MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2007-03-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Chapter 17:- Engaging in Oral Communication

2006-11-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

By Sahaj

Chapter 17 basically talks about Oral Communication. Oral presentation plays important part in professional communication. In our entire life we will be in situation where we need to give presentation in front of others. There are different types of presentation. The first one is informal presentation where you give your presentation to the people who you knew from past. The next presentation is the formal presentation where you don’t know the audience and you should prepare yourself by gathering lot of information. The next one is class presentation. In oral communication you should be well aware of the audience. All the audience has different view towards different topics, so we should manage our speech according to it.
Use of poster, note card, visuals makes it easy for the oral communication. The other important factor is how you can handle the question asked by the audience. You should be able to answer almost all the question asked by the audience. In order to be a good presenter you should be an active listener.

Chapter 19

2006-11-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

Chapter 19 of the Burnett text is on the topic Preparing Proposals. We briefly covered this chapter at the beginning of the year to help us with our first assignment of writing a Course Proposal. Chapter 19 points out the different types of proposals, helps explain how to locate RFPs (requests for proposals), types of persuasion used in proposals and how to organize and write a proposal. Proposals can be used for several different purposes such as: solving a problem, researching a topic/subject, or trying to sell a product/service. Companies or individuals will send out a Request for Proposal when one of these tasks needs to be completed. The text outlines the type of information that decision makers are looking for when evaluating proposals. The most common is they are looking for a detailed explanation of the situation that is being looked into. Following the situation they are looking for a detailed, logical plan for a solution to the situation. It is very helpful to include the benefits of your proposed plan. Along with the plan is how you expect to approach it. For example what is needed to follow through with the plan such as a budget. An evaluation is also very important; it helps decision makers to understand that exact outcome that will arise from using your proposed plan. To me one of the most important things is your qualifications. No one wants to take advice from some random person on the street so it is essential to point out what makes you so capable of having the best idea for the situation. The book goes into depth on the importance of credibility. Also if you are a credible source then it is more likely that you will also have a logical solution.

Chapter 15: Creating Technical Descriptions

2006-11-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

Technical descriptions describe physical characteristics and gives readers an idea of what the thing you are describing consists of. Technical descriptions can be: an entire document, an oral presentation, or visual. Technical descriptions are important because if something is not described in detail, misunderstandings may occur. When using a technical description, there are some things to consider. One is that whether or not a description will help accomplish your purpose of providing information to your listeners or readers? Another is that will the audience understand their purpose of gathering the information that they need to make a decision or complete an activity? Last, will a description help prevent future problems if the steps provided are not taken? Some items used in technical descriptions include: observation notes, training manuals, technical manuals, proposals and reports, marketing and promotional materials, and public information and education (technical and scientific). When writing a technical description, you need to think about your audience and how they would react to it, the components which are parts that are separated, the diction of the technical document so that the information is true, and the figurative language such as similes, metaphors, and anlogies to give your audience clear information. Visuals are also important in technical descriptions because your audience is able to get a clear picture of what the item you are describing looks like. When writing a technical description, be sure to label and title the visual and make reference(s) to them in your text. Be sure that your information is organized, and if necessary, in the correct order, to give the audience a good description of what you are trying to accomplish. What do you do to ensure that the technical description you have written makes sense to other readers? Do you share the information with a friend or a family member? If so, what kinds of feedback do you receive from them?

Chapter 21 ~ Preparing Instructions and Manuals

2006-11-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

The nice thing about doing this chapter was as I was reading I was able to think back to when we had to write our instruction sheets. There were a few times where I remember thinking to myself, “I wish I would have thought of that.” In this chapter the text talks about a few key points such as your audience, your task and certain things to be aware of when writing instructions.

Starting with the audience, know them, know how to adapt to them, there could be language barriers or cultural differences. Prepare your audience for the skill, resources, and preparation that will go into completing the task. Know about your task, know the history of it, do you have the knowledge or experience necessary to complete the task. Understand the context for your task, the situation, and environment, anything that can interfere with the completion of your task. Be able to identify the constraints of completing the task, such as safety, complications, time and cost. But again it is all aimed at dealing with your audience.

A few things to remember when writing instructions is how you write it, or more specifically the attitude you write with. According to the principles of adult learning adults want to be self-directed, they want a reason, need goals, and motivation. A few other things to keep in mind are the use of visuals and any warnings or precautions that the user should be aware of. I used to think that giving out instructions was just a giving a step-by-step process. But after reading this chapter I have learned there is so much more ground that needs to be covered.

Chapter 16 - Creating Process Explanations

2006-11-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

Process explanations provide information about the sequence of steps in any action. They are not meant to be specific directions, but give an overview of a process. Process explanations only cover a topic enough to understand it and not enough to complete a process. One thing to remember is that process explanations should still be presented in a sequential order, keeping it organized.
At work I deal with writing procedures in the form of process guides for our operators on the floor. These guides have an overview section that would follow the form of process explanations. They list in order what happens in the process, but do not get into detail about what the specific settings are or why certain steps are taken in assembling a product. They are meant to inform the operators and engineers of what is being described in great detail in the following pages. In this section of the process guides that I work with, the overview section is what I think about when I read this chapter on creating process explanations. What do you think about as you read this chapter?

Chapter 12:Visual Forms

2006-11-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

Chapter 12 talks about the relationship of visuals and text in a document. A text is anything with which we make meaning. Books, websites, videos, even smiles and gestures can be thought of as texts. A visual gives the meaning to the text with images, or with meaningful patterns and sequences. For example, a diagram uses images, while a flow chart arranges information in meaningful sequences. Usually Visual information comes in the form of maps, diagrams, tables or charts, graphs, time lines, tree diagrams, flow charts, web diagrams, Venn diagrams etc…..
They can be printed (such as an atlas) or electronic (such as a DVD). They can be fiction (such as a movie) or nonfiction (such as a street map).
Only the combinations of the images and words generate the meaning of things more clearly and effectively. In this chapter there are several examples of the use of the combination of text and visual messages. They are everywhere: on street signs, in books, on television news and packaging. Even the buildings we inhabit and the clothes we wear convey visual messages. In the direction map, the words are needed to name the places, while the images are needed to show where those places are and the distances between them. The chapter also talks about the effect of colors in the pictures. Those with the various colors are more attractive than those with out the colors. Thus overall the chapter is basically about the combination of the visual and the text in literature.

Chapter 14 - Creating Definitions

2006-10-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

Chapter fourteen covers the topic of definitions. Because words, phrases, or symbols have different meanings in different contexts, technical writing often requires definitions. The definitions differ from those of a dictionary in that they usually need to be more specific to be useful to the intended audience. Definitions aren’t only needed for the pure comprehension of the audience, but can be used to a marketer’s advantage as well. Figure 14.1 shows how definitions can be used to educate a customer about comparative benefits of a product. Chapter fourteen also addresses the different types of definitions such as operational and expanded definitions and how they may be used. I am constantly coming across technical definitions, and many times, across multiple contexts. Trying to define terms for the reader can be tricky, especially if they are common to me, but the guidelines and examples in chapter fourteen are very helpful in determining the correct way to go about it.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-10-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

Chapter 13 – Designing Electronic Communication

Chapter 13 is becoming more relevant in people’s lives today. It deals with the way electronic communication is designed and presented. This is very important because it seems that all of our information today is presented electronically.
An interesting statistic Burnett mentions that from 2000 to 2005, web access has increased by 112 million in the U.S. alone. I wonder how many of us can imagine our lives without the Internet? For one thing, we wouldn’t have this luxury of online classes. But with electronic communication such as the Web, there are new design elements that come in to play. And with the expansion of the Web we have seen more and more intricacies involved with designing web pages and setting them apart from others. Personally, if I get to a website that doesn’t allow me to probe further with links and other resources, I would consider it inadequate and go elsewhere. Basically, in some way shape or form we all use electronic communication. Think real hard and try to name someone who doesn’t have a cell phone, computer or the Internet on their computer. It’s hard and that’s why it’s so important that we understand the Importance of how this electronic info is conveyed.

