Chapter 21 Tresidder & Gustafson

Chapter 21 talks about instructions and how they are everywhere. There are several reasons to keep instructions updated, for the use of various audiences. Such as; personal safety and performance, process/product safety and performance, summary or overview of process/product features, orientation for new team members as well as sales and marketing personnel, or central location for documenting process/product specifications and modifications. Instructions are essential in everyday life, locally but also readable for across borders. Before instructions are published there are several factors to consider. One must analyze instructions by task, audience, and genre, in order to ensure that the instructions are correct and user friendly. There are several principals to consider in terms of your audience, such as; self-concept, rationale, experience, readiness, orientation, and motivation. Some other basic but important things to consider when making instructions is deciding the need for visuals, and then the amount of visuals. Not all people learn best from written text but more from visuals. Furthermore, when writing instructions a decision must be made on the level of difficulty they are. Based on the audience, they should either be user-friendly, which are directed to an audience who knows little about the product, or they can little pictures and use jargon because the audience that is using them has a lot of experience with the particular instructions. When writing instruction you need to make sure that the content of the instructions is accessible, comprehensible, and usable. A few things that should be consider about instructions that there is clear title, the necessary components are included, for example: a parts list, materials and equipment list, and definitions, the information is in chronological order, use clearer dictions, and accurate and verifiable details. Other things to think about in instructions are whether or not it is necessary to include justification in your steps, the steps should also be written in parallel form; meaning they all follow the same grammatical form. Another important and helpful part of instructions are visuals. Visuals can be essential in clarifying instructions if used right. It is important to use appropriate and accurate visuals and to consider whether it is even necessary to have them. It is also important to have a the right visual and verbal balance, you should look at the information you are using and consider if it would be best to use entirely visual, verbal and visual, or entirely verbal for the instructions. When making a safety sign is important that the right color and word is used to portray the level or danger or injury that is possible. It is recommended to use a graphic image on a warning sign to grab the attention of a person. It is also a liability to have the sign incase of injury, the sign should be accurate, accessible, and appropriate.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14
by Matt and Kristen

Chapter 14 covers the topic of creating definitions. This chapter will help you accomplish the following outcomes: avoid problems caused by multiple meanings, complexity of meanings, technical jargon and symbols and make appropriate decisions about using definitions in glossaries, information notes and appendixes. Not only do the meanings of words change, but new words will enter our language as well. A lot of these new words are ones related to developing technology. Networking was not a well known word, but thanks to social networking sites like facebook or myspace, this word has become more household. You should make sure your viewers or readers are up to date with the new words. If they don't know the word, you are in trouble. You wouldn't want to go on talking about hypothesis' if members of your audience have never heard of the word. With all the new technology comes new words. When preparing technical documents you should keep in mind that readers could become confused by multiple meanings, complexity of meanings, technical jargon, and symbols. Effective definitions can also help an audience follow a technical document, and answer the audience's questions. The main categories of definitions are: formal, informal, operational, and expanded definition. A formal definition is identifying a broad category to which a term belongs as well as its distinctive characteristics. Informal definitions tend to be the type that we insert in communication without realizing that we are defining a term. An operational definition can mean different things to different technical professions. The activities that researchers use to measure a variable is one way of explaining it. In contrast, some would define it as being able to specify the functions of an object or a process. Lastly, an expanded definition explains and clarifies information while maintaining the audience's interest. Technical writers now have options of how they want to incorporate these definitions by choosing from a glossary, information notes and sidebars, incorporated information, appendixes, and online help (although not mutually exclusive).

Chapter 17 Mandi and Sarah

Chapter 17 bases their main points around oral presentations. It starts off by saying a very surprising statistic, more than seven hundred out of the surveyed managers said that the ability to communicate and plan effectively in front of an audience is the most important career skill. There are two types of presentations, informal and formal. Informal is where you most likely know your audience and it’s you are presenting material that the audience knows some background on. Informal presentations can range from large amounts of people to very small business meetings, as can formal presentations. The difference between the two though is that a formal presentation usually takes a lot more effort to prepare because the audience is probably not going to be familiar with you or the topic that you will be discussing. Class presentations are kind of a practice for the real world. When you give presentations to your classmates, they can give you feedback and tell you what your strong and weak points are. You can then use their advice to improve your presentation skills. This chapter also talks about getting to know your audience. It is important to know who you are speaking to in order to get your point across effectively. There are four possible audiences, professional peers, non-expert professionals, international audiences, and general audiences. After you decide what audience type you will be speaking to it is time to establish the purpose of the presentation. Is it an informative presentation where you will be providing people with general background information about a topic or helping them to make a decision? There is also persuasive presentations where you try and get your audience to see whatever topic you are discussing your way and to agree with you. It is very important to establish common ground between yourself and your audience. The next type of presentation is a demonstrative presentation, where you usually show the audience a process of some sort. The last one is a training session where you are educating, demonstrating, and teaching your audience how to perform a task. Visuals are a good way to get your audience attention, keep their attention throughout the speech, and make them remember what you have taught them. We have now discussed all the main points from chapter 17 and have taught you all about the different types of oral presentations.

Chapter 20 Daryl and Ryan

Reports are used in many fields of business. The different factors to consider when writing a report are purpose, formality, audience, organization, and genre. The three different purposes that a report may have would be to report information, analyze information, and persuade an audience. The purpose of the report should be made clear at the beginning of the report. Another thing to consider when writing a report is whether the report should be formal or informal. This usually depends on the relationship to the audience. Identifying the audience is also another important factor of reports. Generally an audience will have a diverse background that needs to be considered. The information in the report needs to be organized for the report to be effective. Some criteria that should be considered is an overview, background information, recommendations, evidence, and discussions. When writing a report you must also select the genre. You may use prepared forms, memos, letters, and formal reports to convey your information.

