Chapter 1 — Overview of Technical Writing

Chapter 1 of Houp/Pearsall/Tebeaux's Reporting Technical Information, 9th ed. (New York: Allyn & Bacon, 1997) provides an overview of technical writing. Accompanying the textbook, this chapter of the online instructor manual provides the following:

Chapter Objectives

• Understand technical writing as a problem-solving process.

• Identify the key elements of technical writing.

• Identify the common characteristics of technical writing style.

• List the attributes of good technical writers.

• List the qualities of good technical writing.

• Understand the different ways that professionals function as technical writers, both as full-time as well as part-time technical writers.

The point of this initial chapter of Reporting Technical Information is to ensure that students understand what technical writing is and to dispel any misapprehensions they may have about it or the course. The chapter also establishes goals for the rest of the textbook. (See the section on issues for teaching technical writing in the Introduction to this instructor's manual for further discussion of these global or first-day concerns.)

On the first full class meeting of your technical writing course, consider doing some combination of the following:

• Define technical writing (for other resources on technical writing, see the list of related articles and books).

• Show how technical writing is important to professionals in a wide range of fields.

• Show students some samples of technical writing.

• Explore the meaning of the term "technical" to indicate the broad application of technical writing.

• Find out who your students are, what their majors are, what special skills or knowledge they have. (See the informal review of the types of students whom you may encounter in your technical writing class.)

• Discuss technical communication as a profession, as a career.

• Present your course plan, objectives, schedule, and policies. Show how these integrate with the field of technical communication and with your students' own majors and careers.

• Discuss the benefits of taking a technical writing course.

Here are some ideas for things to do in class to help students learn about technical writing and get ready for the semester:

1. Give the initial quiz. Try giving the quiz at the beginning of your overview of technical writing. It's a nice springboard into discussion of key aspects of technical writing. When students have completed the quiz and have turned it in, you can go through the answers with them as a group.

2. Discuss writing done by professionals. Get your class to describe the kinds of writing they know that people in their professions do. This can be a risky enterprise if your students are naive about what professionals do and how much writing is involved in their regular work. (It can also be risky if they enter your course resistant to the notion that professionals in their line of work do any writing at all.) If you plan to conduct a discussion like this, you might ask students to be thinking about this issue until a subsequent class meeting and even suggest that they make a few phone calls.

3. Pass around samples of technical writing. It's a good idea to hand around a sampling of technical writing in the first week. This will give students a solid idea as to what they are aiming for. Technical writing courses are typically writing-intensive courses: it's also a good idea to hand around complete portfolios of the typical writing assignments that students do in this course.

4. Identify characteristics of technical writing in those samples. Show the point summary of the characteristics of technical writing, and have students identify those characteristics in the samples of technical writing that you hand out. Encourage them to think of additional characteristics not listed in the book.

5. Explore the range of "technical" knowledge your students already have. Some of your students will assume that they know nothing, and in particular nothing technical. It's a good idea to explore the definition of "technical," in the sense of specialized knowledge within any field, not just electronics or computers.

6. Have students present or rewrite examples of technical writing. Another possibility for classroom activities at the beginning of the semester is to have students bring in their own examples of technical writing and present them to the rest of the class. They can identify the characteristics of technical writing in their samples and explain the meaning of those samples. A good in-class writing exercise is to have students rewrite their samples of technical writing in language that nonspecialists can understand.

The Substance of Technical Writing (pages 2-3)

• Technical writing is closely related to the work and products of organizations—both universities and companies.
• What kinds of information products do such companies produce?
  Who uses them?
• Inside the organization? Outside it?

The Nature of Technical Writing (pages 3-5)

• What does the careful, practical, and orderly approach of good technical writing offer its readers? What kind of motivation does it assume?
• Will all readers use the same piece of information the same way?
• What does the nature of effective writing do to meet needs of different kinds of readers?

The Attributes of Good Technical Writers (pages 5- 6)

• What do the qualities of effective technical writers show about careful planning in solving problems?
• How does such planning save time and produce the best results? For the writer? For the reader? For the writer's organization?

The Qualities of Good Technical Writing (pages 6-7)

• In what way do the qualities of good technical writing seem like the qualities of good writing submitted in an academic course? How do they differ?
• How do these qualities reflect good work habits and mastery of subject matter?

A Day in the Life of Two Technical Writers (pages 7-10)

• In what ways could the communication work of Marie Enderson and Ted Freeman apply to college educated professionals in any profession or career?
• What kinds of communication could any career require? Of what kind? And how much?
• To what extent could excellence in communication (written and oral) affect success in a career?

Here are some ideas for journal writing in your technical communication courses:

The Substance of Technical Writing (pages 2-3)

• What kinds of writing have you done for groups, clubs, jobs, or volunteer organizations that is like the work of technical writers?
• Was is successful? Rewarding? How did you know?

The Nature of Technical Writing (pages 3-5)

• Technical writing is always focused on audience and the needs of readers. What does this have to do with being a good teacher? A thoughtful friend?
• In what ways does the simplicity, order, and clarity of technical writing differ from your individual performance in college writing?
• In what ways does college writing display the ideas and show the ability and expertise writer rather than serve the reader?

The Attributes of Good Technical Writers (pages 5-6)

• Technical writers are efficient problem solvers, planning the goals and strategies they will use before they solve a communication problem. Does this mean that they are not creative?
• How is creativity involved in practical problem solving?
• What problems have you solved —in any area — that involved creativity?

The Qualities of Good Technical Writing (pages 6-7)

• What are some examples of good and bad technical writing that you have tried to use?
• How did they make you feel?

A Day in the Life of Two Technical Writers (pages 7-10)

• As you think about your plans for your own career, in what ways do you think that good writing and speaking ability can help you succeed?
• How can communication help you better meet your own career goals?

Here are some ideas for writing projects related to chapter 1, including ideas for collaborative projects:

1. Survey the technical writing done by professionals. Have your students interview professionals in their field concerning the kinds and amount of writing those professionals do. Coach your students on how to avoid pious responses such as "Oh yes, writing is very important in my line of work." Get your students to ask about objective, quantifiable matters such as what types of documents, how many pages, how many hours of preparation, how often, to whom, and what consequences result from good or bad documents. Have students write this information up as a memo, or have them present it orally in class.

   To turn this into a collaborative project, suggest that student teams organize themselves into these roles:

   • Agenda Planner. Develops survey questions to be used in the interviews.
     
   • Interview Coach. Prepares interviews.
     
   • Interviewers. Conduct interviews, write up summaries of each.
     
   • Editor. Compiles summaries into a memo report for the group.

2. Analyze a sample of technical writing. Have your students select a sample of technical writing that they can understand but that most nonspecialists would not. Have them write a memo in which they discuss the characteristics they find in that sample and then explain the meaning of the sample in nonspecialist terms (or have your students present this information orally to the rest of the class.)

   To turn this into a collaborative project, suggest that student teams organize themselves into these roles:

   • Reviewers. Review the sample, write responses to it.
     
   • Facilitator. Organizes a group discussion of the responses.
     
   • Scribe. Takes notes of the discussion.
     
   • Editor. Compiles the responses and the discussion notes into a memo report for the group.

The following point summaries focus on key points in this chapter of Houp/Pearsall/Tebeaux's Reporting Technical Information: