CompFAQ/WritDM

📖 Index	ENGL 1101	ENGL 1102	Lit Survey	Digital Writing

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

1. Defining “Technical Writing” and Its Evolution
   • What is “technical writing”?
   • What is “digital writing”?
   • What is “technical writing in the digital age”?
2. 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)
3. Project: Begin Establishing Your Professional Persona
4. Journal 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)

2: Strong Writing, Digital Literacy, and Credibility

1. Strong Writing & Digital Literacy: What They Entail
   • Digital literacy requires what skills?
   • What are personas?
   • How do I build and maintain “credibility”?
   • What practical development skills should digital writers have?
   • Why do I need a professional domain name?
   • How do I register a domain name?
2. 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)
3. Project: Establishing Your Professional Persona
4. 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

1. Style Guidelines for Digital Writing
   • Should digital writing use a particular style?
2. 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)
3. Post: Find a website that represents or is associated with your discourse community. Ensure it’s a site with significant written content. Examine the tone, language, and clarity of the content. Consider the target audience and the effectiveness of the writing style. Assess the layout, color scheme, typography, and overall visual appeal. Analyze how design choices contribute to user engagement and accessibility. Post a concise report that summarizes your findings. Include specific examples from the website to support your analysis. (500–750 words #webanalysis)

4: Digital Documents and Remediation

1. Digital vs. Paper Documents: Key Differences
   • How do digital “documents” differ from paper ones?
   • What is “remediation”?
   • What is “document design”?
   • What is a “multimodal approach”?
2. 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)
   • “All You really Need to Know” and “Best Practices” — chapters 1 and 2 in Felder (2012)
3. Project: Remediation Challenge
4. Post: Outlined in the project. (≈500 words #remediation)

5: User-Centered Design and Information Architecture

1. Principles of User-Centered Design
   • What is “user-centered design”?
   • What is “responsive design”?
   • What is “information architecture”?
   • What is a “actionable content”?
2. 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)
3. Project: Analyzing Information Architecture in Web Design
4. Post: Outlined in the project. Be sure to comment on another post. (750–1000 words #ia)

6: Usability, Accessibility, and SEO

1. The Importance of Usability in Digital Writing
   • What is “usability”?
   • What is “scannability”?
   • What is “accessibility”?
   • What is “SEO” and how do I use it effectively?
2. Additional Reading (choose at least one)
   • “Don’t Make Me Think” — chapter 1 of Krug (2014)
   • “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)
3. Project: Developing Your SEO Strategy
4. Post: Reflect on the SEO strategy you’ve developed in your project. Consider how each component of the strategy aligns with your project’s goals and target audience. Identify any potential challenges or areas for improvement. You needn’t post the whole SEO strategy; this is more of a reflection on the process and application of SEO. (≈500 words #seo)

7: Citing Sources and Effective Use of Links

1. Proper Citation in Digital Documents
   • How do I cite sources in digital documents?
   • How do I use links effectively?
2. Additional Reading (choose at least one)
   • “Thinking Critically about the Research Process” — chapter 7 of Lannon & Gurak (2022)
3. Project: Collaborative Wiki Project
4. Post: Outline your contributions and experience in writing the collaborative wiki article. Include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions? What did you learn from contributing to LitWiki? How can wikis be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important? (≈500 words #wiki)

Bibliography

The following texts are available either on Archive.org (the linked sources) 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.
• Felder, Lynda (2012). Writing for the Web: Creating Compelling Web Content Using Words, Pictures and Sound. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
• Johnson-Sheehan, Richard (2018). Technical Communication Today (Sixth ed.). New York: Pearson.
• Krug, Steve (2014). Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
• 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.
• Nielsen, Jakob (1993). Usability Engineering. Boston, MA: Academic Press.
• 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.

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notes

Written: 2002, 2022; Revised: 11-2-2023; Version: Beta 0.7

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