Technical Writing
How to Create a Multi-Level Ordered List in OpenOffice
© 2010 Ugur Akinci (1) Create your list items without any ordering (numbers or letters). For example: Apple/Orange/Watermelon. (2) Select your list items and click the “Numbering On/Off” button in the Toolbar to toggle on numbers. (3) Add the second-level (indented) level of information. For example: Calories/PH-level. At this point the whole list will look…
Read MorePros and Cons of Working as a Remote Writer
Working as a remote writer might sound like a dream job, but it can also have its downside. One of the main challenges is that you’re not surrounded by coworkers on a day-to-day basis. The following are some of the pros and cons of working remotely: Pros of Working as a Remote Writer: Remote writers…
Read MoreIs Technical Writing Good Only for Explaining “Complex Things” in a “Simple Manner”?
© Ugur Akinci I forgot the number of times I’ve read technical writing defined as explaining “complex things” in a language “simple enough” for the “laymen” so that “anybody” can understand what you’re talking about… Is this true? Yes and No. Why? Because it all depends on the intended audience of the document. If your…
Read MoreAn Introduction to Scenario-Based eLearning Courses
A scenario-based eLearning course is an instructional design where learners are given a hypothetical situation that they have to solve or deal with. The learner is then guided through the process of solving the problem by a facilitator or instructor who is playing the role of the protagonist in that particular situation. Scenario-based eLearning courses…
Read MoreHow to Count the Number of Selected Records in a Dataset by OpenOffice CALC's DCOUNT Function
© 2010 Ugur Akinci OpenOffice is a free office applications suite provided by Sun Microsystems. (http://www.openoffice.org/) OpenOffice CALC is a powerful spreadsheet program which corresponds to Microsoft Excel. Here is how you can filter and count the number of records (rows) in a dataset by using OpenOffice CALC: Consider the following imaginary data set for…
Read MoreHow to Create a Patient Information Form with Acrobat 9
An excellent step-by-step tutorial on how to create forms in healthcare industry by using Adobe Acrobat. (Excerpts) I’m frustrated with paper-based Patient Information Form Process. The frustration is fresh on my mind since I ran into the same problem today trying to schedule an appointment for my son today. My son is in school at…
Read MoreA Check List for Creating Technical Documents for the Global Market
Creating technical documents for an international audience requires not only writing in simple “international” English, but also removing all sources of possible mistranslation and misunderstanding. Here is a short check list to prepare your documents for a global audience: Are your dates obvious enough? HINT: write the month openly. 1/2/2010 could be Jan 2, 2010…
Read MoreHow to Write a GPS (Global Positioning System) Device Review
© 2010 Ugur Akinci The day when every new car and truck would carry a GPS (Global Positioning System) device as standard equipment is not that far away. The market for GPS devices is expanding by leaps and bounds. In the second quarter of 2006, for example, 2.4 million GPS devices were sold in the…
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How to Prepare an Ideal Localization Kit
Introduction to Localization Kit Whenever undertaking a new project, and regardless of who will be performing your localization, the first thing to do is to create a complete localization kit and a localization project Bill Of Material (BOM). What is a BOM? A BOM is a localization kit containing all the files that need to…
Read MoreHow to Write Technical Documents for an International Audience
Writing technical documents for an international audience means writing documents that translate easily to the target language, and are understood easily by the speakers of the target language. In the world we are living in, technical documents are increasingly translated from one language to another since customers of most goods and services transcend national boundaries.…
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