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.
#15093
Bug Reports: Your Road to Visibility 
Argues that technical writers have a professional duty to report defects in software and presents examples of software problems that require bug reports.
Leritz-Higgins, Sarah E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Writing>Editing
#25572
Want a professional writing secret? Build your writing inventory. Unless you have an inventory, you have nothing to sell.
Booth, Angela. Digital-E (2003). Careers>Writing>Business Communication>Blogs
#13934
Building a Print/Digit Interface 
The new Computers and Composition segment, 'Print/Digital Dialogue,' is designed to enable communication between print and digital forms of professional conversation. For some time, email discussions have been peppered with references to other digital resources as well as print resources. Rarely do professional print journals refer readers to digital resources, even with scholars such as Janice Walker creating citation guides for references to digital scholarship in print. Print is important -- this effort to put digital and print resources into conversation should not be seen as a threat to on-line discussion but as an opportunity to expand the professional community of Techno-rhetoricians. We are members of a hybrid community, existing both on-line and off, and need bridges between on- and off- line scholarship. It is a translation from one established realm into another, perhaps less developed one.
Salvo, Michael J. Kairos (1996). Articles>Writing>Online
#13394
Building a Successful Acquisitions Program: One Publisher’s Story
The Books by Users program, SAS Institute’s acquisitions program, serves a twofold purpose: helping SAS software users with book ideas turn their ideas into high-quality books about the SAS System; Providing Users with books about SAS Software to supplement primary documentation produced by in-house writers. This paper gives an overview of the Books by Users program and examines its operations and growth over the past three years. It offers tips both for companies building acquisitions programs and for authors hoping to interest publishers in their book ideas.
Ginn, Jennifer M. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Publishing
#15094
Building Blocks for Marketing Documents
Massa explains several features common to most technical marketing documents.
Massa, Jack A. Intercom (2002). Articles>Writing>Marketing
#14976
This is chapter two from the 6th Edition of Business and Administrative Communication, developed to teach you how to communicate effectively and improve your written and oral business communication skills. This knowledge will help you in your courses and, more importantly, in your future career. Throughout this text, several pedagogical elements appear to teach readers about all the aspects of business communication. These examples in their many formats are found in every chapter and provide excellent real-world examples to underscore key concepts throughout the text.
Locker, Kitty O. McGraw-Hill (2003). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing
#23219
The Bumper Book of Technical Boobs
Humorous examples of accidental (and humorous) errors in technical descriptions. Most of the gems on the following pages were, thankfully, picked up at the editing stage. One or two slipped through into printed books; some didnÕt even get as far as first draft stage. We have wondered for a long time about the mentality of the people who write this sort of thing; now you, too, can sit at your desk and try to figure out what these technical authors (yes, they actually get paid for this!) and engineers are on, where they got it from and whether they will give you some.
Watson, Sophie. ISTC (2004). Humor>Writing>Technical Writing
#10086
Business Communication Quarterly
Business Communication Quarterly is a refereed journal devoted to the teaching of business communication, which is a broad, interdisciplinary field. It is also international, and thus the journal aims to present the field from that international perspective.
Association for Business Communication. Journals>Writing>Workplace
#20496
Business Correspondence and Resumes
This chapter focus on business correspondence-general format and style for business letters as well as specific types of business letters.
McMurrey, David A. Io.com. Careers>Resumes>Writing>Business Communication
#10356
Business Objectives: A Key Tool for Demonstrating the Value of Technical Communication Products 
Little has been written for technical communicators on how to identify the business goals of the projects we work on, or how to write those goals in observable, measurable terms. When we prepare goals in observable, measurable terms, we call these goals objectives. This article is intended to fill that gap. It first describes the challenges of setting business objectives for a project, next describes the three ways that a performance improvement program can contribute to the business performance of an organization, and then explains how to write a business objective. Finally, this article describes the benefits of writing business objectives.
Carliner, Saul. Technical Communication Online (1998). Careers>Writing>Business Communication
#22041
A template to describe a company's business plan, in Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat formats.
Tech-Writer. Resources>Business Communication>Management>Writing
#15096
Business Reports that Demand Attention
Walinskas offers tips for improving business reports.
Walinskas, Karl. Intercom (2001). Articles>Writing>Reports
#13403
Business Writer's Free Library
This library is a free community resource to be shared and contributed to by users and readers across the world. The overall goal of the library is to provide leaders and managers (especially those with very limited resources) basic and practical information about business, management and organizations. Items in the library are relevant to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations unless otherwise marked at the top of the Web page containing the item.
