The Great Myth That Plain Language Is Not Precise  

Occasionally, when you try to convert from legalese to plain language, someone will come forward and assert that you made a mistake. You missed something in the translation. You inadvertently changed the substance.

Kimble, Joseph. Plain Language Network (2000). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>Minimalism

Greater than the Sum of Parts: A Poetry/Science Collaboration    

Collaborations between disciplines in middle school usually occur between language arts and social studies, or between math and science; however, we found a collaboration between language arts and science to be a fruitful experience for our students in their learning both disciplines and in improving our own teaching.

Abrams, Nancy and Nadine Feiler. LLAD (2002). Articles>Education>Writing

Greatest Copy Shot Ever Written

Anyone can be a copywriter, but the best copywriters actually think about what they're writing.

Padmore, Nick. List Apart, A (2007). Articles>Writing>Business Communication

Guerilla Upgrades: Start with Your Newsletter

Persuading your managers to allow some testing in the tone and voice of a newsletter isn’t half as hard as persuading them to make changes to your site’s homepage.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Guerilla WriteFare: When Clients Don't Listen

What do you do with a perfectly good client who, despite your recommendations, embarks on a course of action you believe to be wrong or even disastrous? I know of only one answer to that question: let it go. After you've given it the old college try, of course. I never did let go easily. There are few things more disturbing than watching a client jump off a cliff. You just know they're going to crash onto the rocks below, because you've seen it happen so many times before. Is there anything you can do? Yes, and here's my list of things to do when clients don't listen.

Knowles, Michael. Write Thinking (2002). Articles>Writing>Consulting

Guide to Weblog Comments

Leaving a comment on someone's weblog is like walking into their living room and joining in on a conversation. As in real life, online there are some people who are a pleasure to converse with, and some who are not.

Trapani, Gina. LifeHacker (2005). Articles>Writing>Community Building>Blogging

Guidelines for Writing English-Language Technical Documentation

In 1999 the member societies of INTECOM recognized there was a need to help technical writers in all countries who have to write English-language technical documentation for products that will be sold worldwide. If they are writing for an audience solely in the UK, the Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, then British style is appropriate. Similarly, if they are writing for an audience solely in North and South America, the Philippines, and many Asian countries, then US style is appropriate. But if they have to write a single set of documentation for use in all countries, then a difficult decision has to be made.

Intecom (2005). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>International

Guidelines for Writing Technical Documentation for an International Audience  

A guide to help technical writers in all countries who have to write English-language technical documentation for products that will be sold worldwide.

tekom (2003). Articles>Documentation>International>Technical Writing

Review: Handbook of Technical Writing  

As with previous editions, the editors have done a marvelous job. This is the type of book that every writer should have. As I stated before, it is not a how-to-write book, but more of a 'tools for writing' book. I find myself referring to it often when I'm thinking of how to pronounce a specific word or how to go about putting together a proposal, abstract or white paper, or even how to interview an engineer or programmer for information about a product I'm documenting.

Hawley, Todd. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Technical Writing

Hazard Words and Icons

This recommendation is based on the American ANSI Z535 standard. I am not aware of any other similar standards from other standardizing organisations. If you know of such standards, please e-mail me, and specifically tell me if and where it differs from the information given below.

Ring, Peter. Peter Ring Consultants (1997). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing

Heading Frequency and Comprehension: Studies of Print Versus Online Media  

This paper describes a study that examined the effect of heading frequency on comprehension and perceptions of information presented in print versus online text. Results indicated that heading frequency did not differentially affect the comprehension of readers of print text while it did differentially affect the comprehension of readers of online texts who had considerably lower comprehension scores with text that had high frequency versus medium frequency headings.

Spyridakis, Jan H., Laura D. Schultz and Alexandra L. Bartell. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Document Design>Writing>Usability

Health and Safety Information for Specialized Vocational Audiences  

Using examples from commercial fishing and farming, this article shows how models of health beliefs and risk communication can inform the creation of health and safety materials and campaigns for specialized vocational audiences. These models state that risk communication efforts must balance strong statements of risk with equally strong statements of ways to reduce or avoid risk if they are to motivate change. Audience research can help communicators address attitudes that impair workers’ perceptions of risk, as well as workplace practices, norms, and conditions that the limit the methods that can be used to reduce risk.

Freeman, Krisandra S. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Writing>Biomedical>Risk Communication

Helping Chinese-American Professionals To Develop Their Technical Writing Skills  

Three components of American English create great difficulty for Chinese-American college students and professionals trying to improve their technical writing. They are the articles ('a,' 'an,' and 'the'); prepositions; and verb tense. This paper reveals key reasons for these difficulties and explains how to ease them. It is meant to assist teachers, editors, and the Chinese-Americans who write for them. As a starting point, teachers and editors need to know how the Chinese language differs from English in its treatment of these three components. So informed, they can take appropriate actions to bring about improvement.

