacy first, but it might make more sense to start with the sections on information literacy and citations, then progress to audience analysis and outlines. It seems the chapter on “Professional Communication” might fit better toward the end. Otherwise the flow and structure are generally logical.

The online version of the book is hosted on the Pressbooks platform, which is intuitive to use, but long sections require significant scrolling. The PDF version of the book works as expected, with functioning links in both the table of contents and the text.

There are no grammatical errors in the text, which is what one would expect from a writing textbook.

As appropriate, the book highlights cultural issues to consider when writing for an audience. Examples don’t highlight a variety of backgrounds, but neither are they so pervasive that it’s a problem.

Given the appropriately broad coverage of this text, I can envision it being useful to students after they leave my course and have jobs in their chosen fields.

Reviewed by Jim Crawford, Adjunct English Instructor, Germanna Community College on 2/1/18

I examined this textbook as a resource for a 100-level Technical Writing class. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The authors offer no discussion of theory, despite a claim on page 1 that theory underlies... read more

I examined this textbook as a resource for a 100-level Technical Writing class. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The authors offer no discussion of theory, despite a claim on page 1 that theory underlies technical writing. There was no mention of the writing process, a confusing oversight on two fronts. First, the omission raised questions about course level. Did the textbook assume students already understood writing as a process? That would put this text higher than entry-level; writing as a process is usually taught in 100-level English. Or, by omitting the writing process, does the textbook defy modern writing pedagogy and emphasize the products of technical writing over the process?

There was also no mention of the rhetorical situation: the amalgamation of purpose, stance and tone, genre, media, and, of course, audience. The text offers a separate chapter on analyzing the audience, but no holistic examination of the roles that purpose, stance and tone, genre, and media play in reaching the audience.

Omitting a discussion of the rhetorical situation elicits more questions about course level and students’ prerequisite knowledge. Does the text assume students understood the interaction of purpose, stance, and genre in a writing project? The textbook mentions purpose, almost in passing - the purpose of a memo, for instance, or a report. Stance - how the writer feels about the topic versus how she expresses it through her tone - was not addressed at all. Given that technical communicators may be asked to write about things they don’t care about or may disagree with (e.g., an environmentalist writing a press release on new oil exploration), a discussion of stance and tone is important.

Lacking an essential discussion of theory and concept, the textbook covers a limited range of genres, another writerly term that is not mentioned. The first chapter reviews types of correspondence, starting with, oddly enough, texting. Next, comes e-mail, then an interjection about netiquette, followed by brief discussions of memoranda and letters. Later chapters describe proposals and progress reports. A recent revision added a chapter on employment-related documents, such as résumés.

While this is an adequate list of technical genres, the choices seemed limited and specific. Why the focus on progress reports? A broader chapter covering incident or recommendation reports seems more thorough. Other key genres are missing entirely. Instructions get no mention, although giving directions and documenting procedures are common workplace tasks. Presentations are another key genre for technical communication that is overlooked in the textbook.

Among the genres that are discussed, accuracy falters due to a handful of random, undocumented prescriptions. On page 12, for example, the authors declare,” a good e-mail should get to the point and conclude in three small paragraphs or less.” Really? According to who? In my 30 years of experience in the technical workforce, I have read, and written, countless e-mails longer than three short paragraphs. While I agree that students should keep e-mails short and direct, especially when corresponding with the instructor, there is nothing inherently wrong about a longer e-mail message. Some arguments cannot be made in three short paragraphs. Are the authors saying that longer arguments are better suited for a memorandum or a letter? If so, that indicates a need to discuss the conventions of genre. If the authors are recommending the abbreviated length as a best practice for emerging technical communicators, they should say so. If the authors proclaim the three-paragraph limit as their personal preference, they should say that, too. However, they must also inform students that they may occasionally need to write, and read, longer e-mails in the workaday world.

A similar prescription occurs on page 36, with the decree that “an average between 15 and 25 words per sentence is about right. 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. Lacking documentation, it’s puzzling at how five additional words can separate an effective sentence from an untrustworthy one.

Furthermore, while conciseness is an essential feature of technical and professional writing, establishing an arbitrary sentence length may encourage students to emphasize conciseness at the expense of clarity and accuracy. It would be more effective to educate students on the relationship between clarity, conciseness, and accuracy, and teach them to use the shortest, clearest, most direct language needed to effectively address the audience and accomplish the purpose of the text. But this relationship is impossible to discuss with this text, since overarching concepts and conventions are never introduced.

The digital nature of the textbook assures easy editing and the potential for long-term relevance. 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. They also expanded chapter 10, adding information about successful report design.

As with comprehensiveness and accuracy, clarity is marred by odd omissions. Page 12 advises that “professional communications require attention to the specific writing context” but there is no explanation of what context is. Again, a question about prerequisite knowledge arises. Can the authors assume that students understand what context is, and how it impacts a writing product?

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. First, can instructors assume that students will recognize this intricate interaction? Second, can instructors assume that students will tailor their writing to navigate the interaction and improve communication? Lacking examples, explanations, or a declaration of prerequisite knowledge, the answer to both questions is “no.”

Clarity is further diminished by Inconsistencies within the text. Chapter 8, “Creating and Integrating Graphics,” recommends “including identifying detail in the graphics” (128), yet does ignores its own advice. The sample bar chart on page 123, depicting types of produce grown in Sisters, Oregon, has axis titles, but the y-axis, entitled “Percentage produced in 2015,” has no scale. The chart shows that potatoes are the most plentiful crop. Its bar towers over that of carrots, the closest competitor, by about two-thirds. But, without a scale, the value for potatoes could be 30 percent, or 3 percent, compared to carrots at 10 percent or 1 percent.

A pie chart on page 122 shows a similar dearth of detail. The chart is entitled, simply, “Success with Vegetables Grown.” Potatoes account for 60 percent of vegetables grown; carrots for 23 percent. But percent of what? The pie chart doesn’t say. Is it percent of all total crops grown? Is it percent of crop yield, compared to crops planted? Students are left guessing, and, from this, may learn to create charts that inspire their own guesswork. More subtle inconsistency arises in the textbook’s formatting. Chapter 1, on correspondence, uses at least three different formats for bullet points. Pages 12-13 list characteristics of e-mail with bullets featuring a bolded opening phrase. Pages 15-16, on netiquette, uses headings, along with simply, un-bolded bullet points. Meanwhile, page 24 presents a list of correspondence types with no bullets at all; the different types are simply bolded. These inconsistencies model poor document design for students. This is especially problematic given the text’s emphasis on longer documents, such as the progress reports, which require consistent formatting throughout.

Formatting inconsistencies notwithstanding, the text is well-marked for modularity. Clear, consistent headings and sub-headings are used throughout. Students should have no trouble identifying a reading assignment such as “chapter 9, sections 9.1 through 9.3.”

Alas, the headings and sub-headings demarcate a haphazard arrangement of content. Topics are not grouped according to theory (should there be any) and practice, strategies and genres, or from easiest material to more challenging. The chapters appear randomly, with an early chapter often referring to material that has not been introduced yet. Chapter 1, on correspondence, advises, “careful consideration should be given to the audience...” (9), but the chapter on audience analysis follows 14 pages later.

Considering the recent addition of chapters on design and employment documents, it appears that chapters are organized in the order that they’re added. New chapters are simply tacked on at the end. While such labor-saving is understandable, it may be worth the effort to reorganize the textbook by introducing overarching concepts, such as audience, research methods, and ethics at the beginning, with specific writing strategies (e.g. outlining) and genres to follow.

This review was prepared from a print-out of a PDF file generated on the textbook’s Web site. Although the charts and graphics conveyed when printed, the videos, understandably, did not. It would have been helpful to include URLs for the videos, so that students preferring a paper-based text could find and watch the videos while reading.

The interface for the Web version of the book is clear, simple, and unobtrusive. [Home] and [Table of Contents] buttons are fixed on the right-hand side, allowing students to easily jump among sections. Gray “forward” and “backward” arrows, on the right and left, respectively, make it easy to flip pages. A “search” box, almost invisible in the upper, right-hand corner, offers quick full-text searching. A search for “audience” returned a list, itemized by clickable links to specific sections containing the term. Traditional search conventions, such as double-quotes to find phrases, work as expected. However, more sophisticated search operators, such as “AND,” “OR,” “NOT,” and “NEAR” do not work, though this is not a major shortcoming.

There were no noticeable grammatical errors, though there were occasional long, wordy, confusing sentences. The sentence describing crop yields in Sisters, Oregon was a staggering four lines long, strung together with “and” between three independent clauses (121).

Generally, the text is inoffensive. There was, however, one off-putting cliché: the notion that older people are slow to grasp technical concepts. The book’s Introduction advises, “…plan to write in such a way that even Grandad can understand!” (3). While this was surely a throwaway attempt at levity, the cliché may be discouraging to older students, while cultivating the bias of younger ones.

Reviewed by Linda Stewart, Instructor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers proposals and progress reports in depth with links to examples of other types of technical writing including resumes and instructions (but no discussion of these forms in depth). The text does not cover multi-cultural audience in... read more

The text covers proposals and progress reports in depth with links to examples of other types of technical writing including resumes and instructions (but no discussion of these forms in depth). The text does not cover multi-cultural audience in any depth and does not consider disabled audiences (including visually impaired audiences). The text does not include an index or glossary.

