<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: What does a "Technical Writer" do?
Review: As the author of one of the twenty-three narratives that appear in this book, I would like to explain what I think its purpose, its role, might be. Not many people outside the industry know what a technical writer is or what he or she does for a living. This book explains that and more. It illustrates, using cleverly disguised real-world examples, what work -- and life -- is like for a technical writer. The stories are excellent depictions of life in the field, and I can honestly recommend this book to anyone who might want to know about or might want to become a technical writer. This text is an excellent source for students.
Rating: 
Summary: Experience Being a Technical Communicator
Review: The book " Writing a Professional Life," by Gerald L. Savage and Dale L. Sullivan, attempts to define technical communication with a narrative structure to students and people with an interest in becoming technical communicators. With a collection of narrative stories, the book is very helpful representing and teaching the field of technical communication through experience. The authors of the narrative stories carry similar characteristics to that of the audience, as well as reflect the ideas and mindset of the audience. In addition, the writing reflects the authors' personalities. The book's organization of different sections parallels and correlates to the field of technical communication. By addressing the following concepts:·Technical problems (e.g., software)
·Workplace concerns
·Off the job interferences/life issues
·Interpersonal skills
·Communication between different fields/professions
(e.g., communication with people who have different
knowledge base)
·Defining technical communication
Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: This is a collection of 23 essays divided into three sections: "Initiation Stories," "The Process," and "Life On and Off the Job." Each section contains six to nine essays written by technical communicators at various stages in their careers. These vignettes touch on ethics, organizational dynamics, content, tools, business communications, and communication issues among others. This text will prove most useful to the prospective technical communicator who may not have any previous experience or concept of what the job entails. This text might also prove useful to novice technical communicators as the stories offer advice through humor, moralistic tales, 'horror' stories with happy endings, and explicit and implicit advice. Each selection is preceded by a brief biography to give a more human focus to the stories. While the text might prove useful and comforting for new or prospective technical communicators, readers who have more experience with technical communication might not find the text as useful. This text is part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication, and as such is probably most appealing to students and educators involved in academic programs focused on technical writing rather than the practicing technical writers in industry.
<< 1 >>
| 
