"Stepping Lively": Reformatting the Gap Between Student Writing and Professional Writing    

Teachers of technical writing are urged to use computers not only for influencing the process of writing but also for designing and formatting the product of writing. Engineering students at a Midwestern university now submit final drafts of senior projects in commercial-style formats, thus increasing their range of skills in the act of preparing final written products and adopting some conventions of communicating in the workplace. Reformatting student writing to mimic commercial-quality writing not only increases the scope and responsibility of writing instruction, but also better prepares students to adapt to communication situations in the workplace.

Kumpf, Eric P. and Joseph T. Emanuel. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Education>Writing>Business Communication

Steve Slaunwhite, Author and Copywriting Pro

In this interview, Steve shares his insight and tips on successful copywriting and freelancing.

Hartsock, Nettie. WhitePaperSource (2006). Articles>Writing>Business Communication

Teaching Science Writing  

Teaching students how to write about science for the general public involves helping them research subjects, publications, and audiences. They should learn about research, organization of articles, audience analysis, and writing strategies, and use human interest, background information and examples, proper terminology and pace, and techniques to motivate readers to read the article.

Samson, Donald C., Jr. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Education>Writing>Scientific Communication

Technical Writers as Marketing Communicators  

Although there are important differences between technical and marketing writing, technical writers have some prerequisites that support a transition to marketing writing: in-depth product knowledge, research experience, and strong oral and written communication skills. To develop data sheets, brochures, and other materials technical writers must first understand the goals of marketing communications. By focusing on audience needs and product benefits, by using writing techniques that engage the reader, and by providing appropriate supporting visuals, technical writers can develop persuasive marketing messages.

Bednarz, Martha C. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Marketing>Business Communication

Technical Writing vs. Science Communication: What is the Difference, and Why Should We Care?  

Many technical writer/editors at Los Alamos National Laboratory feel that we (and our colleagues at other institutions) do a good job of helping scientists communicate with each other, but we do not do so well in communicating with the general public. We have done a literature search and interviewed target audience members to learn how to better communicate science. Our research falls into the four following areas: the need for this special knowledge, characterization of audiences, communications strategies, and evaluation of the resulting communication products.

Garnett, Anne E., Amy Marie Longshore, Ann Mauzy and Amy Reeves. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication>Writing>Technical Writing

Testing the Role of Technical Information in Public Risk Perception  

Through experiments with simulated news stories about hazardous materials release, this study finds that providing technical detail about health effects may be less useful than keeping citizens current on the agency's strategies for dealing with problems and other behaviors by officials.

Johnson, Branden B., Peter M. Sandman and Paul Miller. Franklin Pierce Law Center (1992). Articles>Risk Communication>Technical Writing

They'll Thank You for Sharing: Make Those Reports, Memos and White Papers Clear and Readable

Words, words, words. It seems as if we're being asked to write something every minute for every need and occasion. Your boss wants a report; your colleagues need a memo explaining a procedure; your clients send e-mails that need to be considered and answered; your company's products or services should be described in a descriptive white paper, and on and on. How can you deal with all that? Are there any general writing rules that apply to business writing of all sorts?

Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Rhetoric>Technical Writing

Training Scientists to be Journalists

Successful applicants show us they can invest their hearts as well as their minds into their writing. They tell us stories that live in our minds long after we read their words.

Wilkes, John. EMBO Reports (2002). Articles>Scientific Communication>Writing

Using the Enthymeme as a Heuristic in Professional Writing Courses  

In the following pages, I will offer a methodology for letter and memoranda writing which exchanges an emphasis on forms for one on rhetorical analysis. Ultimately, training in rhetorical analysis helps students exercise and refine the analytical and analogical thinking needed for any discipline; that is, a professional writing course can serve, as Carolyn Miller says, to 'present mechanical rules and skills against a broad understanding of why and how to adjust or violate the rules, of the social implications of the roles a writer casts for himself or herself, and for the reader, and of the ethical repercussions of one’s words—effects which emphasize the fundamental nature of the humanities' (617). But before addressing how a professional writing course advances a liberal education, or even why to adopt a new methodology, it would be instructive to look at the causes for a letter such as the one which opens this article. Certainly, cost is a consideration, it being cheaper to mail form letters than have secretaries research and write personalized letters; for a mail order business, though, especially one whose clientele pay substantial prices, this strategy may be penny-wise and pound-foolish. However, the two causes I want to discuss pertain more to the concerns of a writing class: the writer’s reliance on forms, and the lack of analysis of context and audience.

Jacobi, Martin. JAC (1987). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing>Business Communication

Using Web Tools to Communicate about Risks to the Public  

Communicating health, safety, and environmental risks to the public and to the scientific, political, and business communities is a persuasive task as well as an informative one. The job is made easier if the assertions about risk can be backed up with empirical data. But risks are often characterized through the analysis of data sets containing thousands if not millions of measurements. Further, the collection of these data is often conducted by many research teams, and the results often appear in disparate portions of the scientific literature or regulatory reports. On top of all this, environmental, safety, and health data compilations are frequently massive. As a result, finding needed data can be difficult, and understanding it can be bewildering. Web tools are available that synthesize these data and present the information they contain in an organized, understand-able fashion. In doing so, they help risk communicators to focus their writing on a specific topic and to base their assertions on hard facts.

