TECHNICAL WRITING -- EH 3315
Welcome to EH 3315, Technical Writing.
This course offers instruction and experience in writing:
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descriptions of mechanisms & processes
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memos & formal correspondence
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formal & informal reports
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resumes & job application letters
- analysis of technical documents
Notes on how to succeed:
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This is not an analytic class where you can succeed by recognizing theoretical principles in someone else's writing. Document design (how a document looks on a page) is important. Like it or not, readers make a first judgment of your resume, letter of job application, proposal, or other similar document based on how they look. Attention to detail is a watchword for this course. Tech writing differs from composition or analytic essay writing (that you may have done in composition or literature classes) in several ways. Tech writing:
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Your work should rely on explicit, formal organization by headlines or a decimal outline instead of narrative development.
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Your work should not be author-centered writing that expresses your feelings & ideas. It is reader-centered producing job-related information used by readers to solve problems.
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Your work should integrate visual material.
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Your work, at times, will be a team process involving SMEs (subject matter experts), graphic artists, editors, usability testers, & others. Documents are not single-author controlled. The document belongs to the company, not you. That is why it is called professional writing -- because you get paid to do it.
As we work together to achieve our goals, please feel free to initiate discussion, ask questions or add insight.
--Cindy
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