Technical Communication
Technical Communication is a specialized composition course designed primarily to teach the future scientist, engineer and technician the principles of writing the kind of reports they will be expected to write in their future professional work. Secondarily, it is designed to assist the students in acquiring the skills needed to write effective reports, examinations, term papers and theses in school. Technical communication has always been one of my favorite courses. I completed a highly competitive technical communication internship at BYU as a graduate student, and was hired at Ricks College to teach technical writing which I did for twenty years. Then when I became a department chair, we became a BYU-Idaho, I shifted to develop and teach advanced business writing. Now ten years later, I'm back in technical communication and am thrilled. My TA John Brassell helped develop the documents for the course. |
English 316 Technical Communication Syllabus
English 316 Technical Communication Overview Presentation
English 316 Technical Communication Overview Presentation
Mechanism Description
A basic practice in technical communication is describing an object. It is an effective exercise to write so readers can visualize the object without visuals.
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Process Description
A process description presents a chronological sequence of steps that explain how something is done, how something happens, or how readers can do something.
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Definition/Classification ReportProviding definitions– giving the precise meanings of terms– is an important strategy in presenting new concepts. Definitions help readers relate new material to ideas they already hold. They take readers from the familiar to the new.
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Recommendation ReportProfessionals in all areas make recommendations. Someone must investigate alternatives and say “choose A” or “choose B.” The “A” or “B” can be anything: which type of investment to make, whether to relocate a department, which machine to purchase, etc.
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White PaperA white paper is a persuasive document that usually describes problems and how to solve them. The white paper is a crossbreed of a magazine article and a brochure.
A white paper is a technical or business benefits document that introduces a challenge faced by its readers and makes a strong case why a particular approach to solving the problem is preferred. A white paper usually proposes a solution to a problem, but can also introduce a new concept or describe how to perform technical tasks. |
Research Report ProposalA research report proposal is a formal document which simply proposes a question you would like to answer, a project you would like to do, or an area you'd like to do more research in.
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Revision Strategies |