Technical and Professional Writing Genres

Technical and Professional Writing Genres: A Study in Theory and Practice

Researched and Written by Dr. Michael Beilfus, Staci Bettes,

and Dr. Katrina Peterson

Edited by Dr. Eric Howerton and Katie Rieger

Cover Design by Kaitlyn Warren

Technical and Professional Writing Genres by Michael Beilfuss; Staci Bettes; and Katrina Peterson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Attribution

Material in this chapter was adapted from the works listed below. The material was edited for tone, content, and localization.

Style for Students: A Writing Guide, by Lumen Learning, licensed CC-By

Technical Writing, by Allison Gross, Annamarie Hamlin, Billy Merck, Chris Rubio, Jodi Naas, Megan Savage and Michele DiSilva, licensed CC-BY-NC-SA.

ENGL 145 Technical and Report Writing, by the Bay College Online Learning Department, licensed CC-BY.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Find This Book

I. Theory

Chapter 1: Introduction
Michael Beilfuss 1.1 What is Technical Writing? 1.2 Cultural Diversity and Technical Communication 1.3 Chapter Summaries

Chapter 2: Audience
Staci Bettes Chapter Synopsis 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Types of Audiences 2.3 Audience Analysis 2.4 Adapt Your Writing to Meet Your Audience’s Needs

Chapter 3: Team Work and Collaborative Writing
Michael Beilfuss Chapter Synopsis 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Building a Team 3.3 Completing the Project 3.4 Final Thoughts 3.5 Activity

Chapter 4: Ethics
Michael Beilfuss Chapter Synopsis 4.1 Ethics in Technical Writing 4.2 General Principles 4.3 Professional Ethics 4.4 Presentation of Information 4.5 Ethical Issues in Technical Writing 4.6 Ethics and Documenting Sources 4.7 Ethics, Plagiarism, and Reliable Sources 4.8 Ethical Writing 4.9 Addressing Unethical Practices 4.10 Legal Issues and Communication

Chapter 5: Document Design
Katrina Peterson Chapter Synopsis 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Standard Conventions 5.3 Basic Guidelines 5.4 Creating and Integrating Graphics 5.5 Tables of Contents 5.6 Figures and Tables 5.7 Headings 5.8 The CRAP Test 5.9 Cross-Cultural Audience Considerations 5.10 Additional Document Design Resources 5.11 Suggested Activities

II. Genres and Practice

Chapter 6: Emails, Memos, and Texting
Katrina Peterson Chapter Synopsis 6.1 Email Introduction 6.2 When (and When Not!) to Email 6.3 Email Structure 6.4 Netiquette 6.5 Takeaways and Tips 6.6 Sample Emails for Discussion 6.7 Sample Activities 6.8 Sample Slides 6.9 Memo Introduction 6.10 Business Texting

Chapter 7: Applying to Jobs
Katrina Peterson Chapter Synopsis 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Finding Job Openings 7.3 Constructing Modular Materials 7.4 Crafting Résumés 7.5 Writing Job Letters 7.6 Sample Student Job Packet (see proper student attribution) 7.7 Interviewing 7.8 Activities and Resources

Chapter 8: Technical Instructions
Michael Beilfuss Chapter Synopsis 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The Rhetorical Situation 8.3 Planning and Shaping 8.4 Content 8.5 Graphics 8.6 Design 8.7 Revision Checklist 8.8 Student Samples 8.9 Activity – Sample Technical Instructions Analysis

Chapter 9: Proposals
Staci Bettes Chapter Synopsis 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Types of Proposals 9.3 Proposal Purpose and Audience 9.4 Common Proposal Sections 9.5 Project-Specific Sections 9.6 Proposal Design and Style 9.7 Revision checklist for proposals 9.8 Proposal Example (Internal, Solicited, Unknown Solution) 9.9 The Elevator Pitch

Chapter 10: Research
Staci Bettes Chapter Synopsis 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Hypothesis and Research Questions 10.3 Choosing Research Types 10.4 Types of Primary Research 10.5 Creating Interview and Survey Questions 10.6 Performing Secondary Research 10.7 Evaluating Secondary Sources 10.8 Citing Sources

Chapter 11: Analytical Reports
Staci Bettes Chapter Synopsis 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Types of Reports 11.3 Report Purpose and Audience 11.4 Common Report Sections 11.5 Design and Format 11.6 Revision Checklist for Analytical Reports 11.7 Example Analytical Report 11.8 Special Report: Progress Reports 11.9 Sub-genre: Internship and Co-op Reports

Chapter 12: Oral Reports
Katrina Peterson Chapter Synopsis 12.1 Introduction to Oral Presentations 12.2 Presentation Structure 12.3 Presentation Options 12.4 Slide Design Tips 12.5 Pitfalls of Presentation Software 12.6 Presentation Preparation 12.7 Delivery Tips

Appendix Breadboarding and Soldering Basics Driving Motor with an Ultrasonic Sensor: An Arduino Project How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube How to Record Vocals in Ableton Live 9 How to Create a PID DC Motor Position Controller

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors and editors of this text are grateful for the generous support of the Edmon Low Library at the Oklahoma State University, without which this text would not have come to be. Matt Upson, Kathy Essmiller, Clarke Iakovakis, and Cristina Colquhoun were all instrumental in helping us acquire the resources needed to compile, hybridize, and generate new writings for the creation of a technical writing textbook that built upon existing open-source models.

We would also like to thank the Oklahoma State University English Department for their encouragement in our pursuit of this text’s praxis, and to the many texts that were made available to us as open-source inspiration. A multitude of features from these originating texts have been incorporated into the “renewed” technical writing textbook you have before you. Texts owed a debt of gratitude in the creation of Technical and Professional Writing Genres: A Study in Theory and Practice include:

Art History and Its Publications in the Electronic Age by Hilary Ballon and Mariet Westermann.

Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research by Cheryl Lowry.

Exploring Public Speaking (3rd edition) by Kris Barton and Barbara G. Tucker.

Exploring Public Speaking by David McMurrey.

Style for Students: A Writing Guide provided by Lumen Learning.

Technical Writing by Michele De Silva, Annemarie Hamlin, Jodi Naas, Chris Rubio, Megan Savage, Billy Merck, and Allison Gross.

Technical and Report Writing by Amber Kinonen.

“Working in a Team” provided by The Writing Commons.

And finally, we would like to thank the Oklahoma University undergraduate students who made their work available for publication so that future students could be guided and inspired by their work. Students whose contributions appear in this textbook include:

Victoria Bauer, Nick Burt, Morgan Dunker, Zachary Evans, Braeden Fields, Aalay Gandhi, Emilie Jenkins, Austin Johnson, Emily King, Kellie Lail, Daniel Rodriguez, Diego Colon Serrano, Ashleigh Snell, Alex Whitnah, and Allison Wilton.

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Find This Book

Technical and Professional Writing Genres has been adopted for use by Oklahoma State University, the University of Phoenix, Houston Community College, and bookmarked for use by Alamo Community/Technical College.

The resource can also be found at:

Open Textbook Library

ShareOK

pdfs.semanticscholar.org (an early version)

Merlot

The National ODEL in TVET Learning Resource Catalogue

It is the intent of the authors that digital access, digital pdf access, and print pdf access to this resource be made available for free to students.

Contact kathy.essmiller@okstate.edu with questions, suggestions, or adoption information.

Reviews

Amy Rubens, Associate Professor, Radford University, on 1/12/23 for the Open Textbook Library.

4.5/5 Stars

Comprehensiveness: 4

The title suggests the textbook book offers a genre-driven exploration of technical and professional writing (TPW). On the whole, the textbook delivers on this promise. It is divided into two sections: the first describes the foundational principles of TPW while the second outlines how those strategies are used within the most common TPW genres, such as instructions, proposals, and reports. Also addressed are additional genres that are crucial for accomplishing the work of TPW, such as correspondence (e.g., email) and writing for the hiring process (e.g., resumes). The textbook does not cover genres such as flyers, websites, or social media; this is not surprising given the explicit focus of the textbook. That being said, TPW writing style in the textbook is given little attention–just a few short paragraphs. This is surprising considering the extent to which the book purports to be an introduction to TPW; most students encountering this text, therefore, would have had little guidance in understanding how TPW writing style differs from the academic writing style they have been trained in for most of their educational lives. Overall, though, instructors who choose this text may be able to rely on it in their TPW courses (introductory, at least) to a significant extent.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The textbook offers theoretical frameworks and practical applications that are in keeping with TPW as a scholarly discipline and professional field.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

TPW is intertwined with technology, but references to technology in this textbook are a mixed bag in terms of their currency. For instance, the chapter on ethics is very current, as it helps TPW students navigate the use of online sources in ways they may not have considered in previous writing courses. But, the sections on email and text messages could be updated so that they speak more authentically to today’s college students and the ways in which email, video conferencing, chat, and social media messages have become central to our personal and professional lives post-COVID-19. The chapter on resumes and cover letters could be updated to be more relevant to the needs and expectations of today’s job seekers.

Clarity rating: 4

For the most part, the text is written with accessible language, and in this way, the text models plain language, a mainstay of PTW. At times, language can become somewhat esoteric or “academic.”

Consistency rating: 5

Terminology is used consistently throughout the text and is in keeping with conventions of the field.

Modularity rating: 5

The text easily lends itself to modular use, which is a boon for TPW instructors who are using OER in their courses. NB: The topics of “design” and “research” appear to be organized within (discrete) chapters, but they also are addressed at length in other parts of the textbook. This does not detract from the overall modularity of this textbook, in my view.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook’s structure is logical; this is especially true of the early chapters, which introduce students to the field (i.e., purpose, basic tenets). Still, because the book is highly modular, it can easily be reordered to suit an individual instructor’s pedagogical needs.

Interface rating: 4

For most computer users, the interface is clean and easy to navigate. Collapsible menus allow users to easily navigate to specific areas of the textbook. The textbook occasionally utilizes internal links to allow navigation to related content in another chapter. An important note: Instructional graphics and some short sample documents (e.g., submittal letter) are embedded in the textbook as images (.png) while lengthier student sample documents open to web-accessible PDFs that are supported by a university library system. The non-decorative images (graphics and short sample documents) embedded in the text do not appear to have alt text added to them. Some PDFs do not appear to be optimized for screen readers.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This text models good writing in terms of grammar.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The textbook is inclusive and respectful in terms of its use of language, sample document content, and suggested exercises. However, the textbook does not extensively address how TPW practitioners can be inclusive and respectful in their own use of language. Inclusiveness as it relates to document design is addressed in detail, though.

Comments
Relevant, useful, and meaningful practice activities are included in the textbook; many seem lend themselves well to in-class work (think-pair-share). Sometimes, these activities are not always listed in each chapter’s table of contents.

Mandy Palmer, on OERCommons

This is an excellent, accessible, comprehensive textbook for Technical Writing. A review of this resource demonstrates that it hits the evaluation markers of: 1. Reliability/Credibility/Quality of Content, 2. Scope of Content, 3. Organization & Design, 4. Current or up-to-date information, and 5. Credentials of author(s).

Further, students find this book approachable and relevant.

I

I. Theory

1

Chapter 1: Introduction

Michael Beilfuss

1.1 What is Technical Writing?

You are probably wondering what this “technical writing thing” is. Someone may even have told you “It’s this course where they make you write about computers, rocket science, and brain surgery.” Well, not really, as you will see in a moment.

Technical writing is an audience-centered means of communication that provides a reader with clear and easy access to information so they understand both the document’s and the author’s purpose and respond accordingly. The technical writer and reader have a vis-à-vis relationship. The writer recognizes, respects, and addresses the importance of the audience’s time by being clear, concise, and accessible. The writer strives for effective and efficient communication by providing documents written in specific formats, using unambiguous language to convey clearly accessible information. The reader in turn thoroughly processes the information in order to give a thoughtful response or take appropriate action.

Technical writing courses introduce you to the skills, genres, and other important aspects of writing in the worlds of science, technology, and business—in other words, the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, construction managers, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other professionals do as a part of their regular work. The skills learned in technical writing courses are useful in a broad spectrum of fields, including education and social sciences.

To learn how to write effectively for the professional world, you will study common types of reports, special format items such as lists and headings, simple techniques for creating and using graphics in reports, and some techniques for producing professional-looking final copy. This book focuses on skills and genres. The idea is that while you learn the conventions that govern one genre, such as technical instructions, you will also practice skills such as the appropriate use of graphics and design to facilitate communication. It is important to build a strong foundation of skills and genre knowledge so that you can more efficiently complete writing tasks when they arise.

This approach will allow you to apply what you learn here to a variety of situations. The skills and genre knowledge you will acquire in this book should be flexible and adaptable. Sometimes technical writing is formulaic, which can be a good thing if you need to communicate something with great clarity and efficiency. However, do not let formulaic writing sap the energy out of everything you write.

Rhetorical Situation

One of the most important skills you will practice is analyzing and understanding the rhetorical situation of your writing task. Essentially, the rhetorical situation describes the relationships between and among the audience, writer, content, and context of communication. That might sound complicated right now, but it can basically be broken down into an awareness and sensitivity to the needs of your audience. What does your audience already know? What do they want out of your document? Where, when, and how are they going to use the document you create? These are some of the questions you want to ask yourself before you begin any writing task. There is more on audience below, and throughout this book.

Without even knowing it, you may be familiar with these concepts from your college, or even high school, composition course. If you have ever heard of the terms ethos, logos, or pathos, you know something about classical (Aristotelian) rhetoric and what is often called the rhetorical situation. If your writing is based on logos, you would be using facts, reason, and logic to communicate your message; if your argument is based on ethos, you would be relying on your credibility as a writer to communicate your message; and if your writing is based on pathos, you are attempting to appeal to your audience’s emotions (joy, fear, hope, anger, pride, etc). For more about these appeals see “Ethos, Logos, Pathos” 14 .

Technical writing courses build on what you have learned in other writing courses. You will have an opportunity to dust off those writing tools, and practice the art and craft of effective communication. However, there is plenty new to learn! If you currently have a job in which you do some writing, you will discover that you can put what you learn in your technical writing course to immediate use.

About Technical Writing

While technical communication is essential in a wide range of fields and occupations, technical writing is also a fully professional field of its own with degree programs, certifications, and even theory. There are no fewer than five scholarly journals that are devoted completely or in part to publishing articles related to technical writing; what it is, how it works, how it is changing, and how to teach it. The journals include: Technical Communication Quarterly, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication; Journal of Business and Technical Communication; English for Specific Purposes; and Issues in Writing. Technical writing is a field with a lot of growth and income potential, and an introductory technical writing course is a good way to determine if you are interested in a career in this field or work in which writing is a major component.

Workplace Writing

Many students of technical writing courses are not necessarily planning for a career as a technical writer or instructor. However, this course will provide you with an introduction to the kinds of writing skills you need in practically any professional career. No matter what sort of work you do, you are likely to do some writing—and much of it may be technical in nature. Furthermore, if you hope to advance in your career and eventually manage people or open your own business, having technical writing skills is a critical communication tool that will save you time and money. If you lack these skills, you may not be able to properly assess the quality of a report you have assigned someone to write, or you may end up sending emails that are unintentionally offensive, or you may be forced to hire a professional writer to create your employee manuals and instructional guides. The more you know about, and practice, the basic technical writing skills revealed in this text, the better you will be at writing. And that will be good for the projects you work on, for the organizations you work for, and—most of all—for you and your career. Make no mistake, if you want to succeed in your career, you have to be a successful communicator – and a large part of that includes writing.

The Meaning of “Technical”

Technical communication—or technical writing, as the course is often called—is not writing about a specific technical topic such as computers, but about any technical topic. The term “technical” refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that is more the territory of experts and specialists. Whatever your major is, you are developing an expertise—you are becoming a specialist in a particular technical area. Whenever you try to write or say anything about your field, you are engaged in technical communication.

Importance of Audience

Another key part of the definition of technical communication is the receiver of the information—the audience. Technical communication is the delivery of technical information to readers (or listeners or viewers) in a manner that is adapted to their needs, their level of understanding, and their background. Most technical documents are also written with a respect for the audience’s time, meaning sentences are written as efficiently as possible and content is arranged and displayed in a way that allows the reader to quickly locate relevant information. In fact, this audience element is so important that it is one of the cornerstones of technical writing: you are often challenged to write about technical subjects in a way that a beginner could understand. Sometimes you have to write for an audience of other specialists, but generally speaking, you are communicating information to someone who does not already know or have it.

This ability to “translate” technical information to non-specialists is a key skill to any technical communicator. In a world of rapid technological development, many people are constantly falling behind. As a result, technology companies regularly struggle to find effective ways to help current or potential customers understand the advantages or the operation of new products. Even within businesses, people with different skill sets need to be able to communicate effectively with one another; engineers need to communicate with lawyers; mechanics with accountants; sales people with managers and executives.

You do not have to write about computers or rocket science—write about the area of technical specialization you know or are learning about. And plan to write about it in such a way that your audience will understand. (See the chapter 2 for more on this topic.)

ReallyTechnical Writing

You should know that professional technical writers do in fact write about very technical stuff—information that they cannot begin to master unless they go back for a Ph.D. But without a PhD in rocket science, how is a technical writer supposed to know create accurate instructions for how to properly secure the linkages between rocket mounts and fuel delivery systems? How is the writer supposed to gain that knowledge in just a few weeks before the rockets need to ship? How do they manage? Professional technical writers rely on these strategies to ensure the technical accuracy of their work:

Study books, articles, reports, websites related to the product

Review product specifications: What the product is supposed to do, how it is designed

Interview subject-matter experts (SMEs): The product specialists, developers, engineers

Attend product meetings during the development cycle

Participate in live demonstrations of the product

Become familiar with similar, competing products

Experiment with working models of the product

Ask subject-matter experts to review work for technical accuracy and completeness

Of course, experienced technical writers will tell you that product development moves so fast that specifications are not always possible and that working models of the product are rarely available. That is why the Subject-matter Experts’ review is often the most important. Based on the list above, you can also see that technical writing is often a collaborative process, where many people contribute to the process of creating the final product.

