basic professional writing quizlet

school Campus Bookshelves
menu_book Bookshelves
perm_media Learning Objects
login Login
how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
hub Instructor Commons
Download Page (PDF)
Download Full Book (PDF)
Periodic Table
Physics Constants
Scientific Calculator
Reference & Cite
Tools expand_more
Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

11.2: Writing Style

Last updated
Save as PDF
Page ID 31363

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate your ability to prepare and present information using a writing style that will increase understanding, retention, and motivation to act.

You are invited to a business dinner at an expensive restaurant that has been the top-rated dining establishment in your town for decades. You are aware of the restaurant’s dress code, which forbids casual attire such as jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. What will you wear? If you want to fit in with the other guests and make a favorable impression on your hosts, you will choose a good quality suit or dress (and appropriately dressy shoes and accessories). You will avoid calling undue attention to yourself with clothing that is overly formal—an evening gown or a tuxedo, for example—or that would distract from the business purpose of the occasion by being overly revealing or provocative. You may feel that your freedom to express yourself by dressing as you please is being restricted, or you may appreciate the opportunity to look your best. Either way, adhering to these style conventions will serve you well in a business context.

The same is true in business writing. Unlike some other kinds of writing such as poetry or fiction, business writing is not an opportunity for self-expression. Instead it calls for a fairly conservative and unadorned style. Writing style, also known as voice or tone, is the manner in which a writer addresses the reader. It involves qualities of writing such as vocabulary and figures of speech, phrasing, rhythm, sentence structure, and paragraph length. Developing an appropriate business writing style will reflect well on you and increase your success in any career.

Formal versus Informal

There was a time when many business documents were written in third person to give them the impression of objectivity. This formal style was often passive and wordy. Today it has given way to active, clear, concise writing, sometimes known as “Plain English” (Bailey, 2008). As business and industry increasingly trade across borders and languages, writing techniques that obscure meaning or impede understanding can cause serious problems. Efficient writing styles have become the norm. Still, you will experience in your own writing efforts this “old school versus new school” writing debate over abbreviations, contractions, and the use of informal language in what was once considered a formal business context. Consider the following comparison of informal versus formal and bureaucratic styles.

Bureaucratic: Attached is the latest delivery data represented in topographical forms pursuant to the directive ABC123 of the air transportation guide supplied by the Federal Aviation Administration in September of 2008.

Formal – Please note the attached delivery data for July 2009.
Informal – Here’s the delivery data for last month.

While it is generally agreed that bureaucratic forms can obscure meaning, there is a debate on the use of formal versus informal styles in business communication. Formal styles often require more detail, adhere to rules of etiquette, and avoid shortcuts like contractions and folksy expressions. Informal styles reflect everyday speech patterns and may include contractions and colloquial expressions. Many managers prefer not to see contractions in a formal business context. Others will point out that a comma preceding the last item in a series (known as the “serial comma”) is the standard, not the exception. Some will make a general recommendation that you should always “keep it professional.” Here lies the heart of the debate: what is professional writing in a business context? If you answered “it depends,” you are correct.

Keep in mind that audiences have expectations and your job is to meet them. Some business audiences prefer a fairly formal tone. If you include contractions or use a style that is too casual, you may lose their interest and attention; you may also give them a negative impression of your level of expertise. If, however, you are writing for an audience that expects informal language, you may lose their interest and attention by writing too formally; your writing may also come across as arrogant or pompous. It is not that one style is better than the other, but simply that styles of writing vary across a range of options. Business writing may need to meet legal standards and include references, as we see in the bureaucratic example above, but that is generally not the norm for communications within an organization. The skilled business writer will know his or her audience and will adapt the message to best facilitate communication. Choosing the right style can make a significant impact on how your writing is received.

You may hear reference to a conversational tone in writing as one option in business communication. A conversational tone, as the name implies, resembles oral communication in style, tone, and word choice. It can be appropriate for some audiences, and may serve you well in specific contexts, but it can easily come across as less than professional.

If you use expressions that imply a relationship or a special awareness of information such as “you know,” or “as we discussed,” without explaining the necessary background, your writing may be seen as overly familiar, intimate, or even secretive. Trust is the foundation for all communication interactions and a careless word or phrase can impair trust.

If you want to use humor, think carefully about how your audience will interpret it. Humor is a fragile form of communication that requires an awareness of irony, of juxtaposition, or a shared sense of attitudes, beliefs, and values. Different people find humor in different situations, and what is funny to one person may be dull, or even hurtful, to someone else.

Although there are business situations such as an interview or a performance self-evaluation where you need to state your accomplishments, in general business writing it is best to avoid self-referential comments that allude to your previous successes. These can come across as selfish or arrogant. Instead, be generous in giving credit where credit is due. Take every opportunity to thank your colleagues for their efforts and to acknowledge those who contributed good ideas.

Jargon is a vocabulary that has been developed by people in a particular group, discipline, or industry, and it can be a useful shorthand as long as the audience knows its meaning. For example, when writing for bank customers, you could refer to “ATM transactions” and feel confident that your readers would know what you meant. It would be unnecessary and inappropriate to write “Automated Teller Machine transactions.” Similarly, if you were working in a hospital, you would probably use many medical terms in your interactions with other medical professionals. However, if you were a hospital employee writing to a patient, using medical jargon would be inappropriate, as it would not contribute to the patient’s understanding.

Finally, in a business context, remember that conversational style is not an excuse to use poor grammar, disrespectful or offensive slang, or profanity. Communication serves as the bridge between minds and your written words will represent you in your absence. One strategy when trying to use a conversation tone is to ask yourself, “Would I say it in this way to their face?” A follow-up question to consider is, “Would I say it in this way in front of everyone?” Your professional use of language is one the hallmark skills in business, and the degree to which you master its use will reflect itself in your success. Take care, take time, and make sure what you write communicates a professional tone that positively represents you and your organization.

Introductions: Direct and Indirect

Sometimes the first sentence is the hardest to write. When you know the two main opening strategies it may not make it any easier, but it will give a plan and form a framework. Business documents often incorporate one of two opening strategies regardless of their organizational pattern. The direct pattern states the main purpose directly, at the beginning, and leaves little room for misinterpretation. The indirect pattern, where you introduce your main idea after the opening paragraph, can be useful if you need a strong opening to get the attention of what you perceive may be an uninterested audience. Normally, if you expect a positive response from the reader you will choose a direct opening, being clear from the first sentence about your purpose and goal. If you do not expect a positive reception, or have to deliver bad news, you may want to be less direct. Each style has its purpose and use; the skilled business writer will learn to be direct and be able to present bad news with a positive opening paragraph.

