Review: Textbooks for Business and Technical Writing Courses

Those of us involved in teaching the survey course in business and technical writing--one which encompasses a wide range of documents--frequently wonder if we are using the best textbook for our purposes.

Goleman, Patricia. ATTW Bulletin (2005). Articles>Reviews>Textbooks

Review: The Study Technology

A book covering the barriers to study and their handling.

Bruno, Elisabetta. Elisabetta Bruno. Articles>Reviews>Education

Review: There Must be Many I's in Today's Small UX teams: Jared Spool at NYC UPA

Jared Spool led the NYC UPA membership in an energetic discussion of user experience successes and failures. Comments ranged widely but centered on three main questions.

Herring, Richard D. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Reviews>Presentations>Usability

Review: To Create a Website

"2 Create a Website" has many different facets. One of the best things this site provides is a detailed step-by-step resource that leads the user through the process of setting up, creating, and maintaining a Web site.

Krudner, Leanne. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Review: Toward a "New Deal" for Copyright for an Information Age  

A century of Congressional deference to industry-negotiated compromises has produced, Litman argues, a copyright law that is both incomprehensible and unfair. This incomprehensibility might be tolerable if copyright law governed only commercial relations among industry participants, all of whom can have copyright counsel. To the extent that copyright law applies to the conduct of ordinary persons, its incomprehensibility presents serious difficulties. Moreover, to the extent that copyright law makes illegal many ordinary activities of individuals--for example, making private copies of music for oneself or to share with a friend or forwarding articles to friends via the Internet--it has become unfair as well. In Digital Copyright, she outlines a framework for a copyright law that would be a new and better deal for the public and would be short, comprehensible, and normative in character.

Samuelson, Pamela. University of California Berkeley (2002). Articles>Reviews>Copyright

Review: Translating the World: Science and Language  

Technical communication is often compared with translation. In both cases, practitioners modify messages created by one culture so the meaning of such messages can be understood by the members of another culture. For translators, the cultures involve different languages, while technical communicators focus on bridging the differences between professional cultures (for example, engineers versus more general audiences).

St. Amant, Kirk R. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Localization

Review: Typographic Design: Form and Communication  

This book is a great resource for designers who want a better understanding of typography. Writers can also benefit from this book, especially from the chapter on legibility, but may be overwhelmed by the level of detail. Although I am not a graphic artist, I feel inspired to consider the use of typography more carefully in the projects I design, and having read this book, I have a better understanding of the design process that creates the typefaces I use.

Hall, Rebecca C. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Typography

Review: Unspun: Key Concepts for Understanding the World Wide Web  

This book, like many others published these days, is about the World Wide Web. However its approach to the Web is unlike much of what I've read. Unspun: Key concepts for understanding the World Wide Web is not a how-to book; it does not offer instruction on using the Web to communicate. Instead, editor Thomas Swiss asks in his introduction, 'What are we talking about when we talk about the Web?'

Davis, Linda M. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Review: Usability Testing and Research  

If you want a usability reference that includes research, theory, tools, and practical applications within one cover, Usability Testing and Research is the book for you.

Williams, Jocelyn Crump. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Usability>Testing

Review: User Experience in Brazil - USIHC 2007

Brazil was the site of the seventh International Conference of Ergonomics and Usability, Interface Design, and Human Computer Interaction. Held in the seaside city of Balneario Camboriu in the southern Brazil state of Santa Caterina, the conference was hosted by the Universidade do Valle do Itajai (UNIVALI). I was fortunate to be invited to participate in the conference.

Sherman, Paul J. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Reviews>User Experience

Review: User-Centered Organizations: Are We Making Progress, Yet?

In Designing Customer-Centered Organizations, John Zapolski and Jared Braiterman suggest a strategy for applying user-centered design principles to business strategy.