Technical Writing and Academic Writing

You have probably taken at least one academic writing course before this one, so you will be familiar with some of the practices of writing for your college classes.

The concentration on definite purpose, strict format, and use of appropriate language in technical writing define the differences between technical writing and academic writing. The academic writer’s purpose may be to write an assignment, a story, a letter, etc. These works may or may not have a reader outside the classroom. However, technical writing is always much more concerned with articulating a clearly defined purpose with a specific, known reader. Regardless of the number of stakeholders, and the variety of people who may encounter and read your documents, it is important to have a clear idea of your primary reader.

In technical writing courses, the focus is typically the analytical report. Just about everything you do in the course is aimed at developing skills needed to produce this report. Of course, most technical writing courses begin with a resume and application letter, and many include writing a set of instructions to help practice making technical knowledge available to non-experts. Remember that much of this book is based on mastering both skills and genres. While creating these documents and mastering the forms (or genres), you will also learn advantageous strategies for a document’s graphics, layout, and design. However, the main assignment in most technical writing courses is the analytical report.

Planning to write this report consists of several phases:

Establishing group roles

Writing a proposal in which you lay out your research strategy

Performing primary and secondary research

Analyzing research

Writing the report

Before writing the report, however, you will likely be assigned shorter documents (memos, emails, outlines, drafts) where you get accustomed to using things like headings, lists, graphics, and special notices—not to mention writing about technical subject matter in a clear, concise, understandable way that is appropriate for a specific audience.

CAUTION. You should be aware that technical writing courses are writing-intensive. If you are taking a full load of classes, working full time, and juggling unique family obligations, please consider whether this is the right time for you to take technical writing. Consult with your professor about the workload for this class in order to make your decision.

You will probably write more in your technical-writing course than in any other course you have ever taken, and the writing is expected to look professional. It is time to stop thinking of yourself as students and your assignments as inconsequential busy-work. Instead, start thinking of yourselves as professionals who are learning new skills and putting into practice those skills you have already mastered.

1.2 Cultural Diversity and Technical Communication

Culture is part of the very fabric of our thought, and we cannot separate ourselves from it. When you are analyzing the rhetorical situation, it is a good idea to consider the cultural context(s) that may be in play. Every business or organization has a culture, and within what may be considered a global culture, there are many subcultures or co-cultures. For example, consider the difference between the sales and accounting departments in a corporation. We can quickly see two distinct groups with their own symbols, vocabulary, and values. Within each group, there may also be smaller groups, and each member of each department comes from a distinct background that in itself influences behavior and interaction. Now, change that context to an act of communication. Who will hear it? Who could read it? What will your colleagues or readers of another culture take from it—intended or not? Sometimes, the focus of technical communication is quite easy; the primary reader is clearly targeted through demographic research. But, think about how much more effective and more dynamic a communication could be if the writer considered the potential cultural perspectives at work.

Diversity includes many different factors, ranging from race and ethnicity to culture and worldview. The more diverse an audience, the harder it becomes to tailor a speech to that audience. However, the more we study cross-cultural communication issues, the more aware we become. It is, of course, impossible to know every culture well; some of us are still working on learning our own! However, it may be helpful to recognize several paradigms used to discuss culture, in order to recognize certain characteristics, while also appreciating cultural uniqueness and seeking to avoid generalizations.

Appreciating cultural uniqueness helps us to understand major communication styles. The terms collectivist and individualistic are sometimes used to discuss cultural differences. Many Americans value family, but American culture also places a strong emphasis on making our own choices in career, education, marriage, and living arrangements. In more collectivist cultures, the family or larger community may have a strong voice in an individual’s life choices. An individual’s decisions may be more strongly influenced the community than individual preferences.

Closely related to the distinction between collectivistic and individualistic is the distinction between high-context and low-context cultures. High-context cultures are so closely tied together that behavioral norms are implicit, or not talked about directly; they tend to be understood and unstated, having been learned through close observation and/or even unconsciously through immersion in the culture. Here is an example of a high-context exchange. If you and your friends have a routine of watching football every Sunday, saying “I’ll see you guys this weekend for the game” implies that the “when” and “where” of the game is so ingrained that it does not need to be explicitly stated.

Continuing the example from above, in these cases you might be gathering with a new group of friends who need explicit, high-context communication to know what is going on: “We’ll meet at Jay’s house on Bleaker Street at 11:30 on Sunday morning.” High-context cultures are described as more relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative. This means that people in these cultures emphasize interpersonal relationships; developing trust is an important first step to any business transaction. High-context cultures may emphasize group harmony and consensus over individual achievement. Low-context cultures are often described as more action-oriented, practical, direct, and precise. In contrast, high-context cultures spend more time on interpersonal trust, may be less direct and straightforward, and may use more polite or flowery language. These descriptions are useful to some extent, but they can also be problematic due to their tendency to generalize. A person from a high-context culture is perfectly capable of being action-oriented, for example, while a person from a low-context culture still values interpersonal trust and politeness. While it is important to be aware of these possible cultural differences, you should never allow this awareness to ossify into an unconscious stereotype or bias. Do not base your judgments on people solely on generalizations – whether those generalizations seem ungenerous or even generous.

Another way to distinguish among cultural groups is to consider decision-making and the predominant communication modes. Some cultures emphasize a strongly narrative communication mode, with storytelling being the way the important information is conveyed. Others value group discussion and keeping the harmony of the group, while others rely heavily on the advice of elders in decision making. These practices say a lot about our shared histories and our values, views of the past, and approach to interpersonal trust. Nonverbal communication, which is very noticeable to us when we experience a new culture, is divided into types such as: oculesics (eye behavior), haptics (touch behavior), proxemics (distance from others), vocalics (voice characteristics), chronemics (use of time in communication), and kinesics (use of the arms, legs, and posture).

Each of these focal points has unique patterns in various cultures, and the differences in nonverbal communication behavior may have deeper cultural meanings. Some cultures may avoid eye contact out of respect; their high-context nature means direct confrontation is discouraged. Other cultures tend to judge low eye contact rather harshly, as either dishonest, disinterest, or indicating low self-esteem. In many Western cultures, punctuality is valued strongly. Other cultures simply do not understand the Western love affair with the hands on the clock.

People from the United States are sometimes seen by other cultures as loud (vocalics), too direct and forward (oculesics), taking up too much space (kinesics and proxemics), and uncomfortable with touch or close spaces (haptics and proxemics). Of course, audiences of different cultural backgrounds may include those for whom English is a second (or third or fourth) language. Watch out for metaphors, slang, and figurative language that simply have no meaning to non-native speakers of English. Many American expressions have to do with sports—everything from poker to football—and have no significance to those who have not grown up around those sports. Some of our expressions are actually racist or have a racist past, without our knowing or recognizing it because we do not know the origin of the phrase. Even a phrase that seems innocuous such as “bury the hatchet” could be viewed as culturally insensitive to Native Americans. If you use it, you are referring (inadvertently) to ethnic stereotypes as well as using references that non-U.S. cultures would not understand. There are many other such phrases that are worth interrogating and avoiding when recognized.

As emerging technology makes communicating with people around the world easier and more common, there is a good chance you will find yourself communicating or interacting with persons from other cultures in your future careers. Primarily, recognize the underlying values of the culture. The value and place of family may matter greatly, for example. You would want to be sure to show respect to parents and grandparents in everything you say; if you cannot do that, do not mention them at all. Other values may have to do with how genders are treated, modesty in clothing, or criticism of the government. Do not jump to judge speakers of other cultures by Western standards. As a piece of concluding advice, always seek for commonalities over differences; if you dig into cultural differences far enough, you will often find that our different houses are built on similar foundations.

1.3 Chapter Summaries

Below you will find brief summaries of each chapter in this book. After reading through them all, you should have a good sense of what you will learn as you work through the content.

Chapter 2: Audience

This chapter focuses on audience and different considerations for revising your document based on the audience(s). The type of audience identified will shape your document’s format, terminology, style, and technical level. There are several types of audiences, including experts, technicians, executives, gatekeepers, and nonspecialists (laypeople). However, most documents you create will have multiple audiences: often, a primary audience—the main audience for the document—and a secondary audience—other audiences that are likely to read the document, but who are not the main focus of the document. In addition to the type of audience, you should analyze the audience to identify other factors that can affect how the document is received, including background, needs and interests, culture and values, and demographic characteristics. The rest of the chapter gives strategies to revise a document’s content for your audience, including changes to the content, style and format, sentence style, and document design.

Chapter 3: Group Work

This chapter covers some of the fundamentals of team work. After introducing the importance and prevalence of team work in the workplace, the chapter describes how best to build teams and ensure that they run smoothly. One of the first things a team needs to do is take an inventory of each member’s qualifications. Assessing qualifications allows teams to better assign roles, some of which are described here. Once the team has been built and everyone knows their roles, the planning stage begins – specific responsibilities are allocated among the group members to best fit their qualifications, the group writes out a schedule, and plans for any problems that may arise either within or outside the group. The chapter ends with a number of tips for a successful team project.

Chapter 4: Ethics

In this chapter, you will learn about some of the ethical challenges that you may encounter in your professional and academic life, especially when it comes to technical writing. First you will want to consider what your ethical code is so you can be prepared when you find yourself in uncomfortable and/or unethical situations. The chapter covers ethical principles, how ethics may affect the presentation of information, and some common ethical problems encountered by technical writers. Much of this chapter is concerned with the appropriate and ethical use and documentation of sources. The chapter provides some practical information on how to make sure your writing is ethical and how to handle ethical dilemmas and possible legal issues in the workplace.

Chapter 5: Design

This chapter briefly summarizes fundamental concepts to consider as you craft print and electronic texts. In this chapter you will read about basic principles of document design that allow writers to combine graphic elements with text to convey a message to audiences. Beginning with a discussion of standard conventions (of formatting, language, and style), the chapter then shares some basic guidelines for document design, moving forward to focus on integration of graphics, callouts and captions. Other topics include tables of contents, figures and tables, headings and the well-known CRAP test used by graphic designers. For additional resources, see the activities included at the chapter’s end.

Chapter 6: Emails, Letters, Memos

This chapter introduces the basics of email writing and etiquette, also providing information on memos and texting. It offers suggestions about when (and when not to!) use email in business communication. It details the basic conventions of structure: the header/address information, greeting, message body, and closing. It gives an overview of Netiquette, the expectations of online etiquette, which has application for other genres of online communication as well. The chapter concludes with a bulleted list of takeaways and tips, followed by additional teaching and learning resources.

Chapter 7: Career Documents

Looking for and landing the perfect job may seem like a daunting task. If you are uncertain where to start, know that most successful job applicants feel the same uncertainty at some point. This chapter will walk you through the process of applying for jobs from start to finish. Perhaps most importantly, it will provide you with two distinct tools that can help you to construct the materials for a strong, effective, and successful job application (Bay 75): 1) the résumé and 2) the job application letter. Résumés and application letters are among the most important documents in the employment process (Oregon 199). Beginning with an overview of the big-picture process, this chapter moves forward with suggested methods for finding job ads and constructing the genre documents for a job packet. In the résumé section, it discusses the following topics: Purposes and Goals, Types of Résumés, Sample Résumés, Drafting and Design: Where to Start, What to Include/Exclude, Optional Sections, and Drafting Activities and Resources. The next section on application letters will share information about deciphering the job description, as well as letter format, structure, and content. The chapter concludes with information on interviews, followed by specific guidelines for the job packet you will construct in English 3323.

Chapter 8: Technical Instructions

The chapter begins with a brief overview of the importance of knowing how to write instructions followed with some basic guidelines. The chapter goes into some depth in regards to analyzing the rhetorical situation for writing instructions. The rhetorical situation includes the purpose, audience and context for any particular set of instructions. Next we cover how to plan and organize the writing process followed by information about the content that is typically included in instructions. The chapter ends with some nitty-gritty tips on writing the instructions.

Chapter 9: Proposals

This chapter defines when and where you would use a proposal. Before drafting, you define some preliminary qualities, including if the proposal is written for internal or external audiences, is solicited or unsolicited, and if you are proposing a known or unknown solution. Next, the chapter discusses further considerations for your audience, followed by a breakdown of common sections present in most proposals. As proposal content can vary depending on the type and purpose and audience, a section is included on additional, project-specific sections which could be included in some proposals, such as client analysis and implementation sections. The standard design and format of a proposal is discussed, with emphasis on adaptability for the reader. The end of this chapter contains a revision checklist for proposals.

Chapter 10: Research

In this chapter, you will learn how to plan for conducting different types of research, depending on your research goals. The chapter starts by giving information on creating a hypothesis and research questions to guide your research. In addition, you will learn about conducting both primary and secondary research and when to choose one or the other. Different types of both primary and secondary research are discussed, to help you decide which is best for your specific project. Information for creating your own survey and interview questions is included, as well as tips for evaluating secondary sources.

Chapter 11: Reports

The standard components of the typical technical report are discussed in this chapter, including preliminary choices, audience and purpose considerations, common sections of reports, and format. As you read and use these guidelines, remember that these are guidelines, not commandments. Different companies, professions, and organizations have their own varied guidelines for reports—you will need to adapt your practice to those as well the ones presented here. In some industries, reports even use Excel files and other types of untraditional formats. In addition to the content and style of a standard report, the end of the chapter included details on two specific sub genres of reports that you may need to write during your education and beyond—Progress Reports and Internship and Co-op Reports.

Chapter 12: Oral Reports

This chapter shares basic principles for the preparation and delivery of oral reports. Since presentations often include a visual component, the chapter begins with guidelines for creating an effective PowerPoint, Prezi, or Keynote. It includes tips for developing effective slides, while acknowledging the drawbacks of presentation software. It also offers suggestions to help speakers prepare well, overcome anxiety, and consider their speaking context. It gives an overview of expected structural conventions—how to set up an introduction, body, and conclusion—and ends with useful delivery tips.

Chapter 1: Introduction by Michael Beilfuss is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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Chapter 2: Audience