O'Hara, Frederick M., Jr. and Frederick W. Stoss. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Risk Communication>Web Design>Writing

A Virtual Conversation on Bernadette Longo's Spurious Coin: A History of Science, Management, and Technical Writing    

A collection of responses to Bernadette Longo's Spurious Coin.

Gaskill, David, Mary Been, Margaret N. Hundleby and Pete Praetorius. Journal of Computer Documentation (2001). Articles>Management>Scientific Communication>Technical Writing

Wanted: Articulate Scientists  

This article outlines the benefits you can realize by articulating your science clearly and succinctly; next time, we'll look at how and why several academic and government institutions as well as some publications are encouraging this trend.

Whiteman, Lily. Science (2000). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication>Minimalism

What Is a White Paper and How Is It Used?

White papers have grown from just another piece of collateral to a super-powered marketing tool. Everywhere you look in marketing, you will see something labeled a "white paper."

Stelzner, Michael A. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>White Papers

What Makes a Story a Story?

When I review internal publications, company or product endorsements, case studies demonstrating customer successes and other print and online communications that purport to convey stories, I find they're often missing crucial story characteristics. They tend to be descriptive of situations instead of relaying actual stories about what occurred. So, what is a story, what is its basic structure and what considerations go into crafting it?

Silverman, Lori L. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Writing

Where to Find Content for your E-Newsletters, and How to Use It

I am amazed by the number of places you can find content for your newsletter. Some of it takes the form of free articles. Some of it you pay for, and can request any kind of content you like. One way or another, whatever your industry and the focus of your e-newsletter, there are plenty of places to get good content for every issue you send.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>Newsletters

WhitePaperSource

WhitePaperSource is a rich information source for white paper enthusiasts. It contains news about the industry and a forum for discussing everything and anything about writing and marketing white papers.

WhitePaperSource. Articles>Writing>Technical Illustration>Business Communication

Why Should You Really Care and the Other W’s of Science Writing  

The secret to attracting readers from a public increasingly noted for its scientific illiteracy is to hook them. How? By appealing to their real-life concerns, need for stimulating visual images and interesting stories, and sense of humor. Application, not abstractions, are emphasized in effective science writing.

Krause, Carolyn H. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication

Wikis, Blogs and Other Community Tools in the Enterprise

Wikis and Web logs (blogs) make a big impact on the Web, but they can also be useful in an enterprise. A community is a group of people with common interests, goals, or responsibilities, such as a project team or an interest group. Combine wikis and blogs with existing collaborative tools to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of enterprise teams.

Farrell, Joel A. IBM (2006). Articles>Writing>Business Communication>Blogging

Writing About Science for General Audiences  

Writing about science for general audiences has its challenges. But by defining your audience (general is rarely general), balancing technical reviews (what the audience wants versus what the scientist thinks they should know), and providing graphics that explain complex concepts to a scientifically unsophisticated audience, you'll do fine.

Miller, Barbara J. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication

Writing for Technical and Business Decision-Maker Audiences  

The impact of any technical writing depends on the ability of the writer to understand and address the readers' concern, and to deliver highly usable documents that are relevant to the audience. Especially when readers make business decisions about technology, based on technical communication, writers need to develop best practices for conducting their own audience analysis and writing with audience needs in mind. This paper introduces several likely audiences a technical writer is likely to encounter and makes a few practical recommendations for communicating to them with the intended impact.

Lemoine, Chris. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>Technical Writing

Writing for the Third Millennium  

The Third Millennium will require writers to help society cope with rapid technological change. Writers frame experience and communicate it to others in way that allows them to better understand complex ideas and make them part of their own experience. More than ever, technical writers are needed to help society understand the rapid changes taking place. Technology is merging disciplines into multimedia, compressing information into a more compact space.

Agnew, Beth. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication

Writing in the Business Environment

Organisational writing is specialised. To be an effective writer in the business environment, you need to have excellent general writing skills and to understand the complex communication choices involved. Knowing how writing is structured in an organisation and what is acceptable helps you to shape your writing so that it communicates successfully.

Petelin, Roslyn and Marsha Durham. Allen and Unwin (1992). Articles>Writing>Business Communication

Writing in the Corporate Workplace: How to Keep Your Writing Healthy at Work

Make sure you know what you're talking about. This means understanding the big picture as well as sweating the small stuff. When interviewing subject matter experts, don't accept high-level answers to questions. Drill down to the details.

Harper, Judith. Between the Lines (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>Technical Writing

Writing Material Safety Data Sheets Using the American National Standard for Hazardous Industrial Chemicals-MSDS Preparation    

This article presents the history of the ANSI standard for preparation of Material Safety Data Sheets, and then provides a section-by-section guide to preparing MSDSs that comply with the standard.

Croft, Suzanne D. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Risk Communication>Standards>Technical Writing