1. Introduction

2. Professional Writing u Rest of the world uses –Technical writing –Technical communication u Define technical writing u Information only makes sense in a specific context which must be shared between the writer and reader.

3. Course goal u To learn methods of effectively communicating information u How does “communicating information” differ from “writing about technical stuff”?

4. Writing in the workplace u What percent of a work week to you think most professionals spend writing? u What are some issues of poor workplace writing? Assume that your writing will be mostly internal.

5. Importance of clear writing u Writing is often considered necessary busywork after the real work is done. u But, writing up the issues often clarifies the problem and should be considered a knowledge generation activity. u Plus, you have knowledge capture and legal issues to consider.

6. Professional, not academic, writing u This course teaches you writing for the workplace u Academic writing is a different genre and many of the skills you have learned are not quite right. –Funnel shaped introductions –Use of big words and convoluted sentences

7. Writing at a computer u How many of you compose at a computer? As opposed to writing first drafts by hand. u What are the advantages? u Why should you learn to compose at a computer for workplace writing?

8. Writing at a computer u Advantages –Ease of revision and updates –Easier to read and share u Important point –Computer is just a writing tool. It already limits your control. Never let it take over and dictate how or what you write.

9. Overall communication issues u Know audience expectations u Know client expectations –Is audience and client different? u Maintain a consistent look and feel u Consider how each page will look and be used before starting the work. –Each page must be part of a whole –Prevents having a page that looks awkward

10. Design points u Audience needs come first –What are audience goals and information needs u Obvious organization -- lead the reader –Informative headings –Enough white space to show structure –Gray pages are turn off u Design to draw reader in –How does it look at 10 feet?

11. Testing the design u Why bother to test? You know the information is correct! u When is a good time to start? u How should you test? u Do you ask people –“Do you like this?” –“Does this make sense?” –“Is everything there?”

12. End

13. Discussion questions u For these questions, consider who are the different audience groups, what information they need, and how they need that information presented differently.

14. Question 1 u Report that focuses on examining a detailed break down of the monthly budgets for multiple divisions within a company. The goal is to reduce the overall spending.

15. Question 2 u Your company has been hired to figure out to rework the HVAC system in a large building (like Bate here) because the building temperature varies too much. u Your findings are that the main unit needs to be updated and that some of the piping needs to be replaced with a different size.

16. Question 3 u A report for general readers that describes the research of a company that does medical research on gene modification for curing disease.

17. Question 4 u An analysis of the need for a new classroom building on the ECU campus.

18. Question 5 u You have been assigned to write the technical manual that will accompany that HVAC unit that is installed in people’s homes.