The book is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

The text begins with the most common kinds of professional communication, including texts and e-mails, which demonstrates an understanding of current workplace needs. This section may need updating since technology brings changes to workplace communications. The section on research rightly emphasizes electronic sources, and this too, may need updating as library databases and other electronic sources may change. Other sections, like the ones on audience and ethics, will not need updating.

Students would enjoy the bulleted lists and simple, readable prose. The authors provide some excellent, labeled figures and graphics so that students can comprehend the main ideas quickly. 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.

The formatting and tone are consistent with good use of numbered sub-topics and bulleted lists in each chapter. The sources provided as links are not consistent with the formatting of the main text. For instance, the link to examples (titled "Online Technical Writing: Contents") uses yellow background and blue lettering, and does not include any explanatory text. This linked resource is not formatted as professionally as the main text. The terminology is internally consistent.

The text is well organized and clearly divided into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course.

Problems with organization: Since the topic of "ethics" is one that applies to all forms of technical writing, it seems out of place as "Chapter 9." It also seems that "Outlines" might be addressed sooner since those could apply to writing proposals as well as progress reports. Finally, it seems odd to separate the chapters on graphics and document design (they are chapters 8 and 10 with the ethics chapter in between them.

The overall organization progresses logically from shorter forms of technical writing to longer, more complex ones.

The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems or problems with display.

The authors observe standard conventions of grammar.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. The authors could do more to include a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds as part of their discussion of "audience"

The text does an especially good job of explaining how to write proposals and reports in a clear, step-by-step manner.

Reviewed by Carol Jacobson, Instructor, Century College on 6/20/17

The text covers all areas that are part of the technical writing curriculum. There is a detailed Table of Contents that lays out the subjects that are covered. There is no index or glossary. read more

The text covers all areas that are part of the technical writing curriculum. There is a detailed Table of Contents that lays out the subjects that are covered. There is no index or glossary.

Content is accurate and error-free.

Content is current for the technical market. It covers current topics and concerns, but also includes all the traditional topics expected for Technical Writing courses.

The text gives full explanation of the content.

The text was consistent with its terms.

The text is divided into multiple sections that are each on a different topic or focus so these sections could be easily assigned at different point for a course.

The topics of the text are ordered in a logical way, beginning with topics that should be covered first in a Technical Writing course.

Some of the images are blurry and hard to see. The 2 videos are designed by an instructor for a specific course and reference specific assignments for that course so these are not good choices for this textbook that is meant to be a general source for any Technical Writing course.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The text is presented in a neutral way with no offensive or insensitive words or examples.

The format of the content is very text heavy in paragraph structure, which is odd for a Technical Writing book because a general rule in Technical Writing is to use shorter, concise paragraphs with more lists, bullets, and tables for easy reading and referencing of the information. In addition, the text needs more real-life example that demonstrate the points being made in each section.

Reviewed by Shannon Kelley, English Faculty, Chemeketa Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers a good amount of information related to technical writing; some of the sections are more in depth than others. Many sections would benefit from further inquiry to assist students with more complex issues in the field of technical... read more

The text covers a good amount of information related to technical writing; some of the sections are more in depth than others. Many sections would benefit from further inquiry to assist students with more complex issues in the field of technical writing and communications. While all of the topics are relevant, it sticks to the basics of each topic without exploring innovations and trends in the field. The topics covered are appropriate for a low-level, introductory course in technical writing.

The book is accurate and unbiased. It is a straight-forward text that introduces the basics of technical writing in a clear, error-free format. Each chapter provides references and is accurately cited. The examples are neutral and helpful.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The content is relevant, but not exhaustive. The text does not cover new trends in the field. Many technical writing students, particularly in community college courses, are entering a variety of fields. While this text provides the basics of technical writing, it does not help with a variety of concerns students may face in their chosen fields.

The text is arranged in way that will allow for necessary updates moving forward. The text seamlessly incorporates modalities, like video links, that prove helpful as examples. More of these new modalities are desirable as writing and reading moves to the Internet. There are places in the text that could benefit from utilizing new, innovative examples.

The text is written clearly and concisely. Each chapter is divided into sections. The section and chapter headings create parallelism that helps its overall clarity. The table of contents is clear and easy to use. There is not a lot of technical jargon present; the lack of technical writing terminology is one reason the book reads like introductory material.

The text is consistent in its layout. It is easy to use and access. The structural framework of the text is effective for online reading.

The text is not self-referential, but it does reference information only relevant to COCC. The text is divided in a way that feels manageable for students. The downside is the text borders on being too modular. The sections felt purposefully shortened and many chapters left me wanting more information. For instance, visual rhetoric and page layout were lumped together with audience. And in terms of this topic, topics like those deserve their own exploration.

The text works itself through the basics, from small workplace writing tasks like emails and memos, up through more complex writing like proposals and reports. Thought was given to the order of the text and it is logical and predictable.

There were no interface issues as I reviewed the text. i downloaded it as a PDF and also read some parts online.

The text contains no grammatical errors. It was edited well. The grammar is basic and reads at an introductory level reading.

The text remains neutral and uses voice or cartoon like figures in some of the videos. I would have liked to see more examples throughout the text. Visuals and page layout are important features of a lot of technical writing and this text doesn't take advantage of opportunities to incorporate a variety of examples. There are opportunities throughout the book that allow for incorporation of examples from fields of nursing, human services, engineering, computer science, and education.

It should be noted that I am reviewing this text for a 200 level course. At Chemeketa Community College students enter technical writing after completing two-three levels of prerequisite writing courses. Technical writing is the highest level of writing students receive before they enter their professional fields or transfer to four-year universities. The book is well written, clear, useful, and comprehensive for an introductory course, but not for a higher level technical writing course. Much of the focus felt repetitive and covered skills students in technical writing should already possess. 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.

Reviewed by Daniel Hocutt, Web Manager & Adjunct Professor, University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies on 4/11/17

The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. The text introduces itself as an introductory text to technical writing (or communication), and provides a definition of technical communication... read more

The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. The text introduces itself as an introductory text to technical writing (or communication), and provides a definition of technical communication that is limited to the types, content, and coverage of texts created. A more comprehensive text would address some of the responsibilities of technical writing as it relates to the technical writer herself: team building and collaboration, intermediary across multiple departments and divisions; and negotiator of meaning in workplace cultures. Also missing from the text are generous examples of document types generated by technical writers, like websites, brochures and flyers, and other types of written communication. The text's focus on report writing seems limiting, and its approach to technical writer as largely autonomous does not accurately reflect the complexity of technical writing workplaces.

The content is up-to-date and appears to be thoroughly accurate. Its authors clearly understand and practice technical communication, and its integration of external tools and links are current, complete, and appropriate to the content of the text itself. Chapters in the text address real-world examples and seek to connect communication techniques to workplace and technical contexts. Of particular importance is the text's approach to communication as audience focused and customized; this reflects theoretical accuracy and currency in technical and professional writing and, more broadly, in rhetoric and communications.

The applicability of this question to a text on technical communication is somewhat misplaced; technical writing handbooks must follow technical advances that will necessarily render older technologies less relevant. For example, the section on texting would not have appeared in earlier editions of this text, while the section on memoranda feels somewhat dated in paper-less or paper-reduced workplaces. As a result, the content will regularly have to be updated as modes and media of communication and writing evolve. 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 text is remarkably approachable to its intended audience, those entering into the field of technical writing or those who will, by virtue of their technical positions, be required to compose technical artifacts. Its prose is clear and specific, and it follows the guidelines for writing technical prose that it presents to reader: clear, concise, and effective.

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. For example, “writing” and “communication” are often used largely synonymously in the field, and that practice is also followed throughout this text. The same is true of “business” and “professional” as it relates to writing and communication. An introductory text should seek to better follow consistency while explaining the issues that exist in the field.

The text is quite modular, to the point that certain parts of it might be combined to keep from creating extremely short chapters or sections. This is especially true of several introductory sections. In general, segments are only a few paragraphs in length, with modules easily excerpted for re-use or revised usage. I could definitely see the potential of a teacher taking certain sections and incorporating them into class notes or as a customized resource. But I also see the value of using the entirety of the text as a stand-alone text; I believe the text’s structure enables both uses with little revision or customization necessary.

The text’s organization is not as clear or logical as I would expect. Given that modules or sections can be reordered on demand, this is not a significant drawback. However, I found the default order of modules confusing, shifting between more general, theoretical approaches (like audience analysis and information literacy) and more specific practical approaches (like proposals and progress reports) without a clear rationale for shifting from one to the other. A more logical structure might be to address the general theory in an opening section that includes examples for illustration, then to include a second section to address specific genres and types of technical writing. The structure is not off-putting, but as someone who might consider teaching from this text, I question the rationale behind the logic but am given little explanation.

The text’s interface is clean and clear. Serif fonts are a little unusual in web documents, but the type style used is quite readable online. Table formats don’t always fit on the page, and this requires left/right scrolling to access some of the columns. The text includes few images; most are linked to accessible PDF versions, which are full-screen and easy to read. Embedded videos appear to function as expected; the interface could benefit from a column-width inline viewer that would keep the video window from being narrower than the text columns. This is likely a result of making the interface mobile responsive, and represents what is often a necessary compromise.