2006-10-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Chapter 11: Designing Information

2006-10-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

Chapter eleven talks about designing information; it talks about chunking and labeling information. This is how many people today find the information they are looking for. People go to websites to do reports and gather information for presentations they are working on. They don’t want to have to read a bunch of information that isn’t related to their topic, they only are going to want to read what relates. Chunking and labeling can help with people do this.

In my job I need to set up our company’s brochures for the costumers. I need to make the brochure easy to understand, so I group like topics together and make a heading that helps the costumers find things easier and quicker. I also don’t want to clump too much on one page making it look cluttered.

The book also talks about white space, meaning that space between letters, sentences, lines, and headings. Basically it is a space on the paper without letters or words. You want to make the document look as appealing as possible. Making wider margins and adding headlines and pictures helps the readers feel at ease while reading and making the document making it more interesting to read. You want people to read and look at your document you need to make it look appealing.

Chapter 9: Ensuring Usability

2006-10-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Chapter nine in the Burnett text is about ensuring usability. Usability is the degree to which texts, regardless of their materiality or mode, effectively and easily enable people to accomplish their goals. Usability is outlined by five key principles: learnability, efficiency, memorability, error recovery, and satisfaction.
A good example of usability would computers. When accessing a web site, is the information you are looking for easily accessible or does it take a couple minutes and clicks to find your way around? Or when using any program, is the interface usable/"user-friendly" or are the keyboard shortcuts easy to memorize?

Chapter nine also talks about testing usability. Companies are getting in the habit of testing more and more because it has been proven that finding usable, technical, or graphical errors of any kind are cheaper to fix sooner than later.An example in the book explains when Coca-Cola first introduced its brand-name drink in

China

with a translated name that means "bite of the wax tadpole." This goes to show that whenever there's a chance to test your product, do so, and do so often because in the event you would make a mistake, you would then have to go back and fix it later which is more expensive.

Editing: chapter 8

2006-10-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of experience with editing, and even do it with the job I currently have. When I was Editor-In-Chief of RCTCs monthly publication, I was able to utilize both universal reviewing and local reviewing. I looked at the 12 page monthly paper on a global scale. I didn’t to look at each sentence or paragraph individually, but look in Quark to see what design elements were missing or changed to make the overall paper look better. When I was at the city newspaper, I had to write obituaries and make sure I went back a bit later to edit, but not too much later because most things that were entered had to be in the paper the next day. This was also the case when I wrote what babies were born that day and other social items. It was important for me to get all name spellings accurate and make sure dates were correct as the editor’s didn’t have access to that information. At the job I currently have, we have canned answers in the customer e-mails that we have to answer for the most part, but each answer has to be specific in the question that they give us. We must customize the e-mails to meet the customer’s needs. So, in my life, wherever there is writing, some kind of editing follows. It was important for Burnett to include a chapter on editing as there are so many elements that go into it and it all depends on the kind of document you have to edit. Generally the more formal a document is, the more a person must take a look at every critical detail, especially if it is going to be published for thousands of people to read.

Chapter 7- Planning and Drafting

2006-10-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Chapter 7 in the Burnett text was about the Planning and Drafting of documents. The steps of the planning process do not happen consecutively but can happen more than once or more than one step at a time. While planning it is often helpful to talk to yourself presenting your options and ideas to see how they sound. The Burnett text offers eight problem solving processes and they are identify context, gather information, formulate other possible solutions, draw on prior knowledge, assess alternatives, start on the appropriate solution, monitor individual performance, and evaluate performance. Another way to plan is to use schemas or constructive planning. Planning is often more productive if it's collaborative. Remember collaboration with others can bring up ideas that might not have been thought of while working alone.
Drafting is the process of writing the actual text and preparing visuals. Drafting does not occur just once but occurs as new ideas are presented, new information becomes available, and as the nature of the project changes. Throughout the drafting process there are several important factors that must be looked at and they are selecting the "person" to write in, verb mood which should be appropriate for the situation, selecting an active or passive voice, using plain language, and avoiding density.

Chapter 6 ~ Locating and Using Information

2006-09-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

The funny thing about this chapter is I used what the text was talking about to help decide what I was going to write for this blog. Chapter 6 in the Burnett text talks about the beginning steps of 'knowledge management'. Which according to the Burnett are Finding/Selecting information from and source and determining what is the most useful. Next is Organizing the information, then Synthesizing it by cutting down what you have previously organized. Finally it is Using the information or sharing it with others that may need it.

The text also talks about the more commonly used sources that are available to us. Such as print or electronic resources like digital databases, or the Internet. Internal records, interviews, and letters of inquiry. Another is personal observation, so you learn to document a process first hand. Lastly there are the surveys and polls, which I have used a lot in my day. One of the most important things to look for when searching for information is credibility. Make sure your source has credibility.

Chapter 5-Collaborating in the Workplace

2006-09-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

In the Burnett text, chapter five was written about Collaborating in the Workplace. Collaborating means, to work with another person in trying to complete a task. Most people, including myself, don’t really recognize all the collaboration done during their job. Collaborating is defiantly a crucial necessity to have in the workplace. It allows everyone to be more effective and it gives more then one person to have the opportunity to express themselves with their opinion(s).
I have been working in the restaurant business for about seven years and realize how important it really is to be able to collaborate with fellow co-workers and get the job done and get it done well. Whatever the task may be whether it’s getting together and talking about how we can improve the restaurant by our attitudes, or how we can make our liquor or food percentages higher. One main type of collaboration used is actually putting all our heads together and seeing how we can make our guest service the best it can be. In the end, it not only is a great advantage for our restaurant but it also allows our guests to have a better experience when they come and visit.

Ch. 4 -- Addressing Audiences

2006-09-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Chapter 4 of the text Burnett talks about Addressing Audiences. It is very important to keep in mind the type of audience you are going to be presenting your information too. There are huge differences between presenting information to a CEO compared to a High School class. Different audiences are interested in different information. An expert in the field will be more focused on specifics and will be more able to read a very technical document. Where as, someone in the general public will most likely will be interested in the general, overall picture and the parts that concern them. Burnett also says to keep in mind that even though you will be writing a document for specific audiences you need to keep in mind that it will most likely reach other audiences as well.
I have to constantly look at the audience that I am presenting information too. I work with students younger then myself as a type of mentor. In the situations where I present information to them I change it drastically compared to how I present it to my boss in staff meetings. Burnett also talks about the context of information. How you present it in a visual way. When I post information for my students I try to make it colorful and I add pictures and special fonts. I do this because they are more like stop and notice the information more then if it was written in black and white. I also try to keep it short and too the point so they can quickly skim it and know what they need to know.

Chapter-2 Sahaj Bajracharya

2006-09-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2 is about understanding culture and the workplace. First of all Burnett has given the general concept of the culture. According to Burnett culture is a system of learned beliefs and values that influences attitudes and actions. I think culture is a system of learned beliefs and values that influences attitude and actions.

I think culture plays a great role on a person’s life. The culture of one nation differs from one nation from the culture of another but there is always influence of culture on the person. I think a person will be more successful if that person knows and respects the other culture. So in the end this chapter gives us the overall view about the culture and how we should deal with it for our communication.

