Technical Writing, a form of technical communication, is a style of formal writing and business communication, used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. Good technical writing clarifies technical jargon; that is, it presents useful information that is clear and easy to understand for the intended audience.
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Blog on Technical Writing, Usability, and More
Suman Kumar's weblog on technical writing, usability, tips, tricks and more!
Kumar, Suman. Blogspot. Resources>Writing>Technical Writing>Blogs
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The Blog Realm: RSS, Aggregators, and Reading the Blog Fantastic
The content management capabilities of blog software and the search options from Daypop provide incentives for information professionals to be aware, at least, of blogging. But for every blogger out there, there are probably a dozen or more others who prefer reading to writing.
Notess, Greg R. Online Magazine (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#25447
Blog Survey: Expectations of Privacy and Accountability
Reports the findings from an online survey conducted between January 14th and January 21st, 2004. During that time, 486 respondents answered questions about their blogging practices and their expectations of privacy and accountability for the entries they publish online.
Fernanda, Viégas. MIT (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#24579
Blog Voice: How to Command Attention
With over 4 million distinct blog voices in the blogosphere, how can you differentiate yourself? By being an interesting voice. Interesting voices are made, not born, and now you can learn some ways to become more interesting and influential in blogdom. CAUTION: not for boring blah blah blah bloggers who are smug and self-satisfied.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
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Over the past 14 years blogging has evolved from crude and blunt internet ramblings, technical or inspired dialogues to a diverse and creative web phenomenon capable of calling the world's media to scrutiny, and no longer the province of late-night diarists but increasingly a platform and media release opportunity for industry and commerce.
Search and Go (2006). Articles>Education>Writing>Blogging
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Despite the timeliness of the issues, many bloggers are wondering whether their craft can be taught in journalism school.
Shachtman, Noah. Wired (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
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Behind the scenes, in the limelight, ahead of the curve...'blogphets' have plenty to say to us mere mortals on what makes a blog 'tick.'
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#25496
W znaczeniu społecznym blog jest czymś więcej niż tylko narzędziem: jest wirtualnym miejscem skupiającym ludzi, gdzie można przebywać i realizować się społecznie, nawiązując relacje z innymi ludźmi. Blog jest tzw. Trzecim Miejscem zgodnie z teorią Oldenburga, który uznaje, że dopiero w trzecim najważniejszym miejscu (po Domu i Pracy/Szkole), człowiek może tworzyć "prawdziwe" relacje społeczne, które nie są zbudowane na hierarchii emocjonalnej lub strukturalnej (jak w przypadku rodziny i firmy) lecz powstają dzięki posiadanym cechom charakteru, zainteresowaniom czy stylowi życia w grupie.
Cywinska-Milonas, Maria. Onet (2004). (Polish) Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
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Blogs, A Primer: A Guide to Weblogs in the Classroom and in Research
I want to make two arguments. The first, a largely implicit one, concerns the life cycle of online scholarship and is marked by my added emphasis on the word 'article' in the opening sentence of this essay. My second argument, the explicit one, is about the value of blogging in the writing classroom.
Barrios, Barclay. CCCC Online (2005). Articles>Education>Writing>Blogging
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Blurbs: How to Write Them for Web Pages
On the web, a blurb is a line or short paragraph (20-50 words) that evaluates (or at least summarizes) what the reader will find at the other end of a link. A good blurb should inform, not tease. Usability testing will help you determine the best way to lay out your blurbs, but this document will help you write the content.
Jerz, Dennis G. Seton Hill University (2001). Design>Web Design>Writing>Usability
#12931
I was a tech writer long before I wrote my first book, although I had to jump through some difficult hoops to land my first tech writing job (a series of six tests on technology); however, a great deal of my work later, especially my consulting jobs, came about as a result of my books and the reputation they bestowed on me. Being published between covers brings you respect almost as quickly and surely as becoming known as a millionaire business owner does. Even now, it happens. A reader who owns a small business in Baltimore hired me recently to do some consulting with him, after reading one of my books published a few years ago. The gentleman had read several books on the subject of proposal writing and contracting, and he decided that my book reflected the kind of thinking he needed, although it was one of my most slender volumes.
Holtz, Herman. TECHWR-L (2001). Articles>Writing>Publishing
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Boost Your Website With Expert Content
The only effective way to promote a website is by hosting unique, quality content. Search engine optimization and paid inclusions are a waste of time and money if there isn't a compelling reason for your visitors to come back once they have found you.
Warren, Robert. TypePad.com (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing
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Boredom: The Secret of Tech Writing 
Of course, it's not 100% all of the time boring. Just some of it, on a fairly regular but not intolerable basis. But boring all the same.
Higgins, Lisa. TECHWR-L (2000). Humor>Writing>Technical Writing
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Boulder Writers Alliance Resource Village
Welcome to the Resource Page for the BWA. Please walk your mouse through the different houses to access a variety of valuable resources for writers.