Like its prose, the grammar appears to be clean and normalized to American standard English. The tone can be academic, but that is to be expected from a text used in an introductory classroom. I found no grammatical errors.

I did not encounter ethnicity- or gender-specific language in the text. The examples provided represent a number of different document types and genres, generally focused on the professional workplace or the academic environment. However, no text will free itself completely from ideology; I might like to have seen the text more directly address this issue as it relates to business writing. The text could do more to explore cultural contexts in which technical documents are planned, prepared, and consumed, especially given increasing internationalization of workforces. This may reflect an issue with the field — we tend to classify international communication differently from general technical communication — but a section on writing in the global community and for cross-cultural audiences might be useful.

I did not expect to find an open textbook as useful or well-constructed as this is. While its cover and design are unassuming — which, for a text on technical writing, might be a drawback — its content is erudite and targeted to its primary audience and purpose. I would consider using this text in an introductory technical writing class, with the addition of several notable sections identified elsewhere in this review.

Reviewed by Ruth Perkins, Adjunct instructor, Chemeketa Community College on 4/11/17

The text clearly focuses on research and report writing in a business context. These are appropriately and adequately covered. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. The chapters lead students... read more

The text clearly focuses on research and report writing in a business context. These are appropriately and adequately covered. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. The chapters lead students through the steps of producing a formal report including research, proposals, citation, and progress reports. There is a useful section on information literacy and conducting research beyond the first items in a Google search.

The importance of keeping readers in mind is stressed throughout. In addition to a link to an audience worksheet, there is a clear explanation of how reports might be used by different readers.

Chapter 10 includes a link to a wide variety of examples of technical writing.

Missing are sections on topics often included in technical writing: instructions, procedures, descriptions and definitions. These could be easily fit into the overall structure of the text although obviously other sources of information would need to be found.

The principles of professional communication are accurately presented. The authors make the useful point in several places that a business, agency, journal etc. will likely have its own preferences for professional communications but that some aspects, such as avoiding plagiarism, doing proper research, are consistent.

The content is up-to-date since there are not apt to be quick changes to the principles of technical writing nor to the precepts of e-mail, texting etc. and their place in business. Any changes could be quickly made.

There are links that are specific to or have comments that are specific to COCC that instructors will probably want to point out and substitute their institution’s or their class policy. Examples are the links in 1.3 and 6.2.

The book is clearly written in an informal, conversational tone that should appeal to students. The terminology is basic without down-writing. Any specialized terms are defined.

The link in 8.4 to visuals that need revision is probably not useful for most classes. Figures 1 and 2 are very specialized.

The text is consistently organized. There are clear signals that link each section to the main section. The emphasis is on professional communication throughout so chapters are linked through that context.

In section 4.1 there is inconsistency in terminology where “academic” and “scholarly” are used interchangeably.

The book is clearly arranged into chapters with clear titles and headings. The table of contents is linked to each section for quick finding. The pages have ample white space and large readable type.

The book is clearly organized around the perspective of researching and writing a final report. The chapters can easily be rearranged according to an instructor’s preference since the table of contents is linked to each section.

However, the book is arranged in a logical progression through the different aspects of research and writing the formal report.

The book is posted in 4 different formats which makes it readily accessible to students. There is an important missing link in 9.2. 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 Otherwise there are no issues.

There are grammatical errors in section 9 as well as confusing switches in point of view.

Grammar errors: 9 “Writers . . . she” 9.3 “. . .your employer to pursue and action” and “the groups’ goal”

Point of view First, chapters 1-8 and 10 are written in second person. Chapter 9 is written partly in second person, partly in third person. While some references to “the writer” are logical, it inconsistently directly addresses readers or talks about writers in general.

Second, there is inconsistency in an attempt to be gender neutral in the third person. In 9 “she” and “he” are used interchangeably. 9.3 uses “her/himself,” “s/he,” and “his/her.”

The examples in the text and references to writers are neutral. There is nothing to identify a particular culture, race or ethnicity.

The book doesn't completely fit the course in technical writing that I teach but I would consider using if it did. However, I do have some problems with Chapter 9, ethics in technical writing, that I would like to see addressed. These are in addition to the grammatical issues.

In 9.1 General Principles, the authors give examples of ethical dilemmas that range from trivial to life and death. These do more to complicate the subject than clarify it. Part of this is due to the phrasing about the friend’s haircut, “This lie, though minor, preserves . . .” What is “though” doing in this sentence? It signals a contrast which isn’t there.

More of a concern though is the phrasing of the third choice of saving lives. The person might “risk [her life] to save her children” but to save the stranger, she would have to “choose to die.” Risk and certainty are not equal choices.

The second paragraph concludes that “If you would . . . lose your job. . . the action is probably unethical” oversimplifies -- one can lose a job for being ethical as well.

Section 9.2 includes the Challenger disaster as an example of unethical writing. The missing link is vital here since there are definitely different accounts of the underlying causes beyond the O rings. The authors speculate about possible motives of the engineers with no source information to support their conjectures. They make statements about the priority of information in the engineers' report which imply that they are in a position to make that judgment.

I suggest deleting or re-writing this section of the book.

Reviewed by Corrine Holke-Farnam, Instructor, University of Northern Iowa on 2/8/17

The text provides an adequate overview of the field for beginners in technical writing. read more

The text provides an adequate overview of the field for beginners in technical writing.

The content is accurate and straight forward.

The text is up-to-date and covers the range of topics addressed in introductory technical and professional writing courses.

The information is presented effectively in clear, concise language. Provides accurate definitions and many links to examples for easy understanding.

I found no internal inconsistencies.

Text is user-friendly. Effective use of white space. Employ small chunks of text, bullet point lists, and hyperlinks.

Many technical writing textbooks begin with audience analysis. Hamlin, Rubio, and DeSiva begin with common types of professional communication like email and memo format; doing so provides an effective context for beginning writers. The chapters of the book could be easily reorganized to fit user needs and/or preferences.

The text is free of interface issues. Navigation between and within chapters is smooth. Website links opened easily.

Technical Writing contains no grammatical errors.

The text revolves around professional communication. Does not contain offensive or insensitive material or links.

This text seems like a good fit for students in my Technical Writing for Electrical Engineering Technologists course. Practical information, concise presentation.

Reviewed by Jennifer Barton, Advanced Instructor, Virginia Tech on 2/8/17

The book appears to be written for a course designed around a specific major project that asks students to write a proposal for a technical report and then to research and write the report itself. Those sections are adequate, but I would like to... read more

The book appears to be written for a course designed around a specific major project that asks students to write a proposal for a technical report and then to research and write the report itself. Those sections are adequate, but I would like to see more content in general.

In particular, I would like information on writing instructions and technical descriptions, as well as the finer points of correspondence writing, like strategies for persuasion, or handling negative news, or emphasizing reader benefits. I would also like to see information on team writing—a must for the modern workplace. The book would also benefit from a section on presentations and a broader section on document design. The current section on design is specific only to reports and is really about organization, not design.

The content is accurate. The book sticks to the basic writing principles which don’t change much over time. I especially appreciate the repeated emphasis on audience and that while particular elements are expected for particular genres, organization and approach can and should be modified to suit the writer’s purpose and the needs of the audience.

The core principles aren’t likely to go out of date any time soon. The limited scope and lack of discussion about the design expectations of the modern audience does make the book feel dated.

Although the concept of linking to examples and additional information is an excellent use of this medium, the choice of links could be improved. For example, many of the linked reports are nearly twenty years old, and while they may demonstrate many of the writing principles that stay constant over time, they do not demonstrate contemporary expectations for design, and the topics are so dated as to make them seem irrelevant to most students.

The authors do an excellent job of adhering to plain language principles. The style is clear, simple, and direct. It reads like the authors are speaking directly to the audience.

As mentioned previously, the book reads as though it were designed for a very specific class. It shifts quite a bit between universal advice about writing for a professional audience and specific advice about writing for an instructor. That’s confusing and limits the book’s applicability.

The book is divided into logical sections that would make it easy to customize for a course if not for the problem previously cited of its being designed around a specific course’s project.

Follows a familiar and standard organization for workplace writing textbooks, beginning with basic correspondence and working towards longer and more complex reports.

Some easily correctable issues here: Many widowed headings (which the text advises to avoid). Figures and tables are not always labeled correctly.

The visual weight of “Chapter Attribution Information,” which is currently the same as chapter titles, should be reduced. In some chapters, that information is repeated before every section, which adds visual clutter.

There are additional problems in the pdf version that make it the pdf only partially usable: Text boxes tend to exceed the width of the page and cannot therefore be read. Everything is rendered as plain text, which means that table formatting is screwy and all images (including images of example documents) are missing. Citations get embedded directly into the text.

Grammar looks fine.

Deals very little with cultural issues, which is surprising given the global ventures of many companies and the increasingly diverse workforce in the US.

The book has the potential to be quite good, but I don't think it’s yet ready to compete with the for-profit options. I look forward to seeing subsequent editions.

