Chapter 6 An Overview of the Technical Writing

Chapter 6 An Overview of the Technical Writing Process Technical Communication, 12 th edition John M. Lannon Laura Gurak © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. , publishing as Longman Publishers. 1

Stages in the Writing Process Ø Gather and evaluate ideas and information. Ø Plan the document. Ø Draft the document. Ø Revise the document. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. , publishing as Longman Publishers. 2

The Technical Writing Process Ø Ø Ø Ø Research often involves discussions with technical experts. Analysis of audience needs and expectations is critical. Complex organizational settings and “office politics” play an important role. Colleagues frequently collaborate in preparing a document. Many workplace documents are carefully reviewed before being released. Proper format for a document is essential. Deadlines often limit the amount of time that can be spent preparing a document. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. , publishing as Longman Publishers. 3

Make Proofreading Your Final Step During proofreading, look for Ø Sentence errors Ø Punctuation errors Ø Usage errors Ø Mechanical errors Ø Format errors Ø Typographical errors © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. , publishing as Longman Publishers. 4

Guidelines for Proofreading Ø Save it for the final draft. Ø Take a break before proofreading your final document. Ø Work from hard copy. Ø Keep it slow. Ø Be especially alert for problem areas in your writing. Ø Proofread more than once. Ø Never rely on the computer. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. , publishing as Longman Publishers. 5

Any Questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at http: //www. ablongman. com/lannon. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. , publishing as Longman Publishers. 6