Ch 3: Reading Technical Information~ Leah Carlson

2006-09-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

This chapter suggests many ways to make all of your reading easier and productive. This was actually very useful to me, I can't begin to tell all of you how many times I read a chapter in a text and can hardly recall a word I read. Since reading and writing are greatly correlated to an individuals professional success, these guidelines for reading will make reading more effective while also giving us tools to make our own writing more organized. According to Burnett, there are 6 critical strategies for increasing one's reading efficiency. Immediately after I read the chapter I found myself using these strategies in my other classwork and truly found each strategy useful.
Burnett also stresses the 4 main purposes for reading. The purpose of an individual's reading will directly effect the which strategies will be most useful. For example, a student researching journals for a research paper might be reading to assess whether a certain article will be useful to their research. For this purpose, the student would likely use the strategy of skimming to determine what is or isn't usefull. Should they determine that the article is of importance, they might then use the rest of the strategies to gather information.
When writing, it is helpful to keep in mind the purpose that your audience has for reading your document and use those tools to make it both useful and easy to follow.
These tools are invalueable in the workplace. Professionals need to read documents effectively, look at figures or diagrams to draw inferences, listen to presentations as well as present important information. These strategies will make you more aware of your reading and respectively enhance your writing ability.

Chapter One Tech Comm Fall 2006

2006-08-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1:
I think that all of my aspects of life connect with Chapter one, but my professional life connects most to technical communication. Chapter one discusses the importance of effective communication and this is something that I use every day during work. I currently intern at 3M in New Ulm and during work I have to communicate in several ways to a technical environment. Writing process standards, or basically instructions, is one thing that I do at work. These documents need to effectively communicate what the responsibilities of the operators should be when manufacturing different parts. Another activity that relates to this chapter is writing emails to various contacts. I have different quality projects and one of my tasks is to contact vendors and various clients to retrieve information or samples from them for testing. These need to be professional and use proper technical communication skills. Some things that are paid particular attention to are the quality of the information as well as the manner and relevance of the material presented.

Welcome to F2006 Engl 271-08 online blog

2006-08-31T07:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Fall semester English 271-08 blog at Minnesota State University, Mankato. This blog is one of our major assignments for the semester; it is our online conversation about the material in Burnett's textbook, Technical Communication. Your task is to connect the material in the chapter with your personal, academic, or professional experience. When you blog a chapter, write at least 100 words. Every other student in the class should then make a comment on your blog of at least 50 words. Pete Meier is going to start us off with Chapter One in Burnett. Please have your comments to Pete's blog in by next Tuesday at midnight.

Chapter 12: Using Visual Forms

2006-07-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

The most interesting point in this chapter for me is the relationship of visuals and text in a document. We see this kind of thing everywhere. I saw a road sign in Minnesota "Blind Intersection Ahead" where the color and shape of the sign combine with the text to make meaning for the drivers who are on that road. We see electronic documents like web sites, this blog, and software help documents that could not relay the intended meaning without that combination of visuals and text.

Our task as technical communicators, as Burnett points out in this chapter, is to make those combinations effective, meaningful, and also ethical.

Can you think of some examples where these combinations were or were not effective, meaningful, or ethical?

Look at the example in the photograph I took of my friends' cafe/grill in Prjnavor, Bosnia. The name of the cafe is DEMI, after one of their sons. Treat the front of the restaurant as a visual/verbal combination (images, color, text, shape.) How have they used visuals and text to inform potential customers? Do you think they have done a good job? Relate your comments to Burnett's seven functions in this example of text and visual.

Chapter 21: Preparing Instructions and Manuals

2006-07-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

In some ways instructions and manuals are my personal starting point in technical communication. I was always interested in putting things together and making them work. I enjoyed agricultural processes like making hay or raising livestock. In 4-H club I learned to keep records and follow instructions.

Instructions, particularly bilingual or multilingual instructions, interest me. I collect examples for my students to learn from. Burnett has some examples on pp. 784 and 785.

Even when I am on a trip to Itasca, the Mississippi headwaters, I like to take note of and collect instructions (even implied instructions--Don't start fires-- as in the third paragraph on this sign at Preachers Grove.)

Writing instructions has become a large part of our profession now as well, with the rise of the hardware and software industries. Many graduates in technical communication find employment writing online help for software or for web applications.

In Chapter 21 Burnett gives us an overview of this part of technical communication field. If you do get a job as a technical writer, you'll find useful information here.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-07-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text- Chapter 20

Chapter 20
This chapter was about learning how to analyze and manage critical aspects of reports, understand various types of reports, select appropriate elements of reports, and recommend revisions to reports that others write. When you begin to plan a report, you need to ask yourself a series of questions to determine the purposes, level of formality and identify audiences, decide the most appropriate and effective organization, and select the genre. The next section focused on types of reports. This included research reports, task reports, periodic activity reports, trip and conference reports, and meeting minutes. The last section was about formats of reports. The front matter in a report consists of the sections that come before the body of the document. This may include, letter of transmittal, cover, title page, and table of contents. The body of the report depends on the audience and purpose. The body of the report is separated into two parts. Part 1 states the purpose or problem and then summarized the finding and recommendations. Part 2 of the body provides details for technical professionals. The end matter of a report comes after the body. The formality of the report and the needs of the audience influence what is included. A writer of a formal report needs to be attentive to several aspects of design: headings and subheadings, pagination, figures and tables, and accessibility, comprehensibility, and usability. All of this information should help us each individually to successfully complete our final report for English 271.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-07-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

Chapter 18: Preparing Correspondence

In chapter 18 Rebecca Burnett discusses correspondence such as emails, memos, and letters. In my job the majority of the correspondence I use is through email, and so this chapter with its advice on composing emails was especially helpful. One of the greatest advantages of using email is the ability to receive and send information quickly, but in a fast-paced work environment I tend to focus on responding to emails as quickly as possible, and sometimes this can mean a poorly-written email, which can reflect badly on me. While the receiver of the email may appreciate my timeliness, they may also be annoyed by an email that has grammatical errors.

One way to cut down on errors is by putting the text through a spellcheck whenever possible. Also, as the textbook recommends make sure you’re sending or responding to the correct person(s), write a brief description in subject lines, be brief and cover one topic per message, write an email as though everyone will read it, use appropriate salutations, organize information, be specific about any action the reader should take, and watch out for exclusionary or biased language.

Chapter 19: Preparing Proposals

2006-07-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

Chapter 19 is about preparing proposals. A proposal is a report to convince an audience that a proposed plan or set of objectives responds to a problem. There are a few different parts to a proposal. They are the situation, plan, benefits, approach, evaluation and qualifications.

I recently took a class where our main focus was to write a proposal. When writing it we used all of the parts that I talked about above. The situation describes what the proposal is all about. In my case we were designing a training manual for a company, so we talked about the company and the entire proposal. The plan is an overview of what is being covered in the proposal. Benefits explain the difference the rewards, meaning is the proposal worth taking up. The approach is the meat of the proposal. This is where we described the actual training sessions. Evaluations mean how you find out if the program was successful. This can be done by surveys, cost/benefit evaluations and more. Finally qualifications are the credentials of the people who designed and are proposing the proposal. Basically explaining education and past experience.

Chapter 17 blogging Burnett text

2006-06-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Chapter 17 discusses “engaging in oral communication.” I have always had a very difficult time presenting in font of audiences, one of the first things this chapter talks about is presenting to audiences and some steps you can take to prepare yourself. Different types of audiences take different preparation. For an informal audience like your co-workers you may not have to do a whole lot of preparation, but for a formal presentation in front of 1,000 executives from other companies may take months to prepare for. Each situation must be handled carefully. I have given many presentations throughout my school career and the one thing that always hurt me was my preparation. I never had enough information ready and had to wing it most of the time. I think this was probably made it hard for me to present all these years. I wish I would have taken advantage of class presentations and used them to my advantage instead of not preparing and being nervous all the time. In this chapter Burnett gives a few examples of things you can do in order to have a successful presentation. Create an audience centered atmosphere, encourage active involvement, make what you say easy to listen to, and vary the pacing and structure of your presentation, I think these are some good general rules to go by when planning a presentation.

