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Week 1 Quiz

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Week 1 Worksheet/QuizName:

How does the Society for Technical Communication (STC) define technical writing?

The word technical is defined as something that is related to a particular thing, involves or relate to applied or industrial science, results from a mechanical failure or is in accordance with strict application or interpretation of some law. Technical writing suffices all the definitions of the word technical which means that it is related to some particular subject, it comes out as a result of technical failure or is done to apply or interpret some strict set of rules.

Why does technical writing typically use an objective tone?

This is because technical writing uses impersonal language. Technical writing has some particular objectives to be fulfilled and it uses facts and data for this purpose. One objective of technical writing is to prove some point and writer has to show opposing views for this purpose. Objective tone needs formal way of writing rather than a casual tone(Goodwin,2019).

List five characteristic of technical writing and then explain them.

Technical writing is clear and straight forward especially if writing is required for some particular technical field. Language used is very direct and straight to the point without using uncommon phrases and language. Technical writing is meant to explain the overall concept in a very detailed manner. The thoughts in technical writing are delivered in a structured way.

According to the textbook, what is the biggest difference between technical communication and the other kinds of writing you may have done?

The major difference between the above forms of writing is that technical writing has a different focus towards audience. The main purpose of technical writing is to provide information to the readers which is based on facts and figures. Generally, the readers or audience of technical writing do have a good level of preliminary knowledge about the subject about which writing is done.

List five forms of business/technical writing.

Resume’s, press releases, business proposals, product descriptions and job applications

According to Wikipedia (which can on occasion be helpful), which inventors and scientists during the Renaissance helped develop the need for documenting findings?

Paracelsus was a chemist and expert of physics in Renaissance who added salt to elements. Vesalius was the person who worked in the field of medicine and described the structure of brain.

Why did technical communication grow during the Industrial Revolution?

Industrial revolution resulted in development of many new industries and machines. Technical writing was able to explain the functions of machines and causes of technical faults and their solution in a direct tone and manner. Similarly, the industrial revolution resulted in the advent of many products, these products had to be described to the manufacturers as well as to consumers, in order to do so, technical writing was required. Industrial revolution resulted in creation of many new jobs which meant that people had to write their resume’s as a piece of technical writing.

How does the textbook define technical writing? What are some forms of writing that are NOT technical writing?

Fiction is not technical writing because it is not written in an objective tone and does not present information in a straight forward manner. Prose is not technical writing because it presents imaginative ideas rather than facts and figures.

Why is technical writing important or useful on the job?

Technical writing is important on the job because worker has to present facts and figures to the seniors to prove his point of view in front of them. In some cases especially in case of firing and resolving some issue, person has to be vey direct and objective in his stance which are two major characteristics of technical writing. Another aspect is when an employee is asked to make a job description for his post so that some other person may also be hired, he will be using technical writing skills.

What is groupthink and why is it less than ideal?

Groupthink is a situation where members of a group come in contact with each other and start thinking as a single unit. This is less than ideal because the focus of groupthink becomes unity and there is less thought on objective evaluation of the situation. There is a wrong estimation of group position by the group members. Groupthink is a characteristic of groups which work in isolation from the whole of organization.

List three “shoulds” that the STC Code for Communicators suggests writers should commit to. Explain why each is important.

Clarity is important so that information is delivered to the audience in a clear manner. Objectivity is important so that the writing does not become casual and remains stick to the purpose. Specific audience is important so that the writing should remain within the specified scope.

Why are visuals a possible ethical issue for a technical or business writer?

This is because technical writing is done in the workplace and some visuals may include pictures of individuals. Some other visuals may include some copy righted materials from some other company and may result in a legal suit. Since technical writing includes presentation of facts, using visuals may present the required information along with some unwanted information.

What are four legal considerations relevant to technical and business writing? List four and then explain two of them.

Race and Gender issues, political Correctness, religious symbols, cultural awareness. Technical writing must not initiate any racial debate or in other words, technical writing must not touch any topic that can have a negative impact on any race. Technical writing should not use any religious symbols especially those which are related to any particular sect or minority.

In what ways is the following an example of business or technical writing? Or is it? Discuss in what ways it might be seen as tech writing and in what ways it might not be seen as technical writing. “Daily feeding guide: feed 2 ½ -3 ½ cans daily for a 10 lb (4.5 kg cat. Adjust as needed. Cover and refrigerate unused portion. Keep fresh water available at all times! We recommend that you take your pet to the veterinarian at least twice a year for regular health check-ups.”

This can be considered technical writing because it is aimed at the people who own some cat. This piece is focused as it contains all aspects of cat food. However, it cannot be considered technical writing because it is generalized in nature and is not aimed at some specific breed of cat.

“2016-2017 Laptop Minimum and Recommended Specifications for Undergraduate Students

Operating System: MINIMUM Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate

Productivity Tools: Microsoft Office 2013/2016 can be downloaded for free, please visit do.du.edu/office365

Processor Type: MINIMUM Core i5 Processor. RECOMMENDED: I7 PROCESSOR

Memory: MINIMUM 4 GB RAM. RECOMMENDED 8 GB RAM

Hard Drive: MINIMUM 250 GB *Do not purchase a 128 GB HD*. RECOMMENDED 500 GB or higher

Graphics Card: MINIMUM 512 MB Video Memory or higher”

(This is taken from the University of Denver website.)

Here is the question: we know that the subject is technical. That is not in dispute. But what characteristics of technical writing does this excerpt exhibit? Explain.

Product specifications are a type of technical writing. This excerpt is objective in nature as it presents some requirements. These requirements are specific to the students so we can say that they are not generalized.

And as a finale—an opportunity for you to synthesize what you have been reading about and working with--please make a list of the conventions (the expectations of, the usual ways of) of business and technical writing. What makes it different from the kind of writing you have done in the past? LIST at least five conventions—and more if you have them! Explanation: “convention” means way of doing things, e.g. maybe shorter paragraphs than you would find, in, say, an essay for EN101-102.

Technical writing is objective, specific and to the point. The audience of this type of writing is also very well defined. The language used is very direct and is not casual. There is a direct tone to the technical writing which means that the things are presented directly to the audience. Audience to technical writing is also aware to the subject to a certain extent so that the direct tone does not seem bad to them. Similarly, the facts and data given in a piece of technical writing is also aimed at the specific audience. This means that technical writing will be specific to some particular field and will not be useful to someone who does not have the relevant technical information.

Bibliography

Goodwin, J. (2019). How to Use an Objective Tone in Your Writing: 6 Tips You Should Know. [online] https://magoosh.com. Available at: https://magoosh.com/pro-writing/objective-tone/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].