Adding Emphasis

There are times when you will want to add emphasis to a word, phrase, or statistic so that it stands out from the surrounding text. The use of visual aids in your writing can be an excellent option, and can reinforce the written discussion. For example, if you write that sales are up 4 percent over this time last year, the number alone may not get the attention it deserves. If, however, near the text section you feature a bar graph demonstrating the sales growth figures, the representation of the information in textual and graphical way may reinforce its importance.

As you look across the top of your word processing program you may notice bold , italics , underline, highlights, your choice of colors, and a host of interesting fonts. Although it can be entertaining to experiment with these visual effects, do not use them just for the sake of decoration. Consistency and branding are important features of your firm’s public image, so you will want the visual aspects of your writing to support that image. Still, when you need to highlight an important fact or emphasize a key question in a report, your readers will appreciate your use of visual effects to draw their attention. Consider the following examples:

Bullets can be effective when used with discretion.

Take care when using the following:

With subheadings
In serial lists
As they can get
A bit overwhelming to the point where
The reader loses his or her interest

Emphasis can be influenced by your choice of font. Serif fonts, such as Times New Roman and Garamond, have decorative ends that make the font easy to read. Sans serif fonts, like Arial, lack these visual cues and often serve better as headers.

You can also vary the emphasis according to where you place information within a sentence:

Maximum emphasis . Sales have increased across the United States because of our latest promotion efforts in our largest and most successful market.
Medium emphasis . Because of our latest promotion efforts in our largest and most successful market, sales have increased across the United States.
Minimum emphasis . The United States, which has experienced a sales increase, is our largest and most successful market.

The information at end of the sentence is what people often recall, and is therefore normally considered the location of maximum emphasis. The second best position for recall is the beginning of the sentence, while the middle of the sentence is the area with the least recall. If you want to highlight a point, place it at the beginning or end of the sentence, and if you want to deemphasize a point, the middle is your best option (McLean, 2003).

Active versus Passive Voice

You want your writing to be engaging. Which sentence would you rather read?

A – All sales orders are processed daily by Mackenzie.
B – Mackenzie processes all sales orders daily.

Most readers prefer sentence B, but why? You’ll recall that all sentences have a subject and a verb, but you may not have paid much attention to their functions. Let’s look at how the subject and verb function in these two sentences. In sentence A, the subject is “Mackenzie,” and the subject is the doer of the action expressed by the verb (processes). In sentence A, the subject is “sales orders,” and the subject is the receiver of the action expressed by the verb (are processed). Sentence A is written in active voice—a sentence structure in which the subject carries out the action. Sentence B is written in passive voice—a sentence structure in which the subject receives the action.

Active sentences tend to be shorter, more precise, and easier to understand. This is especially true because passive sentences can be written in ways that do not tell the reader who the doer of the action is. For example, “All sales orders are processed daily” is a complete and correct sentence in passive voice.

Active voice is the clear choice for a variety of contexts, but not all. When you want to deemphasize the doer of the action, you may write, “Ten late arrivals were recorded this month” and not even mention who was late. The passive form doesn’t place blame or credit, so it can be more diplomatic in some contexts. Passive voice allows the writer to avoid personal references or personal pronouns (he, she, they) to create a more objective tone. There are also situations where the doer of the action is unknown, as in “graffiti was painted on the side of our building last night.”

Overall, business communication resources tend to recommend active voice as the preferred style. Still, the styles themselves are not the problem or challenge, but it is how we use them that matters. A skilled business writer will see both styles as options within a range of choices and learn to distinguish when each style is most appropriate to facilitate communication.

Commonly Confused Words

The sentences in Table \(\PageIndex{6}\) focus on some of the most common errors in English. You may recall this exercise from the introduction of this chapter. How did you do? Visit the “Additional Resources” section at the end of the chapter for some resources on English grammar and usage.

Making Errors at the Speed of Light

In business and industry there is increasing pressure to produce under deadlines that in some respects have been artificially accelerated by the immediacy inherent in technological communication devices. If you receive an e-mail or text message while you are in the middle of studying a complex problem, you may be tempted to “get it out of the way” by typing out a quick reply, but in your haste you may fail to qualify, include important information, or even check to make sure you have hit “Reply” and not “Reply to All” or even “Delete.” Take care to pause and review your text message, e-mail, or document before you consider it complete. Here is a quick electronic communication do/don’t list to keep in mind before you click “send.”

Do remember the following:

Everything you access via an employer’s system is subject to inspection.
Everything you write or record reflects you and your business or organization, even if it is stored in a Google or Yahoo! account.
Respect personal space by not forwarding every e-mail you think is funny.
Use a concise but relevant and informative phrase for the subject line.
E-mail the receiver before sending large attachments, as they may exceed the limit of the receiver’s in-box.
Attach your intended attachments.

Key Takeaway

An appropriate business writing style can be formal or informal, depending on the context, but it should always reflect favorably on the writer and the organization.

Select at least three examples of writing from different kinds of sources, such as a government Web site, a textbook, a popular magazine, and a novel. According to the style characteristics discussed in this section, how would you characterize the style of each? Select a paragraph to rewrite in a different style—for example, if the style is formal, make it informal; if the selection is written in active voice, make it passive. Discuss your results with your classmates.
What are some qualities of a good business writing style? What makes certain styles more appropriate for business than others? Discuss your thoughts with a classmate.
Find an example of formal writing and write an informal version. Please share with your classmates.
Find an example of informal writing and write a formal version. Please share with your classmates
You are assigned to a work team that has to come up with a formal declaration and an informal explanation for the declaration. The declaration could be a memo indicating that your business will be observing a holiday (each team should have a different holiday).
How would you characterize your writing style? Do you need to make modifications to make your style suitable for business writing? Write a one- to two-page essay on this subject.
Bailey, E. P. (2008). Plain English at work: A guide to business writing and speaking . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
McLean, S. (2003). The basics of speech communication . Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

PRDV002: Professional Writing

Course introduction.

Time: 12 hours
Free Certificate

Here, we examine how to identify the purpose or goals of the messages we wish to convey, analyze our audience to keep them engaged, and write clear and persuasive prose. In most workplaces, we are likely to write in a collaborative team environment. Here, we explore how to use available communication channels – blogs, contracts, emails, reports, presentations, press releases, social media posts, and more – for maximum impact. We also learn how to edit and proofread documents so they are presented in a polished, competent, and professional way.

Course Syllabus

First, read the course syllabus. Then, enroll in the course by clicking "Enroll me". Click Unit 1 to read its introduction and learning outcomes. You will then see the learning materials and instructions on how to use them.

Unit 1: Know Your Purpose

To be an effective writer, it is essential to identify the purpose or goal of your communication – whether you are writing for your own personal reasons to entertain a friend or convince a local politician, or you have been given a job assignment to sell the services of your company to a wealthy business client. What message do you want to convey? If you are unclear or uncertain about what you wish to accomplish, your readers will find your writing confusing and difficult to comprehend. Your local politician may follow an unwanted course, or your wealthy business client may move on to a more articulate competitor.

