Gurak/Lannon A Concise Guide to Technical...

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL

to accompany

Gurak/Lannon

A Concise Guide to Technical Communication

Third Edition

Prepared by

Lee Scholder, J.D. University of Minnesota

George Pullman Georgia State University

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Instructor’s Manual to accompany Gurak/Lannon, A Concise Guide to Technical

Communication, Third Edition

Copyright ©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Instructors may reproduce

portions of this book for classroom use only. All other reproductions are strictly

prohibited without prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief

quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 0-321-43350-5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10–OPM–09 08 07 06

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Introduction to Technical Communication 1

Chapter Quiz 9

Chapter 2 – A World of People and Purposes 11

Chapter Quiz 18

Chapter 3 – Designing Usable Information 19

Chapter Quiz 27

Supplemental Style Exercises 29

Chapter 4 – Performing Research for Technical Communication 41

Chapter Quiz 48

Chapter 5 – Technical Communication in a Digital World 49

Chapter Quiz 58

Chapter 6 – Ethical Issues in Technical Communication 59

Chapter Quiz 66

Chapter 7 – Copyright and Privacy 67

Chapter Quiz 73

Chapter 8 – Page Layout and Document Design 75

Chapter Quiz 82

Chapter 9 – Graphics and Visual Information 83

Chapter Quiz 92

Chapter 10 – Everyday Communication Situations 93

Chapter Quiz 101

Chapter 11 – Product-Oriented Communication Situations 103

Chapter Quiz 113

Chapter 12 – Complex Communication Situations 115

Supplemental Sentence Definition Exercises 125

Chapter Quiz 127

Quiz Answer Key 129

Appendix – Grammar Exercises 135

Exercises Answer Key 151

Introduction

This instructor’s manual contains information, tips, exercises, and quizzes

to help you effectively use A Concise Guide to Technical Communication

in your classroom.

Special features include extensive Web resources and suggested

assignments, Supplemental Style Exercises in Chapter 3, Supplemental

Sentence Definition Exercises in Chapter 12, and an Appendix with

additional grammar explanations and exercises.

Each chapter contains a ten-question quiz, offering true-false, multiple-

choice, and short answer questions. Answers to these quizzes can be found

in the Quiz Answer Key at the end of the manual.

Note: Each chapter here includes a “Web Resources” section that

supplements information found on the Web site for this book. The links

are followed by notes or tips that you can use to motivate your students to

apply the information found at the sites. Also included with these teacher

resources are the Internet exercises for students, followed by notes on how

instructors can supplement the exercises.

Important: Although every attempt has been made to select Web sites and links

with a long shelf life, Web addresses do go out of “print,” so to speak. Please

refer to this textbook's Companion Web site (http://www.ablongman.com/gurak)

for updates.

Chapter 1 – An Introduction to Technical Communication

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OVERVIEW

The global economy is driven by complex technological innovations, and every one of these new or improved technologies requires specifications, descriptions, and manuals. Add to those documents the proposals, reports, and countless others written from the time a new technology is conceived to the time it’s marketed, and you begin to comprehend the scope and the need for accessible, usable, and relevant technical communication. Although your students’ professional goals might not include becoming technical communicators per se, at some point in their careers, almost all professionals in technical fields have a hand in writing proposals, specifications, reports, memos, procedures, and manuals, among others. What’s more, many of those working in science and technology fields use technical communication principles to explain important topics to the general public. Because of technology’s centrality to our lives, technical communication also requires an ethical dimension. Therefore, besides presenting accessible, usable, and relevant information, anyone communicating technical information should strive to present it fairly and accurately. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

In any performance course, students want to know immediately what is expected of them. As a general summation of the syllabus, Chapter 1,


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and the course description, you might tell students that success in the course depends on their meeting three general requirements. (1) attending class regularly and participating actively, (2) following directions, and (3) meeting all deadlines. Refer to these requirements throughout the semester. After reading this chapter, your students should be able to respond to these objectives: • Identify the principles that characterize effective technical

communication. • List the characteristics that make communication accessible. • Explain the principles of usable information. • Describe the characteristics of relevant information. • List at least five types of documents technical communicators

produce. • Describe key strategies for effectively working collaboratively in

teams. • Identify digital technologies that help facilitate collaborative

projects. TEACHING TIPS

To help students understand that this is not just another composition course, spend time discussing the differences between technical and non-technical writing. You might bring in examples of technical writing, such as short pieces from Scientific American or operating instructions for an electric tool or appliance, and examples of non-technical writing, such as expressive or mood pieces from Reader’s Digest or other popular magazines, or newspaper feature articles purportedly objective but often dripping with sentimentality.