Staci Bettes

Chapter Synopsis

This chapter focuses on audience and different considerations for revising your document based on those audiences. The type of audience identified will shape your document’s format, terminology, style, and technical level. There are several types of audiences, including experts, technicians, executives, gatekeepers, and non-specialists (laypeople). However, most documents you create will have multiple audiences: often, a primary audience—the main audience for the document—and a secondary audience—other audiences that are likely to read the document, but who are not the main focus. In addition to the type of audience, you should analyze the audience to identify other factors that can affect how the document is received, including background, needs and interests, culture and values, and demographic characteristics. The rest of the chapter gives strategies to revise a document’s content for your audience, including changes to the content, style and format, sentence style, and document design.
2.1 Introduction A key concern of technical communication is the receiver of the information—the audience. Technical communication is the delivery of technical information to readers (or listeners or viewers) in a manner that is adapted to their needs, level of understanding, and background. Your documents must clearly convey new information to the reader, and you often need to translate highly technical concepts to groups with differing levels of technical knowledge—this is a key skill for any technical communicator. Therefore, the audience is one of the most important considerations in planning, writing, and reviewing a document. Adapt your writing to meet the needs, interests, culture, and background of those who will be reading your documents. It is often not enough to identify a single audience for documents. There are several types of readers who may use them, each with different backgrounds, education levels, needs, and interest in the topic. All should be considered when analyzing the audience for a successful technical document. 2.2 Types of Audiences During the planning stages of your document, you should analyze the audience to identify the type (or types—it is rarely just one type) of readers. Identifying what type of reader may be interested in your document will help you create an improved, more effective document. Common Types of Audiences The following are several types of common audiences for technical documents: Experts: People who know the business or organization (and possibly the theory and the product) inside and out. They designed it, they tested it, and they know everything about it. Often, they have advanced degrees and operate in academic settings or in research and development areas of the government and technology worlds (the creators, specialists). Technicians: People who build, operate, maintain, and repair the items that the experts design and theorize about. They have highly technical knowledge as well, but of a more practical nature (the hands-on users, operators). Executives: People who make business, economic, administrative, legal, governmental, or political decisions about the products. Executives frequently have little technical knowledge about the subject. Often, executives will be the primary audience for documents such as proposals and reports (the CEOs, committees, hiring managers). Gatekeepers: People who oversee the writer and the document. They decide if the document is compliant with rules, regulations, legal obligations, and/or the needs of the writer’s employer. Think of them as the direct supervisors of the writer—they confirm that a document will fulfill its purpose for the client, as well as ensure compliance with the company’s rules, regulations, and policies. In the classroom, your instructor will often be your gatekeeper—they ensure you follow the standards and goals of the assignment (the writer’s supervisors, lawyers, instructors). Non-specialists: People with the least technical knowledge of the topic. They want to use the new product to accomplish tasks; they want to understand the new technology, products, or procedures enough to use them in a particular situation. Or, they may just be curious about a specific technical matter and want to learn about it—but for no specific, practical reason (the laypeople). Audience analysis can become complicated when you consider that you may have a combination of audience types and backgrounds: mixed audience types, wide variability within audience, and/or unknown audiences. Multiple or Mixed Audiences Most documents you write will have multiple or mixed audiences. Often, it is best to think of these in terms of the primary audience(s) and secondary audience(s). The primary audience is the main reader of the document. For example, if you create a set of safety protocols to be displayed in a laboratory, the primary audience will be the technicians which use the laboratory. In this example, it is important to adapt the safety protocols for the technicians to understand, as unclear steps could lead to physical harm. The secondary audience(s) is made up of others who may read or be interested in a document, but who is not the main (primary) reader. In the laboratory example, these groups could be experts who enforce laboratory regulations and safety standards, but also could be non-specialist custodial staff that clean and maintain the lab. Both of these groups may be interested in this document—the experts ensure that safety standards are met, while the non-specialists may need to follow the displayed protocols in an emergency. Additionally, the secondary audience may be someone your primary reader consults if your message, report, proposal, etc. is a request for a specific action. For example, if you are a salesperson making a pitch to a client, that client may need to consult their supervisor before agreeing to your terms. How should you approach writing a document with so many possible readers? First, identify the primary audience of your document. Then, identify likely secondary audiences, if any. Most of the time, you will know who the primary audience is—you will be writing a document aimed at a particular group of people or a single person. You may have a client you are writing for or a group you specifically want to understand your ideas. In this case, you should write your document for the primary audience, but also include information for the secondary audiences. For example, if you write a set of new procedures for a company’s technicians, you must also include information that your gatekeepers insist accompany the document, such as legal clauses or business descriptions. You will also need to think about the technicians’ bosses (executives) who need to approve any new procedures implemented at the site. If you believe a document is unlikely to be used by the secondary audience(s), you can write for the primary audience only. This would be applicable if you create a set of instructions over “How to Change a Tire” for a website. You can assume most readers will be non-specialists who need assistance with the task, not mechanics, designers, or engineers in the automotive industry. If you believe the document will likely be used by multiple audiences or you are unsure who the primary audience is, you can then write the document so that all the audiences can understand it. This is also a good choice if you know that many different types of readers will be interested. For example, imagine you wrote a research report over the use of a city’s public park facilities. Community members (non-specialists) are just as likely to read the report as those on the city council (executives), the head of the Parks Department (experts), and those who maintain the parks (technicians). In this case, you would want to write your report to be accessible to all these types of audience. 2.3 Audience Analysis Once you have identified the types of readers for a specific document, it is important to determine some of the qualities of these groups. If you are writing to a known, specific audience (e.g., Hiring Manager Serena Tims; Director of University Dining Services Ollie Lopez; the corporate board at Sony Inc.; etc.) versus a general, unknown audience (e.g., people who want to learn how to change their car’s oil) you may need to do some research on the individual (if available), the company or organization they work for, or even the industry your audience is a player in. Determining these characteristics will help guide your document creation—you can decide what information needs to be included or eliminated, which terms to use or which need to be defined, an effective design for the document, and so on. Regardless of which type of reader you identify (experts, technicians, executives, gatekeepers, or non-specialists), you should analyze these groups in terms of their characteristics: Background—knowledge, experience, and training: One of your most important concerns is just how much knowledge, experience, or training you can expect in your readers. If you expect some of your readers to lack certain background, do you automatically supply it in your document? Imagine you are writing a guide to using a software product that runs under Microsoft Windows. How much can you expect your readers to know about Windows? If some are likely to know very little about Windows, should you provide that information? If you say no, then you run the risk of customers getting frustrated with your product. If you say yes, you increase your work effort and add to the document’s page count (and thus the cost), and could annoy users with more knowledge. Obviously, there is no easy answer to this question—part of the answer may involve just how small a segment of the audience needs that background information. Needs and interests: To plan your document, you need to know what your audience is going to expect from that document. Imagine how readers will want to use your document. What will they demand from it? For example, imagine you are writing a manual on how to use a new smartphone—what are your readers going to expect to find in it? Do they want to quickly find answers to specific user questions, or do they expect a comprehensive breakdown of each phone function? Make decisions on what readers want to read about as well as what they do not want to read about. Culture and values: The difference between culture and values can be difficult to define, but both influence how an audience approaches new ideas. Culture consists of the shared beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, values, and assumptions shared by an identified group of people. It is what sets a group apart from others. Values are the deeply held principles that guide thoughts and actions. Think of culture as the social dynamic that sets the tone, and values as the by-products of the culture that affect decisions. When analyzing the reader’s culture, remember these five things: It is learned: The conscious and unconscious learning we undergo, over time, turns into beliefs that we consider to be valid. We then teach each other that these beliefs are cultural norms. They are expressed in our daily lives as behaviors and actions. It is shared: Although you may think of yourself as an individual, you share beliefs, rituals, ceremonies, traditions, and assumptions with people who grew up or live in similar cultural backgrounds. It is dynamic: Culture is dynamic and complex. Culture is fluid rather than static, which means that culture changes every day, in subtle and tangible ways. It is important to pay attention to the cultural context of a communication to understand the depths of its dynamic properties. It is systemic: There are patterns of behavior and deeply rooted structural systems which are beneath the waterline. What we see at the top of the iceberg are the behaviors; we do not see what contributes to those behaviors. Changes to the system are slow and gradual; visible changes may not appear until later. It is symbolic: Symbols are both verbal and nonverbal in form within cultural systems, and they have a unique way of linking human beings to each other. Humans create meaning between symbols and what they represent; as a result, different interpretations of a symbol can occur in different cultural contexts. (See chapter 1 for an in-depth discussion on cultural diversity and technical writing) There are two levels of culture and values you should consider: personal and corporate. Personal culture may be created by shared religion, race, ethnicity, region, and/or social groups. A classic example is the culture within a religious group—this can lead to specific types of dress, language, and celebrations. Personal values are the beliefs held by the individual, but they are influenced by culture as well as other factors. Corporate culture and values are similar, but on a micro level. Corporate culture is created by the employees and how they interact. Within a company, different departments may have their own cultures, in addition to the company’s collective culture. Corporate values are set by the company, and are often reflected in their mission statements, policies, and other structures. These are the principles that guide the company’s decisions and goals. When considering culture and values, identify both personal and corporate factors which can influence the reader. Other demographic characteristics: Of course there are many other characteristics about your readers that might influence how you should design and write your document—for example, age groups, type of residence, area of residence, gender, political preferences, and so on. For example, if you write a proposal to raise gas taxes by $.01 to fund speedbumps in neighborhood streets, you will need to consider the neighborhood’s habits (do most residents drive, walk, or take public transportation?), the age of resident (older residents are often on a fixed budget; younger residents may think speedbumps are a nonissue), political preference (some could be against infrastructure spending), and other qualities. Wide Variability in an Audience You may realize that, although you have an audience that fits into only one category, its background varies widely. If you write to the lowest common denominator of reader, you are likely to end up with a cumbersome, tedious, book-like report that will turn off the majority of readers. However, if you do not write to that lowest level, you lose that segment of readers. In this situation, most writers compose for the majority of readers and sacrifice the minority readers. Others put the supplemental information in appendixes or insert cross-references to beginners’ books. Figure 1: Audience Analysis Practice Activity 2.4 Adapt Your Writing to Meet Your Audience’s Needs Once you have identified and analyzed your audience, how do you use this information? How do you keep from writing something that may potentially still be incomprehensible or useless to your readers? Draft your document with your audience’s needs in mind, but remember that writing can be refined over many drafts. With each subsequent draft, think more carefully about your readers, and revise and edit your document so that you make technical information more understandable for specific audiences. The following list contains some strategies to help you make technical information more understandable for differing audiences. You can use these strategies to revise and refine as you begin to put your final document together. However, it is a good idea to be aware of your audience’s needs even in the early stages of your report drafting. An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
Figure 2: Common Revision Strategies List Strategies to Revise Content Add information readers need to understand your document. Check to see whether certain key information is missing—for example, a critical series of steps from a set of instructions; important background that helps beginners understand the main discussion; definition of key terms. Note that some of this information can be added in the main document body, but you can also add appendices or glossaries—it depends on your audience and document type. Omit unnecessary information. Unnecessary information can also confuse and frustrate readers—after all, it is there so they may feel obligated to read it. Technical document are often skimmed for important detail—excess unnecessary information could make the reader miss important information. For example, you can probably chop theoretical discussion from basic instructions. Change the technical level of the information. You may have the right information in your document, but it may be pitched at too high or too low a technical level. Are you using terms the reader will be familiar with? Is the sentence structure clear for the audience’s reading comprehension? It may be pitched at the wrong kind of audience—for example, an expert audience rather than a technician audience. This happens often when product-design notes are passed off as instructions. Think about your audience’s education level and familiarity with the topic and terms used, and revise to make sure your content is clear for that audience. Add examples to help readers understand. Examples are one of the most powerful ways to connect with audiences, particularly in instructions. Even in a non-instructional text, when you are trying to explain a technical concept, examples are helpful—analogies in particular. If you already have examples, it may help to alter the technical content or level of your examples. Common examples may not be useful to experts; highly technical ones may totally miss your non-specialist readers. Strategies to Revise Style and Format Change the organization of your information. Sometimes, you can have all the right information but arrange it in the wrong way. For example, there can be too much background information up front (or too little) such that certain readers get lost. Other times, background information needs to be placed throughout the main text—for example, in instructions it is sometimes better to feed in chunks of background at the points where they are immediately needed. If the document does not seem to work for the audience, try reorganizing some of the information so that the document is clearer and easier to understand. Strengthen transitions and key words. It may be difficult for readers, particularly non-specialists, to see the connections between the main sections of your report, between individual paragraphs and sometimes even between individual sentences. You can make these connections much clearer by adding transition words and by echoing key words more accurately. Words like “therefore,” “for example,” “however” are transition words—they indicate the logic connecting the previous thought to the upcoming thought. You can also strengthen transitions by carefully echoing the same key words. A report describing new software for architects might use the word software several times on the same page or even in the same paragraph. In technical documents, it is not a good idea to vary word choice—use the same words so that people can clearly understand your ideas. Your design choices can also visually connect and transition between sections (see the “Strategies to revise document design” below). Write stronger introductions—for the whole document and for major sections. People seem to read with more confidence and understanding when they have the big picture—a view of what is coming, and how it relates to what they have just read. Therefore, writing a strong introduction to the entire document—one that makes clear the topic, purpose, audience, and contents of that document—makes the document easier to understand. In most types of technical documents, each major section includes mini-introductions that indicate the topic of the section and give an overview of the subtopics to be covered in that section to let the reader know what information each section will contain. Create topic sentences for paragraphs and paragraph groups. It can help readers immensely to give them an idea of the topic and purpose of a section (a group of paragraphs) and in particular to give them an overview of the subtopics about to be covered. This is the first sentence of the paragraph, and states the main point or idea. The type of topic sentence can vary depending on document type. In an argumentative paragraph, you will make a claim which you will prove through the rest of the paragraph (e.g., reports; proposals; some emails, letters, and memos). In informative documents, the topic sentence will be an overall point which you will explain and back up in the detail sentences (e.g., informative emails, letters, and memos; results section of a report). Strategies to Revise Sentence Style Change sentence style. How you write—at the individual sentence level—can make a difference to the effectiveness of your document. In instructions, for example, using imperative voice and “you” phrasing is vastly more understandable than the passive voice or third-personal phrasing. Passive voice is where one switches the location of the subject and object in a sentence. A simple, active sentence such as “The boy threw the ball” becomes the wordy, passive sentence “The ball was thrown by the boy.” Taking the emphasis off the noun—in this case, the boy—and the action—throw vs was thrown—detracts from meaning of the sentence. Passive, person-less writing is harder to read—put people and action in your writing. There are times to write in passive voice, but technical documents generally need active sentence structure. Revise to use more active verbs, and less be verb phrasing. All of this makes your writing more direct and immediate. Also, personalizing your writing style and making it more relaxed and informal can make it more accessible. Edit for sentence clarity and economy. This is closely related to the previous strategy. Writing style can be so wordy that it is hard or frustrating to read. Sentence length matters. An average of somewhere between 15 and 25 words per sentence is about right; sentences over 30 words are often mistrusted. When you revise your rough drafts, put them on a diet—go through a draft line by line trying to reduce the overall word, page, or line count by 20 percent. Try it as an experiment and see how you do. You will find a lot of fussy, unnecessary detail and inflated phrasing you can chop out. Eliminate excess words and phrases; state ideas as simply as possible while still providing necessary detail. Strategies to Revise Document Design Add and vary graphics. For non-specialist audiences, you may want to use more, simpler graphics. Graphics for specialists are often more detailed and technical. In technical documents for non-specialists, there also tend to be more “decorative” graphics—ones that are attractive but serve no strict informative or persuasive purpose at all. Break text up or consolidate text into meaningful, usable chunks. For non-specialist readers, you may need to have shorter paragraphs. A six to eight-line paragraph is the usual maximum. This is because a paragraph should contain content about a single ideas; breaking up paragraphs into smaller ideas can help the reader more easily understand the individual topics, while also making the text less (visually) overwhelming. Notice how much longer paragraphs are in technical documents written for specialists—the ideas do not need to be broken down as much visually for a specialist to understand the content. Add cross-references to important information. In technical information, you can help readers by pointing them to background sources. If you cannot fully explain a topic at a certain time in a document, point to a section, chapter, or external source where the information is located. One can also include glossary of terms or appendices at the end of a document with extra information that is related, but not 100% necessary, to understand the document’s content. Use headings and lists. Readers can be intimidated by dense paragraphs and “walls of text” uncut by anything other than a blank line now and then. Search your rough drafts for ways to incorporate headings—look for changes in topic or subtopic. Search your paragraphs for listings of items—these can be made into vertical lists, or look for paired listings such as terms and their definitions—these can be made into two-column lists. Of course, be careful not to force this type of formatting, and do not overdo it. Use special typography, and work with margins, line length, line spacing, type size, and type style. Depending on your audience, you can modify the format by making the lines shorter or longer (adjusting margins), using larger or smaller type sizes, and other such tactics. Typically, sans-serif fonts, such as Ariel, are useful for online readers. Serif fonts, such as Time New Roman, are useful for print texts. (See chapter 5 for more information about document design) By now you should be able to see that many of the decisions you make as a technical writer depend on who will read your report. From content, to language, to layout, every aspect of your communication must keep your readers’ needs in mind. We will spend time later in this book expanding our discussion of audience as well as document design–an important consideration that can help tremendously in making your document professional and easy to read. Attribution Material in this chapter was adapted from the works listed below. The material was edited for tone, content, and localization. Technical Writing, by Allison Gross, Annamarie Hamlin, Billy Merck, Chris Rubio, Jodi Naas, Megan Savage and Michele DiSilva, licensed CC-BY-NC-SA. ENGL 145 Technical and Report Writing, by the Bay College Online Learning Department, licensed CC-BY. Chapter 2: Audience by Staci Bettes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. 