Table of Contents

• 1. Professional Communications
• 2. Audience Analysis
• 3. Proposals
• 4. Information Literacy
• 5. Citations and Plagiarism
• 6. Progress Reports
• 7. Outlines
• 8. Creating and Integrating Graphics
• 9. Ethics in Technical Writing
• 10. Technical Reports: Components and Design
• 11. Basic Design and Readability in Publications
• 12. Employment Materials
• 13. Communicating across Cultures
• 14. Thinking about Writing

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This open textbook offers students of technical writing an introduction to the processes and products involved in professional, workplace, and technical writing. The text is broken up into sections reflecting key components of researching, developing, and producing a technical report. Readers will also learn about other professional communication, designing documents, and creating and integrating graphics. Written especially for an academic setting, this book provides readers with guidance on information literacy and documenting sources. This book was collected, adapted, and edited from multiple openly licensed sources.

About the Contributors

Annemarie Hamlin is an Associate Professor of English at Central Oregon Community College.

Chris Rubio is an Assistant Professor at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR.

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Introduction to Technical Writing

Nature of technical writing/ideas for writing.

The  Nature of Technical Writing

Technical writing is an audience-centered means of communication that provides a reader with clear and easy access to information. Technical writers recognize the importance of effective and efficient communication by providing documents written in specific formats, using unambiguous language to provide information.  Specifically, technical writing involves communicating complex information to a specific audience who will use it to accomplish some goal or task in a manner that is accurate, useful, and clear. When you write an email to your supervisor, develop a presentation or report, design a sales flyer, or create a webpage, you are a technical communicator.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) offers the following definition of technical communication:

Technical communicators research and create information about technical processes or products directed to a targeted audience through various forms of media. For example, STC members communicate about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations. They communicate by using technology, such as Web pages, help files, or social media sites. And they provide instructions for products and services….The value that technical communicators deliver is twofold: They make information more useable and accessible to those who need that information, and in doing so, they advance the goals of the companies or organizations that employ them. ( https://www.stc.org/ )

example of technical writing

Look at an example of a piece of technical writing, a page on Climate Change Science Overview from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Think about this example:

• Who is the target audience?
• What information does this document provide?
• What task or goal will it help to accomplish?
• What elements of this document do you think make it useful?
• Does it solve a problem? What writing style did the author use for this government document?
• Is it concise and accurate?

Also look at the annotations in the margins of the document. Do you agree that this is an effective document? Why or why not?

As you can see from the example above:

• Technical communication serves a practical purpose. In the case of the example, the purposes are to inform, instruct and, perhaps as a secondary purpose, to persuade.
• Technical communication may address multiple audiences. Technical communicators must be conscious of intended and unintended audiences, foreign and domestic readers, and individuals with vastly differing responsibilities, experiences, and expectations of a given document. The context in which a document is read will differ with each reader and it is important to keep documents concise and free of bias and excessive or unclear language to ensure that they are understood.
• Technical communication is collaborative. The sample document, at the very least, required collaboration between scientists and writers.
• Technical communication is shaped by conventions and culture as well as audience needs. Organizations may be formal and conservative or informal and innovative, and technical writers reflect this orientation in their communication style.

In the video below, employees in various fields offer reflections on the importance of technical communication.

Interesting Information: Origins of Technical Communication

According to the Society for Technical Communication, technical communication’s origins have actually been attributed to various eras dating back to Ancient Greece (think Rhetoric!) and to the Renaissance, but what we know today as the professional field of technical writing began during World War I from the need for technology-based documentation for military and manufacturing industries. As technology grew and organizations become more global, the need and relevance for technical communication emerged. In 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recognized Technical Writer as a profession (STC).

Ideas for Writing

By definition, technical writing courses are opportunities to focus on practical uses of your writing skills. Ideally, you’ll have appropriate work or community-related writing projects to write about , for example, instructions for installing new software, recommendations on alarm systems, procedures for hiring new personnel, or procedures and laws for public gatherings. However, technical writing courses are also great opportunities for exploring science, technology, and any other topic appropriate to technical writing tasks, for example, the latest methods for hydroponic gardening, the evolving and available research on pandemics, or a comparison of software applications based on usability.

The following are suggestions only, to spark your own thinking about possible topics for technical writing.  Again, the best topics and situations for technical writing are things that you really need to accomplish at work or in your community.

• The Nature of Technical Writing, adapted from Open Technical Communication and Technical Writing; attributions below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Provided by : Empire State College, SUNY. Project : Technical Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• The Nature of Technical Writing. Authored by : Cassandra Race. Provided by : Kennesaw State University. Located at : https://softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/HwmuCkxaDvcA5Z/html . Project : Open Technical Communication. License : CC BY: Attribution
• What Is Technical Writing? . Authored by : Ellizabeth Lohman. Provided by : Tidewater Community College. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/technicalwriting/chapter/information-instructions-for-module-1_lecture-2/ . Project : Technical Writing. License : CC BY: Attribution
• The Many Contexts of Communicating Technical Information. Authored by : WikiBooks. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/technicalwriting/chapter/the-many-contexts-of-communicating-technical-information/ . Project : Technical Writing. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• image of writer at computer. Authored by : Dayron Villaverde. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/man-using-computer-using-computer-1290114/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• video Writing in the Workplace pt. 1. Authored by : SixthCATatUCSD. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvAiE7owmeI&t=9s . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• Find Report Topics (page 2 of 6). Authored by : David McMurrey. Provided by : Kennesaw State University. Located at : https://softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/wcrTVeL3Ajapo6/html . Project : Open Technical Communication. License : CC BY: Attribution
• image of person with lightbulbs and the word Idea around her head. Authored by : Gerd Altmann. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved

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What Is Technical Writing?

In this article, you will learn what is technical writing, what it entails, why it's essential for companies, and how to write technical documentation well.

Technical writing might sound complicated, but don’t let the term fool you.

That term simply refers to all the content you create to explain how certain technology and the processes related to it work.

And while it’s better to hire people who specialize in this type of writing, don’t worry if you don’t have them on your team—field experts can create tech documents too.

After all, they’re the ones who have all the knowledge about the technology at hand.

Now, let’s learn more about what technical writing entails, why it's essential for companies, and how to write technical documents well.

What Is Technical Writing

Technical writing is a form of writing that translates complex technical topics into easily digestible and understandable content.

Some think of technical writers as being “ between developers and applications .” The writers take the work developers created and transform it into something even a layman can understand.

You could classify many documents out there as technical because they relate to the development and application of technology, according to the Engineers’ Guide to Technical Writing .

However, the people you hire for technical writing as a company should specialize in product descriptions, guides, instructions, and procedures since this is what you will want them to create.

These writers are there to explain what your product or service is and how to use it.

Let’s say you purchase a product or a service and get developer documentation.

Instead of clear instructions written in plain, neutral language, you get a manual filled with tech expressions and code that leaves you scratching your head.

You’ll probably have to turn to online forums or customer service to get an answer to your questions.

That’s what technical writing saves your end-users from, which is why companies are noticing its value.

In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the growth of employment rates for technical writers will be 12% in this decade , which is 4% higher than the national average.

Therefore, the Bureau expects more companies to start hiring technical writers to help them create this type of documentation.

Let’s explore what precisely technical writing brings to your company.

Importance of Technical Writing

First and foremost, technical writing helps your end-users. As a company, you want your customers to always have access to information about your products.

If they don’t, they’ll be forced to contact customer service and inquire about the details that interest them.

You can solve such issues by writing how-to knowledge base articles or adding an FAQ section in your user guide.

By sharing your tech docs with your customers, you’re allowing them easy access to every piece of data you have on your product. That way, you’re keeping them informed and satisfied .

Technical writing also ensures your product does its job and doesn’t become useless .

Without good supporting documentation that explains how to get the most out of the product, customers won’t use it to its full potential.

They’ll fail to see what the product can do for them and turn to another product that helps them understand this.

Research found that the quality of your user manual can influence the perceived quality of the product at hand and customer satisfaction.

In other words, people will judge the quality of your product based on how well-written your supporting documentation is.

Among its many other benefits, technical writing helps you document your work, which leads to knowledge preservation and process improvement.

The Engineers' Guide to Technical Writing points out that undocumented work can get lost forever.

Employees might forget the steps they took to finish a project or leave the company, taking their unique insights with them.

When you write down the steps you take to complete a certain task, you can always go back to them and use them for future projects.

Of course, if you notice certain things are outdated or not as helpful, you can change the process and documentation for the better.

The Goal of Technical Writing

When you create technical documentation , your goal should be to educate the readers, no matter who they are.

Your audience can vary from beginners to experts, but the focus should stay the same regardless of the intended audience.

For example, your technical writers explain to users how to use your product and service, what its parts and features are for, and how to solve the most common issues.

Usually, the documentation should reach your end-users, not just experts and your team, so the writers have to put in a lot of effort to express all the technical and complicated terms in simple, easily understandable language.

So, it’s no wonder Your Dictionary states that the primary goal of such writing is to “provide complex information to readers in a way that they can understand and apply, even if they don’t have prior knowledge of the topic.”

However, in cases where your target audience consists of people who are experts in the field, your goal is not to offer information on the basics but go in-depth and help them understand your product or process.