Visuals are a great thing to include in an oral presentation, Burnett states that visuals can increase retention from 10 to 50 percent. That is a huge difference. I know that visuals also help people pay attention. When I have a professor that just sits there and talks with no visuals I usually end up with my head on the desk. If they have power points and stuff like that I am more interested in what they are communicating. If you follow the general rules I listed earlier and include some visuals You will be sucessful.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

Chapter Nine- Ensuring usability

In chapter nine, the focus is on the designing and testing of techinical communication. The most used aspect for me out of the chapter was the expert based testing. Since I am going into the engineering field, I have been involved with many different ascepts of the expert based testing. Most of the time, it has been informal expert testing within a class that I have taken. For instance, last semester I had taken Electronics Shop Practices. There were only two requirements for the class
: to produce a working power supply and to produce a clear, well, written paper describing the function and design of the power supply. We worked as a group and revised each other's papers and add in suggestions as needed as we continued to write the papers. Thus, we were using informal testing to improve the clarity of the papers that we were writing. Adding in suggestions as you write the paper is another important part of usability. Since any revision of the paper increases the usability of the paper that is been written.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

Chapter 11 talks about designing documents. Design is a difficult aspect. I have built websites before, and design is very important for creating and selling those. There are many aspects to design, such as text, spacing, graphics, colors, and what is knows as dynamic elements.

Text is important in the aspect of friendliness. There is a saying “less is often more,” meaning that people would be more likely to read something that has less text. Other aspects of text include how the text is displayed to the reader. This is much easier to read
Than this ever will be
Also making all or part statement bold will stand it out over the rest of the document.

Spacing is another important aspect talked about in the chapter. Whitespace can make text easier to read that tightly-packed text, and whitespace can be included all of the document, such as spacing between lines, spacing of the margins, and even the justification of the text can create a professional image and make the document easier to look at.

Finally, I want to mention that the chapter talks about graphics. Charts with too much information can be messy and difficult to look at. Also the placement of graphics can make an impact on the visualizations. Graphics can be in-line with text, or they can be separated out and put into margins out of the text to keep everything organized (the latter example is primarily used for figures in books).

My experience in building websites has improved in layouts and designs since I began. The very first page I made has a lot of power to it from what I have programmed, but because I did not know anything about graphics and layouts, the page is blocky and ugly. Click here to see it. The next website I made I used a design template, and added the power behind the website. It still isn’t great, but it was a first attempt at a nice look for a website. Click here to see it. Finally, the third website I designed was arranged and created, and the graphics were purchased from a professional graphics design artist, and the site came together and looks nice. I have gotten a lot of complements on it’s design. Click here to see it. I am also currently designing a program for an insurance company and websites for two local home construction companies. Layout can turn these documents from ugly looking sites (packed with too much such as Yahoo!) into clean sites (such as Google).

Chapter 16 of Blogging Burnett

2006-06-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

In Chapter 16 Burnett discusses creating process explanations and what steps are needed to do so. Burnett discusses that sequential actions are used in chronological order and also how process explanations can be used as parts of larger documentations. Burnett outlines how to prepare process explanations with these steps:

-Identify your audience and its reasons for needing the information
-List the steps of the action
-Choose visuals to illustrate the sequence: flowcharts, timelines, schedules, drawings showing each element in a process, time-lapse photographs, drawings with overlays of changes, drawings showing the final product, and lastly sequential drawings.
-Choose active of passive voice based on audience and purpose
-Understand and use the appropriate organization and format

By using these steps when preparing process explanations, you work will be successful. Process explanations are used frequently in task manuals such as, instruction manuals from Ikea or Walmart. In these manuals process explanations provide an overview before the step by step instructions, which can help a user understand a whole process and make it easier to complete the project. Lastly, Burnett provides many useful examples and visuals of how process explanations are used.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Chapter 15 in Burnett discuses the process of preparing and creating technical descriptions in a document by explaining multiple strategies in order successfully inform, educate and persuade a reader through a technical description (such as an object, illustration, diagram, etc.).

First and foremost, Burnett identifies the first step in successfully describing material to the intended audience is to define the object – what is the object? What is its purpose? What are the characteristics of the object both as a whole and by itself and how does this object relate to the document? How each of these questions is answered depends on the depth and detail required by the description.

Burnett goes on further to explain that when illustrating a technical description of an object the author must identify when (or if), where and how to incorporate the object successfully into a document. A few questions Burnett poses are: 1) are you trying to inform, educate or pursuade the reader with your purpose in mind? 2) are you attempting to help the reader accomplish their purpose? or 3) are you attempting to prevent a problem? Whatever be your answer, there are many different applications that often involve using technical descriptions, such as training materials, technical manuals, reports and proposals, marketing pieces and public information and education documents.

Burnett also discusses the process of preparing at technical description. When authoring a technical document there are a few things to identify. Identifying the intended audience’s task and the multiple components of a technical description (such as in a cutaway view) are imperative. Based on the intended audience, using proper, audience-appropriate yet accurate terms are crucial when preparing a technical description. A third way to ensure accessibility, usability and comprehensibly for the audience is to use figurative language when describing the object, such as metaphors and similes. The use of visuals is also effective in informing the audience, especially when dealing with extremely complex or vague concepts, such as the describing geometric shapes (see pg. 565 in Burnett). Lastly, it is important to properly organize the descriptive object by deciding how to sequence the information, such as in chronological or spatial order. For me, the figure on page 569 (figure 15.15) was helpfully outlined the process of organizing and laying-out information when properly crafting a technical description of an object.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

Chapter 14 in the Burnette text, discusses the need for definitions, examines the construction of various types of definitions, and presents specific places to use definitions in various documents. First discussed, was multiple meanings, complexity of meaning, technical jargon, and symbols. Two other terms were formal and informal definitions. Many people often believe that formal definitions is the only way to define a term because that is what dictionaries use. Informal definitions tend to be the type we insert in communication without realizing that we’re defining a term. The six types of informal definitions that are useful for technical communication are: synonym, antonym, negative, stipulation, analogy, and illustration. Operational definition means different things to different technical professions. For example, for experimental researchers, operational definitions specify the activities that researchers use to measure a variable. For engineers, operational definitions specify the functions of an object.
Knowing when to present definitions in documents is very important. I’ve had many classes where we had to write papers, or present an oral presentation. Knowing when it is appropriate to include the definition to your audience is useful, so you don’t present unnecessary technical terminology. Also important, is realizing that one word may have multiple meanings. An example of this in the chapter, was the word focus. In biology: focus is the localized area of disease or the major locations of a general disease, and in earth science: focus is the location of an earthquakes origin.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Chapter 9: Ensuring Usability
Chapter 9 discusses the importance of ensuring usability in technical communication. There are 5 critical principles that can be used to assess the usability of technical documents—learnability, efficiency, memorability, error recovery, and satisfaction. These five principles are important because they keep the user in mind during the design and development process. In most of the websites I access frequently I’ve noticed these five principles were kept in mind during the design process and that’s a big part of the reason they are on my “favorites” list.

