Alfaisal University 2021 Summer Session Course Name: Technical English Course Number: ENG 222 Instructor: Danny Salgado
Alfaisal University 2021 Summer Session Course Name: Technical English Course Number: ENG 222 Instructor: Danny Salgado
Chapter 3:
Writing Technical Documents
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Planning:
Planning, which can take more than a third of the total
time spent on a writing project, is critically important
for every documents, from an email message to a
book-length manual. Start by thinking about your
audience, because you need to understand whom you
are writing to before you can figure what you need to
say about your subject. (42)
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ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE
• Who is your reader? Consider such factors as education, job experience and
responsibilities, skill in reading English, cultural characteristics, and personal
preferences.
• What are your reader’s attitudes and expectations? Consider the reader’s
attitude toward the topic and your message, as well as the reader’s expectations
about the kind of document you will be presenting.
• Why and how will the reader use your document? Think about what readers
will do with the document. This includes the physical environment in which they
will use it, the techniques they will use in reading it, and the tasks they carry out
after they finish reading it.
(p. 43)
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CHOOSING YOUR WRITING TOOLS
Writers have tools available to them than ever before. You probably do most your
writing with commercial software such as Microsoft Office or open source software
such as Open Office, and you will likely continue to do much of your writing with
these tools..
If you travel often or if many people in different locations will collaborate on a
given document, you may find it useful to work with a cloud-based tool such as
Google Drive…
Scrivener, for example, lets you gather your research data in a single location and
easily reorganize your document at the section or chapter level. Composition programs
optimized for tablets, such as WritePad, convert handwriting into text, translate text
into a number of languages, and feature cloud-based storage
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GENERATING IDEAS ABOUT YOUR SUBJECT
Generating ideas is way to start mapping out the information you will need to include
in the document, deciding where to put it, and identifying additional information that
my be required.
First, find out what your already know about the topic by using any of the
techniques shown in Table 3.1.
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Table 3.1.
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Table 3.1.
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RESEARCHING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Once you have a good idea of what you already know about your topic,
you must obtain the rest of the information you will need. You can find
and evaluate what other people have already written by reading reference
books, scholarly books, articles, websites, and reputable blogs and
discussion boards. In addition, you might compile new information by
interviewing experts, distributing surveys and questionnaires, making
observations, sending inquiries, and conducting experiments. Don’t forget
to ask questions and gather opinions from your own network of associates,
both inside and outside your organization.
(p. 45-46)
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ORGANIZING AND OUTLINING YOUR DOCUMENT
Although each document has its own requirements, you can use existing organizational
patterns or adapt them to your situation. For instance, the compare-and-contrast pattern
might be an effective way to organize a discussion of different health-promotion
programs. The cause-and-effect pattern might work well for a discussion of the effects
of implementing such a program
At this this point, your organization is only tentative. When you start to draft, you
might find that the pattern you chose isn’t working well or that you need additional
information that doesn’t fit into the pattern.
Once you have a tentative plan, write an outline to help you stay on track as you
draft. To keep your purpose clearly in mind as you work, you may want to write it at
the top of your page before you begin your outline. (p. 46)
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SELECTING AN APPLICATION, A DESIGN, AND A DELIVERY METHOD
Once you have a sense of what to say, you need to select an application (the type of document), a design, and a
delivery method. You have a number of decisions to make:
• Is the application already chosen to me? If you are writing a proposal to submit to the U.S. Department of the
Interior, for example, you must follow the department’s specifications for what the proposal is to look like and
how it is to be delivered. For most kinds of communication, however, you will likely have to select the
appropriate application, such as as a set of instructions or manual…
• What will my readers expect? If your readers expect a written set of instructions, you should present a set of
instructions unless some other application, such as a report or manual, is more appropriate. If they expect to see
the the instructions presented in a simple black-and-white booklet—and there is no good reason to design
something more elaborate than that—your choice is obvious
• What delivery method will work best? ...[How will you] deliver the document to your reader? For instance,
you would likely mail an annual report to your readers and upload it to your company website…
It is important to think about these questions during the planning process, because your answers will largely
determine the scope, organization, style, and design of the information you will prepare. (p. 47)
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[II.] Drafting
When you have at least a preliminary outline, it is time to start drafting. Some
writers like to draft within the outline created on their word-processing
program. Others prefer to place a paper copy of their outline on the desk next
to their keyboard and begin drafting a new document that follows that outline.