Because of this, the definition created by Charlene Dewbre, an experienced tech writer, might be even more to the point.

Dewbre defines the purpose of tech writing as communicating processes, policies, and details in a way tailored to the audience in need of all this data.

Notice how Dewbre didn’t mention simplified language? It’s because not all audiences need you to explain things in basic terms.

Some require more complex information. Now that we’ve explained the goal of technical writing, we will see the different types to understand the audience a bit better.

Types of Technical Writing

Every piece of writing that explains technology, how it works, how to fix it, or reports on some of its features is considered to be technical writing.

So, to narrow it down, here are the three categories of tech writing:

• Customer-oriented
• Expert-to-expert
• Technical Marketing

Customer-oriented technical writing is the type of content you create for the end-user, and it’s the most common type.

Usually, this includes user manuals, FAQ sections, knowledge bases, company wikis , online help centers, and any other technology knowledge-sharing method with your audience.

Those illustrations you get with your IKEA furniture? Technical writing!

Even though there’s nothing written in the manuals other than the general warnings, everyone can understand what they must do because the pictures illustrate every step.

Many other excellent examples of user guides can be found online. Almost every company that offers its products and services online has at least an FAQ section on the website.

Others, like Slack , have an entire help center dedicated to answering questions.

Their users who want to learn how to set up the app, edit their profile, and start using different features can quickly find out more because

Slack offers easy access to their technical documentation .

Expert to expert tech documentation includes scientific research papers, medical case studies, business reports, and legal case reviews.

Technical writers who work on such content are experts in the field or understand it well enough to explain certain things to other experts and professionals.

You can find technical documents on websites like the Journal of Medical Case Report . Medical professionals from different clinics and trauma centers wrote the case report below.

Clearly, the report contains medical terms that non-experts would have to look up if they wanted to understand the text in its entirety.

However, the documentation doesn’t have to be plain and straightforward when it comes to expert-to-expert writing.

Since the target audience understands the industry and tech terms, writers don’t have to steer away from them and simplify their language to make sure non-specialists understand it.

The last category is technical marketing documentation , which encompasses content like white papers, surveys, marketing-related case studies, and business plans.

This type of content promotes a product or service to the desired audience.

For example, Dove created a whitepaper that promoted DoveMen+, a line of men's products.

At the same time, the whitepaper talks about the company championing male parental leave.

Companies often invest in materials to promote their products and actions to a broader audience and potentially garner new customers.

The Technical Writing Process

The three most important things for an excellent technical writing process are access to information, audience research, and good writing.

Without them, your technical writers won’t reap good results.

Audience Analysis

When a writer gets a new project, they should start with identifying the audience.

Who is the buyer persona? Who will be reading their work? This knowledge is essential to writers of this kind, which is why you can see writers share the same sentiment on social media.

The consensus seems to be that the audience dictates the documentation.

For example, if they’re writing for a developer audience, the writers know they don’t need to oversimplify the instructions.

After all, developers will understand industry terms and phrases and might not find something overly simplified as helpful.

On the other hand, if the content is a user guide, the writer has to adjust the instructions to the general public, ensuring that non-experts understand the point of the product or service, how to use it, and how to fix common problems.

Ralph G. O’Brien, a statistician and technical writer, believes that “technical writers need to understand how readers read, and they must write with the reader’s perspective in mind.”

To do that, they first have to figure out their characteristics and knowledge levels.

Access to Data

Here’s what your technical writers need to write quality tech documentation: access to information.

Without easy access to company and project documents, writers will spend most of their time trying to find more about the topic of what they’re writing. This happens so much that tech writers jokingly tweet about it.

But it’s not a joke. Having helpful information is critical if you want to educate others.

After all, a tech writer’s job is to gather all that data and translate it into simpler terms for the audience that needs this type of content.

If they don’t fully understand the process or technology themselves, how can they expect the readers to?

Knowledge management comes in handy here, as it allows you to always document everything that’s going on and then quickly locate these files.

According to tech writers, successful companies foster a culture of documentation. They promote a culture of knowledge sharing and make a company wiki or a knowledge base to share this information with the entire team, including the people in charge of creating technical writing.

With documentation software like Archbee , it’s practically effortless to upload and create tech documents, share them with the team and clients, and update them when necessary.

Good Writing

While writing is pretty subjective, there are some key points a piece of written content has to have to be helpful to the end customers.

In the case of tech documentation, the first thing that comes to mind is readability . This point includes breaking your text into paragraphs, formatting, interlinking, stressing essential parts, using visuals, adding different media types, and the like.

Here’s how Datree does it through Archbee .

They use screenshots to give examples, accentuate a part of the text they find essential, and use bold letters to make specific points stand out.

Writers like Olamide 'Pearl' Makinde suggest formatting the text “for a better explanation, for readability sake, and to keep your reader interested.”

In other words, formatting serves to make the text more dynamic and easier to digest.

In other words, formatting transforms the tech document into something more than just written instructions.

Still, your text should be simple if you want most people to get something out of it.

GitHub engineer Jaana Dogan agrees that simplicity is vital. Instead of using what engineer Sophie Alpert terms “fancy words,” stick to the vocabulary used by your target audience to properly transfer knowledge to them.

This rule doesn’t apply to content written for a knowledgeable audience.

Nevertheless, focus on making your text easy to understand and read, which will steer you in the right direction and help readers learn something from your work.

If something leaves room for doubt, explain it better . If a specific turn of phrase might be taken the wrong way, express yourself differently.

The more you edit your technical writing, the better the result!

Technical writing is an umbrella term for different types of writing focused on technology or aspects of it.

Technical writers create content for customers, experts, or marketing purposes.

In all three cases, technical writers need to understand the subject and transfer that information into something easily understandable for the target audience.

With good technical documentation software, you’ll be able to upload and share the files with this audience, seamlessly updating the technical documentation when something new arises.

Frequently Asked Questions

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1.2 Characteristics of Good Technical Writing

What makes good technical writing.

Good technical writing shares similar characteristics:

• Audience-focused : Does the document reflect the demographics (e.g., age, reading level, geographic location) of the intended audience? Does the document address a problem or question that the audience has? An understanding of the reader or user of a technical document is important. Since technical communication presents ideas to a myriad of audiences, many of whom are not subject matter experts, we have an ethical responsibility to make information and knowledge accessible and understandable.
• Professionalism : Does the document appear as though it was produced by a trained technical writer or graphic designer? If not, is there some reason why a less professional look is appropriate for the intended audience? Technical communication reflects the values, goals, and culture of the organization and as such, creates and maintains the public image of the organization.
• Honesty : Are there places where the document deliberately tries to deceive or mislead the reader? To ensure honesty, technical writers must use sound research practices to provide correct information. Technical writers must follow ethical standards that include liability laws, copyright laws, contract laws, and trademark laws.
• Accuracy : Is the information in this document correct? Do your homework and make sure you have your facts right. There is no excuse for presenting incorrect information. There is a difference between being dishonest and being inaccurate. Someone can provide honest information but present it in a way that is not accurate. When a technical document is accurate, the reader gets all the information they need to accomplish their goal without having to rely on additional outside sources.
• Accessibility : Is the writing clear so that your reader can get the intended information? Strive to express exactly what you mean and leave no room for incorrect interpretations. How easy is it to find individual pieces of information without reading the whole document from top to bottom? Is the information clearly marked and organized so that a reader can quickly get to the information they need? Is the document inclusive, taking into consideration the needs of the reader (e.g., Does the document include close captions? Is it accessible by a screen reader?)
• Comprehensiveness : Did the document include everything the audience needs to know to complete the task or make a decision? Are you addressing all the audience’s potential comments, concerns, and access needs?
• Conciseness : Did the document contain anything it didn’t need (either individual words and phrases or sections of content)? The challenge of technical writing is to communicate the essential information without any filler. Unlike traditional college-level papers that have an assigned number of pages, technical writing should only contain the number of words the readers need to do a task or make a decision.
• Correctness : Does the document contain any grammar or spelling errors? The document should be well-written and conform to standard writing conventions. Depending on the context, a single grammatical or spelling error can cause your reader to dismiss you as not professional, as not caring enough to edit carefully.
• Design-centered : Technical communication uses elements of document design such as visuals, graphics, typography, color, and spacing to make a document interesting, attractive, usable, and comprehensible. While some documents may be solely in print, many more use images such as charts, photographs, and illustrations to enhance readability and understanding and simplify complex information.

Student Activity #1

What does technical communication or workplace writing look like? For an example, check out  this page from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  about climate change. As you look over this document, consider the following questions.

• Who is the target audience?
• What information does this document provide?
• What task or goal will it help to accomplish?
• What elements of this document do you think make it useful?
• Does it solve a problem?
• What about the style of writing in this government document?
• Is it concise and accurate?
• Notice the annotations in the margins of the document. Based on these notes and your answers to the questions above, would you say that this is an effective document?

Student Activity #2

Look back at your college or university’s website. One of the primary audiences for the website is people like you–students. Considering the characteristics of good technical writing described in this chapter, how well does the website meet your needs as a current student? Why or why not? What specific changes would you suggest to the school’s webmaster?

