Technical writing

Technical writing

Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts

Book - 2023

"Technical Writing For Dummies is a master class on how to build a career writing user manuals, e-learning, streaming, simulations, and more. It even zooms into the metaverse. Whether you're new to the field, a seasoned professional, or a technical person who needs to write, this guide arms you with the skills you need to cash in on this flourishing world of technical writing. This isn't your average how-to. It's a compendium of innovative industry knowledge that will help you set yourself apart with the latest trends and best practices in technical writing"--

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Subjects
Technical writing.
Handbooks and manuals.
Genres
Handbooks and manuals
Published
Hoboken, NJ : Wiley Publishing, Inc [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts (author)
Edition
2nd edition
Item Description
"Master the worlds of Clouds, Al, and Collaboration; Create awesome user manuals, e-docs, and simulations; Grasp what your learners need to know"--Cover.
Physical Description
xv, 310 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes index.
ISBN
9781394176755
  • Introduction
  • About This Book
  • Foolish Assumptions
  • Icons Used in This Book
  • Beyond the Book
  • Where to Go from Here
  • Part 1. What it takes to write Technical Docs
  • Chapter 1. Working as a Technical Writer
  • Technical Writers Spring from All Walks of Life
  • Documentation Is Part of Our Everyday Lives
  • Technical Writing Differs from Business Writing
  • Documents of the business kind
  • Documents of the technical kind
  • Assigning Responsibility for Technical Documents
  • It's About Strategy, Not Software
  • What You Need to Succeed
  • Seeing Is Believing
  • Case 1
  • Case 2
  • Case 3
  • Beyond the Writing
  • Create a dynamic portfolio
  • Create a LinkedIn profile
  • Present your business card
  • Tech Writing Career Trajectories
  • Translate technical documents
  • Become a UX writer
  • Soar into the cloud
  • Become a scrum master
  • Chapter 2. Putting Together a Team and a Plan
  • Benefiting from the Team Experience
  • Know who's on first
  • Turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones
  • Choosing the Right Type of Delivery
  • Completing a Production Schedule
  • Make the production schedule a "must"
  • Timing is everything
  • The Power of Brainstorming
  • Generating an Outline
  • Write a traditional outline
  • Use a decimal numbering system
  • Create an annotated table of contents
  • Getting Your Arms around the Document
  • Conduct internal research
  • Conduct external research
  • Part 2. The Write Stuff
  • Chapter 3. Completing a Technical Writing Brief
  • How to Feed a Martian
  • Will Zeb go hungry?
  • Fill Zeb's empty stomach
  • Getting jump-Started with the Technical Writing Brief
  • Slicing and Dicing the Technical Writing Brief
  • About the document
  • Learner profile
  • Key issues
  • Budget
  • Project team
  • Milestones
  • Approval cycle
  • Chapter 4. Crafting a Draft
  • Psyching Yourself Up
  • Getting Down to Business
  • Integrating the Editing Process
  • The wallpaper edit
  • Hold on to your ego
  • Revising Your Work
  • Chapter 5. Designing Documents to Enhance the User Experience
  • Grabbing Your Learners' Attention
  • Using Whitespace
  • Giving Learners a Break
  • Limit sentences to 20 syllables
  • Limit paragraphs to eight lines
  • Harnessing the Power of Headlines
  • Understand the business value of headlines
  • Know the value of SEO in headlines
  • Putting It on the List
  • Use bulleted lists
  • Use numbered lists
  • Use parallel structure
  • Punctuate lists
  • Avoid laundry lists
  • Keeping It Short and Simple (KISS)
  • Presenting the Natural Order of Things
  • Put the bottom line up front
  • Put the bottom line at the end
  • A Picture (Pixel) Is Worth a Thousand Words
  • Include pie charts
  • Include line charts
  • Include bar charts
  • Include scatter charts
  • Include flowcharts
  • Tabling That Thought
  • Create a formal table
  • Create an informal table
  • Adding More Value to Your Visuals
  • Scale for size
  • Location, location, location
  • What's your visual preference?
  • Chapter 6. Honing the Tone
  • Giving 'Em a Little KISS
  • KISS your technical documents
  • Cut to the quick
  • Accentuating the Positive
  • Fill the glass half full
  • Empty the glass
  • Loving the Active Voice
  • Bring documents to life with active voice
  • Use passive voice strategically
  • Looking Through Lens of Social justice
  • Show respect for all
  • Consider gender-neutral pronouns
  • Consider a sentence reword
  • Being Clear and Consistent
  • Define terms and acronyms
  • Who's laughing?
  • When to be a jargon junkie
  • Chapter 7. Fine-Tuning toward the Ideal
  • Crossing Your T's and Dotting Your I's
  • Editing versus proofreading
  • Test your proofreading skills
  • Editing for Clarity and Flow
  • Track changes
  • Use an editing checklist
  • Determining the Readability of Your Documents
  • Don't save the best for last
  • Try readability testing
  • Ramp up your readability
  • Use online readability assessments
  • Part 4. Frequently Written Docs
  • Chapter 8. Writing User Manuals and More
  • Understanding the Value of a Well-Written Manual
  • Provide a good customer experience
  • Avoid legal issues
  • Know what to include
  • Know your audience
  • Getting Up and Running
  • Determining Style and Format
  • Taking Each Step, Then Acting on It
  • The devil is in the details
  • Check out the contents of the box
  • Writing for Between the Covers
  • Prepare a table of contents
  • Append appendixes
  • Generate a glossary
  • Itemize an index
  • Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
