#14017
Estratégia Para a Elaboração de Uma Tese
Resume-se, em duas páginas, uma estratégia para a elaboração de uma tese de mestrado ou de doutoramento. Partindo de um modelo de acção em duas fases, cada uma das quais decomponível em três sub-fases, esclarece-se o percurso mais desejável para obter resultados de forma eficaz e eficiente. Apesar da simplicidade deste roteiro conciso, que contrasta com a complexidade efectiva da elaboração de uma tese, os cuidados apresentados são quase sempre suficentes para superar as principais situações de impasse.
Dias de Figueiredo, Antonio. Universidade de Coimbra (1998). (Portuguese) Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
#13847
Ethical Intercultural Technical Communication: Looking through the Lens of Confucian Ethics 
Studies of intercultural communication focus little on the ethical principles that inspire specific communication practices. The ethics of Confucius (including the virtues of goodness, righteousness, wisdom, faithfulness, reverence, and courage), however, genuinely illuminate communication behaviors within China. Analysis of a cultural artifact of technical communication reveals the substantial insight offered by the lens of ethics. A comprehensive understanding of differences in ethical perspectives is necessary to achieve ethical intercultural technical communication.
Dragga, Sam. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Writing>Regional>China
#31656
The Ethics of Technical Publishing: Trust Yourself
A researcher needs grit and self-trust to do this kind of work in the first place. Letting someone other than a ghostwriter or a reviewer do it for you will be self-defeating. An unethical deal here will corrupt you, the project, and your employer. You must finish the job in a straightforward accountable manner.
Delm, Jay. WritersWrite.com (2007). Articles>Publishing>Technical Writing>Ethics
#23006
Evaluating Training Workshops in a Writing Across the Curriculum Program: Method and Analysis
Program directors could use data from protocols and interviews to identify 'natural sources of resistance', and 'translation and follow-up problems'.
Blakeslee, Ann M., John R. Hayes and Richard Young. LLAD (2002). Articles>Education>Writing>Assessment
#30358
When is a noun not a noun? When it's been verbed. A lot of verbing is going on, as you've probably noticed. In fact, it's happening so frequently that I think we'd better come up with a name for the part of speech produced by verbing a noun.
Allison, Nancy. Boston Broadside (1989). Articles>Writing>Diction>Grammar
#29774
Everything I Know About Technical Writing I Learned by Writing Fiction
This session is about writing, that daunting task of putting nouns and verbs together to see what they can say. If you are interested in good writing, and if putting nouns and verbs together is essential to what you do for a living, or essential to what your life is about, then you may find this session valuable. We will discuss what fiction writing and technical writing have in common, and how the fiction writer's use of plot, character, narrative voice, and style may be adapted for use by the technical writer.
Ferguson, Paul F. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing
#23953
Eviter le Langage Trop Promotionnel
Internet n'est pas un mass media réceptionné passivement comme peut l'être la télévision ; Internet est un média qui est activé par l'utilisateur. C'est ce qui explique sans doute l'échec relatif de la publicité en ligne à laquelle les internautes ont tout le loisir de ne pas prêter attention. Les surfeurs n'ont pas de temps à gaspiller : ils s'orientent tout droit vers les informations qui leur sont utiles et fuient tout ce qui ressemble à de la publicité.
Redaction (2004). (French) Articles>Web Design>Writing
#31870
One of my earlier careers was in manufacturing management, and it grounded me in the principles of project planning and management. When I moved into technical communication, I brought my project management disciplines with me, and I embraced the prevailing tools of my new profession. I dutifully produced documentation plans in Microsoft Word and supported them with detailed project plans in Microsoft Project. However, the problem is that—like bad relationships—these artifacts never gave back results that were sufficient to reward the effort I put into creating them.
Hughes, Michael A. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Documentation>Technical Writing>Microsoft Excel
#10274
The Executive Summary: A Key to Effective Communication
Presenting the correct written information to a business decision maker in the appropriate form is often critical to the success of the project. A lengthy report is not likely to be read, while a project abstract with insufficient information may not allow the decision maker to act. In these cases, the executive summary may be the writer's only opportunity to convince the decision-maker to act.