Student Activity #3

Technical communication is all about helping the reader or user of a document solve a problem or compel others to act. For example, the syllabus of your technical writing class informs you what is expected of you. How useful is this document to you? What parts do you focus on most? What feedback would you give your instructor to make the syllabus more effective? Consider the characteristics of successful technical writing described in this chapter to answer.

CHAPTER ADAPTED FROM:

Huntsman, Sherena. “ What is Technical Communication .” An Introduction to Technical Writing . [CC BY 4.0]

Technical Writing at LBCC - Maker's Space Edition Copyright © 2020 by Dio Morales is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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1.2 Communication as process; writing as action

One way to understand what it means to take a rhetorical approach to technical communication is to consider what  questions  we ask as we work to define the boundaries of technical communication and the work of technical communicators.  For example, instead of asking the question “what does technical communication look like ?” we might shift our focus to ask the question “what does technical communication do ?” As technical communicators, we explain things (you can read more about technical communication as explaining things in Section 3 ). In order to do the work of explaining things to specific audiences with particular intentions, we need to understand the rhetorical situation, which changes with each new communication task.

In this text, technical communication is understood as  action . There are the actions that technical communicators take to assess and respond to a rhetorical situation, and then there is the action taken up by the audience. Technical communication generally assumes some specific action: its purpose is nearly always tied up in moving an audience to do something  or to  act  in some way.

If thinking about communication in terms of action seems confusing, consider common examples of technical communication, such as an informative brochure about the Covid-19 vaccine, or a set of instructions on how to assemble a piece of furniture. In both cases, the texts –the brochure and the instructions–are instances of communication that assume some action on the part of the reader or audience. For the most part, technical communicators can assume that the purpose of an informational brochure on the Covid-19 vaccine is either working to persuade the audience to get the vaccine, or is offering information to an audience who already did get the vaccine, or is providing information to an audience that is deciding whether to get the vaccine. In each case, there is an associated action: receiving a vaccination against a specific virus. In the case of the instructions, one can assume that the audience will use those instructions to complete the specific action of assembling that piece of furniture.

Key Takeaways: Communication as Action

The two examples above demonstrate the important relationship between technical communication and action. Can you imagine other instances of technical communication that are linked to a specific action that the audience may take? Can you imagine an example of technical communication that is not tied to action?

Considering the rhetorical nature of communication, and framing communication in relation to action, also shifts the focus of technical communication towards the process rather than the product . In other words, while the products of technical communication vary quite a bit (you can practice some of these in Section 4 by reading about common genres), the process is always rhetorical. The process of technical communication is recursive, rhetorical, audience-focused, and linked to action. Technical communication is a recursive process, that involves writing, listening to feedback, revising, editing, and researching. You can read more about what it means to understand technical communication as a recursive process below.

Technical communication as recursive

As we take a rhetorical approach to technical communication–and to writing in particular–by analyzing and responding to each unique rhetorical situation, we also focus, in this text, on technical communication as recursive and as responsive .

Technical communication is recursive in that the process is iterative rather than linear; one recent workplace study frames professional writing as “multimodal editing” and as almost always collaborative. Technical communication is responsive in that it is user focused, and must respond to shifting needs, contexts, and purposes. The more we work to frame writing as recursive, with a focus on the process of technical communication (alongside an analysis of various products, which we do later in this text), the more we can also focus on communication as action, invested in access and equity. The recursive nature of technical communication means that there is always room for growth, change, and improvement: and there are always opportunities to work towards equity.

Working towards equity and inclusion in communication has not been, and is not, a linear process. Similarly, the process of creating a text or document rarely follows a linear path. In both cases, as we (technical communicators, researchers, and writers) collect new information or recognize previously unrecognized user needs, we need to step back and start again.

Often, as you write and research and collaborate and revise, you have to revisit and change things that you completed earlier during the writing process. For example, say you are writing a technical definition and receive input from a subject matter expert (SME) that challenges the definition you gathered from earlier interviews with other SMEs. What do you? Likely, you halt your writing to complete more follow-up research to see whether there is a second, equally accepted definition of this product or process, or whether the product or process has two competing approaches.

When we read texts (such as manuals, or technical reports, or definitions), we don’t see the process that went into creating and re-creating these texts. As a result, it might seem like a report (or manual or definition) was written in the order that you read it. As you write (and as you’ve likely already discovered writing and researching up to this point) you learn that introductions should be written last, or that you might work on three different sections of a report at the same time, or that first drafts look nothing like what ends up in a final draft of a definition on a webpage.

The writing process changes from one writer to another, and from one writing task to another. Some things that impact the writing process include:

• Time allotted to complete the task
• Whether you are “starting from scratch” or stepping into a project that has already begun (for example, whether you are coming up with a new proposal based on your own recommendations or experience, or whether you are asked to revise your organization’s employee handbook)
• Whether you are working independently or collaboratively
• The rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, context) of this particular writing task

Often, the writing process looks something like this:

• Brainstorm and research (come up with an idea, make some notes, figure out your task and how to approach it)
• Outline (develop your notes and structure the document)
• Draft (begin to write)
• Revise (receive some feedback on your draft and make changes based on that feedback and on your own re-reading of the document)
• Edit (multiple levels of editing exist, at which point you are reworking the details of your document to make it as closely aligned with your intended audience and purpose as possible).

In this picture of the writing process, a writer or group of writers move smoothly from brainstorming all the way to editing. The five major steps are achieved in that order, from step 1 until step 5, at which point your writing is complete!

The actual writing process, as you very likely have already experienced, rarely looks this way. Although you may begin with brainstorming and conclude a project with editing, many things happen throughout these “steps” that cause you to go back to a previous step, jump ahead to a future step, or repeat various steps as needed. Further, you may begin your own role in a project at various stages of that project’s timeline. For example, you may begin work with a document that has already been written, and your task is to update the document for a current calendar year or current project. In this case, do you begin with brainstorming? Is revising also considered drafting? Do you make an outline after you have done some writing or after you have received some feedback? You can see how, in practice, this simplified writing process quickly evolves into something else.

Rather than moving from step 1 to step 5, your writing process for any given writing project might move something like this:

3. Draft (begin to write) 1. Brainstorm (out of the draft you begin to process new ideas or thoughts or approaches) 3. Draft (begin, again, to write) 2. Outline (from what you’ve written, you can now suss out your main ideas and organize them into an outline) 1. Research (after looking at your outline, you recognize the need to research and see what others have found/argued/claimed/written) 3. Draft (your research leads you to change some aspect of your initial draft and so you begin again…)

And so on and so forth.

Each rhetorical situation–each writing task and context–may inspire its own process. It is also possible that you will find one process that works best for you, regardless of the particular writing task (such as beginning with a 1-page draft and then moving to an outline to organize your content). It is very unlikely, however, that your writing process will be as well contained and as predictable as we first saw in steps 1-5; further, you should not be afraid to “start over” if something disrupts this process–if, during revisions, you realize that you need to conduct more research or that you need to refocus your main point. Finally, the writing process is constrained according to time and whether you are working collaboratively. A brochure that you are to produce with a team over the course of a month will likely involve a different process than an email that you need to send to your team in the next hours.

So, if the writing process always looks different from one project to another, why focus on the process at all? And if this process is recursive and messy, why might it still be helpful to break it down into its component parts?

It’s important to have a picture of the writing process and to focus on your own writing process even though it so often looks different from one project to the next. The more we understand the various components, the better equipped we are to understand how to approach a project. Further, understanding the writing process—and most importantly, understanding this process as recursive—helps us to streamline our own writing process and to develop appropriate plans and timelines given the rhetorical situation (given the context, goal, purpose, etc.).

Key Takeaways: Focus on Process Allows for Flexibility

The recursive and complicated process of writing also makes room for writers to revise, edit, or change information as new information or different feedback becomes available . In this way, framing the writing process as messy–rather than neat and linear–makes room for incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion. Part of the process should involve seeking diverse feedback and listening to feedback, even when that means needing to change key features of your text.

In sum, it is important to understand how to analyze the rhetorical situation so that you can make deliberate choices when you approach each new instance of technical communication. Focusing on technical communication as action, and focusing on the process rather than product, are important parts of taking a rhetorical approach. This approach allows technical communicators to create effective texts with each specific purpose, context, and audience in mind.

Activity and Reflection:  Responding to a Rhetorical Situation

Consider the following rhetorical situation:

You are hired to work with public health experts, medical experts, and scientists at the University of Minnesota to write a brief (1 page) guide for safely attending classes during the covid-19 pandemic. This guide is designed to synthesize and summarize safety information related to the spread of viruses and will be published on the university’s website. It will include links to more in depth studies and data, but should itself be short and easy to understand.

What things, related to this rhetorical situation, should you consider? Who is your audience? What are some potential relevant contexts? What do you need to know about your purpose? How does your own identity inform your decisions?

Brainstorm how you might begin this task.

Now, imagine that you are asked to summarize and synthesize the same information for a 6 page, illustrated, paper brochure that will be available in all on campus housing and which will be handed out to students during orientation. What things might you change or what differences might you consider as you create that content?

Finally, imagine that you are asked to, yet again, summarize this information and send an email to prospective students and their families. Once again, consider the rhetorical situation. What things do you need to understand in order to create that email?

