#30117
George Saunders: Taking Technical Writing into the World of Fiction 
For George Saunders, recipient of a MacArthur Grant and former technical writer, years working on reports and proposals proved to be excellent training for creative writing.
Moran, Tom. Intercom (2007). Articles>Interviews>Writing>Technical Writing
#30362
Try to rid your writing, especially business writing, of unnecessary words. They take up space, look impressive only to naive readers, and say nothing.
Leigh, Heather. Crazy for Words (2007). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Minimalism
#28144
Get That "One Thing" Into Your Web Page Headline
If you are presenting a risk-free trial of something...get that message into your headline. This may sound obvious, but while we were testing various offer pages, it became clear that the winning pages all had headlines which were focused on the offer, and were very much reader and benefit centered.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#27790
Getting Off the Starting Block: Practical Tips to Starting a White Paper
Why are white papers so hard to write? Simply put, they require effort. Effort makes us sweat. Just the thought of working hard causes some people's blood to percolate.
Stelzner, Michael A. WhitePaperSource (2006). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>White Papers
#27759
Getting Real, Step 1: No Functional Spec
Don't write a functional specifications document. Why? Well, there's nothing functional about a functional specifications document.
Fried, Jason. Signal vs. Noise (2005). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications
#30767
Getting Started with Graphics for an Enriching User Experience
Good web design does not necessarily mean good use of colors and layouts, but it does transcend beyond it. Design elements like color, font, size, frame, etc. play an important role nonetheless, but what is more important is that how it affects the aesthetic sensibilities of the users. The warmth and the feel of the web site, or in another words, the texture of the web site is a crucial area to turn our attention to. By texture of the web site what it means is the subtleties of the surface of the web site. Varied aspects as discussed in this article, when sensibly used -- and in combination with good deign skills aimed at creating intuitive appeal -- are of definite help of when it comes to developing engaging graphics on your web site.
Rahbre Azam. Amateur Writerz (2008). Articles>User Experience>Technical Writing>Graphic Design
#23159
Getting the Right Tone to Your Business Letter 
When you write a business letter, it's important to use a tone that is friendly but efficient. Readers want to know there’s someone at the other end of the letter who is taking notice and showing interest in their concerns. Try to sound—and be—helpful and friendly.
Business Letter Writing. Articles>Writing>Correspondence>Business Communication
#31748
The gaps in your documentation aren’t there because you haven’t consider a particular level of user; the gaps in your documentation are there because you haven’t considered how one level of user becomes another. How DO you get from Beginner to Expert?
McLean, Gordon. One Man Writes (2008). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Technical Writing
#28150
Give Your Testimonials More Credibility
I think that the people who give the testimonials do so for the additional exposure they receive for their own names, sites and businesses. I also think they do some mutual back-scratching, and hype each other's products and services. In other words, the testimonials are just additional sales text. They have no credibility as outside, third-party endorsements.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Writing>Web Design>Marketing
#25649
Giving Feedback or Writing Reviews of Bad Stuff
Some book reviewers say that when they don’t like a book, they simply don’t review it. I’d love to take the easy way out, but when I think about it from a reader’s perspective… I want to know when a book sucks.
Evans, Meryl K. Meryl.net (2005). Articles>Writing>Publishing
#20805
Go from Brochureware to E-Care
Online brochures don't attract return visits or serve your customers, so turn your Web site into a customer interaction center.
Writing that Works (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Writing
#27983
Going Global with Technical Writing
Despite your best efforts, it is not uncommon for mishaps to occur when attempting to localize documentation. Learn how to align your technical writing and localization processes and how to optimize the solution you choose for this alignment.
Hill, Nicholas. Intercom (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Localization
#19472
Going Global: The Challenges of Writing for International Audiences
Because of strong global markets for software and its documentation, information is often translated into several different languages, and read by users worldwide. Writers who create source information in English now face the challenge of communicating to a global audience. These writers must reconsider the following: defining their audience, controlling their terminology and style, creating text for graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and creating examples and scenarios for use in conceptual and instructional material.