In this unit, we examine several rhetorical models the Ancient Greeks adopted to help create a framework for what they wanted to achieve during their discussions. What is your purpose? Are you writing to persuade, inform, analyze, or express? In most cases, you should incorporate several elements of these rhetorical strategies to help you get your point across most effectively. But your purpose must be clear – so you can effectively explain or pitch it to your audience.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

Unit 2: Know Your Audience and Communication Channel

Now that you have a purpose, goal, or broad idea of what you want to accomplish, you must find an effective way to communicate your message. Your first step is to analyze your audience – you need to learn who your readers are, what they need, and what will engage them. Next, you must determine the best communication channel to reach them. Finally, you must consider privacy issues and your ethical responsibilities.

As disparate as these topics seem, they all influence effective communications with each particular audience. They are essential ingredients for being a competent communicator. Let's begin.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.

Unit 3: Drafting Your Message

Now that you have researched your audience, decided the purpose of your message, and understand your ethical responsibilities, it is time to draft your document. In this unit, we discuss the best way to format or display the content you want to communicate to your audience. How should you craft or present your message to reinforce your main points and persuade your readers to accept your arguments? We also learn how to eliminate common problems that may be distracting.

Unit 4: Polishing Your Writing

We are accustomed to texting and emailing messages with typos, slang, abbreviations, and common errors. However, you should discard these shortcuts in the business world. Make it a habit to reread and edit every piece of writing, no matter how brief, before you hit the send button. In this unit, we discuss how to revise and proofread your writing to command attention and respect.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 1 hour.

Course Feedback Survey

Please take a few minutes to give us feedback about this course. We appreciate your feedback, whether you completed the whole course or even just a few resources. Your feedback will help us make our courses better, and we use your feedback each time we make updates to our courses.

If you come across any urgent problems, email [email protected].

Certificate Final Exam

Take this exam if you want to earn a free Course Completion Certificate.

To receive a free Course Completion Certificate, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on this final exam. Your grade for the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you can take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt.

Once you pass this final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate .

APPLY NOW REQUEST INFO

READY TO GET STARTED?

Take the next steps to enroll in a course. Get Started

Learn more about Penn LPS Online

Request More Information

PROW 1000: Fundamentals of Professional Writing

Using an immersive, scenario-based teaching style, this course is an introduction to critically analyzing any writing situation and making your writing a purposeful act of communication. You engage in a series of authentic writing scenarios and a range of activities that provide hands-on practice and instructor coaching and feedback. Coursework includes targeted exercises for improving grammar, mechanics, clarity, precision, and persuasiveness. This collaborative, problem-based learning approach provides you with the strategies and flexibility you need to adapt to an ever-changing multimedia communication environment.

Fundamentals of Professional Writing serves as the foundation course for the Certificate in Professional Writing . It introduces the basic concepts and vocabulary that students will draw upon in all future writing tasks and build upon throughout the remainder of the certificate. You do have the option to enroll in this individual course without committing to the entire Certificate in Professional Writing.

See Course Tuition

*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.

Instructors

Valerie Ross

Faculty Director, Penn LPS Online Certificate in Professional Writing

Larry Abbott

Lecturer in Critical Writing, Marks Family Center for Excellence in Writing

Michael Chiappini

Helen Jeoung

Mel Kapadia

Stacy Kastner

Director, Writing Center, Marks Family Center for Excellence in Writing

Aurora MacRae-Crerar

Jordan Taylor

Julia McWilliams

Associated faculty, Urban Studies

Technical Writing

(28 reviews)

Annemarie Hamlin, Central Oregon Community College

Chris Rubio, Central Oregon Community College

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

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 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

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 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

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, 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

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 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

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 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 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 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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

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.

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.

Contribute to this Page

Chapter 1: Introduction

Michael Beilfuss

1.1 What is Technical Writing?

You are probably wondering what this “technical writing thing” is. Someone may even have told you “It’s this course where they make you write about computers, rocket science, and brain surgery.” Well, not really, as you will see in a moment.

Technical writing is an audience-centered means of communication that provides a reader with clear and easy access to information so they understand both the document’s and the author’s purpose and respond accordingly. The technical writer and reader have a vis-à-vis relationship. The writer recognizes, respects, and addresses the importance of the audience’s time by being clear, concise, and accessible. The writer strives for effective and efficient communication by providing documents written in specific formats, using unambiguous language to convey clearly accessible information. The reader in turn thoroughly processes the information in order to give a thoughtful response or take appropriate action.

Technical writing courses introduce you to the skills, genres, and other important aspects of writing in the worlds of science, technology, and business—in other words, the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, construction managers, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other professionals do as a part of their regular work. The skills learned in technical writing courses are useful in a broad spectrum of fields, including education and social sciences.

To learn how to write effectively for the professional world, you will study common types of reports, special format items such as lists and headings, simple techniques for creating and using graphics in reports, and some techniques for producing professional-looking final copy. This book focuses on skills and genres. The idea is that while you learn the conventions that govern one genre, such as technical instructions, you will also practice skills such as the appropriate use of graphics and design to facilitate communication. It is important to build a strong foundation of skills and genre knowledge so that you can more efficiently complete writing tasks when they arise.

This approach will allow you to apply what you learn here to a variety of situations. The skills and genre knowledge you will acquire in this book should be flexible and adaptable. Sometimes technical writing is formulaic, which can be a good thing if you need to communicate something with great clarity and efficiency. However, do not let formulaic writing sap the energy out of everything you write.

Rhetorical Situation

One of the most important skills you will practice is analyzing and understanding the rhetorical situation of your writing task. Essentially, the rhetorical situation describes the relationships between and among the audience, writer, content, and context of communication. That might sound complicated right now, but it can basically be broken down into an awareness and sensitivity to the needs of your audience. What does your audience already know? What do they want out of your document? Where, when, and how are they going to use the document you create? These are some of the questions you want to ask yourself before you begin any writing task. There is more on audience below, and throughout this book.

Without even knowing it, you may be familiar with these concepts from your college, or even high school, composition course. If you have ever heard of the terms ethos , logos , or pathos , you know something about classical (Aristotelian) rhetoric and what is often called the rhetorical situation . If your writing is based on logos , you would be using facts, reason, and logic to communicate your message; if your argument is based on ethos, you would be relying on your credibility as a writer to communicate your message; and if your writing is based on pathos, you are attempting to appeal to your audience’s emotions (joy, fear, hope, anger, pride, etc). For more about these appeals see “ Ethos, Logos, Pathos ” [1] .

Technical writing courses build on what you have learned in other writing courses. You will have an opportunity to dust off those writing tools, and practice the art and craft of effective communication. However, there is plenty new to learn! If you currently have a job in which you do some writing, you will discover that you can put what you learn in your technical writing course to immediate use.