Introduction to Technical and Professional Communication Copyright © 2021 by Brigitte Mussack is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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When you write instructions, procedures, and "guide" or user-guide information, you normally must use a task approach. That means providing steps and explanations for all the major tasks that users may need to perform.

To write in a task-oriented manner, you first have to do some task analysis. That means studying how users use the product, interviewing them, and watching them. It can also mean interviewing marketing and product development people. If you can get your hands on the kinds of questions that help-desk people receive, that helps too.

But sometimes, you may not be in a position to do a thorough task analysis. Typically, product developers don't think about document until rather late. In these cirucumstances, it's often difficult to get marketing, development, engineering, and programming people to spend enough time with you to explain the product thoroughly. And so you end up doing a certain amount of educated guesswork. The developer is more likely to review your draft and let you inow if your guesswork is right.

To develop your own task analysis, you can study the user interface (buttons, menus, options, etc.) of the product. This goes for both hardware and software. Consider this interface for an icon editing tool:

From just this snippet of the interface, you can identify several obvious tasks:

Now, look at the menu options for the next parts of the menu. You can see that when people are using this icon editor, they'll also most likely be doing these tasks:

But now look at the interface without the menu options hanging down. What additional tasks can you see? As with a lot of graphical user interfaces, some of the icons duplicate the menu options. For example, the bulleted-list icon enables you to select a thin, medium, or thick line the same way clicking on Options does. However, there are some new tools here, not available elsewhere in the interface:

There's a lot you still don't know about this software, but you've already done a lot of guesswork toward defining the major tasks. You'd want to group and consolidate things much more tightly than above, perhaps like the following:

You can see that in this rough task list, there is no trace of tasks such as filling an object with color, capturing images, clearing the workspace, undoing a mistake, or restoring. But as you work, these details will begin to find their place in your scheme. Now, stand back from the details of the interface and put yourself in the place of an icon designer. What questions is that individual likely to ask? How do I change the color of the background? We've got that covered. How do I change the thickness of the lines I draw? Got that one covered too. How do I make the background transparent? Hmmm . . . that will be an issue for the color section, but it will take some research.

When you write for users, you have a choice of two approaches, function orientation and task orientation , the latter of which is by far the better choice.

Writing with a function orientation. It ought to be obvious how to proceed after a task analysis, but apparently not. Computer publications�if not technical publications in general�often seem to stray into a non-task-oriented style of writing. That's probably because it's sometimes almost possible to translate elements of a user interface into a set of tasks. But, no! That just doesn't work.

Another reason why user guide instructions sometimes turn out not task oriented has to do with product specifications. Product specifications, which are written by and for programmers, engineers, developers, are written in terms of required function:

You might call this approach function-oriented writing because it systematically explains each function, feature, or interface element of a product. Unfortunately, this approach shows up in user guides meant for nontechnical readers � perhaps because the writers are inexperienced, untrained, or technical; or else the writers have been called in too late to do much else but polish the developers' spec.

The function-oriented approach almost works sometimes. But "almost" and "sometimes" are not good enough. It almost works because the names of interface elements and functions sometimes match the tasks they support. For example, the Open menu option is pretty intuitive: open an existing file. Others are not. For example, what do you suppose is restored by the Restore button in the AZ Icon Edit interface? Also, some interface elements don't accomplish tasks all by themselves. In Photoshop, for example, you can't crop text by pressing the Crop menu option. You have to first click the text-selection button, then draw a selection box around the part of the image you want to keep, then press the Crop button.

Writing with a task orientation. Instead of the function-oriented approach, use the task-oriented approach. Identify the tasks users will need to perform with the product, and then structure your document accordingly. Make your headings and subheadings task oriented in their phrasing. Task-oriented phrasing means phrasing like "How to adjust the volume, "Adjusting the volume," or "Adjust the volume." It does not mean phrasing like "Volume" or "Volume Adjustment." Here are some additional examples:

When you have defined user tasks, organized them into logical groups, and have defined task-oriented headings, you're ready to write! Here's an excerpt:

Drawing Rectangles and Ovals

You can use the icon editor to draws squares, rectangles, ovals, and circles.

Draw a rectangle. To draw a rectangle:

Draw an oval. To draw an oval:

In this excerpt, you can see that an overall task-oriented approach is taken and that task-oriented phrasing is used for the headings. Notice too that numbered lists are used to guide readers step by step through the actions involved in the task.

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5.2: Popular Genres in Technical Writing

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• Adam Rex Pope
• University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Popular Genres in Technical Writing

Having looked at a method to investigate genres, I want to shift our focus in the back half of this chapter to introduce you to a few specific genres in the world of technical writing. This will be a brief overview, giving you a window into what the general gist and goal of these genres tends to be in my experience as a writer, instructor, and researcher. Please note that between cultures and companies these documents may be drastically different—these are really just some popular conceptions of the genres themselves. To really dig into what they look and feel like, you’ll need to do some original research. Surprised? Probably not at this point in our text.

I’d like to briefly cover some key players in technical writing circles: proposals and grants, white papers, reports, technical descriptions, instructions, and manuals. This is by no means an exhaustive list of genres—you’ll find an almost endless supply of them out there. This is also by no means a definitive definition of each, but I think each overview will give you a window into the ways that these genres work and the types of problems they were invented to solve.

Grants and Proposal

Grants and proposals are one of the most action-oriented genres that you can work with in technical writing, though they often also tend to be some of the most rigorously defined by forces outside of your control. A grant or proposal often comes from a specific solicitation by a funding source that is either looking for a particular project to be completed for them or looking to support projects that complete certain goals.

In a corporate context, proposals will be solicited for various jobs an organization might need. For example, I might put out a request for proposals and bids to create a new computer lab infrastructure in my building on a college campus. In this case, I’m soliciting folks who will complete a particular task and tell me how they’d go about doing that and what their budget would be, guided in all of this by my own suggestions and guidelines.

The world of grants can be quite different because grants are often not designed for a particular activity: they are instead designed to promote a type of activity. For example, there might be a civic beautification grant available in a large metro area that solicits projects from local artists to create public artwork that enhances the town and tells part of the local story to those that interact with the art. For the funding agency, giving these grants out is a way they can encourage and bankroll a particular type of activity without actually completing that activity themselves. It offers a way to make use of funding to influence activities without jumping into the business of doing a particular activity or pushing for a particular cause.

In some cases, grant funding agencies have a very particular set of values that they advocate for, or a very particular way of having projects completed, such as mandatory partners on a project. Be aware of these goals and values—they may not always mesh with your organization’s values and skills. Almost any grant funding organization has an agenda for their funds, and it is entirely fitting that they would—it is their money after all. Just be aware of this and the issues it can raise. (For example, getting funds from some organizations may be more politically hazardous in certain areas than others, such as getting funding from an organization that supports charter schools and school choice in an area that is strongly against such measures).

Generally speaking, a grant or proposal has a few major sections, though the sections will always be contingent on the funder of the task at hand. The call for grants or proposals will tell you what should be submitted, what is needed, and sometimes will give you an insight into what matters and why. You simply must follow these recommendations. They are not optional! When a grant or proposal is judged, it will be judged by these rules and recommendations. Anything that doesn’t fit will be discarded—an easy way to winnow the pile of applications.

Your goal with a grant or proposal is to show how you’d fulfill the goals of the call for proposals in a way that meets the needs of your funder. You need to show you understand the current situation, that you have a clear plan for action, that your group is competent and trustworthy for this type of work, and that you have a legitimate budget and timeline. Beyond these you may have some specific sections and deliverables requested, but usually any grant or proposal will give you a chance to talk about these types of subjects.

A good grant or proposal has a narrative structure. This doesn’t mean that it’s suddenly story time and it was a dark stormy night. What I mean is that you’ll want to have an overarching narrative and theme to your work. You will frame the problem in a way that makes sense for your solution. You’ll frame your past work in a way that shows your ability to complete this current task. In short, you’ll be persuasive. There are any multitude of valid and honest ways to tell the story of a grant or proposal; you’ll just need to pick the right one for your situation. Again, this isn’t a call to stretch the truth—lies and misdirection in a proposal is a great way to get into legal trouble or blacklisted. Instead, this is a reminder that your presentation of “the facts” is not enough.

You need to think about the context and who you’re writing to and why. If you’re offering new technology, you can frame the current technology as out of date. If you’re offering green technology, you can frame the current technology as excessively energy intensive. Each of these frames is a valid one, but the pairs I’ve created make more sense than framing the current technology as outdated and offering green technology or framing the current technology as inefficient and offering new technology. Remember that this is a competitive genre and you need to make the best and most accurate case possible for your team.

When you’re looking at how to frame things, look for what your organization values, what you’ve excelled at, and what the funding group values and what they excel at and ask for. You’ll often find a way to draw connections between your group and the funding group. In some cases you won’t be able to make many if any connections—this can be a sign this grant or proposal is a bad fit.

As a final note, and one that goes with all genres that we’ll discuss—do not use boilerplate texts. Don’t create a generic grant application and send it to everyone with a few names changed. This is a great way to fail at grant and proposal submission. No one likes boilerplate texts and boilerplate texts are incredibly obvious in their overly generic approach to everything. Take a little time and customize your texts to the situation and you’ll go much further!

