The Handbook of Technical Writing
Description
From abstracts to online professional profiles, from blogs and forums to formal reports and manuals, the Handbook of Technical Writing uses smart, accessible language to spotlight and clarify technical writing today. Hundreds of topic entries, 90+ sample documents, at-a-glance checklists, and clear, explicit models, communicate the real-world practices of successful technical writers.
Developed by a legendary author team with decades of combined academic and professional experience, the book's intuitive, alphabetical organization makes it easy to navigate its extensive coverage of grammar, usage, and style. Plus, updated, in-depth treatment of pressing issues like the job search, audience awareness, source documentation, and social media use on the job resonate both in class and at the office.With a refreshed, integrated focus on the ways technologies shape writing, this Twelfth Edition is the indispensable reference tool for writing successfully in the workplace.
More details
Person
Walter E. Oliu served as Chief of the Publishing Services Branch at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he managed the agency's printing, graphics, editing, and publishing programs, as well as the daily operations of the agency's public Web site. He is the recipient of the agency's Meritorious Service Award. He has also taught at Miami University of Ohio, Slippery Rock State University, Montgomery College, and George Mason University.
Charles T. Brusaw served as a faculty member at NCR Corporation's Management College, where he developed and taught courses in professional writing, editing, and presentation skills for the corporation worldwide. Previously, he worked in advertising, technical writing, public relations, and curriculum development. He was also a communications consultant, an invited speaker at academic conferences, and a teacher of business writing at Sinclair Community College. He passed away in 2015.
Content
A.- abbreviations.- abstract/concrete words.- abstracts.- acceptance/refusal letters (for employment).- acknowledgment letters.- acronyms and initialisms.- active voice (see voice).- adapting to new technologies.- adjectives.- adjustment letters.- *Professionalism Note.- Adverbs.- affectation.- agreement.- allusions.- ambiguity.- ampersands.- and/or.- annual reports.- antonyms.- apostrophes.- appendixes.- application cover letters.- *Figure A-8. Application Cover Letter (Graduate Applying for a Graphic Design Job).- *Proofreading and Follow-up.- appositives.- articles.- audience.- awkwardness.- .- B.- biased language.- bibliographies.- blogs and forums.- *Figure B-1. Corporate Blog.- brackets.- brainstorming.- brochures.- bulleted lists (see lists).- business plans.- business writing style.- buzzwords.- .- C.- capitalization.- case?.- cause-and-effect method of development.- chronological method of development.- clarity.- clauses.- clichés.- coherence.- collaborative writing.- Digital Tip: Using Collaborative Software.- collection letters.- colons.- comma splice.- commas.- comparison.- comparison method of development.- complaint letters.- complements.- compound words.- conciseness.- conclusions.- conjunctions.- connotation/denotation.- context.- contractions.- copyrights, patents, and trademarks.- *Patents.- *Trademarks.- *Figure C-11. Sample Trademarks.- correspondence.- Indirect Pattern.- cover letters (or transmittals).- .- D.- dangling modifiers.- dashes.- dates.- defining terms.- definition method of development.- description.- design (see layout and design).- dictionaries.- direct address.- division-and-classification method of development.- *document management.- *Writer's Checklist: Naming Files.- documenting sources.- double negatives.- drawings.- .- E.- editing (see both revision and proofreading).- ellipses.- e-mail.- *Ethics Note.- emphasis.- English as a second language.- ethics in writing.- euphemisms.- exclamation marks.- executive summaries.- expletives.- exposition.- .- F.- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).- feasibility reports.- figures of speech.- flowcharts.- footnotes (see documenting sources).- foreign words in English.- form letters.- formal reports.- *Digital Tip: Creating an Index.- Sample Formal Report.- *Digital Tip: Creating Styles and Templatess of meetings.- mission statements.- mixed constructions.- modifiers.- mood.- .- N.- narration.- newsletter articles.- newsletters.- nominalizations.- note-taking.- nouns.- number (grammar).- numbers.- .- O.- objects.- order-of-importance method of development?.- organization.- organizational charts.- outlining.- .- P.- pace.- paragraphs.- parallel structure.- paraphrasing.- parentheses.- parts of speech.- periods.- person.- persuasion.- photographs.- phrases.- plagiarism.- plain language.- point of view.- policies and procedures.- positive writing.- possessive case.- prefixes.- preparation .- prepositions.- presentations.- *Professionalism Note? .- press releases.- process explanation.- progress and activity reports.- promotional writing.- pronoun reference.- pronouns.- proofreading.- *Professionalism Note.- proposals.- punctuation.- purpose.- .- Q.- question marks.- questionnaires.- quotation marks.- quotations.- .- R.- readers.- reference letters.- refusal letters.- Figure R-3. Refusal with High Stakes.- repetition.- reports.- repurposing.- research.- resignation letters.- restrictive and nonrestrictive elements.- résumés.- revision.- rhetorical questions.- run-on sentences.- .- S.- salary negotiations (see interviewing for a job).- sales letters.- scope.- selecting the medium.- semicolons.- sentence construction.- sentence faults.- sentence fragments.- sentence variety .- sequential method of development.- slashes.- *social media.- spatial method of development.- spelling.- style .- subordination.- suffixes.- surveys (see questionnaires).- synonyms.- syntax.- .- T.- tables of contents.- tables.- telegraphic style.- tense .- text messaging.- thesaurus.- titles.- tone.- transition.- trip reports.- trouble reports (see incident reports).- .- U.- unity.- usage.- .- V.- vague words.- verbals.- verbs.- visuals.- voice.- .- W.- Web design (see writing for the Web).- word choice.- writing a draft .- writing for the Web.- Writing for a Global Audience.- .- Y.- "you" viewpoint.