About Technical Writing

While technical communication is essential in a wide range of fields and occupations, technical writing is also a fully professional field of its own with degree programs, certifications, and even theory. There are no fewer than five scholarly journals that are devoted completely or in part to publishing articles related to technical writing; what it is, how it works, how it is changing, and how to teach it. The journals include: Technical Communication Quarterly , Journal of Technical Writing and Communication ; Journal of Business and Technical Communication ; English for Specific Purposes ; and Issues in Writing . Technical writing is a field with a lot of growth and income potential, and an introductory technical writing course is a good way to determine if you are interested in a career in this field or work in which writing is a major component.

Workplace Writing

Many students of technical writing courses are not necessarily planning for a career as a technical writer or instructor. However, this course will provide you with an introduction to the kinds of writing skills you need in practically any professional career. No matter what sort of work you do, you are likely to do some writing—and much of it may be technical in nature. Furthermore, if you hope to advance in your career and eventually manage people or open your own business, having technical writing skills is a critical communication tool that will save you time and money. If you lack these skills, you may not be able to properly assess the quality of a report you have assigned someone to write, or you may end up sending emails that are unintentionally offensive, or you may be forced to hire a professional writer to create your employee manuals and instructional guides. The more you know about, and practice , the basic technical writing skills revealed in this text, the better you will be at writing. And that will be good for the projects you work on, for the organizations you work for, and—most of all—for you and your career. Make no mistake, if you want to succeed in your career, you have to be a successful communicator – and a large part of that includes writing.

The Meaning of “Technical”

Technical communication—or technical writing, as the course is often called—is not writing about a specific technical topic such as computers, but about any technical topic. The term “technical” refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that is more the territory of experts and specialists. Whatever your major is, you are developing an expertise—you are becoming a specialist in a particular technical area. Whenever you try to write or say anything about your field, you are engaged in technical communication.

Importance of Audience

Another key part of the definition of technical communication is the receiver of the information—the audience. Technical communication is the delivery of technical information to readers (or listeners or viewers) in a manner that is adapted to their needs, their level of understanding, and their background. Most technical documents are also written with a respect for the audience’s time, meaning sentences are written as efficiently as possible and content is arranged and displayed in a way that allows the reader to quickly locate relevant information. In fact, this audience element is so important that it is one of the cornerstones of technical writing: you are often challenged to write about technical subjects in a way that a beginner could understand. Sometimes you have to write for an audience of other specialists, but generally speaking, you are communicating information to someone who does not already know or have it.

This ability to “translate” technical information to non-specialists is a key skill to any technical communicator. In a world of rapid technological development, many people are constantly falling behind. As a result, technology companies regularly struggle to find effective ways to help current or potential customers understand the advantages or the operation of new products. Even within businesses, people with different skill sets need to be able to communicate effectively with one another; engineers need to communicate with lawyers; mechanics with accountants; sales people with managers and executives.

You do not have to write about computers or rocket science—write about the area of technical specialization you know or are learning about. And plan to write about it in such a way that your audience will understand. (See the chapter 2 for more on this topic.)

Really Technical Writing

You should know that professional technical writers do in fact write about very technical stuff—information that they cannot begin to master unless they go back for a Ph.D. But without a PhD in rocket science, how is a technical writer supposed to know create accurate instructions for how to properly secure the linkages between rocket mounts and fuel delivery systems? How is the writer supposed to gain that knowledge in just a few weeks before the rockets need to ship? How do they manage? Professional technical writers rely on these strategies to ensure the technical accuracy of their work:

Study books, articles, reports, websites related to the product
Review product specifications: What the product is supposed to do, how it is designed
Interview subject-matter experts (SMEs): The product specialists, developers, engineers
Attend product meetings during the development cycle
Participate in live demonstrations of the product
Become familiar with similar, competing products
Experiment with working models of the product
Ask subject-matter experts to review work for technical accuracy and completeness

Of course, experienced technical writers will tell you that product development moves so fast that specifications are not always possible and that working models of the product are rarely available. That is why the Subject-matter Experts’ review is often the most important. Based on the list above, you can also see that technical writing is often a collaborative process, where many people contribute to the process of creating the final product.

Technical Writing and Academic Writing

You have probably taken at least one academic writing course before this one, so you will be familiar with some of the practices of writing for your college classes.

The concentration on definite purpose, strict format, and use of appropriate language in technical writing define the differences between technical writing and academic writing. The academic writer’s purpose may be to write an assignment, a story, a letter, etc. These works may or may not have a reader outside the classroom. However, technical writing is always much more concerned with articulating a clearly defined purpose with a specific, known reader. Regardless of the number of stakeholders, and the variety of people who may encounter and read your documents, it is important to have a clear idea of your primary reader.

In technical writing courses, the focus is typically the analytical report. Just about everything you do in the course is aimed at developing skills needed to produce this report. Of course, most technical writing courses begin with a resume and application letter, and many include writing a set of instructions to help practice making technical knowledge available to non-experts. Remember that much of this book is based on mastering both skills and genres. While creating these documents and mastering the forms (or genres), you will also learn advantageous strategies for a document’s graphics, layout, and design. However, the main assignment in most technical writing courses is the analytical report.

Planning to write this report consists of several phases:

Establishing group roles
Writing a proposal in which you lay out your research strategy
Performing primary and secondary research
Analyzing research
Writing the report

Before writing the report, however, you will likely be assigned shorter documents (memos, emails, outlines, drafts) where you get accustomed to using things like headings, lists, graphics, and special notices—not to mention writing about technical subject matter in a clear, concise, understandable way that is appropriate for a specific audience.

CAUTION. You should be aware that technical writing courses are writing-intensive. If you are taking a full load of classes, working full time, and juggling unique family obligations, please consider whether this is the right time for you to take technical writing. Consult with your professor about the workload for this class in order to make your decision.

You will probably write more in your technical-writing course than in any other course you have ever taken, and the writing is expected to look professional. It is time to stop thinking of yourself as students and your assignments as inconsequential busy-work. Instead, start thinking of yourselves as professionals who are learning new skills and putting into practice those skills you have already mastered.

1.2 Cultural Diversity and Technical Communication

Culture is part of the very fabric of our thought, and we cannot separate ourselves from it. When you are analyzing the rhetorical situation, it is a good idea to consider the cultural context(s) that may be in play. Every business or organization has a culture, and within what may be considered a global culture, there are many subcultures or co-cultures. For example, consider the difference between the sales and accounting departments in a corporation. We can quickly see two distinct groups with their own symbols, vocabulary, and values. Within each group, there may also be smaller groups, and each member of each department comes from a distinct background that in itself influences behavior and interaction. Now, change that context to an act of communication. Who will hear it? Who could read it? What will your colleagues or readers of another culture take from it—intended or not? Sometimes, the focus of technical communication is quite easy; the primary reader is clearly targeted through demographic research. But, think about how much more effective and more dynamic a communication could be if the writer considered the potential cultural perspectives at work.

