This page intentionally left blank - HesserCAN Solutions

1 This page intentionally left blank Warren Wilson CollegeMissouri Western State UniversityPrentice HallBostonColumbusIndianapolisNew YorkSan FranciscoUpper Saddle RiverAmsterdamCape TownDubaiLondonMadridMilanMunichParisMon trealTorontoDelhiMexico CitySao PauloSydneyHong KongSeoulSingaporeTaipeiTokyoISBN 10:0-13-237457-9 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-237457-6 Editorial Director:Vernon AnthonySenior Acquisitions Editor:Gary BauerEditorial Assistant:Tanika HendersonDirector of Marketing:David GesellSenior Marketing Manager:Leigh Ann SimsSenior Marketing Assistant:Les RobertsProject Manager:Holly ShufeldtCover Art Director:Jayne ConteCover Designer:Suzanne BehnkeCover Art:iStockPhotoFull-Service Project Management:Sudip Sinha/Aptara , :Aptara , Donnelley & SonsCover Printer:Lehigh-Phoenix ColorCredits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission on page 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

2 , publishing as Prentice Hall, One Lake Street, UpperSaddle River, New Jersey, rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of publicationis protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction,storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pear-son Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, of the designations by manufacturers and seller to distinguish their products are claimed as designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have beenprinted in initial caps or all of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataPfeiffer,William communication fundamentals / William Sanborn Pfeiffer, Kaye E.

3 : 978-0-13-237457-6 ISBN-10: 0-13-237457-91. English language Technical Communication of technical English language Technical Adkins, Kaye 2011808 .0666 dc22201004375910 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 DedicationDeepest thanks go to my family Evelyn, Zachary, and Katie for their love and support throughout this and every writing project I take on. SandyTo my family Perry, Ian, and Evan for their support and patience during this project. KayeThis page intentionally left blank >>>Technical CommunicationFundamentalsPfeiffer and AdkinsFrom the Authors:It is a good thing, perhaps, to write for the amusement of the public, but itis a far higher and nobler thing to write for their instruction, their profit,their actual and tangible Twain, 1863 When Mark Twain penned this first sentence to How to Cure a Cold, he couldnot have envisioned a time when writing for tangible benefit would be so mucha part of our lives.

4 Because that time has come, this book has been written to helpyou plan, write, and edit all types of on-the-job textbook presents the fundamental concepts, techniques, and genres com-monly used in the workplace supported by useful examples and exercises. Wehave included the word fundamentals in the title deliberately. This text offers asolid starting point for communicating effectively in a future of rapidly changingtechnology and workplace settings. In contrast, our comprehensive longer text,Technical Communication: A Practical Approach 7e, provides more detailed infor-mation about producing technical this book stands on its own as a resource, we have taken advantage ofthe Web to provide you with many more examples, tutorials, and helpful re-sources in MyTechcommlab. In the margins of the text pages, you will see iconswith notes indicating when something useful is available online in MyTechcomm-lab.

5 On this ancillary Web site, you will find a variety of additional material, in-cluding over 90 model assignments, grammar and editing assistance, researchguidelines, writing tutorials, activities and case studies, and additional referenceresources in the field of technical we wrote in Technical Communication: A Practical Approach, we believe thatclear, concise, and honest writing can be a powerful tool throughout your workinglife. If used wisely, it will help you meet challenges you face in landing a job and ad-vancing in your hope this little book moves you toward that Pfeiffer,President,Warren Wilson CollegeKaye Adkins,Associate Professor, Missouri Western State UniversityPrefaceviiPreface>>>Core Features of Technical CommunicationFundamentalsviiiFocus on Process and ProductThis book introduces students to writing in the first chapter,and asks them to write throughout the course.

