GENRES OF TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

E-Mails and memos

Letters

Job search documents

Technical definitions

Technical descriptions

Websites

Technical instructions

When people write for professional workplaces they write for 2 audiences

1. Internal audience

2. External audience

These audiences determine the many factors in the document

1. genre

2. style

3. level of formality

4. detail

5. format

6. design

7. length

Exclusively internal

Interoffice memos

Exclusively external

Resumes

Cover letters

Many documents can be either or both internal and external.

Technology decisions depend on the particular project and audience needs.

Ethics in technical communications is often a practical, tangible matter dealing with specific issues and circumstances.

My definition of ethics is not saying things in writing that I wouldn’t say in person or want printed in the front page of the newspaper.

Different kinds of documents and different kinds of audiences will dictate the type and depths of research needed…

Internet searches

Interviews

Field and Site Visits

Databases

Conversation with groups and individuals both inside and outside of the company

Most technical and professional documents are audience and user centered.

Make texts abundantly clear

Accessible to audiences

• Accessible means the document provides every detail about the subject

the audience needs.

• Document follows conventions of correct grammar, punctuation, usage,

and style.

Form and Content must be exact.

All writing in the workplace involves Visuals and Graphics to some degree in order to provide clear, readable, and pragmatic information to the audience. Texts that consciously use visual elements have greater meaning and clarity for readers. :o)

Learning how to use the visual dimensions of documents and considering how readers read visuals are part of Visual Rhetoric.

Document Architecture refers to the way words and visuals appear on pages and screens.

CONCISE people are busy and wish to receive as much information as possible in the smallest amount of time and space.

ACTIVITIES OF TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING

Planning

Researching

Organizing

Drafting

Designing

Integrating Visuals

Revising

Rewriting

Editing

Testing

SOLVING PROBLEMS THROUGH TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

Typically we think of a problem as unfavorable or a disagreeable situation. However, workplace problems are more accurately viewed as viewed as questions to be considered or addressed.

These problems require that writers understand the situation facing their company and have a plan or strategy for dealing with it.

Related issues

Who to write to

What type of document to create

What the document should contain

Tone the document should take

Whether to include visuals or graphics

Workplace problems require information and action to solve.

Rhetorical problems require choosing the best approach to communicate information.

PSA

Plan

Research

Draft

Review

Distribute

Create your own awesome maps

Even on the go