There are several different types of reports. These include research reports and articles, task reports, periodic activity reports, progress reports, trip and conference reports, and meeting minutes. Research reports are used to give information that has found through experiments and research. Task reports are used to discusses different procedures that are to be carried out and other recommendations. Periodic activity reports are used to give information on work that is being done. These are written very frequently. Progress reports are like activity reports in that they inform an audience about work being done. Although, progress reports are written at defined times that are less frequent than periodic activity reports. Another document is Meeting Minutes, which is simply a record of the proceedings of any deliberative group. This allows members to go back and look at what was discussed or resolved in previous meetings. Sometimes, when a meeting is very important, and the group doesn't meet very often, a conference report is created for all members to look at before the meeting occurs. This is to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly, and time is not wasted. The chapter goes on to discuss, in detail, different purposes and practices of font matter. It breaks a document down into specific parts and shows what is appropriate and what is not in certain sections. It also shows the purpose of each section so that you know what the goal is of what you are writing. Overall, the chapter was very informative and gives very specific examples so that it is easier to follow what is going on.

Chapter 16 Matthew and Kenton

This chapter explains process explanations, a process explanation explains sequential action list to the audience it gives just enough detail to explain the process but not to be able to complete the process. A process explanation is used in many documents, in marketing brochures it helps make decisions about what to buy and why to buy it. Process explanations are also found in technical manuals. It can be easier to follow directions if you know what the complete process is. The book gives examples of people looking for information about things in everyday life such as how a wind turbine works or how hurricanes are tracked. Sometimes a process explanation can be flawed by having wrong information. This can be intentional for greed or can be accidental by miscommunication. Some people find this an ethical and professional responsibility to change the information to correctly convey the information. Many businesses and companies keep their process explanations in reports and manuals up to date. Process explanations vary depending on the audience that they will be meant for. For example, if the process explanation is meant for students then there needs to be more detail and more background information, such as terminology and definitions, in order to help the student learn the information and retain it. If the process explanation is a public document then it needs to be tailored in a way as to make it simple and easy to understand. This not only allows younger people to understand it but also people who would get confused or lost from large words, but also allows people who have extended knowledge of the subject to read the article thus giving a larger reader base. If a document is easy to read it is also easier to read in a limited amount of time allowing people to read the article quickly and not get bored with technical details that hurried readers would probably not care about. Another important aspect to consider while creating process explanations is to list the steps of the action. This allows for a more accurate and sequential order and also aids in the use of visuals because steps that are difficult to explain can be supplemented by a visual. Visuals are significant in process explanations because they provide the information that is difficult to explain in words and also help the reader organize and understand the information. Lastly the types of visuals are also important to consider needing to assist the text and not detracting or confuse the reader.

Billy and Paul's Chapter 19

While identifying types of proposal information such as situation, planning, benefits, approach, evaluation, and qualifications, this information should be included. Solicited proposals, and unsolicited, are the two main proposals specified in this chapter. Unsolicited proposals are usually internal documents and responses to an individual in an organization. Solicited proposals are simply a written response to an RFP. When an organization turns to a researcher, the RFP will identify the missing specifications needed in order for it to be accepted. RFP’S are usually accounted by several types of organizations. These types of organizations include: research and not profit foundations, educational institutions, government agencies, and private businesses. When requesting a proposal you need to remember to put the information in order starting with the most important. Using persuasion for your proposals audience is the most imperative concept to grasp. This will help you convince your audience to accept your proposal. During your proposal you need to have concerns of the audience, credibility of the speaker, and logic of the message. These are critical concerns needed to persuade your audience of your proposal. While writing the RFP you must identify the problem, provide background information, define the desired outcome, specify the service you need, and require detailed information. Planning your proposal will make the proposal go smoother and easier. Once you have the project established you need to plan a detailed review of what’s expected. To do this you must identify problems, organize an outline, analyze competition, and create a manageable budget. Budgeting are important features for a proposal. A budget identifies expenses for equipment, travel, and indirect cost. Finally, you need to evaluate, revise, and submit your proposal. In conclusion, this chapter outlines how to prepare, organize, and write an accurate proposal.

Chapter 18- Samantha and Julia

Correspondence includes many different types of emails, memos, and letters. When composing correspondence you have to make sure you have certain guidelines, the appropriate attitude and tone, responding to the audience, organization, format, and visual displays. Accurate and unambiguous correspondence include emails, memos, and letters. These types are the everyday communication that people use in the workplace. When delivering correspondence people sometimes have it sent by mail, but these days people use the Internet and send emails which is asynchronous correspondence. Others use instant messaging which would be synchronous correspondence. All electronic messages should be informative as if you were writing. Also these messages can be forwarded, printed, or permanently stored, or misdirected. Do not send an electronic message that you would not want everyone to read. Effective correspondence should have a descriptive subject line, address audience directly, state objectives or ask questions, organize you material in a certain order depending on positive or negative response, bullet items for clarity and neatness, make sure you are specific about action, and finally end with a friendly comment. Emails, memos and letters should have attitude and tone, organization and finally the format. No single correspondence exits alone, especially in the work place, it usually becomes a chain, making organization extremely important. The book had a great example of corresponding many emails, memos, and letters together and that organization keeps you from getting confused.