Emanuel, Joseph T. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Communication>Writing
#23655
Expand your Income by Writing for Magazines
Technical writers know how to explain things clearly and logically. This makes us perfectly suited to write how-to articles for magazines. There is an increasing number of markets for informational articles, from lifestyle publications to specialized trade magazines. A query letter convinces the editor that you should get the assignment. You don’t need to be an expert in the subject matter because you have the skills to interview SMEs for the right information. Good article ideas come from your own interests. Writing for magazines generates part-time income, establishes you as a published writer, and gives you a creative outlet.
Agnew, Beth. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Writing>Journalism
#20342
Expand Your Income by Writing for Magazines
Technical writers know how to structure information in a logical way. This makes us perfectly suited to write howto articles for magazines. There are many markets for informational articles, from lifestyle publications to specialized trade magazines. A well-crafted query gets the editor’s attention and can land you an assignment. Getting ideas for good articles is as simple as following one’s own interests. Writing for magazines can generate part-time income, help establish your “name” and give you a creative outlet.
Agnew, Beth. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>Journalism
#20323
Expand Your Income by Writing for Magazines
Technical writers are well-equipped to write how-to articles for magazines. There are many markets for informational articles, and by creating a well-crafted query, a competent technical writer can get an assignment. This work is ideal for generating part-time income and it provides a more creative outlet for writers.. Getting ideas for good articles is as simple as following oneâ*™s own interests. Writing for magazines can become a lucrative â*œsecondâ** career for technical writers.
Agnew, Beth. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication>Technical Writing
#29351
The Expanding Dimensions of Technical Writing
Scientific and technical writing as a profession has much greater dimensions than many people realize.
Souther, James W. CCC (1971). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Professionalism
#29647
Experiencing Technical Writing as Textual Coordination
This paper describes a recent study of how of four technical writers managed the many artifacts (existing texts and information technologies for producing and manipulating text) that mediated their writing process. The author describes the study and characterizes several recurrent patterns of mediation, including textual reuse, remediation of information, and the staging of texts and software programs. The author describes the value of a repertoire of information technologies to technical writing and argues that technological skill should be considered a core competency of the field.
Slattery, Shaun. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Writing>Technical Editing>Technical Writing
#25485
Expert Judgments Versus Reader Feedback: A Comparison of Text Evaluation Techniques
Are technical writers able to predict the results of a reader-focused text evaluation? In this article we report a study with fifteen technical writers, who were asked to point out the reader problems in a public information brochure. The brochure was also evaluated with thirty readers from the target audience (using a combination of the plus-minus method, a questionnaire, and user protocols). The results of both kinds of text evaluation show little overlap. The technical writers only predicted a small proportion of the reader feedback, and produced a lot of new problem detections. In addition, there was little agreement among the technical writers with regard to their problem detections.
de Jong, Menno D.T. and Leo R. Lentz. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1996). Articles>Writing>Assessment>Methods
#29150
While the importance of "expressive writing," or informal, self-directed writing, has been well established, teachers underutilize it, particularly in technical writing courses. We introduce the term expressive/exploratory technical writing (XTW), which is the use of informal, self-directed writing to problem-solve in technical fields. We describe how engineering students resist writing, despite decades of research showing its importance to their careers, and we suggest that such resistance may be because most students only see writing as an audience-driven performance and thus incompletely understand the link between writing and thinking. The treatment of invention in rhetorical history supports their view. We describe two examples of using XTW in software engineering to plan programming tasks. We conclude by discussing how a systematic use of XTW could shift the technical writing curriculum, imbuing the curriculum with writing and helping students see how to problem-solve using natural language.
