#27344
The number of examples you use in a sentence or a story has meaning.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Journalism
#23394
Obey Standards or Follow Customer Needs?
What is more important in technical writing: obeying the standards and regulations or following the customer's needs?
Thiele, Ulrich. TC-FORUM (1999). Articles>Writing>Standards>Technical Writing
#27332
Observe 'word territory.' Give key words their space. Do not repeat a distinctive word unless you intend a specific effect.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
#27343
Put odd and interesting things next to each other.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
#28120
"Oh that wonderful stuff": Selected Poetry by College and Middle School Students 
When students use poetry to imagine and explore academic subjects, they examine the topic in new, creative ways, resulting in interesting and lively writings that stimulate thought and class discussions. The following poems are examples of student poetry written in a variety of classes throughout the curriculum. I am pleased to showcase student writing in this section, and I hope reading these poems will suggest possibilities and adaptations for teachers and students elsewhere.
Apostel, Shawn. LLAD (2002). Articles>Writing>Education
#30335
On Teaching Technical/Business Writing
Whether one teaches business communication or technical writing (or some amalgam of the two), the first statements an instructor makes in class should be to apprise students that the course upon which they are embarking is but a specialty within a larger field of writing, that their courses in English composition, philosophy and survey of literature (and the papers written for those courses) will all apply to the specialized communication field they now must address.
Wyld, Lionel D. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#13960
On the Relationship Between Old and New Technologies 
The author argues for complicating current views of writing technology, specifically views of the relationship between old and new literacy technologies. Using a Vygotskian theory and a grounded theory methodology, the author explores the uses of old and new technologies of three contemporary work sites to ground claims that a) competing visions of what technology is and what it can do are operative in contemporary workplaces, b) multiple literacy technologies are copresent in the conduct of work, and c) more advanced literacy technologies are not necessarily the most powerful within work cultures. The case studies are also interpreted through the lens of Bijker's theory of sociotechnical change.
Haas, Christina. Computers and Composition (1999). Articles>Technology>Writing
#27755
Whatever your role in a project, insist on getting the spec right before the code is written. The spec'ing process may take several iterations, so plan accordingly.
#25782
On Writing (Not Just Typing) Well
Write about things that you know something about. Write in the active voice and keep your sentences as short as possible. Don't expect your audience to be extremely well read, or as thick as posts. Find a middle ground where you won't be disappointing either the intellectual or the newly literate.
#18520
With wider acceptance and use of Engineering Cases in engineering education, there is a new form of engineering writing available. This paper presents some ideas based on our experience with cases over the last ten years, including writing over 25 cases (good or bad), assisting with several student-written cases, using cases extensively in our courses, and reviewing many cases, e.g., for Engineering Education. Use of Engineering Cases is still in its infancy; as use matures, things will change. We have adopted many ideas suggested by colleagues reviewing our cases. We have also drawn heavily on ideas from case writing for business schools. We do not view this as a definitive paper on case writing. We present these ideas as a compilation which may be useful to those who are considering writing cases and wonder what it is about. We also offer our compilation to seasoned case writers as a position with which to differ.
Kardos, Geza and C.O. Smith. Carleton University (1979). Articles>Writing>Engineering>Technical Writing
#10426
This article contributes two arguments to the disciplinary conversation of technical communication with the aim of exploring leadership opportunities our field has in the field of information technology. The arguments assert that 1.) Writing is the core technology in any IT system, and all IT systems attempt to leverage the core strengths of writing to make these systems more valuable. 2.) Technical communicators have a central role to play in IT systems consonant with our core competencies: we attend to the balance of situated as opposed to generalized strategies and the balance of appeals to identity in writing about the practical use of technology, and we are well prepared to attend to these balances in other important arenas of IT discourse. Together, these two arguments are meant to begin or continue conversations—in workplace and academic contexts alike—that bring the issues of IT development and the future of technical communication closely together.
Hart-Davidson, William. Technical Communication Online (2001). Articles>TC>Writing>Technical Writing
#22687
One Hundred Simple Tech Writing Errors
Here are the 100 writing errors that the author has encountered in his experience. (Followed by the subsequent article 'Ten More Errors in Technical Writing.')
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Editing>Grammar>Technical Writing
#19108
One Perspective: Blurring the Distinction Between Writer and Trainer
In a recent round of discussion on an American Society for Training and Development chat list, corporate trainers discussed the diverse skills they needed to do their jobs well. Requests for assistance and advice evidenced the trainers’ concerns about their writing skill levels. In my own position as a corporate trainer I found myself training in classrooms three days a week and writing the other two. Handling new projects meant not only training the participants but also developing the materials that would be used. At the same time, existing materials needed updates or corrections to remain current with policies, procedures, and technology. The reliability of such information professionally affected the training department to a large degree. Consequently, writing and updating training-related documentation became the primary responsibility of the training department. Our role as trainers had expanded to include information management.