3 Chapter 3: Team Work and Collaborative Writing Michael Beilfuss Chapter Synopsis This chapter covers some of the fundamentals of team work. After introducing the importance and prevalence of team work in the professional world and workplace, the chapter describes how best to build teams and ensure that they run smoothly. One of the first things a team needs to do is take an inventory of each member’s qualifications. Assessing qualifications allows teams to better assign roles, some of which are described in this chapter. Once the team has been built and everyone knows their roles, the planning stage begins – specific responsibilities are allocated among the group members to best fit their qualifications, the group writes out a schedule, and plans for any problems that may arise either within or outside the group. The chapter ends with a number of tips for a successful team project. 3.1 Introduction Collaboration is a necessary task in most workplaces. Collaborative writing is one of the common ways people in the worlds of business, government, science, and technology handle large writing projects. In the professional and scholarly worlds, a lot of time, research, and energy have been devoted to understanding how teams work, and how to make them work more effectively. There is an entire industry devoted to assisting companies and organizations to get the most out of teamwork. In your career, you are more than likely to encounter situations where you have to work, and write, collaboratively. This chapter aims to help you develop the knowledge and skills to work effectively in groups. Some people dislike group work due negative past experiences. They may be the person who seems to do more work than others, they may dislike having to rely on another person to follow through, or maybe they feel it was difficult to pull together so many ideas from so many people. Others do not mind it. They may have had positive experiences and see the value in group work. In fact, if done correctly, collaboration can be an effective tool to getting work done. Thanks to ever emerging new technologies, writers can collaborate in exciting new ways. Using tools such as Google Docs, writers can work on texts synchronously even when they are separated by continents and oceans. Using discussion forums, musicians can exchange and remix chords with other artists from around the world. Via Skype, writers can talk with one another as they collaborate in a shared white space. And then there is Wikipedia, one of the most successful collaborative writing project ever conceived and executed. Clearly, good collaboration skills are more important now than ever before. In our e-culture, being a successful collaborator is crucial to success. Today’s workers use multiple media to share and construct meaning. Today’s workers must be symbol analysts and are especially social in terms of how they communicate and learn. When the first cave man started doodling on a stone canvas, he probably had colleagues looking over his shoulder, suggesting that he hold the brush a different way, mix the paint differently, perhaps make the buffalo appear fiercer, and so on. Many people find discussions with trusted colleagues to be an invaluable way to develop and polish ideas. Professionals in most disciplines, for example, attend conferences so that they can discuss ideas with colleagues and leading researchers. Writers in business and scientific contexts commonly work in teams with individuals responsible for their areas of expertise, such as marketing language, audience, finance, research, and editing. Some authors do not feel comfortable beginning a new project until they have discussed their ideas with others. Successful writers do not wait until they have completed a project before seeking constructive criticism. Instead, they share early drafts with critics. This chapter will provide information and resources to help you master collaboration skills. 3.2 Building a Team In the 1960s the psychologist Bruce Tuckman described four stages of team building: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. While there has been a lot of research since then on team formation, Tuckman’s stages are still often considered the benchmark for team building. You can find any number of articles, books, and videos that elaborate on Tuckman’s research. For a quick overview, have a look at this Mind Tools article and brief video: “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing: Understanding the Stages of Team Formation” 4 before you read the rest of this chapter. One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://open.library.okstate.edu/technicalandprofessionalwriting/?p=22 If you can choose your partners for a collaborative project, it is tempting to choose friends and/or people with similar backgrounds as yourself. If the project is deeply discipline-specific, this may be a good idea. Working with friends and close colleagues can help ease the awkward, early stages of a project. However, projects that require teams often include aspects from multiple fields and disciplines. When you begin picking team members for a writing project in a technical writing course, you should consider choosing people with different backgrounds and interests. Just as a diverse, well-rounded background for an individual writer is an advantage, a group of diverse individuals makes for a well-rounded writing team. As a side note, it is never a good idea to work in a team with a romantic partner. It can be annoying and awkward for the rest of the team to watch as you and your partner canoodle or bicker. And modern romance such as it is, nothing can damage a team quicker than a romantic break-up in the middle of a project. At the same time, collaborators can become obstacles, requiring constant supervision. In group situations, other students can fail to attend classes or out-of-class meetings; they can ignore your efforts and just focus on their own missions or visions about ways documents should be written. When collaborators do not do their job, they can become an annoyance–just another obstacle rather than a support and an inspiration to colleagues. The whole truly can be larger than the sum of its parts. Through collaboration, we can produce documents that we alone could not imagine. Collaborators can inspire us, keep us on task, and help us overcome blind spots. Due to the many potential problems with teamwork, it is crucial at the beginning of any team project to do the following: Articulate and clarify team members’ qualifications Define roles for each member Establish responsibilities of each team member Qualifications As a first step, you want to identify any strengths and weaknesses. There are at least two ways to think about qualifications: 1. knowledge, skills, and abilities, and 2. personality types. The first aspect—knowledge, skills, and abilities—is pretty straightforward. The engineer in your group should work on the engineering aspect, the accountant should work on the financials, the lawyer should work on the legal matters, and you want the marketer to work on PR. When writing proposals for external clients (and sometimes even internal proposals) you may be asked to include résumés of each of the team members. This is to help demonstrate the group’s strengths through its expertise and diversity. The second aspect of qualifications is perhaps a little fuzzier and has to do with interpersonal relations. A recent study by Google found that “psychological safety” – that “team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of others” – is the most important characteristic of effective teams.2 One can only feel safe in a group if they are comfortable with the other team members’ personalities. Articulating personality skill sets can help divide the work most effectively, and help avoid unnecessary conflict and confrontation. For example, if someone in the group is very social and outgoing, they might be the best person to stop people on campus to ask them survey questions. If someone in the group is a careful listener, they should probably be one of the people who talks to clients or experts. If one of the team members is more studious, or internet savvy, perhaps they should complete more secondary research. The Meyers-Briggs test activity at the end of this chapter may be a good method to begin to understand personality types and how to best harness their strengths. Roles Once the group has completed an honest assessment of its strengths and weaknesses, you can move on to determine the roles for each member. Roles are slightly different from responsibilities. Roles describe each individual’s general purpose and duty on a team. It designates their main areas of concern. On the other hand, responsibilities refer to the specific tasks each member will complete. To use a sports analogy – the position you play on a team is your role, but the specific responsibilities during a game will often shift, sometime from play-to-play or even within a play. In football, a wide receiver’s responsibilities vary greatly – on one play it is to get open for a reception, on another it may be to cross up the defense to allow another receiver to get open. A wide receiver could be called on to block a defensive player, or in rare circumstance even pass the football. Sometimes a wide receiver must instantly switch their responsibility from offense to defense, and tackle an opponent who just intercepted a pass. But the role of a wide receiver is never likely to be confused with the roles of a center who snaps the ball, or a linebacker who is always looking to tackle the person with the ball. Every project is slightly different and demands different roles but some common roles include: Leader/Coordinator/Project Manager: this person is not the boss, but rather the person who makes sure that everything runs smoothly. They do not give orders or make demands, but rather they serve to keep the group operating at its best and sticking to schedules. Monitor: this member keeps track of decisions and their outcomes and keeps an eye out for any potential flaws or conflicts. Recorder/Note Taker/Secretary: this person is responsible for keeping the records of the group. They should be able to tell everyone what was agreed and when. They keep the notes (or minutes) of the meetings. Shaper: this team member often has the big ideas, the drive to see them through, and the assertiveness to steer the group. Investigator/Researcher: whether it is through secondary or primary research, this person likes to look for answers to the questions driving the project. In a big project, everyone will likely contribute some research, but this person would be the one who dives into the topics the most. Specialist: often referred to as subject-matter experts (SMEs), this is the person with the deep background on a topic. Often groups will have specialists in more than one area. Editor: the best writer will often write the least amount of original content in a large project – rather their role will be to edit and improve upon everyone else’s writing. They also help create one voice in documents written by multiple people with multiple writing styles. Designer: the designer is the person who makes sure any documents, presentations, videos, or websites created by the team look appealing and professional. As the name implies, they are in charge of graphics and design. For more on some of these common roles, and others, see “The Nine Belbin team Roles.” 4 . Just like a wide receiver, you might find you have to take on a variety of responsibilities related to your role as well as some responsibilities that seem tangential to your role. You might also find you have to take over unfamiliar responsibilities because someone else “dropped the ball.” Defining roles helps establish accountability in the group and makes it clear who is in charge of what. Responsibilities and Planning Once you have articulated the qualifications of each member and established the roles, it is time to assign responsibilities and plan the project. This includes dividing the work, creating a schedule, and anticipating problems (obstacles and conflicts). You should also agree on the main avenue of communication, and create an online document and/or folder that will be shared by all group members. Capture your team’s roles, responsibilities, and decisions in a simple team-plan document. It can contain the key dates in the team schedule, a tentative outline of the document to be team-produced, formatting agreements, individual writer assignments, word-choice preferences, and so on. The planning stages will often include all or most of the following actions: Analyze the writing assignment Pick a topic Define the rhetorical situation Brainstorm and narrow the topic Create an outline Plan the research (primary and secondary) Plan a system for taking notes from sources Plan any graphics you would like to see in your writing project Agree on style and format questions Develop a work schedule for the project and divide the responsibilities Develop a system for resolving disputes Much of the work in a team-writing project must be done by individual team members on their own. When dividing the work, aim for these minimum guidelines: Have each team member responsible for the writing an equal amount of the assignment. Have each team member responsible for locating, reading, and taking notes on an equal amount of sources. Some of the work for the project that could be done as a team you may want to do first independently. For example, brainstorming, narrowing, and especially outlining should be completed by each team member on their own; then get together and compare notes. Keep in mind how group dynamics can unknowingly suppress certain ideas and how less assertive team members might be reluctant to contribute their valuable ideas in the group context. If you noticing this happening, be proactive and ask for everyone’s thoughts or opinions – especially those group members who may be hesitant to talk over others – so that good ideas do not remain unheard. After you divide the work for the project, write a formal chart or calendar and distribute it to all the members. Scheduling Early in your writing project, set up a schedule of key dates and deadlines. This schedule will enable you and your team members to make steady, organized progress and complete the project on time. It is a good idea to figure a day and time during the week when all group members are free and can meet, in person or online. Block off that hour every week. Before you meet, write out an agenda that includes all the main topics of discussion, including old business, ongoing business, and new business. The agenda should include a time schedule for the meeting to make sure everything is covered in the time allotted for the meeting. If you find one week that there is no real reason to meet, you can cancel it. As shown in the example schedule below (Figure 1), your project schedule should include not only completion dates for key phases of the project but also meeting dates and the subject and purpose of those meetings. Notice these details about that schedule: Several meetings are scheduled in which members discuss the information they are finding or are not finding. One team member may have information another member is looking everywhere for. Several meetings are scheduled to review the project details, specifically, the topic, audience, purpose, situation, and outline. As you learn more about the topic and become more settled in the project, your team may want to change some of these details or make them more specific. Several rough drafts are scheduled. Team members peer-review each other’s drafts of individual sections at least twice, the second time to see if the recommended changes have worked. Once the complete draft is put together, it too is reviewed twice.	Individual prototypes due	October 1
Team meeting: finalize the prototype	October 1
Rough-draft style guide due	October 5
Team meeting: finalize style guide	October 5
Twice-weekly team meetings: progress problems	October 5 - 26
Graphics sketches due to Jim	October 14
Rough drafts of individual sections due	October 26
Review of rough drafts due	October 28
Team meeting: discuss rough drafts, reviews	October 28
Update of style guide due from Sterlin	October 31
Revisions of rough drafts due to reviewers	November 3
Final graphics due from Jim	November 5
Completed drafts to Sterlin: final edit/proof	November 7
Team meeting: review completed draft with final graphics and editing	November 12
Completed drafts due to Julie for final production	November 15
Team meeting: inspection of completed project	November 15
Project upload due to McMurrey	November 16
Party at Julie's	November 19
Figure 1: A project schedule in the form of a simple table. Anticipating Problems and Conflicts Think about how to resolve typical problems that can arise in a team project and document your team’s agreements about these matters in a by-laws document: Workload imbalance. When you work as a team, there is always the chance that one of the team members, for whatever reason, may have more or less than a fair share of the workload. Therefore, it is important to find a way to keep track of what each team member is doing. Periodic group evaluations and self-assessments, including logging hours spent on the project, can help accomplish a good balance of work. Both during and at the end of the project, if there are any problems, the evaluations and assessments should make that fact clear and enable a more equitable balancing of the workload. Before the end of the project, team members can add up their hours spent on the project; if anyone has spent a little more than their share of time working, the other members can make up for it. Similarly, as you get down toward the end of the project, if it is clear from the evaluations and assessments that one team member’s work responsibilities turned out, through no fault of their own, to be smaller than those of the others, they can make up for it by doing more of the finish-up work such as typing, proofing, or copying. Team members without relevant skills. Sometimes a member may claim to have no relevant skills. That could just be an indication of that person’s anxiety or lack of interest in engaging in a group project. Each team member in a writing course should contribute a fair share of the writing for a project. However, there are plenty of tasks that do not require technical knowledge, formatting skills, or a sharp editorial eye, for example: typing and distributing the team plan, the by-laws, and the minutes of team meetings; or reminding team members of due dates and scheduled meetings. In fact, except for the anxiety or lack of interest, the self-professed unskilled team member might make the best team leader! Disappearing team members. If your team is unfortunate enough to have an irresponsible member who simply vanishes, have a plan for what to do about that, and document it in your team by-laws. One obvious solution is to kick the team member off the team and inform the instructor (if it is a writing course) or the next level of management (if it is a nonacademic organization). Of course, you want to try to avoid losing a team member, so constant communication is a key ingredient to well-functioning groups. The sample email below (Figure 2) demonstrates that the team leader did all they could to get the disappearing member back in the fold, and is about to give them up as lost. Figure 2: A sample email sent to a disappeared team member. Seemingly entrenched team-member disagreements. It is amazing how vehemently team members can disagree on aspects of a team-writing project. Have a plan, written in your team by-laws, how to resolve these matters. Should they be put to a vote? Flip a coin? Should you “escalate” the matter to a neutral or higher-level party? Do you have a group mediator who can be impartial and make judgement calls? Radically inconsistent writing styles and format. Because the individual sections will be written by different writers who are apt to have different writing styles, set up a style guide in which your team members list their agreements on how things are to be handled in the paper as a whole. These agreements can range from the high level, such as whether to have a background section, all the way down to picky details such as when to use italics or bold and whether the phrase you group wants to use is “click” or “click on.” Before you and your team members write the first rough drafts, you cannot expect to anticipate every possible difference in style and format. Therefore, plan to update this style sheet when you review the rough drafts of the individual sections and, especially, when review the complete draft. One of the best ways to smooth out the different writing styles is to have everyone consistently work on the entire document together. That is, read all the sections and make comments and edits throughout the writing process. Then, at the very end, have one person edit the entire document for consistency and design. Communication Good communication is the key to successful team projects. You should decide early on how you will communicate (group text, email, an app, etc) and how you will share documents. Once the team is formed and work begins, it is imperative that any issues that arise are addressed early. Most group conflicts start as miscommunication and/or misunderstanding. Everyone in the group should always be a part of any information that is sent between members. Include all members in all communication, even if it does not seem all that important. That is what the cc line is for in emails. Team projects are generally evaluated on their own merits, regardless of group dynamics and participation. In other words, you cannot tell a client that one of your team members was slacking and that is why the graphics and design does not look so nice. In a professional setting, who did how much work does not matter to the client – they only care about what the team delivers. Although some members in the group may fulfill different roles and do more or less writing, in a project for a writing class, each member of a group should contribute actual writing and research to the project. Group work needs to be a collaborative effort. If someone in the group is not pulling their weight, it needs to be addressed right away. Sometimes it is due to simple misunderstanding. Discuss problems with the entire group as soon as possible, but if that does not work, contact your instructor (or supervisor in a professional setting) so you can sort things out before it is too late. There are usually a number of opportunities to evaluate and assess the group as the project unfolds. However, it is not possible to quit the group or kick someone out without serious repercussions. In the workplace, there is no leaving a group project unless you quit you job. 3.3 Completing the Project Try to schedule as many reviews of your team’s written work as possible. Communicate and meet regularly and read each other’s work as often as possible. You can meet to discuss each other’s rough drafts of individual sections as well as rough drafts of the complete paper. A critical stage in team-writing a paper comes when you put together those individual sections written by different team members into one complete draft. It is then that you will probably see how different in tone, treatment, and style each section is. You must, as a group, find a way to revise and edit the complete rough draft that will make it read consistently so that it will not be so obviously written by three or four different people. When you complete reviewing and revising, it is time for the finish-up work to get the draft ready to hand in. That work is the same as it would be if you were writing the paper on your own, only in this case the workloads can be divided among the group. 