A Group Exercise to Teach Technical Writing

How would you teach technical writing to a group of aspiring writers who do not have a hi-tech background? Can you teach instructional and procedural writing even when the topic is, say, how to pack your suitcase before you board a plane? AMANDA CHRISTY BROWN and HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO did exactly that in this New…

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TCP/IP Concepts You Should Learn to Write Networking Documentation

TCP/IP is the most widely used networking protocol available today. All Internet traffic and countless private networks, systems and gadgets today rely on TCP/IP to send and receive data and operate properly. As a technical writer you’d be expanding your job prospects if you’re familiar with TCP/IP and how networked computers exchange data. Here are…

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Some Useful Adobe FrameMaker Spacing Shortcuts

Em Space — Esc + SpaceBar + m En Space — Esc + SpaceBar + n Numeric Space — Esc + SpaceBar + 1 (this equals the width of number Zero in that font) Thin Space — Esc + SpaceBar + t (this equals 1/12th of the width of Em Space in that font) Nonbreaking…

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Facts About Medical Transcriptionists

Introduction A medical transcriptionist writes Medical Transcriptions (MT) which is a technical communication niche in high demand, in all countries with a well-established medical and judicial system. Market Needs a Medical Transcriptionist Whether the population is getting old as in Western countries or young, as in the rest of the world, the doctors need to…

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Tips for Converting FrameMaker Files into RoboHelp Files

FrameMaker and RoboHelp work together pretty well. The integration between these two applications (that come with Technical Communication Suite) is smooth and relatively problem-free, if not perfect. Advantage of RoboHelp over Web Works One obvious advantage of RH over FM’s old-mate Web Works is this: WW is basically a conversion platform custom designed for FrameMaker.…

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Technical Writing – Anticipate Resistance. Eliminate it in Advance.

©  2010 Ugur Akinci Technical writing shares one very important structural feature with copy writing: anticipation of resistance. To write a good technical manual, you have to anticipate why the reader might doubt the veracity of your instructions; why they might resist it. Then, like a skilled bomb-removal expert, you have to defuse and remove…

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How to Incorporate Performance Goals into Your Technical Documents

© 2010 Ugur Akinci Usually the first chapter of a technical document is titled “Introduction” where the technical communicator provides a bird’s eye view of the rest of the document. In that chapter, the “performance goal” of the document is spelled out clearly, as well as the “audience” it is intended for. You can make…

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How to Write a Fender-Bender Traffic Accident Report Form

© Ugur Akinci Here is a form-design project for a definitely not-so-fun occasion — traffic accidents. When an accident happens, the parties are angry, scared, flustered.  Adrenaline is running freely. The mind shuts down. It’s hard to remember what information to collect for investigation and insurance purposes. If you have a “Fender-Bender Form” in your…

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