#22101
Review: Technical Writing for Dummies 
If you're a professional technical communicator who is interested in gleaning a few tidbits of knowledge for yourself, while simultaneously preparing witty answers to the questions asked of you by those who don't know anything about the things you do, you might want to add a yellow or orange book to your bookshelf. You wouldn't be completely dumb or idiotic if you did.
Ecker, Pamela S. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Technical Writing
#21662
Technical Writing for Microwave Engineers
A complete resource to put all microwave geeks on the same page when it comes to tech writing.
Microwaves 101 (2003). Articles>Writing>Engineering>Technical Writing
#23690
Technical Writing For Multi-Lingual Audiences 
In the global marketplace today, wise companies are learning an important fact about translation. Survival in today’s international environment means not making translation an afterthought. You gain precious competitive advantage if, as you develop your product and its accompanying documentation for simultaneous release in international markets, you plan for translation from the outset.
Landgren, Theodora. MetroVoice (2003). Articles>Language>Localization>Technical Writing
#13695
Technical Writing in a Technological Age: Changes in the Classroom and the Workplace
Over the past decade, new media and computer technologies have permeated both the technical writing classroom and the technical writing workplace. Documents written for, and used in, these two contexts no longer include just verbal text messages and simple line art printed on standard, 20 pound white paper, as they often did in the 1970s and early 1980s. Technical writing documents today appear not just in print but in electronic form, and in electronic form these documents include multiple media such as high-resolution graphics, audio and video clips, animation sequences, and visual effects. Couple this expanded electronic form of technical writing with Internet protocols that allow for the global exchange of information, and it becomes clear that distinct challenges and opportunities exist for the field of technical writing in a technological age. What is the nature of these challenges and opportunities in the classroom and the workplace? And, what is the relationship between new media, computer technologies, and the changes currently evident in these two contexts?
Selber, Stuart A. Addison Wesley Longman (1997). Articles>Education>Online>Technical Writing
#29379
Technical Writing in College, Industry, and Government (The Junior College Program) 
Recommends in-service training programs, including summer institutes and monthly workshops, to teach technical writing techniques to literature-trained English teachers who have plunged into unknown waters.
Marcus, Mitchell. CCC (1968). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#22789
Reports on the training and education of technical writers in Cuba.
Sapp, David Alan. Intercom (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Cuba
#30689
Technical Writing in English Renaissance Shipwrightery: Breaching the Shoals of Orality
Describing the emergence of the first shipbuilding texts, particularly those in English provides another chapter in the story of the emergence of English technical writing. Shipwrightery texts did not appear in English until the middle decades of the seventeenth century because shipwrightery was a closed discourse community which shared knowledge via oral transmission. The shift from orality to textuality in shipwrightery did not occur until advancing navigation principles enabled ships to sail in open waters. Shipping rapidly became a commercial business, and shipwrightery was forced to move from closely-guarded simple design principles to mathematically-based designs too complex to be retained only in memory of shipwrights and shared via oral transmission. Textual transmission began to supplant oral instruction. The evolution of English shipwrightery provides rich research opportunities for historians tracking the development of technical writing.
Tebeaux, Elizabeth. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>History>Writing>Technical Writing
#23698
Technical Writing in Everyday Life: One User's Experience
The experience of setting up a new home theater system also sharply reminded me of what it is like to look at something as a new user: staring at a bunch of knobs and holes for the first time, holding a tassel of wire in one hand and a manual in the other, and really just wanting the darn piece of ?%^%! to do what it's supposed to do.
Vedrody, Sarah. MetroVoice (2002). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Technical Writing
#26845
The technical writers, who already exist in the industry having created a golden niche, are fast emerging as the 'trainers' for this career option.
Nithya K. EZine Articles. Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>India
#29019
Technical Writing in Seventeenth-Century England: The Flowering of a Tradition
English technical writing clearly emerged during the Renaissance and the first decades of printing, but during the 1641-1700 period technical writing gained credibility and prestige. It was a valued tool for achieving the utilitarian ends of an age in which practical goals were valued more than aesthetic ones. Technical writing can be found in a range of disciplines, such as agriculture, medicine, science, as well as the major English trades and crafts. As a valued form of discourse, it illuminates the world of work in seventeenth-century England and the problems faced by the early experimenters of the Royal Society who sought to use science to solve major human, military, and economic problems while seeking to expand understanding of nature. Studying technical writing of this period allows us to track the continued development of technical writing as a distinct form of discourse.
Tebeaux, Elizabeth. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>History>Technical Writing>United Kingdom
#27094
What kind of textual evidence do courts now look at in light of the recent Grokster decision? What place does technical communication have in recent P2P court decisions? After examining the evidence courts have used from the Sony case to the Grokster case, the author argues that since texts generated and researched by technical communication have surfaced in P2P contexts as important evidentiary objects in court rulings (Napster, Aimster, Grokster), the field and its allies would do well to take notice. Using a lens of activity theory, the author argues that technical communication as a field can control its own future and ability to innovate by reseeing the texts that it creates, texts that are collected by courts as objects influencing determinations of the presence of intent to infringe (the current standard of liability in P2P contexts). With respect to legal liability, the best technical writing might be writing that stays invisible.