USING TEMPLATES
For your draft, you might consider using an existing template or modifying one
to meet your needs. Templates are preformatted designs for different types of
documents, such as letters, memos, newsletters, and reports.
(p. 48)
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[p. 51]
Chapter 14:
Writing Correspondence
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I. Understanding the Process of Writing Correspondence
II. Selecting a Type of Correspondence
III. Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence
IV. Writing Letters
V. Writing Memos
VI. Writing Emails
VII. Writing Microblogs
VIII. Writing Correspondence to Multicultural Readers
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REGARDLESS OF WHETHER you use microblogs, instant messaging, text
messaging, or more traditional applications, you will communicate in writing every
day on the job. This chapter discusses the four major formats used for producing
workplace correspondence: letters, memos, email, and microblog posts. Throughout
this chapter, the word correspondence refers to all these forms.
Understanding the Process of Writing Correspondence
The process of writing correspondence is essentially like that of writing any other
kind of workplace document. The Focus on Process box presents and overview of
this process, focusing on letters, memos, and emails. The more formal the
correspondence, the more time you are likely to spend on each of these steps.
(p. 359)
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Check on Learning
What is the most formal form of correspondence?
What is the least formal form of correspondence?
What is a memo?
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Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence
When you write business correspondence, follow these five
suggestions for presenting yourself as a professional:
• Use the appropriate level of formality.
• Communicate correctly.
• Project the “you attitude.”
• Avoid correspondence clichés.
• Communicate honestly. (p. 360)
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USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF FORMALITY
People are sometimes tempted to use informal writing in informal
digital applications such as email and microblogs. Don’t. Everything
you write on the job is legally the property of the organization for
which you work, and messages are always archived digitally, even
after recipients have deleted them. Your documents might be read by
the company president, or they might appear in a newspaper or in a
court of law. Therefore, use a moderately formal tone to avoid
potential embarrassment.
(p. 360)
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TOO INFORMAL Our meeting with United went south right away when they threw a hissy fit,
saying that we blew off the deadline for the progress report.
MODERATELY In our meeting, the United representative expressed concern that we had missed
FORMAL the deadline for the progress report.
However, you don’t want to sound like a dictionary
TOO FORMAL It was indubitably the case that our team was successful in presenting a proposal
that was characterized by quality of the highest order. My appreciation for your
industriousness is herewith extended.
MODERATELY I think we put together an excellent proposal. Thank you very much for your hard
FORMAL. work.
(pp. 360-61)
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Writing Letters
Letters are still the basic means of communication between organizations,
with millions written each day. To write effective letters, you need to
understand the elements of a letter, its format, and the common types of
letters sent in the business world.
ELEMENTS OF A LETTER
Most letters include a heading, inside address, salutation, body,
complimentary close, and signature. Some letters also include one or more
of the following: attention line, enclosure line, and copy line. Figure 14.3
shows the elements of a letter. (p. 363)
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COMMON TYPES OF LETTERS
Organization send out many different kinds of letters. This section focuses on four types of
letters written frequently in the workplace: inquiry, response to an inquiry, claim, and
adjustment.
Inquiry Letter Figure 14.5 shows an inquiry letter, in which you ask questions.
Response to an Inquiry Figure 14.6 (on page 368) shows a response to thing inquiry
letter in Figure 14.5.
Claim Letter Figure 14.7 (on page 369) is an example of a claim letter that the writer
scanned and attached an email to the reader. The writer’s decision to present his message
in a letter rather than an email suggest that he wishes to convey the more-formal tone
associated with letters—and yet he wants the letter to arrive quickly.
(p. 366)
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Writing Memos
Even in age of email microblogs, memos are likely to survive because sometimes writers want
a slightly more formal document. Like letter, memo have a characteristics format, which
consists of the element shown in Figure14.10.
