Summary

For one-semester freshman/sophomore-level courses in Technical Writing; and an excellent reference for any course that requires technical writing.

Using a reader-friendly approach that is incremental and cumulative, this short, uncluttered guide to technical writing shows students how to take the structures, patterns, and strategies of writing learned in a Basic Composition course (summary, process, analysis, and persuasion) and apply them in different kinds of technical documents. Direct practical explanations, copious real-world examples, and a variety of "role-playing" exercises lead students through the process of document production and assessment or what the author calls "transactional" writing: getting another person to read one's material, presenting such material clearly and accurately, and adhering to standards of format acceptable in the field. Unlike most other texts (which focus on the writing needs in the executive domain of the major corporation only ), this guide covers a variety of non-corporate working environments that also require skill in technical communications (e.g., social service agencies, institutions, and small businesses).