Mazzatenta, Ernest D. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Language>Writing>Technical Writing

Hidden Factors of Documentation Quality -- Part 1

The first impulse of many documenters is to turn our work over to editors and graphic designers, or to form committees and develop style guidelines. All of these measures are useful, but none can assure us of quality when there are basic problems with the way we go about producing documentation.

Sesnovich, Bruce A. Boston Broadside (1993). Articles>Documentation>Quality>Technical Writing

The Hidden Power of the Online Manual

Writing software manuals is boring, isn't it? We often think, "My software is easy to use. The user interface is intuitive. Why should I waste so much time writing documentation which nobody will read anyway?" Sometimes it's true. I've never read the WinZip or Internet Explorer manuals. Everything seems clear enough without further explanation. Nevertheless, even if your manual isn't being helpful to your software users, it may be helpful to you. Publish your manual online and turn its hidden power into a real benefit for your business.

Crane, Dennis. Dr. Explain (2006). Articles>Documentation>Online>Technical Writing

The Hidden Relationship Between Project Managers and Technical Writers  

Want to know the secret to better quality documentation and improved software design? Will Kelly outlines how the key is an effective relationship between project managers and technical writers.

Kelly, William T. TechRepublic (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Project Management>Technical Writing

Hiding Humanity: Verbal and Visual Ethics in Accident Reports  

Located at the critical intersection of technology and humanity, technical communicators must always try to avoid human injury and promote sensitivity to the needs of human beings. The reporting of human injuries and fatalities in accident reports, however, often strips victims of their humanity and hides the tragic human consequences of technological failures from individuals trying to devise appropriate public policy, establish effective safety regulations, and modify or abolish dangerous industrial processes—government officials, company executives, labor representatives, community activists, and ordinary citizens. Technical communicators have the rhetorical ability, the requisite editorial and graphic skills, and the moral responsibility to bring humanity to the verbal and visual display of information.

Dragga, Sam and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Writing>Ethics>Reports

Hiding Humanity: Verbal and Visual Ethics in Accident Reports    

The work of technical communicators transcends the purely technical—it has implications for real human beings. Located as they are at the critical intersection of technology and humanity, technical communicators direct traffic to avoid human injury and to promote sensitivity to the needs of human beings. When technology fails human beings, it is the ethical obligation of the technical communicator to sustain the humanity of the victims of that failure—to make those victims visible.

Dragga, Sam and Daniel W. Voss. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Writing>Ethics

High Tech Humor

The remarkable growth of the information technology industry has created a tremendous opportunity for people with skill putting words on paper. Technical writers, once a rare and highly skilled position, are now as common as fruit flies—though they take up a lot more space. Yet the pay is pretty good considering how little work they actually do, so young English-major weenies desperate for employment continue to swarm around IT companies, hoping for a bit of rotting fru—er, looking for a plum position.

PlainLanguage.gov (2005). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Minimalism

High Tech Marketing Communication: The Method Behind the Madness  

The software is tested, the documentation is written, and the training is in place. Now the product has to be marketed. Potential customers must understand what the product is and why they should buy it. Marketing communication for the high tech product is not just fluff or fiction. To attract attention in today’s competitive marketplace, it must be a unique combination of technical information and compelling creativity. As a technical communicator, you have an opportunity to put your planning, writing, and project management skills to work in the marketing arena. From developing a marketing plan to researching competitors and creating collateral copy or Web site content, you can participate in and even lead the marketing process.

Gallob, Beth M. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>Marketing

History of Modern Technical Writing

Technical writing has been around since the first technical writer, Cro-Magnon man, was drawing on cave walls. However, most experts would agree that the golden age of technical writing started with the invention of the computer. Here are some of the major milestones in technical writing history over the past 60 years.

ProEdit (1996). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>History

A History of Plain Language in the United States Government

Awareness of the need for clear language isn't new in the US government.

Locke, Joanne N. PlainLanguage.gov (2004). Articles>History>Writing>Minimalism

Hockey Sticks and User Assistance: Writing in Times of Resource Constraints

If you have all the resources you need, do the very best job you can in all respects. But if your resources are tight, ask yourself whether you are writing the essential stuff at a level of quality users will notice. Also, ask whether the value of the documentation you are producing aligns with the economic pressures on your company.

Hughes, Michael A. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Writing>Technical Editing

Hone Your Professional Skills: Find Your Writer's Voice    

When concentrating on your daily tasks, you may lose track of your creative side. Discover four suggestions for how to stretch your creative muscles.

Tremmel, Martina A. Intercom (2007). Articles>Writing>Workplace