Technical Writing
Occupational Outlook for Technical Writers: My Opinions and the Facts
From time to time I hear from technical writers who had their own share from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 30s. There is no doubt, the market right now is not as good as it had been just four or five years earlier. But I still have reasons to maintain…
Read MoreTechnical Writing: Corporate Payroll or Freelancing?
Should you choose freelancing or go on a corporate payroll to work as a technical communicator? I get this question from my readers on a more or less regular basis: “Should I quit my company and set up shop as an independent entrepreneur offering technical writing services? Should I just launch a web site and…
Read MoreHow to Create and Print an Envelope with OpenOffice Writer
© Ugur Akinci You can create and print perfect envelopes with OpenOffice Writer, the free alternative to MS Word (http://www.openoffice.org). Launch a new OpenOffice Writer document. Select Insert > Envelope to display the Envelope dialog box: Enter the name and address of the Addressee (the RECEIVER) and the SENDER. If you not want a return…
Read MoreHow to Create a PDF Form with OpenOffice Writer
© Ugur Akinci Think of OpenOffice Writer as the free equivalent of MS Word (free download at http://www.openoffice.org). Did you know that you can create perfect PDF forms by using nothing else but OO Writer? Here are the basic steps: (1) Launch your OO Writer and create a new document. (2) Select View > Toolbars…
Read MoreHow to Use OpenOffice Writer's Powerful "Find & Replace" Function
© Ugur Akinci Imagine you have a 1,000 page document using Arial font in 50 of those one thousand pages. And again imagine that you’d like to use Arial Narrow in those pages. You can make the necessary font changes in a singşe move by using OpenOffice Writer’s (a free program) powerful FIND & REPLACE…
Read MoreTechnical Editing: Eliminate Passive Voice and Secondary Verbs for Clear Technical Writing
© Ugur Akinci You can eliminate a lot of deadwood from your technical writing by eliminating the passive voice and secondary verbs. Here is an example: ORIGINAL: “A decision was made at the Project Management level that the product should be released by the first of the new year.” “A decision was made” is…
Read MoreHow to Create an Instant and Good-Looking Document Cover in MS Word
You can create a nice looking cover within seconds by using MS Word. Method 1 1) Place your cursor in the beginning of your MS Word document. 2) From the ribbon, select Insert > Quick Parts >Building Blocks Organizer: 3) In the Building Blocks Organizer dialog box, click the on the label of the Gallery…
Read MoreHow to Use Titles and Subheadings to Group Similar Kinds of Procedural Tasks
Here is an example of how NOT to use a title when writing procedural steps: [TITLE] Follow these instructions: Calculate the exact amount of patent fee you need to pay to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by using the PF calculator. Itemize the fees for each individual application by using Form I. Convert…
Read MoreHow to Stress the Subject or the Object of a Title
There are ways to direct the attention of the reader to the subject or object of a title (or subtitle). ———————- QUICK RECAP: In the following sentence, “Shaun loves fish” “Shaun” is the SUBJECT and “fish” is the OBJECT. ———————- You can highlight a title’s subject or object by using active or passive voice appropriately. Here is how: METHOD…
Read MoreA Title Should Identify the Object of the Text
A title should identify the object of the text. A title should be a brief, but informative, description of the text that follows. In order to establish a connection between the title and what is being discussed in the text, it is important to provide some basic information about what is going on in the…
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