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Motivation and attitude are crucial in getting students to improve their writing (research shows that students write more effectively when the subject is engaging, and when their purpose for writing is clearly defined). From our experience, most technically oriented students need convincing that they should improve their written communication skills. So it’s worth taking the time to convince them. You can engage them by asking them to discuss their experience with frustrating instructions, manuals, and such, and ask them to describe how they would have improved the documents. Use the Web sites listed under “Web Resources” below to reinforce your points. While discussing Chapter 1, emphasize the need for accessible, usable, and relevant technical communication and have students respond to the chapter’s learning objectives. Doing so will ensure that they understand the concepts. Emphasizing those principles early and always integrating them into your writing workshops focuses students on the goals of effective technical writing. Use the Web sites below to reinforce your points. And to reinforce the need for, and value of, technical communicators, you can have students review the WinWriters 2006 salary survey for technical communicators at www.winwriters.com. Ask students for a memo based on two exercises below. Besides getting students to write immediately—giving you an idea of individual strengths and weaknesses—this assignment has two advantages: Exercise 1 helps students confront writing as a task in the working world, rather than as a string of classroom exercises in busywork; Exercise 2 helps them think about their specific needs (to the extent that they recognize them), makes them feel they have a voice in the focus and


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direction of the course, and may help you adjust course content more directly towards their needs and expectations.

Exercise 1 Research the kinds of writing you will do in your career. (Begin with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in your library.) You might interview a member of your chosen profession. Why will you write on the job? For whom will you write? Explain in a memo to your instructor. Exercise 2 Write a memo to your boss, justifying reimbursement for this course. Explain how the course will help you become more effective on the job.

A good first- or second-day exercise:

To emphasize that technical writing calls for clear, concise, and richly descriptive language, you might use this simple exercise: Hold up a dime and ask students to describe it (without benefit of visuals or analogies) in enough detail to present a clear picture to an uniformed reader. Ask the class to ignore the dime’s function, as well as the engraving on the two flat surfaces, and to concentrate only on shape, dimensions, and materials. Limit the description to fifty words. After some grumbling and head scratching, the class will produce such specimens as “a dime is a round silver thing” or “a circular metal object.” Now, begin listing descriptive features, as volunteered by the class, on the board. List everything offered. Then, after asking the class to identify the pertinent features, compose drafts of the description on the board. Working together, the class should eventually arrive at a version something like this:


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A dime is a tri-layered, bimetallic disk, 11/16 inch (17 mm) in diameter, 1/20 inch (1.5 mm) thick, weighing roughly 0.07 ounce (2g). The center layer of copper is bonded between two nickel surfaces, bordered by a 0.2-mm raised, rolled rim with a perimeter of equally spaced serrations at 0.2-mm intervals, perpendicular to the flat surfaces (or parallel to the vertical axis).

Of course, how something is described depends on the writer’s purpose and the audience’s needs. Technical writers name things in ways that have significance and are useful to a specific audience. WEB RESOURCES

• An Introduction to the Work of Technical Communicators

http://saulcarliner.home.att.net/idbusiness/workoftcs.htm Saul Carliner’s site provides insights into the work and culture of technical communicators. This introduction discusses the interdisciplinary nature of technical communication and how those differences affect people’s approaches to communication. At the bottom of Carliner’s page is a link to a quiz http://web.bentley.edu/empl/c/scarliner/idbusiness/howmuchtc.htm You can use this as a pretest before students visit this site themselves to learn about technical communication. Step 1 contains the questions — which you could distribute as a handout. Steps 2 and 3 score the quiz.


