Spring Into Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists: For Engineers and Scientists

Description

The fastest way for professionals to master technical writing! You’re a technical professional, perhaps a programmer, engineer, or scientist. You are not a professional writer, but writing is part of your job (specs, manuals, proposals, lab reports, technical presentations, Web content, data sheets, and so on). Welcome. This book is for you. It’s all you need to clearly communicate technical ideas to any audience―technical or nontechnical―and motivate them to act. Barry J. Rosenberg organizes every facet of effective technical writing into more than 175 short, concise, fast-paced tutorials. You’ll find loads of examples (what to do and what not to do) plus start-to-finish instructions for writing exactly the kinds of documents you need to create. Need specific solutions? This book’s bite-size, visual, high-efficiency format delivers them instantly. Dig in, get started, and get results! Make all your documents and presentations clearer, more concise, and more compelling Understand your audience, and target your content appropriately Learn how to write for an international audience Use active voice to communicate with confidence and authority Produce effective lists, tables, and graphics Create useful examples Write effective manuals and release notes Implement solid technical Web sites Develop winning research, business, and book proposals Create and present compelling PowerPoint presentations Write e-mails that don’t ignite flame wars Learn how to integrate documentation development into best engineering practices Downloadable examples are available on the Web. Cover Contents Preface SECTION 1 Planning to Write CHAPTER 1 The Quest Technical Writing Theorems Technical Writing Can Be Creative Tell ’Em The Value of Technical Communication to You Comparing Technical Writing to Engineering and Science CHAPTER 2 Audience General Education Level Experience and Expertise Breadth of Audience Native Language Native Culture Audience Motivation Medium and the Message Becoming the Audience Summary of Audience CHAPTER 3 Documentation Plans Document Specifications (Doc Specs) Doc Specs: Sample Documentation Project Plans Documentation Project Plan: Sample Summary of Documentation Specifications SECTION 2 Writing: General Principles CHAPTER 4 Words Jargon Consistency Verbs Adjectives and Adverbs Pronouns: He, She, and They Pronouns: You Pronouns: It and They Fluffy Phrases Commonly Confused Words Summary of Words CHAPTER 5 Sentences Active Voice and Passive Voice Active Voice Is Better When Is Passive Voice Okay? Short = Sweet Causes of Long Sentences One Sentence = One Thought Parenthetical Clauses Summary of Sentences CHAPTER 6 Paragraphs and Sections Sentence Transitions Paragraph Length Paragraph Transitions Sections Summary of Paragraphs and Sections CHAPTER 7 Lists Bulleted Lists Elements in Bulleted Lists The Length of Each Element Numbered Lists Directions Introductions to Lists Parallel Lists Summary of Lists CHAPTER 8 Tables Column Headers Units of Measure Arrangement of Columns and Rows Parallelism in Tables Amount of Text in Cells Rules Shading Captions Summary of Tables CHAPTER 9 Graphics Time Series Extra Detail in Online Graphics Before and After Callouts versus Embedded Text Graphics That Orient Readers Screenshots Color Blindness Block Diagrams Text That Supplements Figures Technical Photography Line Art Enhances Technical Photographs Big Picture First, Then Details Layout: Controlling Focus Layout: Keeping Eyes on the Page Layout: White Space Summary of Graphics CHAPTER 10 Professional Secrets Explanations of Formula-Based Rules Examples Examples by Metaphor Examples for Programming Documentation Question-and-Answer Format Question-and-Answer Format Example In Other Words Tone Pace Footnotes and Other Digressions Beyond the Obvious Precision Descriptions The Hardest Part of Writing Summary of Professional Secrets SECTION 3 Writing: Specific Kinds of Documents CHAPTER 11 Manuals Manual Style: Cookbooks Cookbook Example: Installing the Carambola Server Manual Style: Tutorials Tutorial Example: Getting Started with HTML Manual Style: Guides Guide Example: Creating HTML Headers Manual Style: Reference Manuals Reference Example: The pr1me Utility Manual Style: Nonverbal Manuals Online Help: Overview Online Help: Best Practices Online Help Examples Release Notes Release Notes Example: Carambola Web Server Version 3.7 Prefaces Preface Example Glossaries Glossary Example: Tropical Weather Terms Tables of Contents Indexes Indexes: Providing Concise Entries Indexes: Permuting Terms Indexes: Providing Entries for Concepts Summary of Manuals CHAPTER 12 Web Sites Plans Home Page: Specify Purpose and Audience Home Pages: Engage the Reader’s Imagination Home Pages: Set the Tone Page Templates Navigators and Search Boxes Hyperlinks in Body Text Secondary Pages Text in Web Sites PDF versus HTML Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Summary of Web Sites CHAPTER 13 Proposals The Proposal before the Proposal Adherence to the Proposal Template Proposal Element: Cover Letters Proposal Element: Biographies Proposal Element: Abstracts Proposal Element: Contingency Plans Proposals for Revolutionary Ideas Research Proposals Research Proposals: Significance Statements Research Proposals: Objectives and Hypotheses Research Proposals: Design and Methods Book Proposals Book Proposal: Example Marketing Section Business Plans Summary of Proposals CHAPTER 14 Internal Planning Documents Business Proposals Business Proposal: Example High-Level Technical Specs High-Level Technical Spec Example Low-Level Technical Specs Low-Level Technical Spec Example Summary of Internal Planning Documents CHAPTER 15 Lab Reports Abstract Introduction Materials Experimental Procedure Results Discussion Conclusion References Summary of Lab Reports CHAPTER 16 PowerPoint Presentations Organizing a Presentation: The Big Picture The Number of Slides The Opening Moments of a Presentation Introductory Slides: The Traditional Approach Introductory Slides: An Alternate Approach Body Slides: Pace and Variety Mechanics: Fonts and Backgrounds Body Slides: Effective Lists Audience: The Theory of Relativity Graphics The Complexity of a Graphic Question-and-Answer Sessions Different Kinds of Learners PowerPoint Speech: The Basics PowerPoint Speech: Lessons from the Pros PowerPoint Speech: Overcoming Fear Summary of PowerPoint Presentations CHAPTER 17 E-Mail The Essence of the E-Mail Problem Before Hitting the Send Button... After the First Miscommunication... Summary of E-Mail SECTION 4 Editing and Producing Documents CHAPTER 18 Editing and the Documentation Process Editing: What Is It Really? Technical Editing a Peer’s Work Technical Editing a Superior’s Work Copyediting a Colleague’s Document Copyediting Your Own Document Media for Technical Editing Bug-Tracking Systems A Process for Editing Beta Tests for Documentation Summary of Editing and the Documentation Process CHAPTER 19 Fonts and Typography Serif and Sans-Serif Fonts Fixed-Width versus Variable-Width Fonts Serif and Sans-Serif in Hard Copy Serif and Sans-Serif in Soft Copy Font Height Italics and Boldface Consistency and Convention True-Type versus PostScript Fonts Summary of Fonts and Typography CHAPTER 20 Punctuation Commas Dashes and Hyphens Semicolons Periods Colons Quotation Marks Glossary A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T V W Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y