Print the second and all the subsequent pages of a memo on a plain paper rather than on a
letterhead. Include three items in the upper right-hand or left-hand corner of each subsequent
page: the name of the recipient, the date of the memo, and the page number. See the header in
Figure 14.3 on pages 364-65.
Figure 14.11, a sample memo, is a trip report, a record of a business trip written after the
employee returned to the office. Readers are less interested in an hour-by-hour narrative of
what happened than in a carefully structured discussion of what was important. Although
writer and reader appear to be relatively equal in rank, the writer goes to the trouble of
organizing the memo to make it easy to read and refer to later. (p. 372-73)
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Chapter 4:
Writing Collaboratively
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Chapter 4:
I. Advantages and Disadvantages Collaboration
II. Managing Projects
III. Conducting Meetings
IV. Using Social Media and Other Electronic Tools
in Collaboration
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(p. 60)
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Managing Projects
At some point in your career, you will likely collaborate on a project that is
just too big, too technical, too complex, and too difficult for you team to
complete successfully without some advance planning and careful oversight.
Often, collaborative projects last several weeks or months, and the efforts of
several people are required at scheduled times for the project to proceed. For
this reason, collaborators need to spend time managing the project to ensure
that it no only meets the needs of the audience but also is completed on time
and, if relevant, within budget.
(p. 60)
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Conducting Meetings
Collaboration involves meetings. Whether you are meeting live in a room on
campus or using videoconferencing tools, the five aspects of meetings
discussed in this section can help you use your time productively and
produce the best possible document.
LISTENING EFFECTIVELY
Participating in a meeting involves listening and speaking. If you listen
carefully to other people, you will understand what they are thinking and
you will be able to speak knowledgeably and constructively. Unlike hearing
which involves understanding what the speaker is saying and interpreting
the information. (p. 62)
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Conducting Meetings (cont.)
SETTING YOUR TEAM’S AGENDA
It’s important to get your team off to a smooth start. In the first meeting,
start to define your team’s agenda.
(p. 62)
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Figure 4.2
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Figure 4.3
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Figure 4.4
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Conducting Meetings (cont.)
CONDUCTING EFFICIENT MEETINGS
Human communication is largely nonverbal. That is, although people communicate through
words and through the tone, rate, and volume of their speech, they also communicate through
body language. For this reason, meetings provide the most information about what a person is
thinking, and feeling—and the best opportunity for team members to understand one another.
To help make meetings effective and efficient, team members should arrive on time and
stick to the agenda. One team member should serve as secretary, recording the important
decisions made at the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the team leader should summarize
the team’s accomplishments and state the tasks each team member is to perform before the
next meeting. If possible, the secretary should give each team member this informal set of
meeting minutes. (p. 67)
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Check on Learning
Is human communication done mostly verbally or
nonverbally?
(p. 67)
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Conducting Meetings (cont.)
COMMUNICATING DIPLOMATICALLY
Because collaborating can be stressful, it can lead to interpersonal conflict. People can
become frustrated and angry with one another because of personality clashes or because of
disputes about the project. If the project is to succeed, however, team members have to work
together productively. When you speak in team meeting, you want to appear helpful, not
critical or overbearing.
CRITIQUING A TEAM MEMBER’S WORK
In your college classes, you probably have critiqued other students’ writing. In the workplace,
you will do the same sort of critiquing of notes and drafts written by other team members.
Knowing how to do it without offending the writer is valuable skill.
(p. 67)
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Using Social Media and Other Electronic Tools in Collaboration
The tremendous growth in the use of social-media services such as Facebook, YouTube,
and Twitter by the general population is reflected in the working world. Although by the
general population is reflected in the working world. Although few of social-media tools
were created for use in that context, most of them are used by professionals as business
tools.
With each passing year, more professionals are using social media in the workplace. A
2012 survey by the human-resources consulting company SilkRoad found that almost
three-quarters of employees surveyed use their own mobile devices in the workplace
every day to connect with co-workers and customers, to share work-related information,
to collaborate, and to spark new ideas. The three most popular services were Twitter,
Facebook, and LinkedIn, each used by more than half of those surveyed…
(p. 69)
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Using Social Media…(cont.)
WORD-PROCESSING TOOLS
Most word processors offer three powerful features that you will find useful in collaborative work:
• The comment feature lets the readers add electronic comments to a file.