6 The text im-merses them in the process of technical writing while teachingpractical formats for getting the job toTechnicalCommunicationDefining Technical Communication 2 Features of Academic Writing 2 Features of Technical Communication 2 Determining the Purpose of Your Documents 5 Analyzing Your Readers 6 Obstacles for Readers 6 Ways to Understand Readers 9 Types of Readers 10 Planning Your Documents 12 Three Principles of Organization 13 ABC Format for Documents 15 ethics in the Workplace 18 Ethical Guidelines for Work 18 ethics and Legal Issues in Writing 20 Chapter Summary 21 Learning Portfolio 22 Collaboration at Work 22 Assignments 22>>>Chapter Outline177 General Guidelines for Correspondence>>Correspondence Guideline 2:Know Your ReadersWho are you trying to inform or influence?

7 Pay particular attention when correspondencewill be read by more than one person. If these readers are from different technical levels ordifferent administrative levels within an organization, the challenge increases. A complexaudience compels you to either (1) reduce the level of technicality to that which can be un-derstood by all readers or (2) write different parts of the document for different readers.>>Correspondence Guideline 3:Follow Correct FormatMost organizations adopt letter and memo formats that must be used uniformly by all em-ployees. Later in this chapter, we offer specific guidelines for formatting letters, memos, ande-mail, but the following are some general formatting guidelines: Multiple-page headings:Each page after the first page of a letter or memooften has a heading that includes the name of the person or company receiving the let-ter or memo, the date, and the page number.

8 Some organizations may prefer an abbre-viated form such as Jones to Bingham, 2, without the date. Subject line:Memos and e-mails always include subject lines, but they are some-times used in letters as well. Give the subject line special attention, because it telegraphsmeaning to the audience immediately. In fact, readers use it to decide when, or if, they willread the complete correspondence. Be brief, but also engage interest. For example, the sub-ject line of the Figure 4-2 memo could have been Changes. Yet, that brevity would havesacrificed reader actual subject line, Copy Center Changes, conveys more in-formation and shows readers that the contents of the memo will make their lives easier. Enclosure notation:If attachments or enclosures accompany a letter or memo,type the singular or plural form of Enclosure or Attachment one or two lines beneaththe reference initials.

9 Some writers also list the item itself ( , Enclosure: Code ofEthics). If an e-mail includes an attachment, the filename and file type ( PDF) shouldbe included in the first paragraph. Copy notation:If the correspondence has been sent to anyone other than the re-cipient, type Copy or Copies one or two lines beneath the enclosure notation, followedby the name(s) of the person or persons receiving copies ( , Copy: Preston Hinkley).E-mail inserts this information automatically. If you are sending a copy but do not wantthe original letter or memo to include a reference to that copy, write bc (for blind copy)and the person s name only on the copy not on the original ( , bc: Mark Garibaldi).(Note: Send blind copies only when you are certain it is appropriate and ethical to do so.)>>Correspondence Guideline 4:Follow the ABC Format for AllCorrespondenceCorrespondence subscribes to the same three-part ABC (Abstract/Body/Conclusion)format used throughout this book.

10 According to the ABC format, your correspondence iscomposed of these three main sections: Abstract:The abstract introduces the purpose and usually gives a summary of mainpoints to follow. It includes one or two short Informationwas written for aspecific 7 Reports130 Because formal reports may be longer and more complex than other forms of technicalcommunication, it is important to help your readers navigate through the report. This isaccomplished with special front and end materials, clear headings, and other navigationdevices like running headers and section provides guidelines for writing themain parts of a long report and includes a complete long report that follows this chap-ter s formats differ among organizations and disciplines, one approach to good or-ganization applies to all formal reports. This approach is based on three main principles,discussed in detail in Chapter 1:Principle 1:Write different parts for different 2:Place important information 3:Repeat key points when apply to formal reports even more than theydo to short documents Because formal reportsoften have a mixed technical audience, most read-ers focus on specific sections that interest themmost, and few readers have time to wade through alot of introductory information before reachingthe main can respond to these reader needs by fol-lowing the ABC format (for Abstract, Body, Conclu-sion).