Diversity includes many different factors, ranging from race and ethnicity to culture and worldview. The more diverse an audience, the harder it becomes to tailor a speech to that audience. However, the more we study cross-cultural communication issues, the more aware we become. It is, of course, impossible to know every culture well; some of us are still working on learning our own! However, it may be helpful to recognize several paradigms used to discuss culture, in order to recognize certain characteristics, while also appreciating cultural uniqueness and seeking to avoid generalizations.

Appreciating cultural uniqueness helps us to understand major communication styles. The terms collectivist and individualistic are sometimes used to discuss cultural differences. Many Americans value family, but American culture also places a strong emphasis on making our own choices in career, education, marriage, and living arrangements. In more collectivist cultures, the family or larger community may have a strong voice in an individual’s life choices. An individual’s decisions may be more strongly influenced the community than individual preferences.

Closely related to the distinction between collectivistic and individualistic is the distinction between high-context and low-context cultures. High-context cultures are so closely tied together that behavioral norms are implicit, or not talked about directly; they tend to be understood and unstated, having been learned through close observation and/or even unconsciously through immersion in the culture. Here is an example of a high-context exchange. If you and your friends have a routine of watching football every Sunday, saying “I’ll see you guys this weekend for the game” implies that the “when” and “where” of the game is so ingrained that it does not need to be explicitly stated.

Continuing the example from above, in these cases you might be gathering with a new group of friends who need explicit, high-context communication to know what is going on: “We’ll meet at Jay’s house on Bleaker Street at 11:30 on Sunday morning.” High-context cultures are described as more relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative. This means that people in these cultures emphasize interpersonal relationships; developing trust is an important first step to any business transaction. High-context cultures may emphasize group harmony and consensus over individual achievement. Low-context cultures are often described as more action-oriented, practical, direct, and precise. In contrast, high-context cultures spend more time on interpersonal trust, may be less direct and straightforward, and may use more polite or flowery language. These descriptions are useful to some extent, but they can also be problematic due to their tendency to generalize. A person from a high-context culture is perfectly capable of being action-oriented, for example, while a person from a low-context culture still values interpersonal trust and politeness. While it is important to be aware of these possible cultural differences, you should never allow this awareness to ossify into an unconscious stereotype or bias. Do not base your judgments on people solely on generalizations – whether those generalizations seem ungenerous or even generous.

Another way to distinguish among cultural groups is to consider decision-making and the predominant communication modes. Some cultures emphasize a strongly narrative communication mode, with storytelling being the way the important information is conveyed. Others value group discussion and keeping the harmony of the group, while others rely heavily on the advice of elders in decision making. These practices say a lot about our shared histories and our values, views of the past, and approach to interpersonal trust. Nonverbal communication, which is very noticeable to us when we experience a new culture, is divided into types such as: oculesics (eye behavior), haptics (touch behavior), proxemics (distance from others), vocalics (voice characteristics), chronemics (use of time in communication), and kinesics (use of the arms, legs, and posture).

Each of these focal points has unique patterns in various cultures, and the differences in nonverbal communication behavior may have deeper cultural meanings. Some cultures may avoid eye contact out of respect; their high-context nature means direct confrontation is discouraged. Other cultures tend to judge low eye contact rather harshly, as either dishonest, disinterest, or indicating low self-esteem. In many Western cultures, punctuality is valued strongly. Other cultures simply do not understand the Western love affair with the hands on the clock.

People from the United States are sometimes seen by other cultures as loud (vocalics), too direct and forward (oculesics), taking up too much space (kinesics and proxemics), and uncomfortable with touch or close spaces (haptics and proxemics). Of course, audiences of different cultural backgrounds may include those for whom English is a second (or third or fourth) language. Watch out for metaphors, slang, and figurative language that simply have no meaning to non-native speakers of English. Many American expressions have to do with sports—everything from poker to football—and have no significance to those who have not grown up around those sports. Some of our expressions are actually racist or have a racist past, without our knowing or recognizing it because we do not know the origin of the phrase. Even a phrase that seems innocuous such as “bury the hatchet” could be viewed as culturally insensitive to Native Americans. If you use it, you are referring (inadvertently) to ethnic stereotypes as well as using references that non-U.S. cultures would not understand. There are many other such phrases that are worth interrogating and avoiding when recognized.

As emerging technology makes communicating with people around the world easier and more common, there is a good chance you will find yourself communicating or interacting with persons from other cultures in your future careers. Primarily, recognize the underlying values of the culture. The value and place of family may matter greatly, for example. You would want to be sure to show respect to parents and grandparents in everything you say; if you cannot do that, do not mention them at all. Other values may have to do with how genders are treated, modesty in clothing, or criticism of the government. Do not jump to judge speakers of other cultures by Western standards. As a piece of concluding advice, always seek for commonalities over differences; if you dig into cultural differences far enough, you will often find that our different houses are built on similar foundations.

1.3 Chapter Summaries

Below you will find brief summaries of each chapter in this book. After reading through them all, you should have a good sense of what you will learn as you work through the content.

Chapter 2: Audience

This chapter focuses on audience and different considerations for revising your document based on the audience(s). The type of audience identified will shape your document’s format, terminology, style, and technical level. There are several types of audiences, including experts, technicians, executives, gatekeepers , and nonspecialists (laypeople) . However, most documents you create will have multiple audiences: often, a primary audience —the main audience for the document—and a secondary audience —other audiences that are likely to read the document, but who are not the main focus of the document. In addition to the type of audience, you should analyze the audience to identify other factors that can affect how the document is received, including background , needs and interests , culture and values , and demographic characteristics . The rest of the chapter gives strategies to revise a document’s content for your audience, including changes to the content, style and format, sentence style, and document design.

Chapter 3: Group Work

This chapter covers some of the fundamentals of team work. After introducing the importance and prevalence of team work in the workplace, the chapter describes how best to build teams and ensure that they run smoothly. One of the first things a team needs to do is take an inventory of each member’s qualifications. Assessing qualifications allows teams to better assign roles, some of which are described here. Once the team has been built and everyone knows their roles, the planning stage begins – specific responsibilities are allocated among the group members to best fit their qualifications, the group writes out a schedule, and plans for any problems that may arise either within or outside the group. The chapter ends with a number of tips for a successful team project.

Chapter 4: Ethics

In this chapter, you will learn about some of the ethical challenges that you may encounter in your professional and academic life, especially when it comes to technical writing. First you will want to consider what your ethical code is so you can be prepared when you find yourself in uncomfortable and/or unethical situations. The chapter covers ethical principles, how ethics may affect the presentation of information, and some common ethical problems encountered by technical writers. Much of this chapter is concerned with the appropriate and ethical use and documentation of sources. The chapter provides some practical information on how to make sure your writing is ethical and how to handle ethical dilemmas and possible legal issues in the workplace.