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• The Common Beliefs and Practices of Technical Communicators

http://saulcarliner.home.att.net/idbusiness/belieftc.htm This online essay summarizes some of the most important issues people who practice technical communication face in their professions. See the Internet exercises for additional sites useful to technical communicators. The tables at this site can serve as lecture notes, handouts, or overheads for lecture and discussion. They can help your students draw comparisons and outline contrasts among different approaches to effective communication. • Team Collaboration Unites the Workforce

http://www.transformmag.com/db_area/archs/2003/02/tfm0302f2_1.shtml This article provides an overview of how virtual teams are being used by companies, advantages to companies and workers, and different online collaboration tools. Internet Exercises for Your Students

1. Choose two of the following Web sites and read the suggested

sections. (You might want to open them in new browser windows so you can move back and forth between them for comparison.) How does each organization view technical communication? What do they see as principles of effective communication? How do they define usable information? (Some of these sites might not make these issues explicit, so you will have to analyze what you read and make inferences.) Write three-to-four paragraphs explaining your reasoning, using terms and concepts you learned from your reading in the textbook.


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• Society for Technical Communication

http://www.stc.org/about/ Read the ”About STC” Section.

• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/about-cpsr.html Read the “Mission Statement.”

• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)

Professional Communication Society http://www.ieeepcs.org/ Go to the Engineer, Educator, and Communicator Resources section and read the Ethics statement.

• International Association of Business Communicators

http://www.iabc.com/about/visionMissionStructure.htm Read the first two paragraphs describing IABC.

2. Find a Web site for a professional organization in your field or one

that interests you. Does the organization mention effective communication? If so, how is it defined? If not, how do you think the organization would define it, given what you read about its goals or mission? Write a few paragraphs explaining your reasoning and using terms and concepts you learned from your textbook.

Teacher Note: For these two exercises above, have your students refer to the criteria for effective communication, discussed on pages 4-6 of the textbook. 3. Go to the International Association of Business Communicators’

site at http://www.iabc.com/about/code.htm and read the code of


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ethics. How does this page’s contents compare with what you learned about the ethical dimension of technical communication in Chapter 1 of your textbook? How do you think these ethics influence the ways business writers approach different kinds of writing they might do as professionals in their fields—proposals, research reports, and so on? Write a few paragraphs explaining your reasoning.

Teacher Note: For grading criteria for this exercise, refer to the Checklist for Quality in Technical Communication at the end of Chapter 1. 4. Read “Virtual Team Games Produce No Winners” at

http://www.bioteams.com/virtual_teams.html. In a group discussion, describe examples of at least three of these games from your past experience. Acknowledging that most people play these games at some point, ask yourself which game you are most likely to play when under pressure. Brainstorm strategies for how these behaviors might be avoided or effectively handled.

Teacher Note: If you are going to have students work in teams for any of the projects in your course, or in peer review groups, use your course management software or a blog to exchange ideas and collaborate on projects. Free blog hosting is available through a number of sites such as blogger.com, blogsharing.com, or blogsource.com.


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CHAPTER 1 QUIZ

True or False

1. T or F Effective communicators “let the facts speak for themselves.”

2. T or F Information overload can be addressed through effective technical communication.

3. T or F There is no difference between paper memos and email.

4. T or F “Clarity” in technical communication means the same thing to all people.

Multiple-choice

5. A technical document focuses on (a) the subject, (b) the writer’s feelings, (c) both the subject and the writer’s feelings, (d) marketing, or (e) none of the above.

6. A technical document is based on (a) intuition, (b) specialized information, (c) the writer’s deepest impressions, (d) inspiration, or (e) none of these.

7. A technical document is accessible when it is (a) accurate, (b) organized, (c) available in multiple formats, (d) available in various languages, or (e) all of the above.

Short Answer

8. Technical communication is the art and science of making complex information __________, ____________, and __________ to a variety of people in a variety of settings.

9. Good technical communication has an ___________ component because it can make important topics in science and technology understandable to the general public.