Boulder Writers Alliance (2000). Resources>Writing
#22052
Brainstorming and Storyboarding
The whole idea of “brainstorming” is to get ideas on paper. No particular order or structure, just get them ideas down. All you need is a quiet room, a clock, and pencil and paper. The procedure is simple: think about the subject and write down every idea that pops into your head within a set time.
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Begin sentences with subjects and verbs, letting subordinate elements branch to the right. Even a long, long sentence can be clear and powerful when the subject and verb make meaning early.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
#25223
Branding Copy and Web Sites: A Bad Fit
The trouble with using text as a branding tool on web pages is that it gets in the way of what visitors are looking for. Visitors want and expect text to be useful and information. They are in 'active' and 'engaged' mode. They are searching. They want something. Text that isn't useful is disappointing.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Marketing
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Breaking into Technical Writing
I'm not ashamed to admit it: the reason I became a technical writer is because 'Technical' comes after 'Teacher' in the help-wanted ads.
Johnson, Carol Siri. MetroVoice (2002). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
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In our early writing years, many of us toiled under strict teachers who drilled the rules of English grammar into our collective consciousness. We sweated drops of blood on our pristine paper as we tried to craft perfect sentences for that much-desired 'A.' We prayed that we didn’t leave a word or clause misplaced or dangling for the teacher’s angry red pen to mark. Yet pick up a work of modern fiction, and you might notice that the writer has broken many of the rules that were drummed into our impressionable heads. These days, fiction often resembles the casual style of postmodern poetry, with sentence fragments and punctuation sprinkled about like seasoning. But in technical communication, we can’t be so casual. We must adhere to those rules of grammar our English teachers upheld— at least, for the most part.
Gallagher, Jolie A. Intercom (2002). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Technical Writing
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I love my job but don’t feel the managers think it’s important, partly because of the noise. I also sometimes feel that I’m just an ISO requirement. I’ve also heard from techs that customers don’t look at the manuals; they just put them on a shelf. Any thoughts?
Alroy, Faye. Intercom (2003). Careers>Workplace>Writing>Technical Writing
#10393
This paper analyzes behaviors and mechanisms that led to successful and unsuccessful aerospace proposals written by one company over 10 years. Successful proposal managers elicited cooperation through persuasion and by successfully negotiating organizational, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries. Tracking devices that identified scheduling problems early in the project and designation of a dedicated, neutral project space located near corporate decision makers also contributed to a proposal team's success. This research suggests the need for technical writing instruction that develops students' non-coercive persuasive skills and their sensitivity to the communication challenges inherent in cross-organizational and cross-cultural contexts.
Kent-Drury, Roxanne. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing
#25493
Bridging the Gap: A Genre Analysis of Weblogs 
Weblogs (blogs)--frequently modified web pages in which dated entries are listed in reverse chronological sequence--are the latest genre of Internet communication to attain widespread popularity, yet their characteristics have not been systematically described. This paper presents the results of a content analysis of 203 randomly-selected weblogs, comparing the empirically observable features of the corpus with popular claims about the nature of weblogs, and finding them to differ in a number of respects. Notably, blog authors, journalists and scholars alike exaggerate the extent to which blogs are interlinked, interactive, and oriented towards external events, and under-estimate the importance of blogs as individualistic, intimate forms of self-expression. Based on the profile generated by the empirical analysis, we consider the likely antecedents of the blog genre, situate it with respect to the dominant forms of digital communication on the Internet today, and advance predictions about its long-term impacts.
Herring, Susan C., Lois Ann Scheidt, Sabrina Bonus and Elijah Wright. (We)blog Research on Genre Project, The (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
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Bright Words, Dull Words, and Snags: A Theory of Technical Writing 
While all words on the page should be necessary, not every word carries the same importance. Yet words compete for attention, and depending on what they mean to readers, one word may make a greater impression than another. As writers, we must express what’s important with bright words. We must tone down what’s not important and express them with dull words. We must avoid snags, words that distract, confuse, or interfere in any way with the smooth transfer of information.
Palkovic, Lawrence A. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Writing>Rhetoric
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Brokedown Palace Part 2: Workflows for Fun and Profit
If you're going to toss out your user guides, you'd better have a good user interface and concise supporting materials. Workflows can help you both in the design of the user interface and in the creation of job aids for the people who use your product. A workflow is a compact and effective way to describe the flow of any procedure. How many times have you grumbled about the design of a piece of software or Web site that you've been trying to use? Chances are that no one ever sat down to model it using the workflow technique.
Knowles, Michael. Write Thinking (2002). Articles>Writing>Documentation
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Brokedown Palace, Part 1: Why User Guides Don't Work
Software user guides use up an awful lot of space with screen shots. But I know what the screen looks like -- it's right in front of me. Any decent GUI design is self-documenting to some extent, at least. No matter how much we complain about them, GUIs have gotten pretty good. Children have them figured out in minutes. And then they start asking questions like, 'How do I make my stick man move around?' Computers are toasters or drawing pads to them. That's another reason user guides don't work: the average user doesn't need one anymore.
Knowles, Michael. Write Thinking (2002). Articles>Writing>Documentation>Screen Captures