Making sure technical communication is accessible is an important aspect of ensuring usability. The ethics sidebar of this chapter was especially relevant to the collaborative assignment for this week. The sidebar mentions some of the issues with using online translators, and while the results can be humorous like Coca-Cola being translated as “bite the wax tadpole” in China, it can also be frustrating. Burnett recommends not relying on computer-generated translations, and after working on the collaborative translation assignment I absolutely agree. If incorrect translations or nonexistent translations occur the document will be unusable, so it’s important for documents to be accessible to as many people as possible.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text CHAPTER 13
Chapter 13 talks about electronic communication in the workplace and our lives. With the fast-pace growth and development of technology it seems that we can't live without our cell phones, Blackberry's, E-mail and Internet. Electronic communication has several advantages: it is much faster than paper trail communication and allows fast responses and more dynamic interaction. It fuses the continent: today, a company with branch offices in Tokyo, Berlin and New York can hand shake information and projects independent of distance and time zone changes. Efficiency, effectiveness and collaboration seem to soar with the help of proper implementation of tools for electronic communication.
With the size of a company comes the pressure of the competition to be represented on the Internet. A medium size company that wants to stay in touch with its customers as well as to attract new business, should seriously consider Webpage presence on the Internet.
Disadvantages to electronical communication are complexity and the ever changing technology. With the generation gap, most "older generation" employers and business owners are being left behind if they seem to struggle with the new technologies. The reliability of the tools being used is often also somewhat shaky: Internet connectivity is obviously a requirement to being able to connect to the Net. Finally, the confidentiality and security of electronic communication is often more vulnerable than using the old paper method. The ease of communication distribution can backfire and unwanted information share is more likely to happen.
When a company considers Internet presence, the Webpage designer(s) should consider target audience and ensure user-friendliness. Since a Webpage is openly published in most cases, a wide audience should be kept in mind when drafting the layout and the contents of the Webpage.

Blogging the WC 2006 from home

2006-06-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Following the World Cup games live is not too difficult even from the CST time zone (7 hours earlier than Germany.) Here at home, we watch the 3 p.m. games (in Germany) at 8 a.m. in Iowa and Minnesota. To check the time differences you can convert times here.

There are sites like the official WC site that have live match commentary. I assume that you can find live television coverage if you have cable too.

One question we might ask as technical communicators is how is the experience of the event influenced by the medium that we use to watch or listen to the matches? For example, being in the stadium, we can hear, see, and watch the action on the field and in the stands. From the web site we can read the commentary, look at video clips and the still photographs. Through television we can witness the event also, but in a different way. How is the observer's experience influenced by the medium (radio, television, in-person) that the observer uses? What is your experience?

Rebecca Burnett's Introduction

2006-06-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Thank you for inviting me to join your blog. I think participating will be interesting—and helpful—since I’ve started work on the next edition of the technical communication textbook. Why didn’t I joining the blog at the beginning? I’ve been out of the country for a month and wasn’t able to conveniently check my email every day, but now I’m back home in Ames, Iowa. While I’m late joining your blog, I’m reading all your posts and comments as a way to learn what you’ve been doing.

I’ll catch up by adding a comment to each posting, sometimes commenting on your ideas, sometimes making connections with what I saw in Denmark and Norway this May and June, sometimes connecting to previous experiences, sometime speculating about things I should consider changing in the textbook.

I’ll conclude this initial comment by responding to a couple of Lee’s questions, posted on May 19.
Where are you from? I grew up in a rural area of western Massachusetts, earned my undergraduate degree and one master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts and another Master’s degree and PhD at Carnegie Mellon University. I came to Iowa State University (ISU) in 1991. I live in Ames, about one mile from ISU.

Have you blogged before? This will be my first blogging experience!

Blogging the WC 2006 from Bosnia

2006-06-15T02:54:00.001-07:00

From Bosnia, I am still really at the WC due to the fact that wherever a person is in Europe, the three games will be on televisions at 3, 6, and 9 p.m. Yesterday, for example, I caught a couple of minutes of Spain v. Ukraine at 3 in a sidewalk cafe. Then we watched the second half of Saudi Arabia v. Tunisia for the second game and then at 9 p.m. we watched all of Germany v. Poland. For a while in the second half, Germany couldnt buy a goal, but they finally put one in the back of the net in the 89th minute.

In some ways the sport of soccer is something that unites the world. That is everyone in the world knows the laws of the game, likes to watch it, and acknowledges its importance in the world. Everyone appreciates a beautiful play, a nice goal, a nice but unsuccessful shot on goal, or a nice save by a keeper. It is in some ways a common sport language that is understood world wide.

On the other hand, soccer at the World Cup is an occasion for nationalism. That is because people tend to support their own country when their team is playing. The Brazil v. Croatia game two days ago was a big deal here. Bosnia borders on Croatia and there are Croatian people living in Bosnia. The languages are similar. Brazil, however, is regarded as the home of 'joga bonito', the beautiful game. That is, the Brazilians are master soccer players and Brazil is the home of Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and other soccer magicians.

At the USA v. Czech Republic game, there were many Czech flags and US flags. There were lots of chants and waves. The chants are for teams, the waves are general enthusiasm as far as I could tell.

The referee crews are generally of the same language. That is Chilean and Paraguayan officials worked the USA v. Czech Repulic game, so they could easily communicate in Spanish, their common language. I noticed that the crew last night on the Saudi Arabia v. Tunisia game had one Arabic speaking member but the others were not. I suppose they had one Arab on board in case of some kind of communication need.

So soccer unites and divides. The matches at the WC are attended by folks from all the two team countries of course, but also a lot of German people come out to witness the fun even if their team is not playing.

It is also true that even if our own team does not win, we appreciate the finer moments of the game. For example, as I watched Germany's first game against Costa Rica on June 9th at my cousins home in northern Germany, the first goal by Lahm and the third goal from a direct free kick by Frings, would be appreciated by anyone, whatever their national loyalties.

One aspect of international communication, a subject that Burnett deals with in her text, is common knowledge or common expertise. This commonality of knowledge about certain content areas obviously aids communication across cultures and languages. If two people who don't speak the same language or dont share religion, but both play or understand soccer, then they do, in some ways, share a common language. This point is an important one in international communication. They can exchange opinions about certain players or team with a few words and quickly understand each other.

One of my hosts here speaks no English and I speak no Bosnian, or Serbo Croatian, but we enjoyed the game last night together. He kept saying that Germany was weak and Poland would win 1 to 0. I told him it would be 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 for Germany. The final result was 1 to 0 for Germany. I reminded him of that this morning and we had a good laugh.

What are your thoughts about international technical communication? Can you think of examples similar to the soccer example?

That's all for now from Prjnavor, Bosnia Herzegovina.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

In chapter 8, you learn about how important revising and editing is in creating and writing documents. These two steps are vital in creating documents, presentations, and visual projects to make them accessible, useable and comprehensible. While revising and editing, the proofreader must stay consistent and pay attention to detail.
There are two types of revision discussed in the Burnett text. They are global revision and local revision. Global revision deals with the document as a whole. Local revision focuses on single paragraphs and sentences. When I revise, I try to focus on one thing at a time, such as the tone and how it is organized. It helps to stay in one train of thought.
The accuracy of the document is determined by the editing. Editing also affects the appropriateness and appeal the document has on the audience. Proofreading is another step of editing. I always proofread because spell check does not always correct the appropriateness of the text. Burnett also warns you that you should not rely on the software tools to correct all of your errors in the document. It also does not edit wordiness. Having other people proofread my documents helps find wordiness and other errors that I do not recognize after staring at the paper for a long time.
When I am at work in the summer, I have to write many work orders per day. Even though they are about one paragraph long, I have to edit and revise them before I print them out and hand them to the customer. Without this important process, the work orders I create would look unprofessional and would then reflect negatively on our business.