  • Determining Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • Preparing an Instructional Video for Streaming
  • Start with a script
  • Choose a video host
  • Creating a Simulated Learning Experience (SLE)
  • Apply SLE to simulations
  • Imagine what's next: The metaverse
  • Join-the-Dots Brain Teaser
  • Chapter 9. Preparing Abstracts
  • Types of Abstracts
  • Preparing an Informative Abstract
  • What to include
  • What to omit
  • Using Abstracts Effectively
  • Chapter 10. Creating Spec Sheets
  • Knowing What to Include
  • Following the Natural Order of Things
  • Phase 1: Requirement specs
  • Phase 2: Functional specs
  • Phase 3: Design specs
  • Phase 4: Test specs
  • Phase 5: End-user specs
  • Considering Some Examples
  • Chapter 11. Generating Questionnaires
  • Differentiating between Questionnaires and Surveys
  • Ask unbiased questions
  • Avoid double-barreled questions
  • Using Distribution Channels
  • Designing the Form
  • Posing the Questions
  • Include closed-ended questions
  • Select open-ended questions
  • Learning from the Results
  • Chapter 12. Preparing for Technical Presentations
  • Getting to Know Your Audience
  • Getting Ready for Prime Time
  • Timing is everything
  • Get comfortable with your environment
  • Conveying Your Message with Confidence and Competence
  • Use repetition strategically
  • Leave these phrases at the door
  • Organizing for High Impact
  • Presenting Visuals
  • Giving Them Something to Remember You By
  • Give handouts before your presentation
  • Give handouts after your presentation
  • Checking Out Before Checking In
  • Chapter 13. Abridging for Executive Summaries
  • An Executive Summary Is Critical
  • Summing It Up
  • Include graphics
  • Use an appropriate tone
  • Learn from a success story
  • Delving into the Executive Summary for a Business Plan
  • Part 4. Tech Tools
  • Chapter 14. Collaborating with Others
  • Collaboration Is about People
  • Build trust
  • Give constructive feedback
  • Find solutions to challenges
  • Collaborative Team Etiquette: Etta Kitt Says
  • Get started
  • Communicate effectively
  • Using Collaboration Tools
  • Allow team members time to train
  • Consider these prolific providers
  • Get what you pay for
  • Know what you need
  • Perform an accessibility check
  • An ounce of prevention
  • Storing Data in the Cloud
  • Understand governance
  • Prevent security breaches
  • Chapter 15. Videoconferencing
  • Using the Goldilocks Theory for Selecting
  • Find the best platform for your needs
  • Identify additional equipment needs
  • Creating a Culture of Inclusivity
  • Know the accessibility of an app
  • Videoconferencing Pros and Woes
  • Pros
  • Woes
  • Are You Ready for Your Close-Up?
  • Fostering Cohesive Hybrid Teams
  • Suffering Burnout or Videoconferencing Fatigue?
  • Recognize the signs
  • Determine other options
  • Planning for Success
  • Onscreen Netiquette: Etta Kitt Says
  • Dos
  • Taboos
  • Chapter 16. Offering eLearning
  • Understanding the Forms of eLearning
  • Preparing the Learning Objectives
  • Delivering eLearning
  • Use an LMS
  • Use an SCORM
  • Use xAPI
  • Elements of eLearning
  • Choosing Your Software
  • Buy it
  • Construct it
  • Outsource it
  • Creating Learning Modules
  • Chunk information
  • Check for readability
  • Meet expectations
  • Solving Business Problems
  • Designing a Process
  • Set your sights
  • Plan for the learner's experience
  • Design the training experience
  • Make a prototype
  • Create a storyboard
  • Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
  • Fix bugs and glitches
  • Evaluate training
  • Chapter 17. Surfing the Net
  • Avoiding the internet Sharks
  • Dodging Other Internet Pitfalls
  • Decoding Error Messages
  • Searching for the Holy Grail
  • Boolean searches
  • Other syntax searches
  • Speed surfing
  • Boosting Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Understand pay-per-click (PPC)
  • Go organic (non-paid results)
  • Avoid keyword stuffing
  • Turn SEO over to the experts
  • Chapter 14. Protecting Intellectual Property
  • Applying for a Patent
  • Know the types of patents
  • Do your homework
  • Submit your idea
  • Know who owns the patent
  • Establishing a Copyright
  • Know what to include
  • Get your works copyrighted
  • Registering a Trademark
  • Use unregistered trademarks and service marks
  • Apply for a registered trademark
  • Part 5. The Part of Tens
  • Chapter 19. Ten Tips for Writing a Whitepaper
  • Consider Your Audience
  • Find Credible Sources
  • Include Facts and Figures
  • Follow a Simple Format
  • Create an Eye-Catching Cover
  • Pique Interest
  • Proofread and Edit Carefully
  • Conclude with a Call to Action
  • Maximize Mileage
  • Measure the Impact
  • Chapter 20. Ten Tips for Publishing in a Technical Journal
  • Don't Procrastinate; Just Do It!
  • Hook Up with the Right Publication
  • Decipher the Masthead
  • Understand the Lingo
  • Write a Query Letter
  • Follow Up after Submitting Your Manuscript
  • Try Simultaneous Submissions
  • Don't Stress about Confidentiality
  • Don't Take No for an Answer
  • Take the Next Steps: When Your Article Is Accepted
  • Chapter 21. Ten Frustrations of Technical Writers
  • Work Overload and Time Pressures
  • Last-Minute Changes
  • Issues with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
  • Problems with Micromanagers
  • Challenges with New Products
  • Hardware and Software Challenges
  • Poorly Defined and Managed Projects
  • Poor Workspace Environments
  • Little or No job Security
  • Burnout
  • Appendix A. Punctuation Made Easy
  • Appendix B. Grammar's Not Grueling
  • Appendix C. Abbreviations and Metric Equivalents
  • Appendix D. Tech Talk: Glossary of Terms
  • Appendix E. Technical Writing Brief
  • Index

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