• The revision feature lets readers mark up a text by deleting, revising, and adding words and indicates who
made which suggested change.
• The highlighting feature lets readers use one of about a dozen “highlighting pens” to call the writer’s
attention to a particular passage.
MESSAGING TECHNOLOGIES
Two messaging technologies have been around for decades: instant messaging and email. Instant messaging
(IM) is real-time, text-based communication between two or more people. In the working world, IM enables
people in different locations to communicate textual information at the same time. Email is an asynchronous
medium for sending brief textual messages and for transferring files such as documents, spreadsheets,
images, and videos. (p. 71-72)
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Check on Learning
What is Instant Messaging?
What email?
(p. 71)
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Using Social Media…(cont.)
VIDEOCONFERENCING
Videoconferencing technology allows two or more people at different
locations to simultaneously see and hear on another as well as exchange
documents, share data on computer displays, and use electronic documents,
share data on computer displays, and use electronic whiteboards. Systems
such as Skype are simple, inexpensive, requiring only a Webcam and some
free software. However, there are also large, dedicated systems that require
extensive electronics, including cameras, servers, and fiber-optic network or
high-speed telephone lines.
(p. 72)
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Using Social Media…(cont.)
WIKIS AND SHARED DOCUMENT WORKSPACES
Ten years ago, people would collaborate on a document by using email to
send it from one person to another. One person would write or assemble the
document and then send it to another person, who would revise it and send it
along to the next person, and so forth. Although the process was effective, it
was inefficient: only one person could work on the document at any given
moment. Today, two new technologies—wikis are shared document
workspaces—make collaborating on a document much simpler and more
convenient.
(p. 74)
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Using Social Media…(cont.)
WIKIS (cont.)
(p. 74)
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Check on Learning
What is a wiki?
(p. 74)
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Gender and Collaboration
Effective collaboration involves two related challenges: maintaining the team as a productive,
friendly working unit and accomplishing the task. Scholars of gender and collaboration see these
two challenges as representing the feminine and the masculine perspectives.
This discussion should begin with a qualifier: in discussing gender, we are generalizing. The
differences in behavior between two men or between two women are likely to be greater than the
differences between men and women in general.
The differences in how the genders communicate and work in teams have been traced to very
culture’s traditional family structure. Because women were traditionally the primary caregivers in
American culture, they learned to value nurturing, connection, growth, and cooperation; because
men were the primary breadwinners, they learned to value separateness, competition, debate, and
even conflict (Karten, 2002). In collaborative teams, women appear to value consensus and
relationships more than men do, to show more empathy, and to demonstrate superior listening
skills…. (p. 77)
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Culture and Collaboration
Most collaborative teams in industry and in the classroom include people from other
cultures. The challenge for all team members is to understand the ways in which cultural
differences can affect team behavior. People from other cultures
• might find it difficult to assert themselves in collaborative teams
• might be unwilling to respond with a definite “no”
• might be reluctant to admit when they are confused or to ask for clarification
• might avoid criticizing others
• might avoid initiating new tasks or performing creatively…
(p. 77)
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(p. 84-85)
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Using an Audience Profile Sheet
As you read the discussions in this chapter about audience characteristics and techniques for learning about your
audience, you might think about using and audience profile sheet: a form that prompts you to consider various
audience characteristics as you plan your document. For example, the profile sheet can help you realize that you
do not know much about how to shape your document. Figure 5.2 shows an audience profile sheet can help you
realize that you do not know much about your primary reader’s work history and what that history can tell you
about how to shape your document. Figure 5.2 shows an audience profile sheet that provides important
information about one of writer’s most important readers.
If your document has several readers, you must decide whether to fill out only one sheet (for your most
important reader) or several sheets. On technique is to fill out sheets for one or two of your most important
readers and one for each major category of other readers…
When do you fill out an audience profile sheet? Although some writers like to do so at the start of the process
as a way to prompt themselves to consider audience characteristics, others prefer to do so at the end of the
process as a way to help themselves summarize what they have learned about their audience. Of course, you can
start to fill out the sheet before you begin and then complete it or revise it at the end. (p. 85, 87)
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