Technical Communication

Contents.- Preface for Instructors.- Introduction for Writers PART 1.- Understanding the Technical Communication Environment.- 1 Introduction to Technical Communication.- What Is Technical Communication?.- The Challenges of Producing Technical Communication.- Characteristics of a Technical Document.- Measures of Excellence in Technical Documents.- Skills and Qualities Shared by Successful Workplace Communicators.- How Communication Skills and Qualities Affect Your Career.- A Look at Three Technical Documents.- Exercises.- Learning Curve: Understanding the Technical Communication Environment [LaunchPad].- Case 1: Using the Measures of Excellence in Evaluating a Resume [LaunchPad].- 2 Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations.- A Brief Introduction to Ethics.- Your Ethical Obligations.- Obligations to Your Employer.- Obligations to the Public.- Obligations to the Environment.- Your Legal Obligations.- Copyright Law.- Guidelines: Determining Fair Use.- Guidelines: Dealing with Copyright Questions.- Ethics Note: Distinguishing Plagiarism from Acceptable Reuse of Information.- Trademark Law.- Guidelines: Protecting Trademarks.- Contract Law.- Liability Law.- Guidelines: Abiding by Liability Laws.- The Role of Corporate Culture in Ethical and Legal Conduct Understanding Ethical and Legal Issues Related to Social Media.- Guidelines: Using Social Media Ethically and Legally.- Document Analysis Activity: Presenting Guidelines for Using Social Media.- Communicating Ethically Across Cultures.- Communicating with Cultures with Different Ethical Beliefs.- Communicating with Cultures with Different Laws.- Principles for Ethical Communication.- Abide by Relevant Laws.- Abide by the Appropriate Professional Code of Conduct.- Abide by Your Organization's Policy on Social Media.- Take Advantage of Your Employer's Ethics Resources.- Tell the Truth.- Don't Mislead Your Readers.- Use Design to Highlight Important Ethical and Legal Information.- Be Clear.- Avoid Discriminatory Language.- Acknowledge Assistance from Others.- Writer's Checklist.- Exercises.- Learning Curve: Understanding the Technical Communication Environment [LaunchPad].- Case 2: The Ethics of Requiring That Students Subsidize a Plagiarism-Detection Service [LaunchPad] 3 Writing Technical Documents.- Planning.- Analyzing Your Audience.- Analyzing Your Purpose.- Choosing Your Writing Tools.- Tutorial: Cross-Platform Word Processing with Cloud On, Quip, and More [LaunchPad] Generating Ideas About Your Subject.