10. A computer can transmit data, but it cannot give ____________ to the information.

Chapter 2 – A World of People and Purposes

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Chapter 2 – A World of People and Purposes OVERVIEW

Technical writing is user-centered; that is, an audience uses the information for a specific purpose. Often, the same or similar information is focused for a variety of audiences with different purposes. For instance, the latest findings on genome research could be written at a highly technical level for scientists working in the field, at other levels for inclusion in an introductory or advanced biology textbook, and at a general level for the public reading the information in their local newspaper. Writing accessible, usable, and relevant technical communication begins with audience analysis. Who is likely to read the document? For what purpose? That is, how will they use it? To perform a task? Make a decision? Gain information? How much background do they have about the topic? In what context will the information be used? Besides using demographic information (age, gender ratio, ethnicity, and the like) and marketing surveys, effective communicators often interview a representative sample of their audience to determine their information needs. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, students should be prepared to respond to these objectives:


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• Explain why technical writing should be more user-centered than other types of writing. (Because a technical communicator’s first

concern is to provide information that the audience needs in a

manner than is accessible, usable, and relevant to that audience.) • List methods for analyzing the needs of an audience. (direct methods

such as conducting surveys, interviews, and focus groups; indirect

methods such as reading corporate style guides, user preference

documents, and marketing surveys)

• List three possible communication contexts. (Taking into account the

organizational settings, legal issues, time issues, audience-members’

values, associations, and cultural differences. For example,

preparing a training manual to accompany a two-day course on web

design held in a medical school in Tucson for medical professionals

from Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova.)

• List four primary purposes for technical information. (To learn, to

obtain background information, to make a decision, to perform a

task.) TEACHING TIPS

Analyzing the audience is one of the most important (and elusive) skills students can develop. In the workplace and in school, inexperienced writers often are unaware of the need to adapt a message to their audience. In their simplistic view, writing is a linear task of transferring material from the brain to the page. Without a sense of their audience, writers write prematurely—and thus ineffectively.

Because most students have never written for specific audiences with specific informational needs, they have problems grasping


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the concept of audience analysis. To help them grasp the need for such analysis, stress that successful firms are those that meet the needs (or desires) of their audience (that is, their customers). And for every document they write, insist that they evaluate their readers’ needs and the document’s purpose by answering questions such as these:

1. Who will be reading the document? 2. Why will they be reading it? 3. How will they use the information? 4. How much do they already know about the topic? 5. What else do they need to know?

Focus on such questions during writing workshops and when you evaluate their work for a grade. So doing will reinforce the importance of careful analysis. Having students review the web resources listed below will reinforce your class discussions on audience and purpose. Tell students you will read and evaluate their writing as an employer or supervisor would—a decision maker who requires clear information, often translated from high to low technicality. (In the workplace, a document is evaluated as unacceptable, acceptable, or superior.) Have students identify an audience and use for each assignment. You might want them to include a written audience-and-use analysis with each submission, especially for earlier assignments.

Students invariably ask, “How long should this assignment be?” as they try to apply versions of the “500-word essay” formula to all assignments. An appropriate response is, “Just long enough to answer all anticipated questions from the audience.” Explain that writers who can accurately anticipate their audience’s questions are those who know how much is enough.


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During editing workshops throughout the semester, emphasize repeatedly that every word, sentence, and paragraph should advance the writer’s meaning. Chapter 3 provides basic editing tools for achieving clear and precise expression.

WEB RESOURCES

• Information Developer’s Toolkit: Conducting a Needs Analysis

http://saulcarliner.home.att.net/id/overviewneedsanalysis.htm Saul Carliner’s needs analysis hypothetical provides an excellent example of the kind of in-depth research that can help in designing an appropriate communication piece. Though this hypothetical focuses on the design of a course, the questions and research methods are all applicable to designing technical documents.