Chapter 5: Design

This chapter briefly summarizes fundamental concepts to consider as you craft print and electronic texts. In this chapter you will read about basic principles of document design that allow writers to combine graphic elements with text to convey a message to audiences. Beginning with a discussion of standard conventions (of formatting, language, and style), the chapter then shares some basic guidelines for document design, moving forward to focus on integration of graphics, callouts and captions. Other topics include tables of contents, figures and tables, headings and the well-known CRAP test used by graphic designers. For additional resources, see the activities included at the chapter’s end.

Chapter 6: Emails, Letters, Memos

This chapter introduces the basics of email writing and etiquette, also providing information on memos and texting. It offers suggestions about when (and when not to!) use email in business communication. It details the basic conventions of structure: the header/address information, greeting, message body, and closing. It gives an overview of Netiquette, the expectations of online etiquette, which has application for other genres of online communication as well. The chapter concludes with a bulleted list of takeaways and tips, followed by additional teaching and learning resources.

Chapter 7: Career Documents

Looking for and landing the perfect job may seem like a daunting task. If you are uncertain where to start, know that most successful job applicants feel the same uncertainty at some point. This chapter will walk you through the process of applying for jobs from start to finish. Perhaps most importantly, it will provide you with two distinct tools that can help you to construct the materials for a strong, effective, and successful job application (Bay 75): 1) the résumé and 2) the job application letter. Résumés and application letters are among the most important documents in the employment process (Oregon 199). Beginning with an overview of the big-picture process, this chapter moves forward with suggested methods for finding job ads and constructing the genre documents for a job packet. In the résumé section, it discusses the following topics: Purposes and Goals, Types of Résumés, Sample Résumés, Drafting and Design: Where to Start, What to Include/Exclude, Optional Sections, and Drafting Activities and Resources. The next section on application letters will share information about deciphering the job description, as well as letter format, structure, and content. The chapter concludes with information on interviews, followed by specific guidelines for the job packet you will construct in English 3323.

Chapter 8: Technical Instructions

The chapter begins with a brief overview of the importance of knowing how to write instructions followed with some basic guidelines. The chapter goes into some depth in regards to analyzing the rhetorical situation for writing instructions. The rhetorical situation includes the purpose, audience and context for any particular set of instructions. Next we cover how to plan and organize the writing process followed by information about the content that is typically included in instructions. The chapter ends with some nitty-gritty tips on writing the instructions.

Chapter 9: Proposals

This chapter defines when and where you would use a proposal. Before drafting, you define some preliminary qualities, including if the proposal is written for internal or external audiences, is solicited or unsolicited, and if you are proposing a known or unknown solution. Next, the chapter discusses further considerations for your audience, followed by a breakdown of common sections present in most proposals. As proposal content can vary depending on the type and purpose and audience, a section is included on additional, project-specific sections which could be included in some proposals, such as client analysis and implementation sections. The standard design and format of a proposal is discussed, with emphasis on adaptability for the reader. The end of this chapter contains a revision checklist for proposals.

Chapter 10: Research

In this chapter, you will learn how to plan for conducting different types of research, depending on your research goals. The chapter starts by giving information on creating a hypothesis and research questions to guide your research. In addition, you will learn about conducting both primary and secondary research and when to choose one or the other. Different types of both primary and secondary research are discussed, to help you decide which is best for your specific project. Information for creating your own survey and interview questions is included, as well as tips for evaluating secondary sources.

Chapter 11: Reports

The standard components of the typical technical report are discussed in this chapter, including preliminary choices, audience and purpose considerations, common sections of reports, and format. As you read and use these guidelines, remember that these are guidelines, not commandments. Different companies, professions, and organizations have their own varied guidelines for reports—you will need to adapt your practice to those as well the ones presented here. In some industries, reports even use Excel files and other types of untraditional formats. In addition to the content and style of a standard report, the end of the chapter included details on two specific sub genres of reports that you may need to write during your education and beyond—P rogress Reports and Internship and Co-op Reports .

Chapter 12: Oral Reports

This chapter shares basic principles for the preparation and delivery of oral reports. Since presentations often include a visual component, the chapter begins with guidelines for creating an effective PowerPoint, Prezi, or Keynote. It includes tips for developing effective slides, while acknowledging the drawbacks of presentation software. It also offers suggestions to help speakers prepare well, overcome anxiety, and consider their speaking context. It gives an overview of expected structural conventions—how to set up an introduction, body, and conclusion—and ends with useful delivery tips.

http://georgehwilliams.pbworks.com/w/page/14266873/Ethos-Pathos-Logos-The-3-Rhetorical-Appeals ↵

Share This Book

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Workplace Writers

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This page provides links to resources for workplace writers and people writing during the job search process.

For access to all OWL resources, click here . Please click on the links below to access resources for workplace writers and people writing during the job search process:

Effective Workplace Writing - This resource explains two dominant ideas in professional writing that will help you produce persuasive, usable resumes, letters, memos, reports, white papers, etc. This section outlines the concepts of rhetorical awareness and user-centered design, provides examples of these ideas, and contains a glossary of terms.

Audience Analysis - This section helps you build Information about your readers. It discusses your communication's complex audience and provides key questions you can ask to determine readers' needs, values, and attitudes. This section also provides useful charts to help you with your audience analysis.

Tailoring Employment Documents for a Specific Audience - This handout provides information on how to tailor your employment documents to a specific audience to help you land an interview.

Prewriting - This section explains the prewriting (invention) stage of the composing process. It includes processes, strategies, and questions to help you begin to write. While invention may seem to apply only to academic contexts, these strategies may also help professionals tackle workplace writing challenges and begin the research process necessary for white papers, reports, and proposals.

Employment Documents: The Cover Letter, Job Acceptance Letter, and Personal Statement

Job Skills Checklist - This handout provides a large skills inventory list that you can use to help build your cover letter and resume.

Action Verbs to Describe Skills, Jobs, and Accomplishments in Employment Documents - This section offers a categorized list of action verbs that can be utilized to explain the daily tasks completed by an individual on the job. In addition to the categorized lists, there are examples with some of the actions verbs being used; and there is also a sample resume provided for further assistance.

Cover Letters 1: Quick Tips - This page provides a guide to writing cover letters. Here you will find brief answers and lists of what you should include in a cover letter, how to order and format such a letter, and what to do before sending it out.

Cover Letters 2: Preparing to Write a Cover Letter - Before you start to write a cover letter, you should gather information about yourself, the company, and the job. This page will help you learn what kind of information to find, where to find it, and how and why to use that information to "sell yourself" in a cover letter.