White Papers

White papers are an odd genre, one that is not universally present in professional communication, but one worthy of noting. At its core, a white paper is a sales document, one that is designed to motivate someone to make a purchase. What is intriguing about a white paper in our context is that they are usually designed to educate someone enough to make them desire your current product or service. You can and should make a pitch for your organization, but usually after educating someone as to why it would be of value at all. (Note: white papers are not the same outside of the US. You may run into other documents called white papers that are totally different. Cultural context matters!)

To help explain how white papers work, I’ll give you an example from my own background. Growing up, my father was the third generation owner of the family tire repair business. When I was younger, the primary work the shop did was the repair of damaged tires and the purchase of new tires. You could also get maintenance work like balances and rotations. At the time though, oil changes weren’t even on the menu. During the 90s, my father started getting white papers from companies selling machines for front and rear wheel alignment. These white papers came with informative models that you could use to demonstrate what an unaligned tire would do to a vehicle and generally educated you on the value of wheel alignment on the life of your tires. It also made the business case for wheel alignment and advocated for a particular machine from a particular manufacturer. After reading the documents and talking with sales folks, my father purchased the machines and from that point on his business had wheel alignments as a service.

In the context of the 90s, wheel alignment wasn’t something that a traditional mom and pop tire shop would have covered. It required specialized equipment that was not cheap, and it required special training for operators of that equipment. Getting a mom and pop shop to buy the expensive equipment directly wasn’t a winning strategy—the price alone could spook people. Instead of making an immediate sales pitch, white papers and strategies tailored around education allow the manufacturers of this equipment to explain the importance of and sales potential of the machinery in order to help the audience to get to a point where they understood the technology enough to make an informed choice.

White papers are often used in areas where technology is advancing in a way that needs explanation. If you’re offering a new piece of software or a new type of service, you may very well need a white paper to make the case for your approach. White papers don’t make as much sense in established areas with established technology that you’re going to be selling to folks. If you have a new spin on that technology, maybe a white paper makes sense. Otherwise, it’s not going to be that useful.

We’ve already hit on reports, and so I won’t spend that much time on them here. Suffice it to say that reports are documents that give someone information on a process or series of events or a plan, anything really, and then allows the person who has that information to make decisions or advocate for decisions or courses of action. If you want to blame someone for reports, blame a business major—a large part of the logic behind business majors is that they are experts at decision-making in business environments, aided by reports as part of their understanding of what is going on and what they should be doing. The rise of reports came along with the rise of the professional business major, allowing information to move beyond people and into paper and other sources.

With any report, ask yourself who is going to be using this document and what they’re going to be using the data for. This can vary depending on who is reporting and why. You may be tasked with a feasibility report on a project—in this case, you’ll be creating a report that helps decide what actions are available and whether they make sense. You can also see reports generated by openly or not-soopenly political organizations that have very particular values and goals behind their reporting. Not all reports are created equal.

When reporting anything that caries a value judgment, the most important thing you can do is create a set of criteria. If you set up the criteria and define them, you can have a productive discussion because you’re making a case for what measures matter and then using those measures to make a judgment call. If your audience agrees with your measures, all the better. If they don’t, you’ll need to make the case for your measures. Without criteria, your report mostly stands as opinion. I have an opinion, and you have one too. Opinions are great, but when we judge them based off specific criteria we can debate on, we can have a constructive dialog. If we’re just railing at each other’s opinions with no overarching context to create judgment and value, we’re not going to get far. (Just watch some political talk shows and you’ll see this in action very quickly).

Technical Descriptions

A classic of technical writing that is often associated with engineering, technical descriptions are fairly self explanatory—they are a technical explanation of how a particular system or device works. The use case for descriptions can vary, depending on who is going to make and share the description. For example, there is a thriving online world of folks that reverse engineer and build their own guitar pedals (effects devices that modify signals for distortion, compression, modulation, etc.). A large part of this community is sharing how a particular pedal works and what the components are within a given pedal, so they share a lot of domain-specific technical descriptions.

Technical descriptions are one of those genres where you may well get a chance to really get into using your field-specific terms and language because they are designed, often, for folks that are already experts or who at least know enough to read through the text. This isn’t always true, but it can be many times. Here is a simple technical description of how the LED connects to a guitar pedal, badly drawn by your author:

Now, this particular technical description is entirely visual—that isn’t to say that all technical descriptions are, but you do find visuals as a component in the genre. This is a particularly awful description because of my color choice on the black wire between the LED and the switch—you notice it overlaps the minus symbol, making it unclear as to whether it is positive or negative. In addition, I’ve neglected to include a resistor in this schematic, making it very likely my LED will burn out quickly and be ridiculously bright. But, this crude drawing could very well accompany some text like the following:

“In this pedal the LED is connected directly to a wall-mount power supply input. Not pictured here, a resistor is located between the power supply and the LED, regulating the output of the LED and preventing premature burnout. The ground of the LED connects to the foot switch—several other grounds from the PCB and the input connect here as well.”

In this simple explanation, you get an idea of what is happening in the design. This isn’t very technical, but it does tell you what is happening in this particular system of a pedal. That can be enough in the hobbyist’s world where you simply need enough understanding to make things happen electronically without mishap. In the world of electric engineering, this would likely be entirely insufficient. Audience and context matter.

Anytime you’re going to describe a system or a process, technical description as a genre can come into play. It isn’t the most glamorous genre, but it has a useful purpose and helps folks understand how things work.

Instructions

It’s come to this. Instructions. You knew they were coming, right? If any genre is associated with the teaching of technical writing, the genre of instructions would be the one.

When we think about instructions, we want to think about them as tools for use—not those things you throw away because you don’t need them or can’t read them. Instructions get a bad wrap because too often they are designed as an item in a checklist that needs to be completed rather than as an essential part of any project that is oriented around sequential tasks. Good instructions can be a true joy to use, but we so often end up with the phoned-in-at-best variety that perhaps has lead many of you to despise the genre.

Time for a brief confession—I truly love instructions with all of my being. To the very depths of my soul, I love instructions. Why, you may ask? They help you do things. They tell you how things are supposed to be done. They put order into a situation. I like following instructions and I like making them because of this. I find special pleasure in good instructions that are thoughtful and useful, like so many are not. I like instructions because they take a process that might be challenging or tedious and make it easily understood and perhaps even educational. (As a side-note, I’m also a huge do-ityourself person having built my own computers since I was a teen and having most recently tiled my bathroom floor after some intense research. I like learning about things and how to do things and instructions make that possible).

The biggest challenge with instructions is one of perspective—you often don’t see a task that you’re good at correctly. Think about starting a car and putting it into reverse or putting your key into your lock and unlocking your front door at your dwelling place. These are tasks that you do all the time, and as such you tend to internalize entire steps to muscle memory. It’s kind of like when you start walking or driving somewhere and accidentally end up going to your normal destination when you meant to go somewhere else but managed to get a little absent minded. Instructions often suffer from this phenomenon because they internalize and omit steps that are essential to newbies.

The best thing you can do is to take a literal approach to your instructions when testing. If they don’t say to do something, don’t do it and see what happens. You may find quickly that you’re overlooking key things like pressing the brake pedal when you shift from park to reverse when driving. This type of testing will get rid of your blind spots by forcing you to run into them.

The best thing you can do outside of personal testing is to find someone who truly doesn’t understand what you’re trying to explain. This can be hard with simple tasks, but if you can find a test subject or four you can find out quickly through various research methods what is going on and where things are breaking down. The final chapter of the text offers you a number of solutions.

Finally, remember that the best instructions offer a clear view of the process that is taking place and how each step comes together as part of that process. You’ll find folks have an easier time with things when they know where they are going and what their progress is. In addition, useful illustrations and even things like color coding of steps and repeated processes can make things much easier for anyone actually using your work. Remember—instructions are used to do something. Make sure they are designed around that use!

If there ever was a genre that was the opposite of glamorous and exciting, I think manuals would be that genre. Manuals get a bad rap I think because they aren’t designed for reading, and we tend to judge most large texts by their readability rather than other metrics like use. Manuals are a reference tool rather than a relaxing read to pore through while you sit in the hammock and sip lemonade. They are designed to be searched to find information about a specific part of a process or system or procedure or to solve a particular problem.

Manuals should be judged by how they help you fix an issue or understand something, not by their capacity to entertain. For example, if you have a flat tire you’ll reference your car’s manual to find out where your spare is and where you jack is located (if you have one instead of a can of flat-fixing goop). You might also use a manual if you need to know how to format say, a television show when using Chicago style.

Like instructions, manuals can be annoying to use because they can be designed as an afterthought. We’ve almost trained ourselves in many circumstances to avoid manuals, and that can be a huge mistake! A good manual can be a powerful tool to help you through a complex process.

Practically speaking, think about a manual in a professional capacity as a barrier against having to do tech support of some type. A good manual helps folks understand systems and troubleshoot common problems without getting overwhelmed. A great manual does this in a clear, well-documented and illustrated way that allows easy identification of information that is helpful and avoidance of information that isn’t helpful.