Blogging WC 2006--visual communication

2006-06-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Argentina v. Ivory Coast match we couldn't miss the importance of color in communication. From the color-coded schedules to the blue and white of Argentina and the orange and green of the Ivory Coast supporters, color was critical to communication. For example, our seats were in the yellow section of the stadium, so using that information we figured out which entrance to use at the Hamburg Volkspark Stadium. Even the fourth official, who is responsible for the substitutes, had a color-coded sign. The number in red was the player coming off the field and the number in green was the player going in to the game. What I have noticed is that color helps communicate information quickly. Instead of trying to interpret written language, color can quickly give us information. An example that we all know is traffic lights: amber for caution, red for stop, and green for go.

What have you noticed about color uses in technical communication?

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Chapter 10: Organizing Information

Chapter 10 deals with organizing information. The process of transforming information is messy and unpredictable. When you change the context you change the meaning. One should always allow time during planning to organize information in more than one way. There are a few different ways to organize your information: Outlines, storyboards and tables and spreadsheets. I personally have used all of them. I use outlines all the time when I prepare for speeches and presentations. This way you do not have to memorize the entire speech, but it gives you an idea of what to talk about and when to talk about it. Storyboards I have used only a few time. I have used them in website form, with a homepage, linking to other pages. Websites are becoming very popular for businesses to advertise and even post jobs. Finally there are tables and spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are great for math and large amounts of numbers to store information. Companies that I have worked for use them to assist with their accounting purposes and scheduling. It makes it very easy to neatly organize information in to excel.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-06-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

After days of trying to log and Blogger being down for maintenance I’ve finally been able to change my password. Sorry this wasn’t posted until Thursday.

Chapter 6 is about finding and utilizing information. The accessibility of information in our lifetimes has grown astronomically. The accessibility of information used to be limited to the library or an encyclopedia. Now since the invention of the "internet" (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, 2001) people have unlimited accessibility to anything they can imagine. However, "With great power, comes great responsibility" (Spider-Man, 2002) and when we utilize this great supply of knowledge we must learn how to properly source our information, learn how to avoid plagiarism and learn how to tell what sources are creditable.

Almost every library or post secondary school has some way of looking up resources, whether they are on hand as physical copies or in an electronic database. Figure 6.1 in the text shows an example of such a database. Users can look up information based on many search criteria and sometimes even print off the information. 6 times a semester I must utilize a database similar to the one shown in figure 6.1. On the FIT library website (http://qk3bw7nm6m.search.serialssolutions.com/ ) I am able to search through many different types of catalogs full of primary sources. I most commonly use the ProQuest Biology Journals to find primary references on everything from Global Warming to the Reproductive Cycle of Moon Jelly Fish. I know that these sources are legitimate because they are primary resources. The text states that “primary source information is first-hand information reported by people directly involved with an action or event, not interpreted by a second or third party” (Burnett, 2005). It is important to understand the differences between primary and secondary sources because the validity of the information is much different. When I need to find supporting evidence for my own experiments I do not want to be sourcing peoples summaries or opinions of other peoples work. Sourcing documents is essential because if it is not done it can be considered plagiarism. Figure 6.10 in the text gives some examples of ways to avoid plagiarism. . For an example of a primary source you can go to my website ( http://my.fit.edu/~kerickso/Jackson_on_oceans.pdf ) and view Jackson’s paper on the shifting of Ecological Baselines. While you are there take a look at the references pages.

I hope that this has been informational and that you all take chapter 6 serious when you locate and use information.

Ch. 7 - Planning and Drafting

2006-06-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text
Emma Baumann

Chapter 7 of Burnett’s text is about the planning and drafting part of writing. The chapter discusses problem-solving strategies, types of planning, rhetorical elements, as well as important factors in drafting. The four main problem-solving strategies explained in the chapter are brainstorming , 5 Ws plus H (deciding the who, what where, etc. of the problem), cause-and-effect, and synectics (bringing diverse people and ideas together to develop new perspectives and solutions to a problem). I found synectics to be very interesting, because I had never heard of the term before but have actually used the strategy without knowing it. In synectics, each individual member uses their own strategies and techniques to come up with ideas for a possible solution. Then, the group combines these ideas and perspectives to come up with an ideal solution to the problem. I have had many experiences with group projects and presentations in my college courses, and have found that, although it can sometimes be a lot of work to plan the project in a group, bringing so many different thoughts and ideas together with synectics can really bring about an effective final document. I also realized in reading this chapter, that the group presentations we’re assigned as college students are really practice for our future careers – synectics is a common method of problem-solving in the workplace and is important for us to learn since there are always problems to be examined in workplaces. Burnett also talks about the types of expert planning – schema, knowledge-driven, and constructive planning. I have found that combining all three types of planning is one of the most common things I have used for the documents I’ve written. By combining my previous knowledge of the subject and document format, along with an analysis of the purpose, audience, and task, I am able to plan effectively and establish ways of completing the document to fulfill its purpose. I have also had a lot of practice with drafting, and have learned that making the document logical, complete, and appropriate in tone is very important for communication. I have read documents in the past where things such as hasty generalizations or incomplete data spoil it –these things can mislead the audience and cause them to lose concentration on the main focus of the document. Sometimes finding examples of these mistakes (in your day-to-day reading or the examples the author shows in chapter 7) really enables you to see how they can create an ineffective document, which helps in you avoid them in your future writing.

Blogging WC 2006 from Germany

2006-06-06T10:36:00.001-07:00

You may have already noticed (pp. 668-671) that our Burnett text explains the correspondence that I carried out in order to attend the 2002 World Cup with my sons in Daegu, Korea. This summer the 2006 World Cup is being held in Germany and I have followed a similar procedure. My objective is to blog the World Cup from June 7 to June 19, making as many connections to our technical communication subject matter as possible.

Your assignment is to make comments as often as you can to my posts. I won't ask you to respond to every blog entry I make, since you are also blogging the Burnett textbook weekly, but I would like to you read all of them and respond when you have something to say. If you see that there are only a few comments to one of my blogs, jump in and make a comment of your own. Consider such questions as these:
(1) How does the communication (some of it technical) surrounding a Super Bowl game, the NCAA final four games, or some other important sporting event in the USA compare to the coverage of the 2006 World Cup in the United States?,
(2) What do you notice about the US media coverage of the 2006 World Cup that indicates that the World Cup is an international event, rather than a solely US event (like the other sporting events I mentioned above?, and
(3) How could communication about the World Cup (announcements, TV ads, sports company advertisements, newspaper and magazine communication, web-based information) be made more effective (from the perspective of a technical communicator), in your opinion?