McNamara, Carter. Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits (2002). Resources>Directories>Writing>Business Communication
#25313
This course is designed for students who expect to write in their future employment. Successful employees know how to communicate clearly and effectively, changing writing style and content for varying audiences and purposes. This class will focus on the difficult task of meeting readers' needs while simultaneously representing your best interests and those of your employer. To meet that end, the assignments will cover a variety of tasks produced under different circumstances, some done quickly during class and some polished and perfected over time. Students completing the semester's work should see a visible improvement in their writing, especially in terms of clarity and precision.
Roy, Debopriyo. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2005). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication
#23530
This course provides an introduction to business writing, which includes business reports, memos, and letters; this course is particularly appropriate for students in business and related areas, although it is open to students from any major. The course requires critical thinking, problem solving, attention to detail, ingenuity, and a significant commitment of time to complete the writing assignments.
Clark, Dave. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2003). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication
#20558
ENGL 420 teaches students the rhetorical principles and writing practices necessary for producing effective business letters, memos, reports, and collaborative projects in professional contexts. The curriculum is informed by current research in rhetoric and professional writing and is guided by the needs of business, industry, and society at large, as well as by the needs of Purdue students and programs.
Clark, Tracy. Purdue University (2003). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication
#22401
Suggests that knowing how to create a Web page is only a small step toward writing good hypertext. The article is the first installment in a two-part series on hypertext for anyone who writes anything for the Web. In a world where designers create systems to offload work to secretaries and writers, both technical and non-technical people need a sense of the possibilities opened up by hypertext.
Matias, Nathan. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Writing
#18295
California Labor Market Information System: Technical Writers
Technical Writers compose communication from product developers for users of the products. Users include consumers as well as scientists, engineers, plant executives, line workers, and production managers. Writers must write in a concise and easy-to-read manner for consumer publications or in highly specialized language for experts. With the increased use of desktop publishing, Technical Writers increasingly are responsible for the publication process including graphics, layout, and document design. Technical Writers create product instructions, reference and maintenance manuals, articles, project proposals, training materials, technical reports, catalogs, brochures, online documentation and help systems, Web pages, multimedia presentations, parts lists, assembly instructions, and sales promotion materials.
State of California (2002). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>California
#21132
Call Them Demons, Call Them Heroes
The language you use on your web site is critically important and shapes the user experience in ways that you might not expect. You can seriously harm or augment the experience by changing words in small ways.
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2000). Design>Web Design>Writing
#27549
Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!
You know all that copy that goes around your forms and in your confirmation e-mails? Who’s writing it? Derek Powazek explains why it’s important for user-interface designers to sharpen up their writing skills.
Powazek, Derek. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Writing
#19558
Writers, of course, seldom find themselves in life-and-death situations. However, the way in which a writing project is managed can often mean the difference between a project’s failure and success. For writers managing a project, obtaining backup consists of two issues: making sure someone can continue your work if something prevents you from doing so yourself; and knowing how to get help when you can’t keep your head above water.
Holland, Anton. Writer's Block (1995). Articles>Writing>Workflow
#14710
MacDonald analyzes the success of irreverent software manuals such as the 'For Dummies' and 'Complete Idiot's' series and suggests ways writers of traditional technical manuals can make their own work more enjoyable to read.
MacDonald, Matthew P. Intercom (2001). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#19843
Can the Computer Improve your Writing Style?
We have spell checkers. We have grammar checkers. What we really need is a style checker.
Cohen, Gerald. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Writing>Editing>Word Processing
#13972
The Canisius Project: From Field-Work To Classroom
In the Canisius Project for Writing Across the Curriculum, we have studied the writing worlds of business, social services, science and technology, and 'public life' (the media, public relations, law, fund raising, and the like). For all these fields, our research has followed the same basic pattern. We begin with an initial interview, using a questionnaire which asks about the range of tasks, the problems, the methods, and the significance of the person's work world writing. Then we collect a portfolio of the person's writings. As an ideal, we request at least one sample of each kind of writing, with several samples of the most frequent and important kinds. After studying the portfolio, we return for a taped interview which focuses on specific features of selected pieces of writing. At the end of each research sequence, we hold a workshop which brings together researchers, faculty from the relevant departments, and as many as possible of our work world writers. Near the end of the workshop, the group defines some of the goals and methods most important for an upper level writing course which is to be aimed at, but not restricted to, business majors, or social science majors, or science majors, or humanities majors. (The groups of majors correspond to our research sequences: business, social services, science and technology, and, for want of a better term, public life.)
Schroeder, Melvin W. and Kenneth M. Sroka. JAC (1981). Articles>Education>Writing Across the Curriculum
#20466
Many documents suffer from over-capitalisation. The writer sprinkles capitals everywhere in an attempt to make words stand out - with the result that nothing stands out. Here are some simple rules to help you avoid this capital offence.