3.4 Final Thoughts Business leaders commonly complain that college graduates do not know how to work productively in groups. In American classrooms, we tend to prize individual accomplishment, yet in professional careers we need to work well with others. Unfortunately, the terms “group work,” “team work,” or “committee work” can appear to be oxymorons – like the terms “honest politician” or “criminal justice.” Many groups, teams, and committees simply do not work, despite the potential of individuals in the group. It is certainly true that many people waste time in group situations, politicking as opposed to defining tasks and solving problems. In writing classrooms, some students want to slide by, get the grade without doing the work; others are willing to do the work, but are not sure how to proceed. While working in groups presents unique challenges, your success as a writer, leader, or manager is somewhat dependent on your ability to help others focus, communicate, and collaborate. Tips for Effective Groups Follow these tips for nurturing teamwork in group situations. Try experimenting with the following strategies to help ensure the success of group work. When the group first meets, select a project manager. This person provides leadership and helps forge consensus and a coherent plan. Being a leader is different from being an autocrat or a dictator. Even if you are selected as the project manager, it is important to remember that you are an equal team member and collaborator who has simply been assigned the task of coordinating the project and ensuring that progress does not fall behind schedule. This does not, in effect, make you the “boss” of all the other team members, so remember to act like a partner rather than an overlord. As team coordinator, your attitude and behavior may help set the tone for the rest of the group. If you are the leader, be sure to make fair assignments and let others own ideas and parts of the project. If people slack off, talk to them discreetly, giving them fair warning before speaking with other members or your teacher. Be concrete and specific about building consensus regarding shared goals, due dates, and processes. All team members need to work to be positive. Be generous. Be respectful regarding members’ feelings and needs. Focus on the strengths of the members in your group. Give more than you take. Ideally, collaborative projects should not be about one person being in control. Decisions should be made by the group, not by one individual. Respect different ideas and approaches. Listen before talking; be articulate about your position but flexible when others want to go another way. Clarify evaluation criteria up front. Understand what your instructor wants, how the documents will be evaluated, and what the due dates are. Beyond outlining the project, come up with a project management plan, outlining: Responsibilities for each group member Descriptions of the steps or tasks involved in implementation Timelines for completion Summaries of problems/opportunities you anticipate (and a list of possible solutions/recommendations) Draft a document planner for the group project. Write a research proposal and submit it to your instructor/supervisor. Your proposal—which is formal request that will be discussed at length in the Proposal chapter—should identify what you want to do, how you want to do it, and when you can have it done. Your instructor (or supervisor) may request that you maintain individual journals or progress reports or keep a log of your contributions to the project. Alternatively, you can log about your collaborative efforts in a wiki, perhaps writingwiki.org. The advantage of using the wiki space is that it enables group members to enter their contributions on the same page. Teachers appreciate the wiki format because each edit to a page is recorded by the wiki software, enabling the instructor to see when particular contributions were made and by whom. Teachers can account for individual efforts when you keep records and perhaps include a one-page summary about what you learned as a result of the collaborative experience. Create a Web portfolio for the project with an index or default page that links to major sections of the group project and relevant appendixes. Report appendixes should include links to the document planner, the document proposal, individual students’ journals, and related resources. Evaluate your peers’ contributions; be sure to copy your peers on your evaluation. Group work can be difficult, and the amount of time required to complete a group project may very well take longer than if you were tackling the project on your own, but group work can also be a richly rewarding experience with synergistic results that are impossible to achieve otherwise. With a clear understanding of each group member’s strengths and qualifications, with clearly articulated roles and responsibilities, and with a well-defined plan, any group project can be a success. 3.5 Activity You might consider having everyone in the group take the Meyers–Briggs personality test (http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp) to get a good sense of where everyone is coming from and where they stand. There are a number of free versions of the test online. The official version from the Meyers and Briggs Foundation 6 is far more thorough and costs money. The test measures preferences and general attitudes and can help you understand communication and learning styles. In conjunction with the other skills, knowledge, and abilities, it can help determine which roles and tasks are most suitable for each team member. After taking the test, record your personality type and some of it is major attributes. Then meet with your group so you can all share your results and discuss how best to capitalize on the knowledge. [1]https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/steps/identify-dynamics-of-effective-teams/. This is a great resource to learn more about effective group dynamics. Attribution Material in this chapter was adapted from the works listed below. The material was edited for tone, content, and localization. Strategies for Peer Reviewing and Team Writing, by David McMurrey, licensed CC-BY. Working in a Team, Writing Commons, by Joe Moxley, licensed CC-BY-NC-SA. ENGL 145 Technical and Report Writing, by the Bay College Online Learning Department, licensed CC-BY. Chapter 3: Team Work and Collaborative Writing by Michael Beilfuss is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm https:///rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/steps/identify-dynamics-of-effective-teams/. This is a great resource to learn more about effective group dynamics. https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles/ https://www.myersbriggs.org/home.htm?bhcp=1 4 Chapter 4: Ethics Michael Beilfuss Chapter Synopsis In this chapter, you will learn about some of the ethical challenges that you may encounter in your professional and academic life, especially when it comes to technical writing. The chapter explains the importance of articulating your own ethical code so you can be prepared when you find yourself in uncomfortable and/or unethical situations. The chapter covers ethical principles, how ethics may affect the presentation of information, and some common ethical problems encountered by technical writers. Much of this chapter is concerned with the appropriate and ethical use and documentation of sources. The chapter provides some practical information on how to make sure your writing is ethical and how to handle ethical dilemmas along with possible legal issues in the workplace. 4.1 Ethics in Technical Writing You probably think about technical writing in relation to communicating technical information clearly in an accessible format that meets the needs of its audience. These are important aspects of technical writing, to be sure, but they only represent the surface of what you need to know. This chapter will introduce some of the ethical issues that may arise as technical writers research, write, revise, and produce a technical document. Like other professionals, technical writers come up against ethical issues regularly and must make decisions about how to move forward with a project in the face of ethical dilemmas. Writers may encounter situations in which they must ask the following kinds of questions: What kinds of support material and sources are ethical to use? Are open web sources just as valid as academic sources for certain topics? Can email communications be used without permission? What if the writer discovers that a company falsified data about the effectiveness of its product? Should they reveal this in their report or should they take other courses of action? How much should a writer adapt to an audience without sacrificing their own views? Ethics principles provide the basis for deciding whether “x” is ethical, but in reality, ethical issues are complicated—for example, imagine working for a large company that employs substantial numbers of people in your town, where relatively few other employment opportunities exist. Imagine that the company disposes of its chemical waste in a way that could endanger people’s health. While the company may be following the law, it is clear they could dispose of their waste more safely and be more responsible stewards of the neighborhood. However, that would cost the company more money, and may affect profit margins, result in slower growth, and provide fewer jobs for the locals. What do you do? Is quarterly growth and expanding jobs more serious than the risk of future health problems and a degraded environment? Which choice is really more ethical? Many ethical lapses that occur in the workplace are not so obvious, and they often begin with good intentions – for example, a manager or owner of a business may commit financial fraud to avoid laying off employees. The intention may be good, but breaching ethics results in a slippery slope – one that often leads to further and larger ethical breaches. Falsifying one report will make it that much more likely the subsequent reports will be falsified, just as neglecting to properly cite one source at the end of a report only makes it more tempting to neglect citing the remainder of the sources. Acting ethically is rarely rewarded from the outside – you are not likely to be congratulated by your boss and co-workers for passing on an opportunity to undermine the competition in an unethical manner. The “rewards” of acting ethically are often simply internal. It is important to think about ethics and articulate your ethical values before you find yourself in a situation where ethics will factor into your decision-making. With a strong set of ethical values, you will be better prepared to make the right decision and stick to your principles when faced with an ethical dilemma. There is a good chance that at some point in your career you will find yourself in a situation that involves unethical behavior at your workplace. You may be faced with having to decide to go along with unethical actions or behavior, ignore the behavior, or report unethical conduct to the appropriate person (internally or externally). It could be something as simple (albeit pernicious) as harassment, or it could be something as large as major fraud. It may be easier to mind our own businesses and keep quiet, but really the only right thing to do is to stand up, and speak up, for what is right. We are taught from a young age that you should never “rat” on anyone, and staying silent is often easier than mustering the courage to reveal ethical corruption. However, sometimes speaking up, and/or notifying authorities is the only right thing to do, as difficult as that may be. The National Whistle Blower center is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that has many resources available for individuals who may be faced with the difficult situation of doing the right thing (https://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php). You should spend some time examining your ethics and thinking about how and where they may be challenged in your career. What will you do when you are asked, implicitly or explicitly, to compromise your ethics? What will you do when you witness unfair, demeaning, and unethical behavior? In almost every field, there are legal and professional consequences for committing unethical behavior, and often remaining silent about corrupt conduct—whether the action are yours or a colleague’s—can implicate you as well. 4.2 General Principles In day-to-day life, most people have a sort of sliding scale on what constitutes ethical behavior. For example, you might tell your best friend their new haircut looks attractive when in fact you believe that it does not. This lie, though minor, preserves your friend’s feelings and does no apparent harm to them or anyone else. Some might consider the context before determining how to act. For example, you might not tell a stranger that they were trailing toilet paper but you would tell a friend. With a stranger, your calculations may include how the stranger might respond to the interruption, and both of you may feel some embarrassment in the exchange. Such calculations may make it easier for you to look away and let someone else deal with it, but with a friend, you would be willing to risk some short-term awkwardness to do the right thing. In a far more serious situation, a person might not risk their lives to help a stranger, but they might risk their lives to help a close friend or relative. For example, if you witnessed a stranger attacking someone you do not know on a crowded street, you may be afraid to interfere because you could be injured in the event. Instead, you might stay back and call the police. But if a close friend or a relative was in the same danger, you may be more likely to put yourself in harm’s way to protect your friend. In this case, your commitment to loyalty might outweigh your sense of self-preservation. In the former case, if you valued physical courage above all else, you might be willing to step into a fight to protect a victim. In either case, weighing the costs, and having a strong value system would help you feel like you did the right thing, especially upon reflection after the event. Ethical behavior, including ethical technical communication, involves not just telling the truth and providing accurate information, but telling the truth and providing information so that a reasonable audience is made aware of the behavior. It also means that you act to prevent actual harm, with set criteria for what kinds and degrees of harm are more serious than others. For example, saving someone’s life should always outweigh the prospect of financial damage to your company. Human values, and human life, are far more important than monetary values and financial gain. As a guideline, ask yourself what would happen if your action (or non-action) became entirely public, and started trending on social media, got its own hashtag, and became a meme picked up by the national media. If you would go to prison, lose your friends, lose your job, or even just feel embarrassed, the action is probably unethical. If your actions cannot stand up to that scrutiny, you might reconsider them. Having a strong ethical foundation always helps. However, nothing is ever easy when it comes to ethical dilemmas. Sometimes the right thing to do is the unpopular thing to do. Just because some action enjoys the adulation of the masses, does not necessarily means it is ethical. That is another reason why it is important to give some serious thought to your own value system and how it may fit into the value systems of the exemplars your admire and respect. That way, you will be better prepared to do the right thing when you are confronted with an ethical dilemma. Internalizing your ethics in such a manner will certainly make you a more ethical writer. 4.3 Professional Ethics Many organizations and employers have a corporate code of ethics. If you are a technical writer and you join a professional associations such as the Society of Technical Communicators you will need to be aware their codes of ethics, published online (e.g., http://www.stc.org/about-stc/ethical-principles). If you are a technical writer researching and writing a report within a specific professional field, you will also need to be aware to that field’s codes of ethics. For example, if you are writing a report for a group of physical therapists on the latest techniques for rehabilitating knee surgery patients, you should be aware of the code of ethics for physical therapists so that you work within those principles as you research and write your report. Look for the codes of ethics in your own discipline and begin to read and understand what will be expected of you as a professional in your field. 4.4 Presentation of Information How a writer presents information in a document can affect a reader’s understanding of the relative weight or seriousness of that information. For example, hiding some crucial bit of information in the middle of a long paragraph deep in a long document seriously de-emphasizes the information. On the other hand, putting a minor point in a prominent spot (say the first item in a bulleted list in a report’s executive summary) might be a manipulative strategy to emphasize information that is not terribly important. Both of these examples could be considered unethical, as the display of information is crucial to how readers encounter and interpret it. A classic example of unethical technical writing is the memo report NASA engineers wrote about the problem with O-ring seals on the space shuttle Challenger. The unethical feature was that the crucial information about the O-rings was buried in a middle paragraph, while information approving the launch was in prominent beginning and ending spots. Presumably, the engineers were trying to present a full report, including safe components in the Challenger, but the memo’s audience—non-technical managers—mistakenly believed the O-ring problem to be inconsequential, even if it happened. The position of information in this document did not help them understand that the problem could be fatal. Ethical writing, then, involves being ethical, of course, but also presenting information so that your target audience will understand the relative importance of information and understand whether some technical fact is a good thing or a bad thing. 4.5 Ethical Issues in Technical Writing There are a few issues that may come up when researching a topic for the business or technical world that a writer must consider. Let us look at a few. Research that Does Not Support Project Idea In a technical report that contains research, a writer might discover conflicting data that does not support the project’s goal. For example, your small company continues to have problems with employee morale. Research shows bringing in an outside expert, someone who is unfamiliar with the company and the stakeholders, has the potential to impact the greatest change. You discover, however, that to bring in such an expert is cost prohibitive. You struggle with whether to leave this information out of your report, thereby encouraging your employer to pursue an action that is not the most productive. In this situation, what would you do, and why? Suppressing Relevant Information Imagine you are researching a report for a parents’ group that wants to change the policy in the local school district requiring all students to be vaccinated. You collect a handful of sources that support the group’s goal, but then you discover convincing medical evidence that indicates vaccines do more good than potential harm in society. Since you are employed by this parents’ group, should you leave out the medical evidence, or do you have a responsibility to include all research, even some that might sabotage the group’s goal? Is it your responsibility to tell the truth (and potentially save children’s lives) or to cherry pick information that supports the parent group’s initial intentions? Limited Source Information in Research Thorough research requires a writer to integrate information from a variety of reliable sources. These sources should demonstrate that the writer has examined the topic from as many angles as possible. This includes scholarly and professional research, not just from a single database or journal, for instance, but from a variety. Using a variety of sources helps the writer avoid potential bias that can occur from relying on only a few experts. If you were writing a report on the real estate market in Stillwater, Oklahoma, you would not collect data from only one broker’s office. While this office might have access to broader data on the real estate market, as a writer you run the risk of looking biased if you only chose materials from this one source. Collecting information from multiple brokers would demonstrate thorough and unbiased research. (See chapter 10 for more on research.) Presenting Visual Information Ethically Visuals can be useful for communicating data and information efficiently for a reader. They provide data in a concentrated form, often illustrating key facts, statistics or information from the text of the report. When writers present information visually, however, they have to be careful not to misrepresent or misreport the complete picture. The graphic below shows two perspectives of information in a pie chart. The data in each is identical but the pie chart on the left presents information in a misleading way (see Figure 1). What do you notice, however, about how that information is conveyed to the reader? Figure 1: Misleading and regular pie charts Imagine that these pie charts represented donations received by four candidates for city council. The candidate represented by the green slice labeled “Item C,” might think that she had received more donations than the candidate represented in the blue “Item A” slice. In fact, if we look at the same data in a differently oriented chart, we can see that Item C represents less than half of the donations than those for Item A. Thus, a simple change in perspective can change the impact of an image. Similarly, take a look at the bar graphs in Figure 2 below. What do you notice about their presentation? Figure 2: Misleading and regular bar graphs If the bar graph above were to represent sales figures for a company, the representation on the left would look like good news: dramatically increased sales over a five-year period. However, a closer look at the numbers shows that the graph shows only a narrow range of numbers in a limited perspective (9100 to 9800). The bar graph on the right, on the other hand, shows the complete picture by presenting numbers from zero to1200 on the vertical axis, and we see that the sales figures have in fact been relatively stable for the past five years. Presenting data in graphical form can be especially challenging. Keep in mind the importance of providing appropriate context and perspective as you prepare your graphics. You need to be extra vigilant to avoid misleading your readers with graphics. Graphics will usually be the first thing a reader notices about your document; if a reader finds your graphics misleading, your entire document may be called into question. Additional Concerns You might notice that most of these ethics violations could happen accidentally. Directly lying is unlikely to be accidental, but even in that case, the writer could rationalize and/or persuade themselves that the lie achieved some “greater good” and was therefore necessary. This is a slippery slope. An even more common ethics violation results from the person who designs the information mistakenly believing that they are presenting evidence objectively, without recognizing their own bias in how they presented that information. Most ethics violations in technical writing are (probably) unintentional, but they are still ethics violations. That means a technical writer must consciously identify their biases and check to see if a bias has influenced any presentation: whether in charts and graphs, or in discussions of the evidence, or in source use (or, of course, in putting the crucial O-ring information where the launch decision makers would realize it was important). For example, scholarly research is intended to find evidence that the new researcher’s ideas are valid (and important) or evidence that those ideas are partial, trivial, or simply wrong. In practice, though, most folks are primarily looking for support. “Hey, I have this great new idea that will solve world hunger, cure cancer, and make mascara really waterproof. Now I just need some evidence to prove I am right!” This is one version of confirmation bias (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias) – where people tend to favor evidence that supports their preconceived notions and reject evidence that challenges their ideas or beliefs. (See chapter 10 for more information on ethical research principles.) On the other hand, if you can easily find 94 high-quality sources that confirm you are correct, you might want to consider whether your idea is worth developing. Often in technical writing, the underlying principle is already well-documented (maybe even common knowledge for your audience) and the point should be to use that underlying principle to propose a specific application. Using a large section of your report to prove an already established principle implies that you are saying something new about the principle—which is not true. Authors of technical documents typically do not have the time or space to belabor well-known points or common-sense data because readers do not need to read page upon page of something they already know or something that can be proved in a sentence of two. When you use concepts, ideas, or findings that have been established by others, you only need to briefly summarize your source and provide accurate references. Then you can apply the information from your source(s) to your specific task or proposal. 