STC Hoosier (2003). Articles>Reviews>User Centered Design

Review: Visualización de Redes Sociales

Las redes sociales son las responsables de muchas de las estructuras de poder e influencia en nuestro mundo. No siempre es fácil reconocer su estructura y comportamiento. La visualización y el análisis de redes sociales pueden contribuir notablemente a conocerlas.

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Reviews>Software>Technical Illustration

Review: Web Design for Dummies  

I enjoyed Lopuck's book. She uses graphics well and includes plenty of illustrations to support her points. The icons that point out tips and warnings are also effective. This book is a nice reference to keep handy during the design and evaluation of Web sites and Web pages.

Lunemann, Rhonda S. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Review: Web Design Tools and Techniques  

Peter Kentie's new book bridges a gap between books for beginning Web designers and advanced works for practitioners interested primarily in the usability of Web pages.

Jennings, Ann S. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Review: Web-Based Instructional Learning  

You may not find all the answers to your evolving questions, but the authors throughout the book do a good job of analyzing relevant research questions, defining the current state of Web-based education, and suggesting areas for continuing research. The book comes as close as you'll find to 'everything you always wanted to know about Web-based instruction,' with its in-depth coverage of today's Web education issues and research.

Porter, Lynnette R. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Education>Online

Review: Website Indexing: Enhancing Access to Information Within Websites  

Browne and Jermey say that 'increasingly sophisticated retrieval methods' will be needed as the Web gets more complex. They believe that good, back-of-the-book-style indexes 'are effective tools for improving the speed and accuracy of user searches.' With their book as a guide, you are in a position to determine that for yourself and for your Web site.

Hudak-David, Ginny. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Indexing>Web Design

Review: What's the Matter with the Internet?  

You should not read this book if you're looking for the final answer to what's the matter with the Internet. Poster points us toward the issues that he thinks will affect the Internet's ultimate shape—politics, authorship, ethnicity, citizenship, identity—but he leaves us with more questions than answers. By questioning and observing, and by applying key technological theories, he suggests a way of approaching a critique of the Internet.

Kitalong, Karla Saari. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Technology>Theory

Review: White Graphics: The Power of White in Graphic Design  

Every graphic designer or editor who has been forced to explain to a client why there is nothing—text or image—on a part of a page should have Gail Deibler Finke's newest book. It demonstrates clearly and convincingly 'the power of white in graphic design.'

Hudak-David, Ginny. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Graphic Design

Review: Write Your Way to Riches: How to Make Money as a Technical Writer

Write Your Way to Riches gives you comprehensive, step-by-step details on how to make money as a technical writer. Technical writing is one of the highest paid writing professions, and it's easy to get into.

Gregg, Joseph. Writers Weekly (2001). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Technical Writing

Review: The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals  

Have you ever wondered how to submit a piece of your work for publication, or have you done so, only to be rejected? According to Moira Allen, there are important procedures to follow when writing a perfect pitch for a potential publication. As the author of two books and over 200 articles and columns in well-known periodicals, Allen has also served as the editor for online publications such as Inkspot and Inklings. With this level of experience alone, Allen is more than qualified to offer good advice on writing queries, yet in addition, she includes 16 other contributors who provide tips from their specific areas of expertise for writing successful queries, pitches, and proposals.

Sharpe, Victoria. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Proposals

Review: Writer's Market FAQs: Fast Answers about Getting Published and the Business of Writing  

Rubie uses a question-and-answer format for his book, which makes the book difficult to sit and read cover to cover but works well when one uses it for reference.

Kadilak, Denise. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Publishing>Writing

Review: Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators on and off the Job  

Organized into three parts ('Initiation stories,' 'The process,' and 'Life on and off the job'), the stories cover the gamut of job titles, employers, and years of experience. The book also lists contributors' stories by topic, making it easy to locate subjects such as 'authoring, ethos and identity,' 'collaboration and teamwork,' or 'ethics.' There's a little something for everyone in this readable book, even if you've been in the field for years—and especially if you're ready for something just a little bit different.

Anderson, Darrill. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>TC