Avoiding Traps While Writing: Handbook Of. Technical Writing. Gerald J. Alred. Charles T. Brusaw. Walter E
Avoiding Traps While Writing: Handbook Of. Technical Writing. Gerald J. Alred. Charles T. Brusaw. Walter E
Avoiding Traps While Writing: Handbook Of. Technical Writing. Gerald J. Alred. Charles T. Brusaw. Walter E
• Ask yourself what you want your readers to know, to believe, or to be able
to do after they have finished reading what you have written.
• A purpose such as “to report on possible locations for a new research
facility” is too general. However, “to compare the relative advantages of
Paris, Singapore, and San Francisco as possible locations for a new research
facility so that top management can choose the best location” is a purpose
statement that can guide you throughout the writing process.
• In addition to your primary purpose, consider possible secondary purposes
for your document.
• For example, a secondary purpose of the research-facilities report might be
to make corporate executive readers aware of the staffing needs of the
new facility so that they can ensure its smooth operation regardless of the
location selected.
Preparation : Assessing Your Audience and
Context
• Who exactly is your reader?
• Do you have multiple readers?
• Who needs to see or to use the document?
• What are your readers’ needs in relation to your subject?
• What are their attitudes about the subject? (Skeptical?
Supportive? Anxious? Bored?)
• What do your readers already know about the subject?
• Should you define basic terminology, or will such
definitions merely bore, or even impede, your readers?
• Example:
For the research-facilities report, the readers are described as
“top management.” Who is included in that category? Will one
of the people evaluating the report be the Human Resources
Manager? If so, that person likely would be interested in the
availability of qualified professionals as well as in the presence
of training, housing, and perhaps even recreational facilities
available to potential employees in each city. The Purchasing
Manager would be concerned about available sources for
materials needed by the facility. The Marketing Manager
would give priority to the facility’s proximity to the primary
markets for its products and services and the transportation
options that are available. The Chief Financial Officer would
want to know about land and building costs and about each
country’s tax structure.
Context:
Context is the environment or circumstances in which
writers produce documents and within which readers
interpret their meanings.
To determine the effect of context on the research-facilities
report, you might ask both specific and general questions
about the situation and about your readers’ backgrounds:
• Is this the company’s first new facility, or has the company
chosen locations for new facilities before?
• Have the readers visited all three cities?
• Have they already seen other reports on the three cities?
• What is the corporate culture in which your readers work,
and what are its key values?
Preparation :
Determine the scope of your coverage
1. Preparation
Establish your purpose
Identify your audience or readers
Consider the context
Determine your scope of coverage
Select the medium
2. Research
Brainstorm to determine what you already
know
Conduct research
Take notes
Interview for information
Create and use questionnaires
Avoid plagiarism-Document sources
3. Organization
Choose the best methods of development
Outline your notes and ideas
Develop and integrate visuals
Consider layout and design
4. Writing a draft
Select an appropriate point of view
Adopt an appropriate style and tone
Use effective sentence construction
Construct effective paragraphs
Use quotations and paraphrasing
Write an introduction
Write a conclusion
Choose a title
5. Revision
Check for unity and coherence, conciseness, pace,
transition
Check for sentence variety 505 emphasis 167 parallel
structure 370 subordination
Check for clarity, ambiguity, awkwardness, Organization,
Revision, logic errors
Check for ethics in writing , copyright, plagiarism
Check for appropriate word choice, abstract words, jargon
Eliminate problems with grammar
Review mechanics and punctuation, abbreviations,
capitalization, contractions, dates, italics, numbers, spelling