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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Composing New Media in the Humanities: A Disciplinary Study of Design Heuristics 
Because computers and writing as well as other related areas, like professional writing and increasingly even first-year composition are interested in new ways of composing, more and more heuristics are being brought in from other fields.
Agena, Kate. Purdue University (2003). Articles>Writing>Computers and Writing
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Composing Organically With Reader Engagement: The CORE Method 
The CORE method of teaching technical writing begins with a short core document and builds up from there. The method follows advances in writing technology and pedagogy, realizing the advantages of computer-assisted writing as well as the 'process' approach to teaching composition. The workshop creates opportunities for participants to evaluate the CORE method and apply it to their own teaching or training tasks.
Killingsworth, M. Jimmie. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
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The Composing Process of Technical Writers: A Preliminary Study 
Janet Emig's 1971 study, The Composing Process of Twelfth Graders, spurred an interest in the writing process: how writers compose rather than simply what they compose. However, a survey of current literature indicates that little has been published on the composing processes of technical writers. Perhaps we have assumed that technical writers compose as other writers do. In order to test this assumption, we conducted the research on which we base this study.
Roundy, Nancy and David Mair. JAC (1983). Articles>Writing>TC
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Composition Teachers: No Experience Necessary?
It's Monday, September 8, your first day in law school. Tonight you'll start your classes. You'll be taking Criminal Law and Procedure on Mondays, Basic Contract Law on Tuesdays, and Property and Law on Wednesdays. But before going to any of those classes, you are, at eight o'clock this morning, given your first task as a law student. You'll be trying a case in superior court. It doesn't matter what the case is; the defendant's future is on the line, and you are responsible for it. The fact that you've never taken a law course before and basically have no idea what to do in court also doesn't matter. After all, the way to learn to do something is by doing it. And if this defendant gets cheated out of the right to the best lawyer possible, and if the next several defendants also get cheated, does that really matter? Someday, chances are, you'll be a great lawyer. The above scenario is nothing less than ridiculous, yet in English departments across the country a similar scenario takes place at the start of every semester.
Webster, Janice Gohm. ADE Bulletin (1989). Articles>Education>Writing
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Since 1949, when the Conference on College Composition and Communication was founded in Chicago, the terms composition and rhetoric have been linked in a social-constructionist move that is now ubiquitous in many United Statesian English departments as well as in many free-standing composition-rhetoric programs.
Welch, Kathleen E. Enculturation (2003). Articles>Education>Writing>Rhetoric
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An ongoing online index of twentieth-century publications in post-secondary composition, rhetoric, ESL, and technical writing.
Haswell, Rich. CompPile. Resources>Bibliographies>Rhetoric>Technical Writing
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A Computer Writing Environment for Professional Writers and Students Learning to Write 
While some models of computer writing environments have emerged in the literature on writing, most of them are done with the purpose of helping writers in an academic context and very few, if any, with the aim of facilitating the work of professional writers or students in professional writing. We think, however, that we can learn from the previous models to build a multi-purpose computer writing environment that will take into account the needs of the professional writers as well as those of the students learning to write. We will begin by looking at some models of writing proposed by Hayes and Flower in 1980 and also at the model of White and Arndt. Afterwards, we will review the model of professional writers developed by Clerc and link it with the previous models. We will then have to look at some computer writing environments described in the literature and see how these environments take into account the process and tasks identified in writing. Finally, we will suggest our model.
Bisaillon, Jocelyne, Isabelle Clerc, and Jacques Ladouceur. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>Education>Computers and Writing>Writing
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Computerjobs: Technical Writing
Offers a large database of jobs for IT professionals, including technical writing positions. Allows job seekers to post their resumes and bookmark jobs. Allows employers to post new jobs and search resumes.
ComputerJobs.com. Careers>Job Listings>Writing>Technical Writing
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Computers and Composition Bibliography
A bibliography of writings in computers and composition. The citations come from Hawisher, Gail E.; LeBlanc, Paul; Moran, Charles; & Selfe, Cynthia L. (1996).
Computers and Composition (2000). Resources>Bibliographies>Writing
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The goal of this course is to foster a sophisticated understanding of rhetorical situation, style and arrangement. Writing for the electronic medium with its specific demands should reveal by contrast material aspects of the practice of conventionalwriting that may have been taken for granted. Technologies encourage certain kinds of thinking and behavior and discourage others. Writing has always been one such technology. The World Wide Web is not the introduction of, but a shift in, technology. Students will analyze, conceptualize and create websites with HTML and graphics without the use of WYSIWYG helpers. WYSIWYG programs can make website development easy; however, we will stay close to the actual code in order to get a better understanding of the medium.
Levy, Matthew A. University of Texas. Academic>Courses>Computers and Writing>Web Design
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Il manualista è un blog per redattori tecnici, manualisti e technical writer. Gli argomenti sono: formazione, terminologia, norme, grafica, metodi e software.
