Technical Writing in the Digital Age: A Coursebook
Directions: For each lesson below, follow all links and read them carefully. All assigned readings not linked may be found on my server or in your assigned textbook. See your individual syllabus for due dates and additional instructions. Please read ahead to know what you are responsible for each week. She lessons will have less work, but others, like Lesson 7, have more work to do.
1: Understanding Technical Writing in the Digital Age
- Defining “Technical Writing” and Its Evolution
- Additional Reading (choose one to read)
- “What Is Technical Communication?” — chapter 1 of Balzotti (2022)
- “Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace” — chapter 1 of Johnson-Sheehan (2018)
- “Introduction to Technical Communication” — chapter 1 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
- “Introducing Design Thinking (and Making) for Technical Communication” — chapter 1 of Tham (2021)
- “The Landscape of Digital Writing” — chapter 1 in DeVoss, Eidman-Aadahl & Hicks (2010)
- Project: Begin Establishing Your Professional Persona
- Post: What is your understanding of “technical writing in the digital age” at this point? What did you glean from your reading? What did you discover that you didn’t know? Which seem most applicable to your interests as a digital writer? (750–1000 words #techwriting)[1]
2: Strong Writing, Digital Literacy, and Credibility
- Strong Writing & Digital Literacy: What They Entail
- Additional Reading (choose at least one)
- “25 Ways to Improve Writing Immediately” — chapter 1 of Arnold (2013)
- “On Writing Well” — chapter 1 of Carroll (2010)
- “Shorten and Strengthen Sentences” — chapter 13 of Barr (2010)
- “Ethics” — chapter 5 of Balzotti (2022)
- “Introduction to Digital Writing” — chapter 1 of Lawrence (2022)
- Project: Establishing Your Professional Persona
- Post: Introduce yourself and the professional, or discourse, community that you will represent in your writing this semester and/or perhaps in the future as a professional. Introduce your technical writing persona. What strategies will you use to build your persona’s credibility? The project above asks you to announce your new domain name; you should do that in this post. Support your ideas with specific evidence. Comment on a colleague’s post. (750–100 words #persona)
3: Style and Tone in Digital Writing
- Style Guidelines for Digital Writing
- Additional Reading (choose two)
- “Digital Media Versus Analog Media” — chapter 2 of Carroll (2010)
- “Write for the Web” — chapter 1; “Define Your Voice” — chapter 3 of Barr (2010)
- “Style” — chapter 3 of Balzotti (2022)
- “Revising the Writing Process” — chapter 2 in DeVoss, Eidman-Aadahl & Hicks (2010)
- “Writing for the Web” — chapter 3 in Lawrence (2022)
- “Editing for a Professional Style and Tone” — chapter 11 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
- “Writing for Your Readers” — chapter 6 of Markel & Selber (2019)
- “Style as Choice” — chapter 1 of Williams (2000)
- Project:
- Post:
- Reading: "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace" by Joseph M. Williams and "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
4: Digital Documents and Remediation
- Digital vs. Paper Documents: Key Differences
- Additional Reading (choose one)
- “Screen Writing: Online Style and Techniques” — chapter 3 of Carroll (2010)
- “Headlines and Hypertext” — chapter 4 of Carroll (2010)
- “Write Clear User-Interface Text” — chapter 7 of Barr (2010)
- “Design-Centric Communication” — chapter 2 of Balzotti (2022)
- “Designing Visual Information” — chapter 12 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
- “Digital-Visual Style” — chapter 4 in Lawrence (2022)
- Project: Remediation Challenge
- Post:
- Reading: "Remediation: Understanding New Media" by Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin and "Writing for the Web" by Lynda Felder
5: User-Centered Design and Information Architecture
- Principles of User-Centered Design
- Additional Reading (choose one)
- “Designing Places and Spaces” — chapter 5 of Carroll (2010)
- “Identify Your Audience” — chapter 2; “Be Inclusive, Write for the World” — chapter 5 of Barr (2010)
- “Document Design” — chapter 4 of Balzotti (2022)
- “Meeting the Needs of Specific Audiences” — chapter 2 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
- “Persuading Your Audience” — chapter 3 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
- “Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose — chapter 3 of Markel & Selber (2019)
- “Defining Information Architecture” — chapter 2 of Rosenfeld, Morville & Arango (2015)
- Project:
- Post:
- Reading: "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug and "Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond" by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville
6: Usability, Accessibility, and SEO
- The Importance of Usability in Digital Writing
- Additional Reading (choose at least one)
- “Speak to Your Entire Audience” — section II of Barr (2010)
- “Optimize Your Site for Search Engines” — chapter 17 of Barr (2010)
- “Designing Print and Online Documents” — chapter 7 of Markel & Selber (2019)
- “Responsive Web Design” — chapter 17 of Robbins (2018)
- Project:
- Post:
- Reading: "Usability Engineering" by Jakob Nielsen and "Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies" by Bruce Clay
7: Citing Sources and Effective Use of Links
- Proper Citation in Digital Documents
- Additional Reading (choose at least one)
- “Thinking Critically about the Research Process” — chapter 7 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
- Project: Collaborative Wiki Project
- Post:
- Reading: "MLA Handbook" by The Modern Language Association and "The Hyperlinked Society" by Joseph Turow
Bibliography
The following texts are available either on Archive.org or in the ENGL 5106 Library on my server (see D2L for the password).
- Arnold, George T. (2013). Media Writer's Handbook: A Guide to Common Writing and Editing Problems. New York: McGraw Hill.
- Balzotti, John (2022). Technical Communication: A Design-Centric Approach. New York: Routledge.
- Barr, Chris (2010). Yahoo! Style Guide. New York: St. Martin's.
- Carroll, Brian (2010). Writing for Digital Media. New York: Routledge.
- DeVoss, Dànielle Nicole; Eidman-Aadahl, Elyse; Hicks, Troy (2010). Because Digital Writing Matters. New York: Josey-Bass.
- Johnson-Sheehan, Richard (2018). Technical Communication Today (Sixth ed.). New York: Pearson.
- Lannon, John M.; Gurak, Laura J. (2022). Technical Communication (Fifteenth ed.). New York: Pearson.
- Lawrence, Dan (2022). Digital Writing: A Guide to Writing for Social Media and the Web. Broadview Press.
- Markel, Mike; Selber, Stuart A. (2019). Practical Strategies for Technical Communication. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.
- Robbins, Jennifer Niederst (2018). Learning Web Design. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.
- Rosenfeld, Louis; Morville, Peter; Arango, Jorge (2015). Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.
- Tham, Jason C. K. (2021). Design Thinking in Technical Communication: Solving Problems through Making and Collaboration. New York: Routledge.
- Williams, Joseph M. (2000). Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. New York: Longman.
notes
- ↑ For journal posts, assigned topics will include at least one keyword that you should use on your post.
| Written: 2002, 2022; Revised: 09-27-2023; Version: Beta 0.7 | 💬 |