Rife, Martine Courant. Social Science Research Network (2006). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Technical Writing
#23310
A collection of outlines from lectures on technical writing.
Collier, J. University of Massachusetts (2003). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing
#25598
Technical Writing Part Five: Education
Education and skills development are vital to a technical writing career. While there are no set-in-stone educational requirements for a technical writer, there are very few writers in the field who do not have a college degree.
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#21409
The technical writing process consists of four phases: planning, writing, delivery and archiving. The phases of the technical writing process are not necessarily discrete. You might start the writing phase before you complete the planning stage, for example, or you might have to deliver the documentation before you feel it is finished. It is highly unlikely, however, that you will ever archive the documentation before you deliver it! Some products are released several times. In this situation, you might be in the delivery phase of the first iteration of the project while you are in the planning phase of the second iteration. Don't panic: overlap in the technical writing process is quite normal.
Docsymmetry (2003). Articles>Documentation>Workflow>Technical Writing
#23328
Technical Writing Textbooks: Current Alternatives In Teaching
The textbook one chooses for a technical writing course will contribute a definition of the subject, whether implicit or explicit, but the definition and scope of what is loosely called technical writing are by no means agreed
Miller, Carolyn R. ADE Bulletin (1983). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#31699
Technical Writing Tips, Tricks and Tutorials
This page talks about technical writing and how to create technical documentation that is accurate, readable, and helpful to its target audience.
Klariti (2007). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing
#25700
The main modes of communication are written, verbal, and visual. As a scientist or engineer, you will want to share your work. This is commonly done through thesis, journal papers, and books. This type of writing has a different purpose than creative story telling or other types of writing you may have done. There are rules, standards, and formats which are commonly used. You should know these before you embark on publishing your work.
#20713
Technical writing is used to report information. This is different from creative and other types of writing styles in many ways. We will discuss these later. Why is this important? As a scientist/engineer, it is important for you to be able to to be able to communicate your work to others in writing.
#24793
Technical Writing vs. Science Communication: What is the Difference, and Why Should We Care? 
Many technical writer/editors at Los Alamos National Laboratory feel that we (and our colleagues at other institutions) do a good job of helping scientists communicate with each other, but we do not do so well in communicating with the general public. We have done a literature search and interviewed target audience members to learn how to better communicate science. Our research falls into the four following areas: the need for this special knowledge, characterization of audiences, communications strategies, and evaluation of the resulting communication products.
Garnett, Anne E., Amy Marie Longshore, Ann Mauzy and Amy Reeves. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication>Writing>Technical Writing
#29247
Technical Writing, Writing, and Having More Fun as a Techwriter
I've been in and out of techwriting for 15 years and I learned long ago that manuals sometimes suck because they're software bandaids.
Haugland, Solveig. TypePad.com (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing
#24981
Technical Writing: A Technical Writer's Skill Set
Discusses writing skills, technical skills, tools skills and other skills.
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Writing
#24982
Technical Writing: Desktop Publishing Tools
The production of printed documents using a computer is called desktop publishing. At its most basic, desktop publishing requires a computer, a printer, and some sort of text or graphics program. While you can achieve desktop publishing using something as simple as a word processor, the applications used by technical writers are often more sophisticated and expensive than those used for common office applications. Because technical documents are often longer and more graphically complex than general business or personal documents, they require programs that are designed to handle these tasks. When technical writers do use common office applications, they are frequently required to use features that most users never need. For example, Microsoft Word has index and table of contents tools. Those tools aren’t very flexible and can be difficult to use, but if Microsoft Word is the only desktop publishing application at your disposal you may find yourself putting those tools to use.
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Writing
#24983
Education and skills development are vital to a technical writing career. While there are no set-in-stone educational requirements for a technical writer, there are very few writers in the field who do not have a college degree. There are occasional exceptions to this rule (Some companies provide in-house training, generally to employees who have lost their current position due to a restructuring such as the closing of a manufacturing plant), but for those wishing to enter the field, an academic education is essential.
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Writing
#26843
Technical Writing: Emerging Opportunities
How often do we, as consumers, wish that the producers provide us adequate information about their products in a simple language that we understand?
Thakur, Kiran. Times of India (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>India
#24984
Technical Writing: How to Find Technical Writing Jobs
Step One: Be Qualified Step Two: Demonstrate Your Qualifications Step Three: Make a Contact List Step Four: Call the Employers Step Five: Master the Interview Step Six: Follow Up Step Seven: Go Back to the Beginning
Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Writing