Heximer, Erin and Lisa Wu. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Writing>International
#28311
Writers can increase the value of their documentation by visiting customers where the customers work and seeing what they are doing. It's easier to write targeted topics when you know what readers need. Ann Beebe, User Education manager for Visual Studio, gave me two examples of writers who went into the field and discovered how the customer's experience can be very different from the experience in the development team.
Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>User Centered Design
#20333
Sometimes we focus so much on tools and technologies that we forget the underlying theory of basic, good technical writing. Yes, there are basic laws of technical writing which remain intact despite the constant changes in the way we produce documentation or the way users access it. Whether you are writing a printed user guide, an online reference manual, or context-sensitive online help, these same basic laws apply. I call these basic laws my 'golden rules' for producing effective user documentation and eliminating sloppy habits. This workshop covers each rule in detail, plus provides practical tips for applying them.
Guren, Leah. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Technology>Technical Writing
#19572
Good Communication: Seeing the Forest While Managing the Trees
Effective communication, which often appears effortless, is actually the result of a lengthy and surprisingly complex journey—a journey during which you can easily lose your way. Staying focussed is the key to retaining a clear picture of how to convey information to its intended audience.
Vasdi, Peter. Writer's Block (1997). Articles>Writing
#25004
Good Legal Writing: of Orwell and Window Panes
George Orwell once wrote that `[g]ood prose is like a window pane.' What I take Orwell to have meant by that remark is that when people read good prose, it makes them feel as if they've `seen' something more clearly.
Samuelson, Pamela. University of Pittsburgh Law Review (1984). Articles>Writing>Legal>Minimalism
#31080
#31516
Good Writing and Editing: Are They Dying Arts? And, Should We Care?
The answer to both questions: "YES!" Like us, you may be dismayed by the growing quantity of poor writing that bombards us. We see it everywhere, in publications, web sites, newspapers and corporate materials—writing that is not just full of grammatical mistakes and misused words, but is also poorly thought-out, unclear and contains downright confusing language.
Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Writing>Editing
#28858
Good Writing on Your Web Site: How and Why You Should Ensure the Quality of Your Content
Discusses the importance of writing well and some simple methods for ensuring your content is well-written and then move on to ways clever content-management systems can make your life easier.
Mercurytide (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#25217
Google: The Ultimate Web Writer's Style Guide
Forget that Google is a search engine. Just for a moment, imagine it is a style guide. A very different kind of style guide.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#22691
Don't you think that it is a tragedy that 95 percent of the people who desire to be technical writers have a poor command over the language? I am sure all of us make a mistake or two, once in a while. But to make it in every sentence and paragraph shows utter disrespect for readers.
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Editing>Grammar>Technical Writing
#13719
Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling
The Web abounds with sites teaching grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Not surprisingly, most of these sites are provided by educational institutions, teachers, or business-writing consultants, presumably to make up for the lack of grammar teaching in so many school systems for the past several decades. Some are tutorials (masquerading as style guides) for technical communicators. Here are a few sites that I have found useful or that other people have recommended to me.
Weber, Jean Hollis. Technical Editors Eyrie (2002). Articles>Style Guides>Writing
#14975
Grease on the Keyboard: Making Composition Work in a Technical College
Times have changed. The industrial age has become the information age, and technology and equipment evolve at such a rapid pace that it is wasteful to train a person for only specific psychomotor skills. Employers are calling for the hands-on training to be combined with more communication and critical thinking skills so that employees have a broader education that allows them to switch speeds or tasks.
Lourey, Jessica. NCTE TETYC (2000). Articles>Education>Writing
#29073
The Great Instauration: Restoring Professional and Technical Writing to the Humanities 
If you wish to start an undergraduate professional and technical writing program at a small liberal arts college, you will find good arguments for your project in the educational writings of Sir Francis Bacon. Unlike other Renaissance Humanists, Bacon located the New Learning (what we now call the humanities) within the related contexts of scientific discovery and invention and professional training and development. His treatise, The Advancement of Learning, proposes to draw knowledge from and apply knowledge to the natural and social world. Bacon's curricular ideas can benefit emerging PTW programs in the humanities in three ways: They make a convincing apologia for most English departments and writing programs, wed humanistic education to public service, and provide a rich but practical theoretical framework for program development and administration.
Di Renzo, Anthony. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Education>Professionalism>Technical Writing