4.6 Ethics and Documenting Sources The most immediate concern regarding ethics in your technical writing course is documenting your sources. Whatever content you borrow must be clearly documented both in the body of your text and in a works cited or references page (the different terms reflect different documentation systems, not just random preference) at the end. See chapter 10 for more information on appropriately documenting your research. Including an item only in the source list at the end suggests you have used the source in the report, but if you have not cited this source in the text as well, you could be seen as misleading the reader. Either you are saying it is a source when in fact you did not really use anything from it, or you have simply failed to clarify in the text what are your ideas and what comes from other sources. Documenting source use in such a way as to either mislead your reader about the source or make identifying the source difficult is also unethical—that would include using just a URL or using an article title without identifying the journal in which it appears (in the works cited/references; you would not likely identify the journal name in the report’s body). It would also be unethical to falsify the nature of the source, such as omitting the number of pages in the works cited entry to make a brief note seem to be a full article. Unethical source use includes suppressing information about how you have used a source, such as not making clear that graphical information in your report was already a graph in your source, as opposed to a graph you created on the basis of information in the source. With the ease of acquiring graphics on the internet, it has become ever more tempting to simply copy and paste images from a search engine. Without providing accurate citation information, the practice of cutting and pasting images is nothing less than plagiarism (or theft); it is unethical, and may be illegal if it violates copyright law. Furthermore, it is downright lazy. Develop good habits now and maintain them through practice. Properly cite your images by providing credit to the original creator of the image with full citations. You cannot just slap a URL under a picture, but rather you need to give full credit with an appropriate citation. Any assignment turned in that uses material from an outside source, including graphics and images, needs to include in-text citations as well as a list of references. What about Open Source Images? If you need to use graphics from the internet, a good option is to look for graphics that are open source. Open source refers to material that is freely available for anyone to use. Creative Commons is an organization that has developed guidelines to allow people to “share their knowledge and creativity.” They provide “free, easy-to-use copyright licenses to make a simple and standardized way to give the public permission to share and use” creative work (“What we Do” https://creativecommons.org/about/). There are a number of options (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-types-examples/) that a creator has in regards to how they want to set up permissions, but the idea is that these works are free for anyone to use; they are open source. Graphics created by the federal government, say from the National Park Service, or the FDA, or the EPA, are not under copyright, and therefore can be used without having to go through the sometimes-onerous process of securing permissions. This is particularly helpful for written materials that will be professionally published. Likewise, you can customize a Google image search so that only images that are open source will come up. If you click on the “Tools” button, you have the option of filtering results by how they are licensed. See Figure 3 below. Figure 3: A screen shot from a Google search where the images are filtered by their license. Regardless of the copyright, you should always keep track of where you found the graphics, and for assignments for your class, you need to record the source so you can cite it. If you use graphics (or anything at all) in an assignment that you did not create, you need to indicate as much. Just because a graphic is open source, does not mean that you can pass it off as your own work, and if you don’t cite it, that is exactly what you are doing, whether or not that was your intention. Many problems in documenting sources occur because the writer is missing the point of source use. Remember, you must clearly distinguish between your ideas and borrowed material; and you must use borrowed material primarily as evidence for your own, directly stated ideas. Intellectual Property Patents and trademarks are company names (WalMart), logos (the Target bullseye), processes or slogans (McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it”) that belong to a person or company. None of these things can be used without proper recognition of or approval from the appropriate company or individual involved. A company uses a ™ to show something is trademarked or an ® for something registered with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. An example would be Nike and their famous swoosh symbol. This law extends beyond the major companies. Any written document in your own company is copyrighted by law once produced. That means if you are borrowing a good idea from a friend at another company, you must cite them as a source. Also, although not required by law, it is a good idea to cite sources from inside your own company as well. You would not want someone else taking credit for your ideas. Why should you treat others any differently? The legal consequences are most notable when one considers writing in the professional world. While plagiarizing may give you a failing grade in a class, plagiarizing in the workplace can get you fired, and could result in a costly lawsuit or possibly even jail time. It is not only ethical to follow these rules, it is an enforced law. Make sure you properly document all sources so as not to mislead a reader. Copyright law includes items whose distribution is protected by law (books, movies, or software). The copyright symbol is shown with a ©. Copyright is different from plagiarism in that it is a legal issue. Only the copyright holder, the person/organization who owns the protected item, can copy it. Spend a few minutes checking out The United States Patent and Trademark Office (https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/trademark-basics/trademark-patent-or-copyright) for clarification on trademarks, patents, and copyright. Some considerations made by the court when determining if a copyright law has been violated include: The character, purpose of use, and amount of information being used. Was it a phrase, sentence, chapter, or an entire piece of work? Was the information simply copied and pasted as a whole or changed? Was it taken from something published or unpublished? What was it used for? If the person using another’s material did so to profit from it. Only the copyright holders should profit from material they own. For example, this is why a faculty member cannot use their personal DVD for a movie screening on campus and charge students to attend the viewing. If using someone else’s property affected the market for the copyrighted work. For example, if you take an item that would cost money to buy and copy it for other people, you are affecting the market for that product since the people you give it to will now not have to purchase it themselves. Therefore, the original owner of the material is denied a profit due to your actions. When dealing with copyright questions, consider the following tips. First, find out if the item can be used. Sometimes, the copyright holder allows it if credit is given. Second, do not use large amounts of another person’s information. Third, if possible, ask permission to use another person’s work. In addition, and most importantly, cite sources accurately so as to give credit to another person’s ideas if you are able to use them. 4.7 Ethics, Plagiarism, and Reliable Sources Unlike personal or academic writing, technical and professional writing can be used to evaluate your job performance and can have implications that a writer may or may not have considered. Whether you are writing for colleagues within your workplace or outside vendors or customers, you will want to build a solid, well-earned, favorable reputation for yourself with your writing. Your goal is to maintain and enhance your credibility, and that of your organization, at all times. Credibility can be established through many means: using appropriate professional language, citing highly respected sources, providing reliable evidence, and using sound logic. Make sure as you start your research that you always question the credibility of the information you find. You should ask yourself the following questions: Are the sources popular or scholarly? Are they peer reviewed by experts in the field? Can the information be verified by other sources? Are the methods and arguments based on solid reasoning and sound evidence? Is the author identifiable and do they have appropriate credentials? Be cautious about using sources that are not reviewed by peers or editor, or in which the information cannot be verified, or seems misleading, biased, or even false. Be a wise information consumer in your own reading and research in order to build your reputation as an honest, ethical writer. See chapter 10 for more information on credibility and evaluating secondary sources. Quoting the work of others in your writing is fine, provided that you credit the source fully enough that your readers can find it on their own. If you fail to take careful notes, or the sentence is present in your writing but later fails to get accurate attribution, it can have a negative impact on you and your organization. That is why it is important that when you find an element you would like to incorporate in your document, in the same moment as you copy and paste or make a note of it in your research file you need to note the source in a complete enough form to find it again. Giving credit where credit is due will build your credibility and enhance your document. Moreover, when your writing is authentically yours, your audience will catch your enthusiasm, and you will feel more confident in the material you produce. Just as you have a responsibility in business to be honest in selling your product or service and avoid cheating your customers, so you have a responsibility in business writing to be honest in presenting your idea, and the ideas of others, and to avoid cheating your readers with plagiarized material. 4.8 Ethical Writing Throughout your career, you will be required to create many documents. Some may be simple and straightforward, some may be difficult and involve questionable objectives. Overall, there are a few basic points to adhere to whenever you are writing a professional document: a) do not mislead, b) do not manipulate, and c) do not stereotype. Do Not Mislead This has more than one meaning to the professional writer. The main point is clear. When writing persuasively, do not write something that can cause the reader to believe something that is not true. This can be done by lying, misrepresenting facts, or just “twisting” numbers to favor your opinion and objectives. Once you are on the job, you cannot leave out numbers that show you are behind or over-budget on a project, no matter how well it may work once it is completed. Be cautious when using figures, charts and tables, making sure they visually represent quantities with accuracy and honesty. While this may seem easy to read about, when the pressure is on and there are deadlines to meet, taking shortcuts and stretching the truth become ever more tempting. Do Not Manipulate Do not persuade people to do what is not in their best interest. A good writer with bad motives can twist words to make something sound like it is beneficial to all parties. The audience may find out too late that what you wrote only benefited you and actually hurt them. Make sure all stakeholders are considered and cared for when writing a persuasive document. It is easy to get caught up in the facts and forget all the people involved. Their feelings and livelihood must be considered with every appropriate document you create. Do Not Stereotype Most stereotyping takes place subconsciously now since workplaces are careful to not openly discriminate. It is something we may not even be aware we are doing, so it is always a good idea to have a peer or coworker proofread your documents to make sure you have not included anything that may point to discriminatory assumptions. The not-for-profit organization Project Implicit (https://www.projectimplicit.net/) has been researching subconscious biases for years and has developed several, free online tests. (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html) The tests can help you understand your proclivities and subconscious biases. Knowing your biases may help you begin to overcome them. 4.9 Addressing Unethical Practices It is difficult to deal with unethical practices when they surface in the workplace. The hardest part may be simply raising the issue with your co-workers and/or supervisor. In his book Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach, Paul Anderson reviews three ways that you can bring your company’s practices to the surface. It is easiest to first start asking questions. Simply asking questions can be an effective way of bringing attention to your company’s problems. Ask questions about who their decisions are affecting and why they are making those decisions. This will allow you to voice your thoughts without putting you on the spot for being the bad guy. The second idea Anderson describes is to use facts or reason, instead of accusation. Before you raise questions about your company’s unethical practices, make sure you use evidence instead of accusations. Often, accusations are made about situations when people do not truly know the reason those decisions were being made. If you base your concerns on evidence, your company will assume you looked into the situation and will take your thoughts more seriously. The third helpful way to bring your company’s unethical practices to the surface is to remain open to other’s ideas. What this allows you to do is base a solution around many different sides instead of just your own. Since people usually have different ethical values, your own stance may not coincide with everyone else’s. Make sure you identify possible values of others when considering possible solutions. Ethics Decision Checklist What is the nature of the ethical dilemma? What are the specific aspects of this dilemma that make you uncomfortable? What are your competing obligations in this dilemma? What advice does a trusted supervisor or mentor offer? Does your company’s code of conduct address this issue? Does your professional association’s code of conduct address this issue? What are you unwilling to do? What are you willing to do? How will you explain or justify your decision? 4.10 Legal Issues and Communication In business, image is everything. Public opinion of a company affects a consumer’s views on that company’s products. This, in turn, affects the company’s public profit, and essentially its standing. When a company is involved in a lawsuit or a recall, the company has to consider the consequences that these issues will have on their business and needs to consider the costs of repairing the company’s reputation. These are among the reasons certain documents are carefully reviewed before being sent to their intended readers. To write ethically, you must also identify another group of people: the individuals who will gain or lose because of your message. Collectively, these people are called stakeholders because they have a stake in what you are writing. Only by learning who these stakeholders are can you assure that you are treating them in accordance with your own ethical values. When crafting your communication, think about who will be affected by what you say and how you say it. Under the law, most documents written by employees represent the position and commitments of the organization itself. There are always legal issues to consider when writing a professional document and they reflect in writing style. Professional documents can serve as evidence in disputes over contracts and in product liability lawsuits. Being caught in a lawsuit has many consequences for a company. The money spent on lawyers and the time spent in court takes away resources a company could use for improving business and products. Lawsuits also have ramifications for a company’s reputation. Product recalls can be another legal problem for companies. There are a number of reasons why a company may face a lawsuit or a recall. One of the main reasons a company gets involved in a lawsuit is because the directions to the company’s product were not clear to the consumer. For this reason, the general guideline is that instructions should be understandable, clear and concise at the fourth to sixth grade reading level. Also, when in a lawsuit, a company has to remember that all documents may be subpoenaed. This means that any document from memos and emails to proposals and studies can be subject to revision by a court of law. Another reason a company gets into a lawsuit may be over a recall. Many products are recalled for potential safety concerns, even if no one was actually hurt. To avoid safety recalls, companies need to make sure they consider every possible danger involved with a product. Some dangers may seem to be common knowledge, but companies should be aware of those and label the product accordingly, regardless of assumptions about common knowledge. Legal Requirements: Protecting Consumers Documentation should prepare readers to safely use the product. US law stipulates that a manual must list any hazards that may occur “from the intended or unintended but reasonably foreseeable use of its products.” (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.productliabilityprevention.com/images/6-LegallyAdequateWarningLabelsAConundrumforEveryManufacturer.pdfsa=Dust=1553803200010000) You have a legal duty to warn consumers when: The product supplied is dangerous The danger is or should be known by the manufacturer The danger is present when the product is used in the usual and expected manner The danger is not obvious or well known to the user Failure to “adequately” warn consumers opens your company up to lawsuits. What exactly makes a warning “adequate”? Good question. Adequacy is almost impossible to define. It is much easier to define what is not adequate. Here are a few common ways that manuals or instructions fall short: Failure to warn users about how to properly use a product Failure to warn against risks from proper use of a product Failure to warn against any reasonably foreseeable misuses of a product The key commonality is that everything listed could result in bodily harm or death. Safety information must also be accessible to your readers. Therefore, warnings should stand out from the rest of the documents, possibly with icons, colored fonts, or bolding. They should also be easy to understand. A confusing warning is just as bad as not warning users at all. Contract and Liability Laws Contract Law is an agreement between two entities. It can be written or oral. There are usually two kinds: express warranty and implied warranty. An express warranty is a clearly written or oral statement that the product of what a product is capable of. An implied warranty can be reasonably inferred by the purchaser. How so? How the packaging is done and what is on the accompanying fliers or material can be part of this. Liability Law helps companies and organizations act responsibly. Therefore, the company or organization is responsible for giving adequate instructions and warning users about the risks associated with the product. They can also be held liable if a consumer is injured or damages occur. Liability and contract laws can vary by country. European regulations are decidedly strict, and Asian laws are starting to follow suit. If you plan on selling wares internationally, account for various regional requirements. Learn about liability concerns (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.productliabilityprevention.com/images/6-LegallyAdequateWarningLabelsAConundrumforEveryManufacturer.pdfsa=Dust=1553803200010000) and relevant international product liabilities (https://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/international-product-liability-laws.html) before you publish your manual. As always, consult a lawyer for specific information on how to construct warnings. Attribution Material in this chapter was adapted from the works listed below. The material was edited for tone, content, and localization. Technical Writing, by Allison Gross, Annamarie Hamlin, Billy Merck, Chris Rubio, Jodi Naas, Megan Savage and Michele DiSilva, licensed CC-BY-NC-SA. ENGL 145 Technical and Report Writing, by the Bay College Online Learning Department, licensed CC-BY. Chapter 4: Ethics by Michael Beilfuss is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. 5 Chapter 5: Document Design Katrina Peterson Chapter Synopsis This chapter briefly summarizes fundamental concepts to consider as you craft print and electronic texts. In this chapter you will read about basic principles of document design that allow writers to combine graphic elements with text to convey a message to audiences. Beginning with a discussion of standard conventions (of formatting, language, and style), the chapter then shares some basic guidelines for document design, moving forward to focus on integration of graphics, callouts and captions. Other topics include tables of contents, figures and tables, headings and the well-known CRAP test used by graphic designers. For additional resources, see the activities included at the chapter’s end. 5.1 Introduction A text’s visual appeal matters to the reader, so it should also matter to the writer. Letters, reports, and blogs are more than just words on a page or screen. How ideas are arranged and delivered, whether electronically or on paper, can make reading seem intimidating, confusing, or downright unfriendly, even if the content itself is perfect. Conversely, a document’s design can draw in readers and engage them with your ideas. Think of the text as a room for your thoughts. Sometimes you want readers to get in and get out quickly, but often you want them to sit down and make themselves comfortable, put their feet up and stay a while. Regardless of your specific goal, it is important to make deliberate decisions about the design elements that affect audience experience. As readers, we may seem a bit like TV viewers with remote controls. In a moment, attention may be diverted to another channel if something about the content distracts us. For this reason, a writer must consider carefully how to capture readers’ attention and hold it. Good content is a key part of this, of course, but the visual presentation of the content matters too. Reading is a difficult, cognitively demanding task, so if your design helps make readers’ journey through the text easier, you will hold their attention longer. Give your audience reasons to linger, and they will. You already engage in document design practices. For instance, when formatting an academic essay, you center your title and separate the content into paragraphs, which signals to the reader that it is time for a breather, the content is shifting slightly, or you are introducing a new topic. You illustrate blogs, Web pages, and PowerPoint slides with photos and graphics, animations, or videos. Even small elements of your writing help guide readers: indentation, changes in type style (bold, italics, underline), or punctuation at the end of a sentence. Professional writers, especially those who work for well-funded web sites and mass-market print publications, are fortunate enough to have the services of artists, graphic designers, skilled photographers, and layout experts. But most of us just want to have a cooler-looking blog, a more professional-looking report, or an eBay listing that reinforces our credibility. In many respects, document design is both a science and an art. The layout of documents—their content, color scheme, alignment, etc.—is the result of individual choices. It takes a long time to master the finer points of design. As a starting point, this chapter will offer some strategies for making your documents intuitive and audience friendly: easy to scan, search, and read. The goal of this chapter is to familiarize you with a few basic ways of thinking that designers know well. Whether you are typing up a memo on safety policies at work, producing a newsletter for your community, or putting together a booklet describing a new app, the following elements of document design are meant for you. 5.2 Standard Conventions Appropriate format, language, and style are the basic design elements of all technical documents. A format with a structure that leads readers thorough the text and shows the hierarchical relationships among ideas—from most important to least important—is crucial. Readers should be able to identify the organizational pattern very quickly when scanning a technical document. The document should be reader friendly, or reader-centered rather than writer-centered. Using appropriate language provides readers with a thorough understanding of the document’s purpose, how it relates to the individual needs, and any actions readers will need to take. Although it is helpful to examine each element of a document individually, it is also wise to step back and consider the interrelation of elements, or how all components work together to communicate a message to a specific audience. In this sense, everything from language and style to a text’s visual aspects may either contribute to or detract from its overall design. As discussed previously in the chapter on audience (see Chapter 2), a document may have one primary reader, several secondary readers, or a combination of both. A primary reader is the person who ordered the report to be written or the person for whom a report is intended. This reader will usually read the entire report. Secondary readers are those who will read only the sections of the report that relate to them, their jobs, their departments, responsibilities, etc. For example, in the case of a report that details funding for different departments, a superintendent may only want to read the section that relates to piping. This is where format, a table of contents, page numbers, the use of headings, etc. is significant in allowing easy access to information. It saves time when the piping superintendent can scan through the document and clearly find the heading that identifies his department. Similar to formatting and language, there are also specific style conventions, or expectations, associated with different genres of writing. Academic papers, cover letters, résumés, business plans, and other documents tend to follow these conventions—some explicit (stated directly) and some implicit (unstated or indirectly stated). For example, Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) styles dictate exactly what academic papers should look like. Associated Press (AP) style shapes the look of newspaper text, and Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) style governs engineering documents. For every context in which you write, you will discover that field-specific style guides influence the appearance of a text, the way language is used, the preferred terminology and vocabulary, and the way sources are cited. Business- and commerce-established firms like Panasonic, IKEA, eBay, Sears, and Trader Joe’s have a style too. To preserve their brand identity, firms create recognizable, memorable logos and make sure their documents follow a certain agreed-upon style. Government and civic organizations also have logos and letterhead; even government and military documents are influenced by specific style conventions. These style conventions matter. For each document design, you will need to know which set of conventions applies to it. For example, a cover letter should generally follow traditional business letter format. Memos and emails will look slightly different; we do not expect to see an address block for the letter recipient on an email because a street address is not needed to reply. Within your program of study and individual classes, the program or the professor will determine style, citation, and formatting conventions like MLA or APA. Style and formatting guides recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) still help you when dealing with online publications. In the professional world, you will need to find out field-specific or company-specific style and citation conventions. Many bemoan the lack of a consistent style on web pages; inconsistency sometimes detracts from readability, can negatively affect the document’s/author’s ethos, and may create confusion that reduces clarity. We may not know who wrote the text, where it comes from, or when it was produced. Readers may hesitate to assign real credibility to an undated, unsourced blog written by a stranger—and rightly so. This is why sites like Wikipedia demand sources and format all entries exactly the same. The look and feel of Wikipedia is now familiar to people around the world, and it is used as a source in some writing contexts, for good or for ill, precisely because its content has predictable regularity and its easy-to-navigate entries are popular with readers. However, producing good publications involves much more than following style conventions. There are a variety of concepts to consider and many important choices to make when planning the best method of communicating your message. 5.3 Basic Guidelines The first step in document design involves identifying the genre and its conventions (as discussed above), which may vary widely based on context, audience, and purpose. Here are some basic guidelines to keep in mind when dealing with business writing: Add and vary graphics. For non-specialist audiences, you may want to use more graphics—and simpler ones at that. Documents geared toward the non-specialist tend to have more decorative, technical, and detailed graphics. Break up text or consolidate it into meaningful, usable chunks. For non-specialist readers, you will likely construct shorter paragraphs of around six to eight lines. Technical documents written for specialists will include much longer paragraphs. Use headings and lists. Readers can be intimidated by dense paragraphs of writing.
