Technical Communication Strategies for Today

by Johnson-Sheehan, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780134434032
• ISBN10: 013443403X
• Edition: 3rd
• Copyright: 2017-09-29
• Publisher: PEARSO

Summary

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book.

For courses in Technical Communication.

 

Fully centralizes the computer in the technical workplace, presenting how writers use computers throughout their communication process.  

The networked computer, from smartphone to mainframe, has become the central hub of written, spoken, and visual communication in today’s scientific and technical workplace. Firmly rooted in core rhetorical principles, Technical Communication Strategies for Today presents computers as thinking tools that powerfully influence how we develop, produce, design, and deliver technical documents and presentations. This popular text helps communicators draft and design documents, prepare material for print and web publication, and make oral presentations. Speaking to today's readers, the narrative is “chunked,” so that readable portions of text are combined with graphics and can be “raided” by readers seeking the information they need.

 

Retaining these features, the 3rd Edition of Technical Communication Strategies for Today also marks an important shift to drawing readers’ attention to the centralization of innovation and entrepreneurship in the technical workplace. Revised chapters, new case studies, and new exercises and projects demonstrate that those who know how to write clearly, speak persuasively, and design functional and attractive texts will be the most likely to succeed in today’s innovation-based and entrepreneurial workplace.

 

Technical Communication Strategies for Today , 3rd Edition is also available via Revel™, an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience. Learn more.

Author Biography

Richard Johnson-Sheehan is a Professor of Rhetoric and Professional Writing at Purdue University. Previously, he was a technical writer/editor in the electronics industry, and he worked as a grant writer in the arts. He is the owner of Phronesis, a company that does technical writing and editing and communications consulting in scientific and technical fields. He is also currently working with The Foundry, a start-up incubator for scientists and engineers at Purdue University. He has written numerous books including Technical Communication Today, Writing Proposals, Writing Today, Argument Today, and Strategies for Technical Communication Today. He has also written many articles about the rhetoric and history of science, as well as technical communication. He is a long-time member of the Society for Technical Communication and he is a Fellow of the Association of Teachers of Technical Communication. 

Table of Contents

I. Elements of Technical Communication

1. Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace

2. Profiling Your Readers

3. Working in Teams

4. Managing Ethical Challenges

 

II. Genres of Technical Communication

5. Starting Your Career

6. Types of Technical Descriptions

7. Technical Descriptions and Specifications

8. Instructions and Documentation

9. Proposals

10. Brief Reports

11. Reports

 

III. Planning and Doing Research

12. Researching in the Technical Workplace

 

IV. Drafting, Designing, and Revising

13. Designing Documents and Interfaces

14. Creating and Using Graphics

 

V. Connecting with Clients

15. Presenting and Pitching Your Ideas

 

Appendix A: Grammar and Punctuation Guide

Appendix B: Documentation Guide