Van Dyne, Jenna. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Writing>Instructional Design
#21224
Opportunities in Engineering Publications
Doing technical writing from within an engineering department can offer some special opportunities for the more technically-inclined technical writer. Compared to customary technical publications departments, there may be a greater variety of projects. There may also be more chances for inexperienced writers, especially engineers and technicians who want to enter technical writing.
Harvey, Patrick. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Writing>Engineering>Technical Writing
#31609
Overcoming Word Inflation: The Benefits of Minimalist Design
Writers are great inflators. We can take a simple half page describing a computer interface and in a few hours transform it into a 35-page document complete with glossaries, type conventions, overviews, introductions, mission statements, charts, clip art, and copyright pages full of disclaimers, trademark acknowledgements, and credits. The results will make the people in marketing and sales simply glow.
DuBay, William H. Impact Information (2004). Articles>Writing>Minimalism
#27446
Painless Functional Specifications - Part 1: Why Bother?
Why won't people write specs? People claim that it's because they're saving time by skipping the spec-writing phase. They act as if spec-writing was a luxury reserved for NASA space shuttle engineers, or people who work for giant, established insurance companies. Balderdash.
Spolsky, Joel. Joel on Software (2000). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Software
#27756
Painless Functional Specifications - Part 2: What's a Spec?
When you design a product, inside and out, the most important thing is to nail down the user experience. What are the screens, how do they work, what do they do. Later, you worry about how to get from here to there. There's no use arguing about what programming language to use before you've decided what your product is going to do. In this series, I'm only talking about functional specifications.
Spolsky, Joel. Joel on Software (2000). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications
#28117
Panel Summaries Plenary Panel Processes for Thinking about WAC's Future
Faculty often tell their students that conversations contribute to the collaborative writing process. The first plenary session was planned as a generative activity: conversations, first, among the panelists, and then involving the whole audience, to begin collaboratively writing the future on a grand scale. The result of these conversations should impact policymakers, leaders in many institutions, and legislators who control state funding.
Driskill, Linda. LLAD (2002). Articles>Education>Writing
#18865
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Whether you have an assigned subject or choose your own, you need to get focused and engaged with the project. Assigned subjects may look limiting at first, but they offer plenty of room for individual expression. Open subjects, while promising great freedom, can be daunting because they don't provide direction. They leave it all up to you. Yet these two situations, different as they appear, present similar challenges.
#24712
Writing in English, people are apt to impose the paragraph structures of their native language, much as they impose their native syntax upon English. This panel enlists the audience in viewing empirically how paragraphs written in English by both native and nonnative speakers reflect predispositions from their own cultures. The aim is to answer some practical questions for international communicators.
Campbell, Charles P., Jan M. Ulijn and Nicole van Beeck. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Writing>International
#27369
Writers shape up their writing by paying attention to parallel structures in their words, phrases, and sentences.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
#25595
Parody Blogging and the Call of the Real
If the problem with American public discourse is lack of access, then the blogsphere will do much to improve it. If, however, the problem is how people participate, if there is already too much stance-taking and not enough argumentation, the blogsphere will simply give more people easier access to a form of public discourse which actually has limited benefit.
Roberts-Miller, Trish. Into the Blogosphere (2004). Articles>Writing>Community Building>Blogging
#18980
The Passive in Technical and Scientific Writing
Almost every discussion of technical or scientific style mentions the passive voice, usually as a stylistic evil to avoid. While I doubt that many of us would endorse such extreme prescriptions as 'Always use the active voice,' or 'A writer will almost automatically improve his style when he shifts from passive to active constructions,' we may be more ready to accept Freedman's position in 'The Seven Sins of Technical Writing.' His Sin 6 is 'the Deadly Passive, or, better, deadening passive; it takes the life out of writing, making everything impersonal, eternal, remote and dead, but he adds that 'frequently, of course, the passive is not a sin and not deadly, for there simply is no active agent and the material must be put impersonally.'
Rodman, Lilita. Cambridge Language Consultants (2001). Articles>Writing>Grammar
#13975
The Passive In Technical and Scientific Writing
Almost every discussion of technical or scientific style mentions the passive voice, usually as a stylistic evil to avoid. While I doubt that many of us would endorse such extreme prescriptions as 'Always use the active voice,' or 'A writer will almost automatically improve his style when he shifts from passive to active constructions,' we may be more ready to accept Freedman's position in 'The Seven Sins of Technical Writing.' His Sin 6 is 'the Deadly Passive, or, better, deadening passive; it takes the life out of writing, making everything impersonal, eternal, remote and dead,'3 but he adds that 'frequently, of course, the passive is not a sin and not deadly, for there simply is no active agent and the material must be put impersonally.'
Rodman, Lilita. JAC (1981). Articles>Writing>Style Guides
#30197
Passive Voice Is Redeemed For Web Headings
Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Grammar