Cover Letters 3: Writing Your Cover Letter - This resource offers a series of short documents that walks you through the creation of a cover letter. Here you can see the information in the "Quick Tips for Cover Letters" and "Preparing to Write a Cover Letter" pages put to use. This page guides you through adapting your experiences to the content in your cover letter and its different sections.

Letters Concerning Employment - This section covers writing additional correspondence beyond cover letters including reference requests, interview follow-up letters, inquiry letters, acceptance and rejection letters, request for further negotiations letters and thank you letters.

Academic Cover Letters - When you're applying for a faculty position with a college or university, the cover letter is your first chance to make a strong impression as a promising researcher and teacher. Below you'll find some strategies for presenting your qualifications effectively in an academic context.

Writing a Job Acceptance Letter - This slide presentation is an interactive presentation to help students and professionals understand how to prepare a job acceptance letter. This presentation is ideal for students and professionals who are involved in the job search process.

Writing the Personal Statement - This handout provides information about writing personal statements for academic and other positions.

Example Employment Documents - These annotated employment documents provide examples of resumes, CVs, and cover letters for a variety of disciplines.

Working Class Job Search Documents - These resources, developed with WorkOne Express at the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy (LARA), explain how to compose cover letters and resumes, as well as follow up and thank you letters, for working class jobs.

Employment Documents: The Resume and Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Resume Design - This handout offers advice making informed design choices in creating a resume. We also have a sample resume that uses these design principles available in the media section above.

Resumes 1: Introduction to Resumes - Before beginning to write your resume, it is a good idea to understand what you are writing, why you are writing it, and what is expected as you write it. This basic introduction will aid both new resume writers and those who may have forgotten certain details about resume writing.

Resumes 2: Resume Sections - When writing a resume, you need to understand the specific needs of each section. This resource, with information about contact information, education, and work experience sections, will help explain what each section requires.

Resumes 3: When to Use Two Pages or More - You have probably heard the saying, "Keep your resume to a page." Although this is true for most cases, many employers are accepting longer resumes...in certain instances. Use this resource to gain more understanding about what constitutes the page length of a resume.

Resumes 4: Scannable Resumes - This handout provides a traditional resume sample and a scannable resume sample for a comparison as well as general guidelines on writing scannable resumes.

Management Resumes - This handout describes how to tailor your resume when applying for management positions.

Writing the Curriculum Vitae - This handout provides an overview of strategies for writing an effective curriculum vitae. This topic is particularly important for graduate students who are entering the academic job market for the first time.

Reference Sheets - This section details how to develop and format a reference sheet.

More Professional Writing Resources

Email Etiquette - Although instant and text/SMS messaging is beginning to supplant email for some groups' primary means of Internet communication, effective and appropriate email etiquette is still important. This resource will help you to become an effective writer and reader/manager of email.

Writing the Basic Business Letter - This handout covers the parts of the basic business letter.

Business Letters: Accentuating the Positive - This handout provides information on accentuating positive news in writing business letters.

Model Letters for Various Purposes - This handout provides several model letters for various job-search purposes including: a reference request model, a request for further negotiations model, and a reply to a rejection model.

Sales Letters: Four Point Action Closing - This handout covers four points on how to write a good conclusion for a sales letter.

Writing Report Abstracts - This handout discusses how to write good abstracts for reports. It covers informational and descriptive abstracts and gives pointers for success.

Memo Writing - This handout will help you solve your memo-writing problems by discussing what a memo is, describing the parts of memos, and providing examples and explanations that will make your memos more effective.

Writing a White Paper - A white paper is a certain type of report that is distinctive in terms of purpose, audience, and organization. This resource will explain these issues and provide some other tips to enhance white paper content.

Writing a Research Paper - This section provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.

Handbook on Report Formats - This resource is an updated version of Muriel Harris’ handbook “Report Formats: a self instruction module on writing skills for engineers,” written in 1981.

Medical Writing - This resource contains information on medical journalism. The material explains the objectives of medical journalism and its applications in the media. Moreover, this resource demonstrates ways writers can accurately translate complex, scientific literature into layperson's terms.

Writing Press Releases - Effective publicity often requires the use of a press release (sometimes called, news release , or media release ). Essentially, a press release is a document that has been crafted for publication in newspapers, magazines and other print media, or for broadcast on television, radio, or Internet video. Learning to write press releases is as much about writing well as it is about knowing your audience expectations for content and format.

INDOT Workshop Resources for Engineers - This area contains resources for the Purdue Writing Lab-Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Workshops. These detailed materials will help engineers from all disciplines, workplace writers, and students compose clear, dynamic, and effective technical communication. Elements of writing covered in these resources include grammar and mechanics, visual and document design, and overall organization.

Writing Definitions - This resource provides suggestions and examples for writing definitions.

Writing for a North American Business Audience - This handout provides examples and information (written for non-North Americans) on how to write for a business audience. It includes information on getting to the point, keeping it simple, active and passive voice, nondiscriminatory language, and verb overgeneralizing.

Writing for a Chinese Business Audience - This handout provides examples and information on writing in English for both domestic and international audiences doing business in China. It includes information on letters and memos, as well as important stylistic considerations.

Writing for an Indian Business Audience - This handout provides examples and information on writing for both domestic and international audiences doing business in India. It includes information on letters and memos, as well as important stylistic considerations. The handout concludes with comments on some important characteristics of English writing in India, and on the status of English in business writing compared with native Indian languages, such as Hindi and Bengali.

Tips and Terms for the International Student's Job Search - If you are an international student looking for a job in the United States, it is important to understand what specific job search terms mean in the United States as opposed to in your home country in order to be able to meet a prospective employer’s expectations. Listed below are some key terms that you will frequently hear while conducting a job search as well as important tips for creating a resume in the United States.

Style, Language, Research, and Revision

Paragraphs and Paragraphing - The purpose of this resource is to provide some basic instruction and advice regarding the creation of understandable and coherent paragraphs.

HATS: A Design Procedure for Routine Business Documents - The HATS presentation introduces students and instructors to the basic elements of document design. The presentation outlines how to use headings, (information) access, typography (fonts), and space in routine professional documents to promote user-centered communication.

Tone in Business Writing - This handout provides overviews and examples of how to use tone in business writing. This includes considering the audience and purpose for writing.

Transitions and Transitional Devices - This resource discusses transition strategies and specific transitional devices to help fs' and professionals' essays or reports and sentences flow more effectively.

Adding Emphasis in Writing - This handout provides information on visual and textual devices for adding emphasis to student and professional writing including textual formatting, punctuation, sentence structure, and the arrangement of words.

Conciseness - This resource explains the concept of concise writing and provides examples of how to ensure clear prose.

Paramedic Method: A Lesson in Writing Concisely - This handout provides steps and exercises to eliminate wordiness at the sentence level.