Teacher Note: You might compare the Six Methods of Uncovering Needs, listed at the end of the online article, with the Audience Analysis Worksheet in the textbook. • Lenny Laskowksy’s LJL Seminars -- Monthly Speaking Tips

http://www.ljlseminars.com/monthtip.htm The LJL Seminars site provides monthly speaking tips, which contain useful advice on effective oral communication. For the purposes of this chapter, follow the “A.U.D.I.E.N.C.E Analysis--It’s Your Key to Success” link. Laskowsky presents his version of an audience analysis questionnaire.


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Teacher Note: This brief page might be used as a handout or as a discussion starter. It offers students a mnemonic for audience analysis that might also be used as a checklist for their projects. • Learning Styles Questionnaire

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html Sometimes audience analysis requires knowing how your users learn and process information. This Web site contains a quiz that you can take to help you understand your own responses and that you might use as a basis for an audience analysis interview. • Multiple Intelligences

http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html The theory of multiple intelligences provides another look at different ways of knowing and learning. Although discussions about this theory often focus mainly on classroom interaction, considering multiple kinds of intelligence will take you beyond simple demographics and help you better understand the complexity of audience analysis. Teacher Note: The two sites above can be used in a variety of ways: as ways of looking at audience analysis, as ways of helping students understand how differences in their own methods for understanding information will be reflected in their writing, and as a tool for helping students within collaborative groups. Tip: If you want to use these sites as a way of approaching collaboration, you might also ask students to visit the Kiersey Temperament Sorter at http://www.advisorteam.com/user/kts.asp. The


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form itself also indicates much about audience analysis and might be used as a point of discussion. Tip: You might use the Learning Styles results to “map out” (anonymously, of course) how your students approach learning. You might use this as a discussion of how people approach learning and how that might affect writing for audiences who differ in their approaches. (Connect this with a discussion of different students’ courses of study. Are there trends?) Internet Exercises for Your Students

1. Skim through the following paper on Jakob Nielsen’s “Useit.com” site at http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html. Once you have finished, visit the “summarized” version at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html. Why do you think Nielsen feels the second document is more “user-centered” than the first? Why did he provide the highlighted section immediately following the long version’s abstract? Give your analysis in a paragraph or two.

2. Answer the following questions, which are adapted from your

textbook, for each of the Nielsen pages. Be sure to explain your reasoning fully and provide examples.

Audience: • Based on the features of the documents, who do you think

will be reading or using each of these pages? • Are they the same audience for each page? Why or why not? • What special characteristics might each of those audiences

have? • What is their background and attitude toward the subject?


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Purpose: • Why is this communication important? • Why is it needed? • What will users do with the information on each of these

pages?

Context:

• What role(s) might the users of these documents play in their organization?

• What political or social situations for their users do each of these documents suggest?

• What might their professional values or affiliations be? Teacher Note: For the above exercises, you might use the comparison of the Nexium information in the textbook as a springboard for comparing the two Nielsen articles. Use Nielsen’s criteria and those found on page 30-31 of the textbook to examine students’ understanding of audiences and purposes – and how they are handled through different types of writing. Tip: As a point of discussion, you might raise the issue of the irony of the abstract and the actual form of the longer article.


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CHAPTER 2 QUIZ

True or False

1. T or F Primary and secondary audiences often have different technical backgrounds.

2. T or F Audience analysis is only necessary when the document is long or complex.

3. T or F Non-technical audiences are merely interested in the bare facts, without explanations.

4. T or F A thorough audience and purpose analysis helps you make decisions about word choice, document format, and document length.

5. T or F It is not helpful for a technical communicator to think about typical audience types because it leads to stereotyping.

Multiple-choice

6. As they approach your document, users are most interested in (a) learning how smart and eloquent you are, (b) finding what they need, quickly and easily, (c) why the document was written, (d) how well you have communicated your message, or (e) how well you use grammar.

7. The audience’s acceptance of your document can ultimately depend on (a) its level of technicality, (b) the political climate in your organization, (c) the individual user’s attitude, (d) a and c, or (e) all of these.

Short Answer

8. Name three sources that can help with audience analysis: 9. When you ask the question, “Why is this information needed?”

you are asking a question about the document’s _____________. 10. Because they are constantly forming opinions of the material,

audiences are not simply ___________ recipients of information.

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