Use special typography. Typically, sans-serif fonts, such as Ariel, are useful for online readers. Serif fonts, such as Time New Roman, are useful for print texts. Work with margins, line length, line spacing, type size, and type style. For non-specialist readers, you can increase readability by making the lines shorter (adjusting the margins) and using larger type sizes. Include bullet points. Long lists can often be broken down into smaller bulleted chunks of information for ease of reading. Some genres, like the résumé, place the emphasis on bulleted phrases rather than complete sentences. When using bullet points, keep in mind the following: Use a lead-in to introduce the list items and to indicate the meaning or purpose of the list (and punctuate it with a colon). Check spacing, indentation, punctuation, and caps to ensure consistency. Make list items parallel in phrasing. Confirm that each item in the list is parallel and grammatically correct. Avoid overusing lists; using too many lists destroys their effectiveness. Use similar types of lists consistently within the same document. Strive for balance and parallelism among elements. Keep in mind that items at the top of a document weigh more than those at the bottom, while items on the right side of the page weigh more than those on the left. Text and graphics should work together to create a sense of balance and unity. In summary, while these basic guidelines may be applied to many different documents, the individual decisions you make will depend on your audience, or who will read your report. From content and language to layout, every aspect of your communication must keep your readers’ needs in mind. In the slide below, which of the principles above have been applied well? It utilizes both headings and subheadings to break materials into useable segments. It also includes bullet points, relying on fragments and phrases rather than full sentences, which encourages a speaker to elaborate on major points rather than over-relying on reading from the slide. The simplicity of the triangular graphic and color scheme could be said to enhance rather than detract from the main message. However, some might argue that the weight of the graphic on the right side throws off the visual’s balance (since items on the right weigh more than those on the left). A simple adjustment to the graphic’s size or placement would adjust the imbalance. Figure 1: Simple PowerPoint slide with minor imbalance. 5.4 Creating and Integrating Graphics Technical writers often integrate graphics or visuals to complement text in a report. Graphics can take many forms—tables, charts, photographs, drawings, to name a few—but their purpose rarely varies: they should help to clarify information presented in the report. They should work together with the text to communicate, rather than replacing the text altogether. Graphics provide an additional benefit. They help to break up a text-heavy report, making the report more visually appealing. As you begin thinking about possible visuals to include in your document, the first step is to consider which graphics are most appropriate for the message you want to convey. The table below provides some general guidelines on the graphics most suitable to convey specific types of information.	Information to Convey	Visual Type
Numbers, percentages, categories	Tables, charts
Processes	Flow charts
Geographic data	Maps
Chronological or prioritized lists	Numbered lists
Non-chronological lists	Bulleted lists
Preparing Readers for Graphics When developing graphics, you will want to consider where they should be placed and what information should surround them. Make sure your visuals are appropriate to your audience, subject matter, and purpose. To prepare readers for the information a graphic conveys, also consider these tips: Explain or introduce the information/topic of the graphic in the preceding paragraph. For easy reference, give each visual a name. Make sure the information within the graphic is clear and easy to understand. Whether above the visual or somewhere else in the document, provide source information, references, or citations (if the visual and/or data is not your original work and comes from a secondary source). Include a caption or follow-up text after the graphic, such as an interpretation or a final comment about the implications of the visual. If the graphic contains extensive data, you may need to tell your audience what information to focus on. Intersperse graphics and text on the same page. Avoid placing graphics on pages by themselves; ideally, no visual should take up more than one-third of a page unless absolutely necessary. Include identifying details within the graphics such as illustration labels, axis labels, keys, and so on. Leave at least one blank line above and below graphics. Place graphics near the text that they are illustrating. If a graphic does not fit on the same page, indicate that it appears on the next page. Cite all images that you take from elsewhere. While it is perfectly legal to borrow graphics—to trace, photocopy, scan, or extract subsets of data from them—you are obligated to accurately cite your sources for graphics. Also be aware that some graphics may require extra permissions from the creator based on the type of copyright. Examples The graphic below, provided by Wikimedia Commons, follows at least some of the design principles given above. What is done well, and what might be done better? You will notice, for example, that the graphic incorporates a space above and below, along with a descriptive caption. Would readers benefit from also seeing labels that identify key information, or would additional descriptions seem superfluous? An image of the “fairytale castle” of Neuschwanstein, commissioned by Ludwig II. Callouts and Captions Callouts and captions contain information that help readers to interpret graphics; they identify specific elements or features. Whereas captions are short phrases or sentences that describe the graphic, callouts (or labels) are used when parts of the image need to be labeled or each part requires a longer explanation. Captions for graphics should be placed immediately under the graphic; they include the title and any explanatory material. Here are a few starting guidelines when creating captions: place words such as Figure, Illustration, and Table in bold type; italicize caption titles; and treat tables and figures just the same. Good captions guide readers not only to see, but also to understand. Writing Style for Captions The following paragraphs share five recommendations for style based on The Franklin Covey Style Guide for Business and Technical Communication. First, use interpretive captions whenever possible. Interpretive captions provide both a title and explanatory information, usually expressed in a complete sentence, to help readers understand the central point(s) that the writer wants to convey. A graphic and its caption should be clear and understandable without requiring readers to search for clarifying information in the text: “Figure 23-Check Valve. The risk of bad air entering the changer is near zero because the check valve permits air flow in one direction only.” This interpretive caption gives the title of the figure and emphasizes that the cabin has a constant temperature—a benefit provided by the feature described in the figure. The caption states clearly what the writer wants the reader to learn from the drawing. Secondly, avoid using short or ambiguous titles to replace interpretive captions. In the past, styles for technical and scientific documents used only simple title captions for visuals. How would the effect of the Neuschwanstein visual change if the caption simply read “Castle”? Such a title makes the caption unnecessary, providing no real information other than the obvious to the reader. Titles that are so short and/or cryptic that they sound telegraphic are not useful. Thirdly, number figures and tables sequentially throughout the document, and place the number before the caption. If an important figure or table is presented twice, treat it as two separate visuals and number each. Fourthly, use periods following interpretive captions but omit punctuation following short captions that are not complete sentences. Interpretive captions are usually complete sentences and should therefore end with a period. Short captions, like titles and headings, are not usually complete sentences, so they require no punctuation. Captions may appear below or above a visual, but consistency throughout a document is critical. Arguments support both options; choose one, know the rationale for your choice, and be consistent. Lastly, put the caption above the visual for better visibility when captions are used with slides and other project visual aids. Captions placed at the bottom may be blocked by the heads of those seated in front or the limits of the projector/screen. Safety information must also be accessible to your readers. Warnings should stand out from the rest of the documents, possibly with icons, colored fonts, or bolding. They should also be easy to understand. A confusing safety label is just as bad as no warning at all. To give a warning prominence, you may decide to list it at the beginning of the manual; be sure to also list hazards where the reader might encounter them in your instructions. In the case of technical instructions where action is required, list the safety label before the step to ensure that the reader sees the information in time to prevent mishap. As a preemptive strike against lawsuits, you may be tempted to list every possible hazard that comes to mind. Some companies do this to an extent that the warnings become ridiculous—i.e. “Do not use this rotary drill as a home dentistry kit” or “Do not use your hairdryer while sleeping.” Keep in mind that too many warnings—especially ridiculous ones—make the whole safety section seem silly. Then, no one takes the hazard seriously, not even the real ones. Remember: You only have to inform users when a hazard is “reasonably foreseeable.” In other words, find the middle ground between not enough warnings and way too many. Guidelines for Callouts Here are a few additional guidelines for callouts: Determine the number of items to identify in the image. Create a consistent visual style. Use the same terms on the callout as in the text. Place callouts next to the elements in the graphic they identify, using a line to connect the two, if necessary. Use a standard font and size for readability. Align the labels and callouts for a neater appearance. The following graphic adopts a consistent visual style in the way that it identifies the parts of a locomotive. Its terms are placed directly next to the graphic, connected by lines. Its title is placed above rather than below the visual for easy differentiation from the callouts. Figure 3: Locomotive graphic with a label and additional callouts. Types and Placement of Callouts Callouts typically take one of three different forms: 1) They may be placed directly on the graphic (whereby they become part of the visual), 2) They may be placed around the graphic near lines that point to the relevant element in the graphic, or 3) They may include links or hotspots where more information about the element is displayed on mouse rollover or on another page. The visuals below feature two of the three major label types. Figure 4 (first type): Map that incorporates labels directly into the graphic, making them part of the visual. Figure 5 (second type): Illustration that places labels near lines, connected to the graphic. When to Use Callouts
Callouts are best used when many parts of the image need to be labeled and each part requires a longer explanation. In fact, the label sequence may be in alphabetical or numerical order, as shown in the example below. Ensure that the explanation is near the graphic. Figure 6: Example with numbered callouts. 5.5 Tables of Contents Most people are familiar with tables of contents (TOC), but have you ever stopped to look at their design? The TOC shows readers what topics are covered in the report, how those topics are discussed (subtopics), and on which page numbers sections and subsections start. In creating a TOC, you will have to make design decisions having to do with levels of headings, indentation, spacing and capitalization. Such decisions keep the TOC from becoming long and unwieldy; it should provide an at-a-glance way of finding information in the report quickly. In the illustration below, items in each of the three levels of headings are aligned. Main chapters or sections are written in all capital letters, first-level headings use initial capitals on each main word, and lower-level sections use initial capitals on the first word only. The first-level sections also have extra space above and below, which increases readability. Using the automatic TOC creator in your word processor can help you produce a clean, professional document. If you prefer to make your own, use dot leader tabs to line up the page numbers correctly. See the following example of a table of contents: Figure 7: Detailed Table of Contents with leader lines and indented subsections. 5.6 Figures and Tables If your document has more than two figures and tables, create a separate list of figures. The list of figures has many of the same design considerations as the table of contents. Readers use it to quickly find the illustrations, diagrams, tables, and charts in your report. Complications arise when you have both tables and figures. Strictly speaking, figures are illustrations, drawings, photographs, graphs, and charts. Tables are rows and columns of words and numbers; they are not considered figures. For longer reports that contain dozens of figures and tables each, create separate lists of figures and tables. Put them together on the same page if they fit, as shown in the illustration below. You can combine the two lists under the heading List of Figures and Tables and identify the items as figure or table as is done in the illustration below. Figure 8: Visual illustration of separate lists of figures and tables placed on the same page. 5.7 Headings In all but the shortest reports (two pages or less), use headings—titles and subtitles—to mark off the different topics covered. Headings are an important feature of professional technical writing: they alert readers to upcoming topics and subtopics, help them find their way around in long reports, and break up long stretches of straight text. They are also useful for keeping writers organized and focused on the topic. When some writers begin using headings, they are tempted to insert them after writing the rough draft. Instead, take time to visualize the headings before starting the rough draft, and plug them in as you write. Here are helpful tips for headers: Make phrasing self-explanatory: instead of Background or Technical Information, be more specific, like Physics of Fiber Optics. Indicate the range of topics covered in the section: if the section covers the design and operation of a pressurized water reactor, the heading Pressurized Water Reactor Design may seem incomplete and misleading. Do not use stacked headings (consecutive headings without intervening text). Avoid pronouns referring to headings: if you have a heading like Torque, do not begin the sentence following it with: “This is a physics principle.” Omit articles from the beginning of headings: The Pressurized Water Reactor can easily be changed to Pressurized Water Reactor. Avoid widowed headings: widowing occurs when a heading is placed at the bottom of one page and the text starts at the top of the next page. Keep at least two lines of body text with the heading or place all the information on a new page. Manually formatting each heading using the guidelines presented above will lead unnecessarily repetitive work. The styles provided by Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer, and other software save you this work. You can simply select Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, and so on. 5.8 The CRAP Test Despite the unfortunate acronym, the major four principles of CRAP are familiar to any graphic designer and they should be familiar to writers as well. This guideline originated with the influential designer and writer Robin Williams; she now regrets the acronym, but not the ideas behind it. 1. C is for Contrast: Use difference to draw readers’ eyes to and through your text or publication. You can see evidence of the most basic aspects of contrast in any web page or magazine. The headline text is always different from the body text. It is often bigger and bolder; it can also be in a different typeface. Headlines make it easy to skip from one story to the next and get a cursory understanding of the news. Applying strong contrasting elements to your text is important because the human eye is drawn to difference, not necessarily size. When everything looks the same, it is difficult to focus on anything. When things are different, they are more noticeable. When a document has few or no contrasting elements, nothing stands out. The document is not easy to scan, and it does not invite the reader to jump in and read. It is also difficult for readers to glean information from the text easily and quickly. Figure 9: What stands out here? Use contrast to make data-gathering easy for readers. Figure 10: The contrast in this image quickly draws the eye to a central focus. Some documents, like business letters or academic papers, have fewer contrasting elements, but even line spacing and paragraph breaks help indicate where a related chunk of information begins and ends. Contrast helps draw the reader’s eyes to specific elements in your text, and it also helps the reader follow the flow of the information, while assessing which items are most important and require immediate attention. It creates readability. The following elements of a text can help you create a friendly, appealing sense of contrast: Contrast in size: Your eye moves toward things because they are different, not because they are large or small. Your eye is impressed by novelty more than sheer size or color or any other visual characteristic. There are all sorts of scientific theories about why this is so, but in short, it is not so much that making something bigger makes it more noticeable. A person’s height, for example, is not so noticeable until the principle of contrast comes into effect. There is such a thing as too much size contrast: think of those web sites with huge type or an overly enthusiastic use of the CAPS LOCK key. Less is more, but some size contrast is essential to draw the reader’s eye. Contrast in font size/style/weight: A typeface is a collection of fonts. The distinction between the terms typeface and font stretches back to the days of typesetting: hand-placing individual letters made of wood or metal, inking them, and rolling paper over them. In the digital age, most people use the words typeface and font interchangeably, though the distinction still matters to experts like designers and typographers. What is important to most people is that we all have a huge variety of typefaces, or font families, to choose from: Times New Roman, Arial, Bookman, Georgia, and Garamond are familiar to many of us. It is important to choose a font (a particular size, style, and weight within a typeface) that fits our purpose. Some, like script and handwriting typefaces, are too hard to read and thus inappropriate for body text, for example. Some typefaces work well as headlines: Franklin Gothic Condensed and Caslon are two typefaces often used for newspaper headlines. The “font” chosen (size, weight, style—italic, bold, etc.) will be the designer’s choice. It is also important to distinguish between serif and sans-serif fonts. Sans serif fonts, like Helvetica or Futura, are simple and smooth; the letters do not display the feet and ornamentation (serifs) that serif fonts do. Sans serif fonts are often used for headlines, but serif fonts are more likely to be used for body text. Many typographers think serif fonts (also called Roman fonts) make large blocks of body text easier to read. Some of the preference is really just about tradition. Figure 11: Three common sans serif typefaces/font families Contrast in Direction (vertical, horizontal, circular, etc.) or position (top, bottom, side): Changing the direction or orientation of text, graphic elements like lines, banners, or screens. Figure 12: The spoon’s angle adds visual appeal through contrast and avoids monotony. Contrast in alignment (center, left, right, justified): A change in alignment can create visual interest. For example, headlines are often centered to make them noticeable. Images may be placed in a location on a page (or slide) to draw readers’ attention in one direction or another. Consistent alignment with slight variations to provide interest is particularly important in PowerPoint presentations. You will be flipping from one slide to another, and if the text blocks and headlines are not aligned identically, your text and headlines will appear to jump around the screen in a distracting way. Contrast in graphic elements like photos, banners/bands, pull quotes, or logos: Breaking up huge blocks of text with a variety of graphic elements can really add visual appeal and interest. As with the examples below, less is more. Think of all the publications and web sites you have seen whose designers thought it was awesome to make text bold AND underlined AND multicolored AND flashing. With a bright yellow background. And too many animated GIFs. It repels readers rather than attracting them. Figure 13: This poster uses contrasting alignment, contrast in text, and simple color contrast to create a dramatic effect. Less really can be more. Contrast in color (of background, text, graphic elements, etc.): Use color to make certain elements stand out. Create a sense of drama when you contrast one color with another. Make sure you do not use too many colors and your color combinations are easy to read. Contrast in negative or white space: Sometimes, the best way to attract a reader’s attention to a contrast is by using negative space. Negative space, or white space, describes the space around text, images, and other elements in a document. The absence of content draws attention to the content itself. It makes documents of all kinds (digital and print) more readable, more restful-looking, more inviting to the reader, simpler, and more elegant. It is associated with that high-end restaurant or salon menu look. Figure 14: Case in point. High-end. Figure 15: Not so high-end visually, but probably still delicious. R is for Repetition: Repeat design strategies throughout your document to provide a sense of connection.The basic rule of repetition means that in any text, visual or textual elements that have similar functions should be formatted similarly to create continuity and show close relationships between the elements. For example, newspapers have consistent ways of labeling different sections, like Sports, that does not change on a daily basis, but there is also design consistency throughout so that you can identify the newspaper. For example, in a standard newspaper all the column widths utilize consistent spacing, which increases visual appeal through uniformity and repetition. USA Today in particular is notorious for its consistent repeated color-coding and design. Figure 16: Blue-and-white USA Today color coding. On a smaller scale, in a résumé most applicants use bullet-pointed sections to list their job duties. Repetition in this context means that all these bullet points should be formatted identically: the same font, size, line spacing, and indentation. Each group of bullet-pointed items should be the same distance from the text above and below. The bullet points themselves should be exactly the same shape and size. Repetition also applies to styles like MLA or APA. All titles are centered. All page numbers are in the upper right-hand corner, after your last name and a single blank character space. The same typeface is used throughout the paper. All paragraphs have exactly one empty line space between them. And so on. Repetition means that every line classified as a headline should look like a headline, and headlines formatted to look alike can be identified as having a similar function in the text. The same principle applies to body text. Fonts should not change without a reason. Lines, logos, and other graphic/visual elements should be formatted consistently. This repetition provides a sense of order and continuity that makes the document more readable and professional looking. Since managing the formatting of multiple elements by hand can be difficult, many software programs provide templates—ready-made layouts into which you can plug your text and photos and thereby produce a variety of documents with a consistent look and feel. Microsoft Word, for example, also allows you to set Styles that will keep formatting choices like size, font, and style (bold, italic, etc.) the same for blocks of text with the same functions (body text, headlines, bullet points, subheadings). Templates for newsletters, résumés, and PowerPoint presentations ensure that basic design elements like font size/style, color, image size and alignment are consistent from page to page. Templates provide a quick, easy way to solve repetition issues. Look at the difference repetition makes in even the most basic of résumés, for example. A is for Alignment: There should be a clear, deliberate arrangement of items on a page. Alignment can refer to text, as in the left-aligned body text required in MLA style. But in document design, it means much more; it refers to how the entire document is arranged. Most designers align all their content to some sort of a grid or pattern, creating a distinct, intentional arrangement of items on a page or screen. They use plenty of white space to cushion the items, which makes higher-contrast items pop. Figure 17: Simple visual illustration of the alignment principle. In the following sample Table of Contents, not only are the numbers misaligned, but the TOC also lacks leader lines, which detracts from the document’s professionalism (possibly undermining the writer’s credibility with readers). Figure 18: Table of Contents with misaligned numbers. P is for Proximity: Items that have similar functions or purposes should be grouped together. When we work with pictures and blocks of text, think of this: placing design or text elements next to each other in certain ways helps readers to see the relationship among elements. For example, photos and figures have captions that explain their contents. Nearby images often illustrate the content found in body text. Headlines are placed above body text whose content and focus they describe in briefer form. Proximity can be especially critical in booklets, newsletters, and brochures, in which certain pages or panels might be grouped together under a subheading. Individual pages can be designed to reflect a larger relationship with the overall theme or subject matter. For example, the themes provided by blogging platforms like WordPress take care of this for you—every page will have a recognizable layout and though individual pages might be slightly different, they will be recognizably related to the blog’s main page. Web sites work the same way, as do book chapters. Figure 19: Example of confusing proximity. The principle of proximity even affects white space: equal amounts of white space and equal line spacing indicate that items are related or should be considered as parts of a whole. The PowerPoint slide above is very confusing. Why are there three different groupings under one headline, and why is each column grouped under a different graphic? Note the two whales
Planning and adjusting how items are grouped on a page helps you design your text, graphics, and images so that readers can see relationships: what goes together, what is different, and what is similar. Relationships between items should be clear. Figure 20: A color’s message or emotional connotation can vary across cultures. 5.9 Cross-Cultural Audience Considerations
When creating graphics, it is very important to keep your audience in mind. This relates not just to the content you share, but also how that content appears on the page. Are you aware, for instance, that the same color has different meanings across various cultures? Take a look at the graphic below and notice how the color red means something very different across culture. Similar differences exist across cultures with other colors, as well, so be aware that the choices you make in colors for your graphics may communicate ideas you do not actually intend. Technical writers need to be aware of cultural differences in behaviors, norms, beliefs, and values. According to Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall, in Understanding Cultural Differences, each culture operates according to its own rules (1990, pp. 3-4). Hall and Hall add that problems occur when members of one culture apply the rules to another culture (1990, pp. 3-4). To communicate effectively with other cultures, the technical writer needs to not only be aware of (explicit or stated) rules governing behaviors that can be observed, but also of the not-so-obvious (tacit or unstated) rules. The invisible rules of a culture dramatically impact the acceptance of ideas, plans, and strategies. The Cultural Iceberg below illustrates patterns of world communication, showing indicators of Institutional Culture (the obvious behavior of a culture), which can be clearly seen as the tip of the iceberg, and People Culture (the norms, beliefs and values of a culture), which cannot be seen and which may provide barriers to successful communication. (See Chapter 2 on audience for more information on how to revise with differing cultural expectations in mind.) Figure 21: The Cultural Iceberg and patterns of world communication. 5.10 Additional Document Design Resources Citing Images Purdue OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_other_common_sources.html EasyBib: http://www.easybib.com/mla-format/digital-image-citation
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2146761/word-s-secret-design-sizzle-learn-the-built-in-tools-for-better-looking-documents.html PCWorld: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-a-document-3AA3C766-9733-4F60-9EFA-DE245467C13D
WikiHow: https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Presentation-Using-Google-Slides Using Google Slides: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rxw4DRvWizdHh21CIOrE8sCdV92bQ2GetHFMAp0grC4/edit#! Google Slides Tutorial: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=using+google+slidesview=detailmid=7FF39D545F709D5DC5FE7FF39D545F709D5DC5FEFORM=VIRE
Microsoft Office: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-and-save-a-PowerPoint-template-EE4429AD-2A74-4100-82F7-50F8169C8ACA WikiHow: https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-PowerPoint-Presentation 5.11 Suggested Activities ACTIVITY 1: Go online or take a walk around your town. Find a publication (print or electronic) that conveys messages clearly. Critique it according to the principles in this chapter. Also find an example of a publication that does not achieve its goal. See if you can identify and describe which of principles are not being followed in the second example. ACTIVITY 2: Check out the poorly designed PowerPoint slides below. Using the principles learned in this chapter, what elements need to be adjusted to increase effectiveness? II II. Genres and Practice 6 Chapter 6: Emails, Memos, and Texting Katrina Peterson Chapter Synopsis This chapter introduces the basics of email writing and etiquette, also providing information on memos and texting. It offers suggestions about when (and when not to!) use email in business communication. It details the basic conventions of structure: the header/address information, greeting, message body, and closing. It gives an overview of Netiquette, the expectations of online etiquette, which has application for other genres of online communication as well. The chapter concludes with a bulleted list of takeaways and tips, followed by additional teaching and learning resources. 6.1 Email Introduction Electronic mail, or email, is among the most versatile genres of business writing. It is used to communicate issues ranging from serious to trivial, and its formality level varies greatly based on context and rhetorical situation. It may be used like text, or synchronous chat, and recipients often choose to access email messages on a cell phone. When composing an email, a sender must account for the time constraints readers may face due to high email volume. Recipients, on the other hand, should plan to answer a business email within 24 hours, or the general time frame that they would respond to a text. Strong subject lines, clear formatting, and concise writing are all characteristics of a well-written email. Emails may also present ethical challenges as the forwarding and carbon copy functions enable communications to be shared with additional recipients. Email, texting, and microblogs are all workplace tools that are used both internally and externally. Prior to email, genres of business writing were more clearly differentiated based on function: hard copy letters were sent outside the company, and memos were directed to those inside the company. This distinction still exists in some business contexts, but email has largely replaced hard copy letters in external and internal correspondence. Email can be very useful for messages that have more content than a text message, but conciseness remains one of its major features. A clear structure with a greeting, message body, and closing is also expected of this genre. Many businesses use automated emails to acknowledge communications from the public, or to remind associates that periodic reports or payments are due. The form email is also common; in this case, a recipient chooses from a menu of sentences to make the wording suitable for a specific transaction. Email may be informal in personal contexts, but business communication requires attention to detail, awareness that an email reflects both you and your company, and a professional tone. Although email may have an informal feel, remember that it needs to convey professionalism and respect. Never write or send anything that you would not want to share publicly, or in front of your company president. 6.2 When (and When Not!) to Email
Email is a good way to communicate when: You need to contact a person who is difficult to reach via telephone, does not come to campus regularly, or is located in another part of the country or world (for instance, someone who lives in a different time zone). The information you want to share is not time-sensitive. Email is instantaneous, but it does not guarantee an instantaneous response. For many people, keeping up with their email correspondence is a part of their job, and they only do it during regular business hours. Unless readers have promised otherwise, assume that it may take a few days for them to respond. You need to send someone an electronic file, such as a document for a course, a spreadsheet full of data, or a rough draft of your paper. You need to distribute information quickly to many people (for example, a memo that needs to be sent to the entire office staff). You need a record of the communication. Saving important emails can be helpful if you need to recall what someone said in an earlier message, provide proof (for example, as receipt for a service or product), or review the content of an important meeting or deadline. You are unable to ask a direct question or make a request in person. In this case, frame your question/request politely, being careful to avoid a demanding tone or the underlying assumption that your request will be granted. Email is not an effective means of communication when: Your message is long (i.e. could not be read in 20 minutes or less), complicated, or requires additional face-to-face discussion. For example, if you want feedback from your supervisor, or if you are asking your professor a question that requires more than a yes/no answer, you should schedule a meeting instead. Information is highly confidential. Email is NEVER private! Keep in mind that your message could be forwarded to other people without your knowledge. A backup copy of your email is always stored on a server where it can be retrieved, even when you have deleted the message and think it is gone forever. The tone of the message could be misconstrued. If you would hesitate to say something to someone’s face, do not write it in an email. The information itself is emotionally charged. For example, if you must communicate bad news to someone, it is better to deliver it in person. 6.3 Email Structure Professional communication requires careful attention to the specific writing context. In addition to its language and content, the structure of a email should also reflect a writer’s understanding of audience and purpose; a well-crafted email helps to establish credibility with an audience by showing awareness of the genre’s conventions, or its standard moves and expectations. The principles explained here apply to the educational context as well as business writing, so be sure to use them when communicating with your instructors and classroom peers. Four elements of structure should be considered when composing an email: the header/address information, greeting, message body, and closing. Header/Address Information As used here, header/address information refers to the subject line and the recipient lines: To, Cc, and Bcc. Make sure you include a clear, brief, and specific subject line. This helps recipients to quickly grasp the essence of a message. Email subject lines are like newspaper headlines. They should convey the main point of your email or the idea that you want readers to take away from it. They may also keep the email from being diverted to a junk mail folder, so be as specific as possible. One-word subjects such as Hi, Question, or FYI are not informative and may undercut the message’s importance. Overly long or rambling subjects may result in a similar problem. Instead, consider using a subject line like Economics Proposal Attached or Your English 110 Question. If the message is time sensitive, it may be helpful to include a date: Meeting on Thurs, Dec 2. Also keep in mind: just as an email’s subject line can communicate either professionalism or a lack of it, so also does your own email address. Consider two brief examples: jackjohnson@yahoo.com and bigdaddy2000@gmail.com. The former address is clearly more professional, including the sender’s name for easy recall. In contrast, the latter lacks professionalism, coming across as overly casual and informal. The email’s recipient lines should be given careful thought as well. In general, copying individuals on an email is a good way to deliver your message simultaneously to several people. In professional settings, copying someone else on an email can help get things done, especially if the person receiving the copy is in a supervisory role. For example, copying your boss on an email to a nonresponsive co-worker might prompt the co-worker to respond. Be aware, however, that when you send a message to more than one address using the Cc: (or carbon copy) field, both the original recipient and all the recipients of the carbon copy can see all the email addresses in the To: and Cc: fields. Each person receiving the message will be able to see the addresses of everyone else. Also, while carbon copying supervisors on an email may prompt immediate action from the original recipient, this option may raise important ethical and/or rhetorical considerations. If injudiciously used, it may have the appearance of manipulating recipient(s). Blind carbon copying (Bcc-ing) emails to a group of people can be useful when you do not want everyone on the list to see each other’s email addresses. The only address that will be visible to all recipients is the one in the To: field. If you prefer not to show any of the listed email addresses, you can put your own address in the To: field and use Bcc: for recipients’ addresses. Based on previous discussion, you may be wondering, “In what situations would the Cc: and Bcc: functions be helpful and appropriate to use?” As a student and a professional you will work collaboratively at some point—for example, on a class project—and need to ask a question of a supervisor or professor, perhaps at the request of group members. You would of course have the option to email the inquiry directly, later sending the response you receive to your group. However, you might also choose to include classmates in the Cc: line of the original email: 1) to keep them in the loop and confirm that you have followed through on their request, 2) to provide the professor with the option of hitting Reply All in order to inform the group directly, and 3) to preclude the need for a separate email if/when the professor responds to the group as a whole. If you do include others in the Cc:, however, you will may want to draw attention to that fact in your email, so that the respondent does not overlook the carbon copied individuals due to high email volume. The previous information gives a sense of just how useful carbon copying can be—it may offer a means of cutting out an extra step in the communication process, while keeping others informed. However, the Bcc: may be trickier to determine when to use, due to the blind aspect of its communication. As noted, it may be a good option if you wish to deliver information to additional recipients while obscuring their email addresses. Perhaps you did not obtain permission to share their email information with others, but you had offered to send them the information as well. In such an instance, the Bcc: will enable you to be respectful of their privacy, while avoiding sending a separate email. In other instances, you may be called upon to make a more difficult decision, for example, when working with a challenging co-worker. Perhaps this co-worker has a history of unwise decision-making, like violating company policy or not following through on required procedures. If your supervisors are aware of the situation, they may ask that you keep them updated on developments as a form of documentation. As part of your job, you might have to remind the individual of a company procedure that has not been followed. Your supervisor may want to know that the individual has been informed of the policy, and you may simultaneously wish to avoid fallout with a co-worker who could misunderstand the supervisors’ request for information. Including your supervisors in the Bcc: would be one way to make them aware of the steps you have taken to address a situation or fulfill the duties of your job position. When drafting a message with sensitive content, you might consider waiting to enter recipients’ email addresses to ensure that the email is not sent until after you have edited the document; after all, send is only one click away. The same holds true for the Cc: and Bcc: lines, which raises another important consideration. The instantaneous aspect of email communication can be both blessing and curse. No writer wants to send an email inadvertently, and yet many senders make the mistake of emailing a quick reply when strong emotions have the upper hand. Especially when an individual is on the receiving end of an angry email, anger may seem like the appropriate response. However, such a step is unprofessional and may have serious ramifications. Avoid flame wars. When tempted to send an emotional response, always wait; instead, consider holding off until the message can be phrased in a more objective, professional manner. Greeting When first initiating contact by email, open with an appropriate greeting or salutation. Avoid simply starting with the message body and be sure to include a polite signature. Proper greetings and closings demonstrate respect, also helping to avoid mix-ups in case a message is sent to the wrong recipient. For example, you might consider using a greeting like Dear Ms. X (formal, for someone external to the company) or Hi Barry (informal, for someone you know well). Unless someone has expressed an individual preference, never use the title Mrs. as you cannot assume a woman is married. If the gender of a person is not evident, use the entire name, like this: Dear Sam Jones. If you do not know the person well, it may be confusing to identify an appropriate greeting (What do I call my TA/professor?) or closing (From? Sincerely?). When in doubt, address recipients more formally to avoid offending them. Some common ways to address readers are: Dear Professor Smith, Hello Ms. McMahon, or Hi Mary Jane. If a person’s name is not available, or if the email addresses a diverse group, try something both generic and polite: To whom it may concern, Dear members of the selection committee, or Hello everyone.
Message Body When writing an email, here are some tips to ensure that the message is clear and accessible. In general, avoid using all caps since it may have the appearance of yelling. Emojis, though helpful in informal communications like texting with friends, may also be perceived as unprofessional in business contexts. Use bolding, underlining, and italics as needed to increase clarity, but be careful not to overload readers with too much at once. Bullet points may be helpful for sharing listed information, while included links may permit recipients to access information quickly. Double-check these links before sending, however, to ensure that they work. State your purpose for writing directly at the email’s beginning to provide a context for your message. Reference any included attachments up front as well, so that readers are aware of the additional content and its purpose; in your email state the name of the file, along with the type of document and program needed to open it, for example: “Please see the attached Word document of my essay, The Many Facets of Richard III.” In the case of an included question, cut and paste any relevant text (for example, computer error messages, assignment prompts, segments of a previous message, etc.) into the email so that the reader has a frame of reference from which to answer. When replying to someone else’s email, it may be helpful to either include or restate the sender’s message. Conversely, if you are emailing back and forth with the same person, you might delete the previous messages to avoid clutter and make communication more direct. Use paragraphs to separate thoughts (or consider writing separate emails if you have many unrelated points or questions), and state the desired outcome at the end of your message. When requesting a response, let the reader know what type of response you require (for example, an email reply, possible meeting times, a recommendation letter, etc.). If you request something that has a due date, be sure to place the due date in a prominent position in your email. Ending your email with the next step may be helpful in work settings (for example, you might write “I will follow this email up with a phone call this week” or “Let’s discuss this further at the Wednesday meeting”).
Closing An email’s closing is extremely important because it identifies the sender and provides contact information. Always include your full name at the end of your email. In an educational context, keep in mind that your professor may be teaching multiple students with the same name, or multiple sections of many students, so including your class/section number along with first and last name is a good idea. When closing, end with something brief but friendly: Thank you, Best wishes, See you tomorrow, or Regards. For a very formal message, such as a job application, use the kind of closing that you might see in a business letter: Sincerely, or Respectfully yours. If you do not know the reader well, you might also consider including your title and the organization you belong to, for example: Mary Watkins