Warnock, Scott and Michael Kahn. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Engineering
#12934
Extending Your Tech Writing Skills: Pitching a Newspaper Column Idea 
Before pitching a column idea to your local newspaper editor, take time to examine whether becoming a columnist is right for you. In taking on a newspaper column, you not only take on a long-term commitment, but you also establish a responsibility to people in your own community. So, to begin, you might read Extending Your Tech Writing Skills: Becoming a Columnist, which identifies considerations for becoming a columnist. If you decide that becoming a columnist does suit your interests and goals, then the following tips and ideas can help you land a column with your local newspaper. As you'll see, examining and refining the topic, overcoming the competition, using a creative approach, and following up appropriately can help.
Ray, Deborah S. TECHWR-L (2001). Articles>Writing>Collaboration
#20375
No one has found a way to really help writers create readable prose. Robert Gunning developed a method for calculating the 'Fog Index' and Rudolph Flesch worked out more than one formula for measuring the simplicity of writing. By one of Flesch's formulas (the one without personal pronouns), Ronald S. Lemos in the February, 1985 issue of Communications of the ACM (CACM) was able to prove that CACM required two less years of school to read than Datamation. Statistics can prove anything. I have no idea what Sophomore in High School could read the CACM cover to cover and even understand most of it. Flesch's book 'The Art of Plain Talk' was given to me at a Yourdon Systems Analysis course. The Instructor handed it to each of us, saying something like 'read this and you'll be a manager in no time' (supposedly, management is handed to the least efficient person who can also write well). The book is full of examples, mostly journalistic, showing how good writers evoke human interest. Of course, these writers had human events, thoughts and feelings as their focal points, not software, I doubt whether any of the graduates of that week ever used Flesch as a reference for grading their own documentation. How would Bernard Shaw have documented software? Or Mingus played it? This paper addresses these burning issues.
Hallgren, Chris. SIGDOC Proceedings (1986). Articles>Writing>Assessment>Formulas
#25537
A Fairy, a Low-Fat Bagel, and a Sack of Hammers
One bright, sunny day, the Bad Internet Fairy closed down every company and organization site on the web. But even though all those company and organization sites had closed down, the internet was still ablaze with activity.
Usborne, Nick. List Apart, A (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#20260
When did weblogs stop filtering the web and begin cluttering it instead? Rich Robinson on digital glut and creative solutions.
Robinson, Richard. List Apart, A (2000). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#18151
We’re inundated with terminology indicating leanness: light, low fat, fat free. Most of the time, you would associate terms like this with food. In this case, I’m associating them with writing -- technical writing to be exact. As a technical writer, your job is to use words to show, describe, instruct, define, persuade, or inform. Your goal should be to communicate only useful information clearly.
Taylor, Vicki M. Suite101 (2000). Articles>Writing
#24197
I labeled wordiness the most obvious fault in technical writing. In retrospect, I think I was wrong. I believe the greatest fault our writing can have is vacuity, or lack of substance. We too often write words that say nothing.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2004). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Technical Writing
#27365
Everyone fears the long sentence. Editors fear it. Readers fear it. Most of all, writers fear it. Even I fear it. But...
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Rhetoric
#13924
Feminizing the Professional: The Government Reports of Flora Annie Steel
Despite being raised in a culture that denied her access to formal education and employment, Flora Annie Steel became an Inspector of Female Schools in the Punjab, India, in 1884. Her inspection reports for the occupying British government of India are the focus of this study, which examines texts within the context of British imperialism and late-nineteenth century report conventions. The study concludes 1) that cultural expectations for women in imperialism influenced Steel's response to the genre and 2) that the report genre may have been fluid within imperialism, crossing boundaries between professional and government writing pertaining today. The study suggests that, historically, we need to study these genres of writing from the perspective of economic and political expansion as genres of imperialism.
Sutcliffe, Rebecca J. Technical Communication Quarterly (1998). Articles>Writing>Government>Reports
#19557
Fighting for the Ultimate Desktop
Lately, articles have been appearing in some computer magazines expressing disappointment at the failure of electronic technology to produce a paperless office. What is the problem? Why are offices using more paper than ever before?
Vasdi, Peter. Writer's Block (1995). Articles>Writing>Communication