Some examples of technical communication associated with the World Cup:
1. match schedules
2. results tables
3. team rosters
4. stadium statistics
5. instructions for getting to stadiums
6. match reports
7. results of previous World Cup championships
8. stadium signage
9. visual elements of match tickets and other match documents
10. email information about tickets
11. commentator reports on earlier matches in the 2006 World Cup

Some helpful information can be found here:

the official WC site

a German WC site in English: Deutschland 2006

ESPN WC site

Chp 5: Collaborating in the Workplace

2006-06-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sarah Hollister
Eng 271 Blogging our Burnett Text

Chapter 5 is all about collaboration. Collaboration is vital, weather by means of subject, process, product, or benefits, all are equally important in the process. Being able to understand a variety of these viewpoints can often open your mind to new things and overall expand your effectiveness as a team member. Collaboration has its downsides that you must be aware of before engaging in it; it can often take more time to collaborate with others when working on a project then just doing it yourself, it can cause control issues when deciding leaders, cause discomfort in those who don’t enjoy groups, conflict between members, and criticism from peers which can often be more harsh then when it is coming from a teacher. There are 3 different types of collaboration that Burnett mentions in her text; Coauthoring, Consulting with Colleagues, and Contributing to team projects. She mentions different ways to approach conflict situations and ways to resolve conflict issues and states some ways to improve your team building skills. Many classes often require you to work in some sort of group throughout the class duration so much of this information can prove useful when being a team member. Some of the more important characteristics of being a successful team player are that you have the skills to be both engaged and cooperative, be a good listener, intuitive, sharing, open, and most importantly be self-aware.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-05-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

Chapter 2

Continuing from Chapter 1, Chapter 2 talks about the workplace and cultural diversity. In my current line of work, which is computer repair, I am often required to go to client’s homes and have them describe their problem to me in detail. For the most part everyone I go to has English as their main language, but Owatonna has a large community of Somali people. Language barriers exist, and are widely noticeable because, as described in the text, people view things that are not of their culture as abnormal. Other non-language related differences include other household members watching TV or listening to music incredibly loud and the relative closeness that the client stands to me as he or she peers over my shoulder.

Globalization is also talked about in the chapter. Companies want to not only increase sales, but their services and systems across the world. An example given in the book was Canada’s new smoking warnings, which provided text as well as visual warnings to convey their message, and the World Health Organization and United Nations are interested in using this approach in many, if not all, countries.

Also, there was talk about discourse community which is where people of the same culture use different meanings for words or phrases. Some examples given included America’s phrase ‘wake-up call’ compared to Great Brittan’s phrase ‘knock you up,’ a large truck being known as a lorry, and the British phrase ‘abnormal’ meaning ‘wide load’ in the US.

Working with some British men a while back gave me a new-found look on the English language, and I found that although we have the same words, quite often we have different meanings; so understanding the differences in the cultures you are working with is important because you’re not only representing yourself or your company, but representing your entire culture, and no one wants to fumble that proverbial ball.

Chapter 4 Review and Application

2006-05-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Vanda Heuring and I am employed by an engineering company as a Project Manager. Chapter 4 was a very interesting read but also very educational for me. Nearly half of my time at work I spend in meetings gathering data, compiling it and creating reports that help key people make decisions with impact.

Often, I have to write reports and memos that are intended for several different audiences: a monthly resource allocation report may be vieved by the department lead to decide whom to switch to another project; the CEO may want to look at the numbers and wonder why four of the engineers spend 27% with post production issues. Before I prepare any report or send out an interoffice memo, I have to ask myself first: "Who will read this?" My second question then is: "What impact do I want to make?" And the last question is: "How do I get the results I want?"

The Burnett text goes more into detail on what to consider when analyzing your audience. At all times, you should consider the context of your report or presentation, the purpose and motivation of your report, any prior knowledge that the audience could have on that topic, the reading level of the recipients and the hierarchy setup of a company. I found it intriguing to discover that limited literacy is not only defined as a person not being able to read, but also when a person is not able to understand the context of a document or the formatting and its funcionalities.

Now I will be more conscious about the possibility of an individual not being able to understand a more complicated document with sophisticated word structure.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-05-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

Chapter 3 -

I believe this chapter to apply to each and every student enrolled in this class. As a student, we are constantly reading technical information of some sorts. We read techinical information on a daily basis, studying for an exam, applying for financial aid, ordering off the internet, etc.

It is critical for us to have the skills to be able to read technical information so we can be efficient in what we are doing. Some of the skills the chapter provides us with to ensure more effective reading are; Skim, Scan and Predict, Identify Structure and Hierarchy, Determine Main Points, Draw Inferences, Generate Questions and Examples, and Monitor and Adapt reading strategies. I urge you all to try and use these methods when approaching your next study session, so you don't look like this guy while taking the exam.

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

2006-05-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

MSU techcomm 271--blogging our Burnett text

Chapter 1: Characterizing Workplace Communication

Hello everyone in ENG 271, my name is Katherine Standish and here are a few thoughts on technical communication in my workplace. In chapter 1 of the Burnett textbook she discusses the many different types of workplace communication, and one of the key elements of the chapter is the focus on the accessibility, comprehensibility, and usability of workplace documents. I work in the banking industry and my company is keen on continuously training its employees in order to keep us up-to-date about new practices and procedures. Most of the training we receive is through online courses that we access through the company’s intranet.

Some of the ways the courses are accessible is that they can be easily reached through a workplace PC and can be done anytime of the day. The text is easy to read, but can be manipulated to increase or decrease font for more comfortable reading. My parent company is located in Montreal, so the developers took language needs into account and made the courses available in English and French.

The instruction developers have also aided the comprehensibility of the courses by not assuming the user has specialized background knowledge, and so have provided links and a glossary for the user to research any unfamiliar information in the text. Also, the developers provided multiple choice quizzes at the end of the course in order to assess the user’s comprehension of the material.

The developers aided in the usability of the course by giving clear instructions for the user to follow in order to complete the lesson. The usability is also taken into account because the course can be done at the user’s own pace. Also, the developers wrote the text in simple and precise language and used graphics that are relevant to the text.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to the responses. Have a great week, Katherine.

Technical communication in my daily life

2006-05-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

One of the ways that I use technical communication in my daily life is record keeping for my sheep. Right now I am in lambing season, so I need to keep some records. I record the i.d. number of the ewe, the number, sex, and weight of the lambs, and the date that she lambed in an Excel spreadsheet.

Another way I use technical communication is with my soccer officiating. I referee soccer games and keep a record of each game on my soccer game card. That way I not only have a record of the game details but I also have a record of every game I have done in a given year.

Welcome to Engl 271-60, Summer 2006

2006-05-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

We will be blogging our text this summer as a part of our course work. I expect one student to blog a chapter each week. Here is the question that you should answer: Specifically how does this chapter (the chapter that you read for that week) in our text, Rebecca Burnett's Technical Communication, 6th edition, connect with your own experiences in courses, at work, or at home?

Here's an example of what I mean: For me, maps are fascinating examples of technical communication. Look at page 441 in the text for example. I use maps to give visitors information for finding my farm house in Iowa, I use maps to find new locations when I am driving somewhere, I study maps for fun, I use maps for teaching about the uses of color, non-textual information, and the use of the information in a map legend.

Therefore in my blog I would describe how I use maps for their technical communication value in various ways. I would describe online maps (Google, Mapquest), printed paper maps (highway maps), and hand drawn maps that I have used. I would discuss the kinds of information that is available in the maps. I would discuss the various uses for these maps. In other words, I would connect my own life with page 441 in Burnett.

I expect you to write a minimum of 100 words in the blog on the week that you take one chapter. In your reply to that blog you should write a minimum of 50 words.

So to summarize: You pick one chapter to blog. (Note: I have now assigned your chapters in the course timetable). In addition, you reply every week to the blog for that week. And one more thing, if you have a rather formal photograph, similar to the one I posted, I would like you to post your photo in the week that you are blogging a chapter in Burnett.

Let's have some good conversation with this blog.

2006-05-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Johnson and Bangu Ch. 12-13

2004-07-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

1. List the five aspects you must consider when preparing a process explanation. Give definitions of two of the aspects.

2. In what context would you rather use passive over active voice?

3. What does Editing consist of? Give an example from your own writing.

Barta and Hanrahan, Chapters 10&11

2004-06-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

1) In the Peanuts cartoon on page 331, explain why or why not this could be a good definition given by Snoopy.

2) Why is the need for definition so important in technical communication and describe two applications in which accurate definition would be needed.

3) What are the five most common applications for technical descriptions according to Burnett in Chapter 11, and cite an example of one which you have used.

