Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen...

8
echnical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen [email protected]) Department of Computer Science and Information Management PROVIDENCE UNIVERSITY College of Management

Transcript of Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen...

Page 1: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1

Technical Writing- Introduction

Wu-Lin Chen [email protected])

Department of Computer Science and Information Management

PROVIDENCE UNIVERSITY

College of Management

Page 2: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 2

Purposes of Writing

• Communicating with others in your professional

• Forming knowledge and making it available to the society of your professional or even the world

Page 3: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 3

How Writing Makes a Difference1

• “Writing ability is often correlated with a superior manager’s characteristics, such as the capability to synthesize and clarify in complex situation.”

• “The quality of communication has a strong impact on an idea’s reception.”

• “Poor proposals and reports mean little or no future with clients.”

• “Young engineers who write with clarity and make logical presentations tend to become supervisors of other engineers within 5 years of graduation.”

Bower, D. 1985. Technical Communication in Industrial R&D Groups: A Questionnaire Survey. MIT S.B. Thesis.

Page 4: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 4

Writing Cycles

Student Instructor

Engineer Supervisor Manager

TopManagement

ResearcherJournaleditor Publication

Referee

Referee

Student

Workplace

Academics

Page 5: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 5

Before You Write…

• Aim your audiences– Researchers or writers must consider the

audiences, people who will read their writing, i.e. your readers, at all time

– Identify readers’ need and interests• Ex. An industrial engineer might see automating a

manufacturing process as an technical problem. However, the decision maker, the manager, might be more interested in the cost justification of the automation rather than the solution.

Page 6: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 6

Three Keys to Writing

1. Rewriting!

2. Rewriting!

3. Rewriting!

Page 7: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 7

Pay Attention To…

• Style

• Grammar

• Punctuation

• Spelling

• Word Usage

Page 8: Technical Writing S03 Providence University 1 Technical Writing - Introduction Wu-Lin Chen wlchen@pu.edu.tw) Department of Computer Science and Information.

Technical Writing S03 Providence University 8

About Writing

• Writing well means taking the time to express clearly what you really mean. Writing concisely is hard work.

• Henry David Thoreau– “Not that the story need be long, but it will

take a long time to make it short.”