Sentence Variety - This resource presents methods for adding sentence variety and complexity to writing that may sound repetitive or boring. Sections are divided into general tips for varying structure, a discussion of sentence types, and specific parts of speech which can aid in sentence variety.

Using Appropriate Language - This section covers some of the major issues with appropriate language use: levels of language formality, deceitful language and Euphemisms, slang and idiomatic expressions; using group-specific jargon; and biased/stereotypical language.

Parallel Structure in Professional Writing - Provides information and examples on parallel structure in business documents.

Research: Overview - This section provides answers to the following research-related questions: Where do I begin? Where should I look for information? What types of sources are available?

Searching the World Wide Web - This section covers finding sources for your writing in the World Wide Web. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, web directories, and the invisible web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section.

Conducting Primary Research - This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analysis.

Evaluating Sources of Information - This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. Internet sources, and evaluating internet sources.

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing - This resource will help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.

Avoiding Plagiarism - This resource offers advice on how to avoid plagiarism in your work—there are few intellectual offenses more serious than plagiarism in academic and professional contexts.

Prioritizing Your Concerns for Effective Business Writing - When you are revising your resume or other business messages, there are priorities of concerns in choosing what to look for and work on. This handout provides tips for reviewing the content and quality of your business documents.

Punctuation - This resource will help clarify when and how to use various marks of punctuation. When speaking, we can pause or change the tone of our voices to indicate emphasis. When writing, we must use punctuation to indicate these places of emphasis.

Revision in Business Writing - Provides information on revising business documents for audience and purpose with emphasis on language, tone, organization, and correctness.

Proofreading Your Writing - This section provides information on proofreading, finding and fixing common errors.

Commas - This resource offers a number of pages about comma use.

Writing and Research Help by Email - Still have questions about your writing? Haven't found what you need? Send us an email! Our staff will provide individualized writing help online.

IMAGES

Quiz & Worksheet
6 traits of writing Diagram
Writing Basics #1 Diagram
Professional Business Writing Flashcards Quizlet
Topic 3- Basics of Business Writing Flashcards Quizlet
48+ Writing a professional resume topic test quizlet For Your Application

VIDEO

This is the most basic professional ethics #shortsviral
3 hours study with me #7
Endocrine Quiz 1
Introduction To Basic & Professional Photography
Basic professional course Class# work class#workshop #reels
Fundamentals of Professional Writing Skills

COMMENTS

Basic Professional Writing Flashcards
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like grammar, style guide/style manual, A capital letter and more.
Basic Professional Writing Flashcards
Professional Writing EO-1 -EO-5 Learn with flashcards, games, and more — for free.
Professional writing Flashcards
formality with big words and long sentences and a strict allegiance to third person voice. Professional Writing. strives for easy readability and scanning by using single spaced sentences with double spaces only between non-indented paragraphs and employs headings, embedded vertical lists, visuals, and strategic use of bold, italics, and ...
11.2: Writing Style
This page titled 11.2: Writing Style is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Anonymous via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request. An appropriate business writing style can be formal or informal ...
PRDV002: Professional Writing
Professional Development. PRDV002: Professional Writing. Learn new skills or earn credit towards a degree at your own pace with no deadlines, using free courses from Saylor Academy. Join the 1,839,519 students that started their journey with us. We're committed to removing barriers to education and helping you build essential skills to advance ...
PROW 1000: Fundamentals of Professional Writing
Course in Professional Writing. Course Description: Using an immersive, scenario-based teaching style, this course is an introduction to critically analyzing any writing situation and making your writing a purposeful act of communication. You engage in a series of authentic writing scenarios and a range of activities that provide hands-on ...
Technical Writing
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 ...
Technical and Professional Writing Genres
5.3 Basic Guidelines . The first step in document design involves identifying the genre and its conventions (as discussed above), which may vary widely based on context, audience, and purpose. Here are some basic guidelines to keep in mind when dealing with business writing: Add and vary graphics. For non-specialist audiences, you may want to ...
Chapter 1: Introduction
Technical writing courses introduce you to the skills, genres, and other important aspects of writing in the worlds of science, technology, and business—in other words, the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, construction managers, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other professionals do as a part of ...
Typing Lessons
Professional writers use correct spelling and capitalization in written communications. Spelling is the forming of words from letters according to accepted usage. Capitalization means to use an uppercase letter, such as the "C" used to begin this sentence. Capitalization is used in writing to help structure the reading experience.
Workplace Writers
INDOT Workshop Resources for Engineers - This area contains resources for the Purdue Writing Lab-Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Workshops. These detailed materials will help engineers from all disciplines, workplace writers, and students compose clear, dynamic, and effective technical communication.
Drafting
Step 1: Figure out your main points and create the headings for your outline. Once you have come up with some ideas for your paper, you will need to organize those ideas. The first step is to decide what your main points will be. Use those main ideas as the headings for your outline.
Professional and Technical Writing
Professional and Technical Writing Created March 24, 2024 by Suzie Baker 1.1 Effective Business Communication. Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing. ... points to common sense as one basic criterion of good writing, but common sense is a product of experience. When searching for balance ...
Professional and Technical Writing
Professional and Technical Writing Created March 24, 2024 by Suzie Baker. 9.1 Creating Rhetorically Effective Instruction Manuals ... may be written for both amateur and more experienced camera users and may need to include instructions for completing basic tasks (e.g., installing the battery and memory card) as well as more advanced tasks (e.g ...
Professional and Technical Writing
A crucial part of achieving a purpose when writing technical documents is to consider the needs and level of knowledge or expertise of your audience. Inaccurately making assumptions regarding audience creates failure in Technical Writing, not only in design, but for ethically and culturally aware content. For simple, routine messages, it is not ...
Professional Business Writing Flashcards Quizlet
Professional Business Writing Terms in this set (140) communication is rated the most valuable soft skill in business. t. included among the communication challenges for business is the need for expanded media literacy. t. the three main categories of business communication are Internal Operational, External Operational and Personal. t
PDF Professional Writing
distinguishing academic writing from professional writing. Although the products are different, the process is the same. Once writers understand the process, they can use it to produce whatever product circumstances demand.2 The process-focused writing skills in this guide will be valuable to CGSC students long after they leave Fort Leavenworth.
Professional and Technical Writing
This textbook for professional and technical communication is a compilation of several Open Resource materials. The purpose in its design is to provide a wide variety of materials on subjects in professional and technical communication, and to offer several different perspectives and delivery modes of those materials. This textbook for ...
Professional Writing Quiz 1 Flashcards
The downturn in the economy was the cause of the company's problems. Modal verbs indicate modality - that is, likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation. Study Flashcards On Professional Writing Quiz 1 at Cram.com. Quickly memorize the terms, phrases and much more. Cram.com makes it easy to get the grade you want!