Guadagnoli and Syed Chapters 8 & 9

2004-06-19T02:08:00.000-07:00

1. Analyze the use to visuals on the following websites:
www.benjerry.com
www.jnj.com

What suggestion do you have for the web site technical communicators regarding the
use of visuals?

2. List the 5 functions of visuals along with their definitions and functions. How do
you feel these functions can be implemented and benefit you in the world of
technical writing? For example, how would you incorporate them into your writing?

3. How can the design of the information communicate your vision of the document? Name
3 elements from Chapter 8 used in organizing and presenting information that if
used properly can make the information clearer for the reader.

Russell & Schwartz Chapter 6 & 7 Questions

2004-06-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

1.) Is survey design important? What are the properties of a good survey question? How should a survey be tested?

2.) List the types of “Recording Data” from chapter six and give an example of how you have used two of them.

3.) In chapter seven Burnett talked about what two signals that identify organization? How do you think these things help the reader comprehend the information?

Reverman and Kahouts Chapt. 5 Questions

2004-06-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Reverman
Wade Kahout
6/8/04
Eng 271

Questions On Chapt. 5
Collaboration in Workplace Communication

1) In the text, Burnett gives many examples of good collaboration techniques. What would you think is the most important characteristic of a good Collaborator?

2) In Tech. Com., effective communication is one of the most important elements of success. In your own words, how do you think efficient collaboration aids in communication?

3) How does our current technology aid in collaboration in the workplace today? Do you think that it is an important element to the success of the company?

Please post your answers in the comment link below .

Have a look at the results of this research about blogging

2004-06-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Read this article about blogging and register your feedback this week in our blog:

Sarah and Jared's online exercise

2004-05-30T05:04:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Jared have posted their exercise as a comment to my first entry. Thank you for being the brave pioneers!

The rest of us should read the exercise online, read Sarah and Jared's response to that exercise, and then make our own comments on the blog. Please make your comments in the comments section after Sarah and Jared's entry.

When you make your posting, please include context for the question so we can go directly to that exercise online and read it before we make our comments. Please include the question number and the URL for the question.

In the case of Sarah and Jared's posting, they are responding to the first exercise: Reading Technical Documents.

Here is the location: http://english.heinle.com/burnett/resources/exercises/pdf/read.pdf

Thanks.

Holiday weekend greetings and encouragement to novice bloggers

2004-05-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

Good evening from Iowa. I hope that you all have a safe and restful holiday. Memorial Day is a good time to contemplate the importance of our families and spend some time with them.

For those of you that have not yet posted a blog entry, please do so before we meet on Wednesday at 7 pm.

Happy Holiday!

Sara Hastings

2004-05-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

My name is Sara Hastings and I am currently beginning my 5th year of college in my 3rd major and my 3rd (and final) college. I am originally from Rochester, MN, and have attended school there & spent 3 years at Winona Sate. I have sort of blogged before, I keep a journal online in a different location, but it's a different style than this. Technical communication, to me, is basically explaining a process or giving out information and writing it in a way that your intended audience can understand it. That didn't make sense, but it's hard to explain. I'm currently majoring in dietetics (this class is required for my major), and my career goal is to eventually be a nutrition counselor - possibly with the WIC program. I have not taken an online class before, this is a new thing for me. I decided to take this online because it fit in better & allowed me to get more hours in at work this summer, and I thought it would be nice to not have to trek to campus all the time.

Syed Masood - Intro

2004-05-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

Hi, I am Syed Masood. I am CS senior at MSU. I wanted to talk this course because of the fact that it was being offered online since I am not in town as well as it is required by my major. I have blogged a couple of times on at blogger before but nothing valuable i guess. Although a computer science major, I have a great interest in automotive technology, would probably be my next major.
Technical communication to me is developing a path between the producer and the consumer so that all the adequate knowledge is transferred over without the technical jargon.

Joey's intro

2004-05-27T01:37:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Joey Hanrahan. I was born in Chicago and have spent sime time since in Minneapolis and Wichita, KS as well until moving to Mankato. I came to MSU to study in the Automotive Engineering program but soon found it was not the hands on experience I was looking for. I am currently trying to decide what else I would like to do. I would like to be involved somehow in the automotive/transportation industry for a career. I am taking this class to see if technical communication is something I might be interested in. When I think of technical writing I think of instruction manuals. I also think of the ability to explain a process step by step. This is my first time blogging and first online class as well.

Intro Blog (Lucas Russell)

2004-05-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

My name is Lucas Russell and I am from Mankato. I spent 3 years in Japan in the US Navy. I have been back in the US since May of 2000.
I have never blogged before. I have done some online chatting via instant messengers and chat rooms. Lately my only form of internet communication has been with email. I don’t care much for chat rooms or internet postings. It’s not that I think they are bad, I just usually don’t choose to deal with people unless it is face to face or unless it is someone I have already met.
I think that technical communications is a way of expressing your idea’s in a very detailed and explicate way. I used to think that it was only about actual technical topics. After reading the first few chapters in the book I figured it must be any form of professional communication, regardless of occupation.
My career goals are on the fence right now. I had made my mind up to be a software designer/programmer when I left the military. My first technical job since being discharged was at KEYC Channel 12 here in Mankato. I have come to think that I may stay in TV and just move up to a bigger TV station. My main career goals are to be in a technical field and make lots of money. Life’s not as much fun without money. I know, I’ve been on both ends of the cash cow.
I haven’t taken any kind of online courses before. I didn’t realize until my second year at MSU that that was even an option.
I took this course because it fit into my summer schedule and is required by my major, CIS. Being an online course is just a coincidence. I do like the fact that I can spend less time running to campus to attend a class.

Wade Kahout Weblog1

2004-05-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Wade Kahout
05/26/04
ENG 271
My Introduction

Hi, my name is Wade Kahout, I am a senior at MSU majoring in AET. I am originally from Olivia, MN. I have never "blogged" before and quite frankly wasn't familiar with the concept until recently. Im not totally clear on the exact definition of technical communication, however from what I gather techcomm is taking some scientific gibberish and translate it to the level of technicality of the intended audience. I have taken classes in the past that involved taking a quiz or two online or homework that was posted on the professors URL. As for career plans, I plan to graduate from MSU in spring '05 and get a R & D job at a major auto company. I took this class because i need it for my major and i enjoy the convenience of taking the class from home.

First day of class, May 24th

2004-05-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight we'll be having an optional meeting in Armstrong Hall. We'll go over the syllabus, the assignment timeline and work with Ucompass Educator.

We'll be in the Ucompass chatroom so join us there if you like.

https://ucompass.mnsu.edu/

Welcome to our summer 271-02 blog

2004-05-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon. For your first blog, please introduce yourself. I expect you to have your introduction posted by Wednesday at midnight. Wednesday, May 26th, that is.

Where are you from? Have you blogged before? Tell us what you think technical communication means. What are your career goals? Have you studied online before? Why are you taking this class online?

Ask questions and comment of other blog members if you like.

Thank you.

Lee Tesdell's introduction
I am Lee, the instructor for English 271-02, Technical Communication, at MSU, Mankato. I started using blogs in my class last fall as a way for the class to discuss class readings. Blogs are a great learning tool it seems to me. They are asynchronous (what does THAT mean?) so we can blog at any time.

I live in a farmhouse in central Iowa and teach at MSU in Mankato, Minnesota. I have two sons. My wife is deceased. I am a soccer referee, marathon runner (20 so far), and I studied at Iowa State for my Ph.D.

Based on my experience so far teaching online--it's a completely different pedagogical situation from teaching face-to-face. I miss the interaction with students but I also welcome the new kind of interaction that we engage in as we study and learn online.