Herkner, Erik. comunicare la tecnica (2007). (Italian) Resources>Writing>Technical Writing>Blogs
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Il processo di comunicazione tecnica consiste nel veicolare informazioni circa una tecnologia ad una platea ben definita.
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Comunicazione Verbale e Scritta: Technical Writing
La produzione di testi in un settore tecnico o scientifico ben determinato richiede il rispetto delle regole e delle abitudini proprie di quel settore. Indicativamente si possono tuttavia suggerire le seguenti fasi.
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Provides alternatives to overstated, pompous words; wordy, bureaucratic phrases; and verbose, sometimes amusing redundant phrases.
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Concise, Scannable, and Objective: How to Write for the Web
Studies of how users read on the Web found that they do not actually read: instead, they scan the text. A study of five different writing styles found that a sample Web site scored 58% higher in measured usability when it was written concisely, 47% higher when the text was scannable, and 27% higher when it was written in an objective style instead of the promotional style used in the control condition and many current Web pages. Combining these three changes into a single site that was concise, scannable, and objective at the same time resulted in 124% higher measured usability.
Morkes, John and Jakob Nielsen. Alertbox (1997). Design>Web Design>Writing>Usability
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Conciseness is Key to Good Technical Documentation
One of the most important and difficult parts of technical documentation concerns writing in a concise manner. Technical writing is different than writing fiction or magazine articles, where a mood may be set or--in some cases--where space must be filled. (People seldom buy thin books.)
Kurtus, Ron. School for Champions (2005). Articles>Document Design>Technical Writing>Minimalism
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Concrete Methods that Promote Active Learning in Software Manuals
To learn software, passive users prefer to have concepts and procedures clearly spelled out for them, while active learners prefer experimenting with the program. When designing a manual, writers should keep both types of users in mind. Writers at WordPerfect are currently experimenting with minimalist design models that encourage active learning. One such model is an “On Your Own” section which guides users through creating a document. Another model is a visually oriented “Applications” section which provides tips on how to create a document.
Bringhurst, Robert G. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Documentation
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Conducting Successful SME Interviews
Interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs) is one of the most common and useful methods for obtaining the information needed to create quality documents. Successful SME interviews require careful research and preparation in advance. During the interview, good listening skills, critical analysis, and the ability to maintain control of the range and depth of the interview with appropriate tact are crucial to successful outcomes. After the interview, give prompt attention to notes and any required follow-through. When working with hostile SMEs or those with poor communication skills, emphasize the strengths of the relationship and develop strategies to work around any weaknesses.
Lambe, Jennifer L. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Interviewing>Writing>SMEs
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Technical writing sounds like the ideal job.
Dyen, Natalie Zellat. NatalieWritings. Humor>Writing>Documentation
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Confessions of a Technical Author: What Can Technical Communicators Learn from David Ogilvy?
David Ogilvy was an advertising genius who distilled his successful concepts and techniques into a bestselling book I've just finished reading, called "Confessions of an Advertising Man". I wanted to read his book, because I often find it useful to look at other professions and ask whether their ideas could be applied to the world of technical authoring.
Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2008). Articles>TC>Writing>Technical Writing
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Conseils de Rédaction pour les Rapports Techniques
Ce document est une compilation de remarques et de conseils divers applicables à la rédaction de rapports, mémoires, thèses... et plus généralement de tout document technique. Il ne s'agit pas d'un traité exhaustif de la question, mais plutôt d'un corpus minimal de règles qu'il est indispensable de respecter.
Torzynski, Marc. Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg (1997). (French) Articles>Writing>Technical Writing
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As a technical writer, every decision you make is influenced by several discrete things, considerations for either the audience of the information, the process you’ll need to follow to collate and verify the information, and so on. Every decision requires such considerations but is it possible to model these?
One Man Writes (2008). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Theory
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Considerations for Hiring Technical Writers
If you have a group of stressed out and overworked technical writers and need to add to your staff, hiring the right technical writer can be a challenge. The author provides some tips on the hiring and interview process and what you might look for in exceptional technical writing candidates that will best fill the needs of your group of technical writers.
Rastocny, Philip. Writing Assistance (2008). Careers>Interviewing>Recruiting>Technical Writing
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Consortium for the Study of Engineering Communication
The Consortium for the Study of Engineering Communication consists of individual engineering communication scholars from six professional organizations and ten universities who are interested in research relating to the Acreditation Board for Engineering and Technology's Engineering Criteria 2000, expecially EC3(g): 'the ability to communicate effectively.' They are working together on research and development projects to identify best communication practices of successful engineers in industry and ways of assessing students' communication performances. Collaboration with others concerned with engineering communication and assessment is welcome. Please see the list of members or the list of organizations represented for further information or contact us.
Rice University. Organizations>Education>Engineering>Technical Writing
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Content for Tourism and Hospitality Sites
My worst experiences with hospitality sites have been to do with vague location, online timetables, poor follow-up communication, and out of date information. I have wasted days as a result, which I hate.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Writing
