Technical Writing, Presentational Skills, and Online Communication: Professional Tools and Insights

248 Pages·2012·14.3 MB·English

by  Raymond Greenlaw

Technical Writing,
Presentation Skills, and
Online Communication:
Professional Tools and Insights
Raymond Greenlaw
United States Naval Academy, USA
Managing Director: Lindsay Johnston
Senior Editorial Director: Heather A. Probst
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Copyright © 2012 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in
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Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Greenlaw, Raymond.
Technical writing, presentational skills, and online communication: professional tools and insights / by Raymond Green-
law.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “This book is a collection of work to assist any professional who needs to deal with ethical issues, write up a
technical project, give or develop a presentation, or write material for an online audience”--Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-4666-0237-3 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-0238-0 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-0239-7 (print & perpetual
access) 1. Technical writing. 2. Communication of technical information. 3. Business writing. 4. Business presentations.
I. Title.
T11.G683 2012
808.06’6--dc23
2011044975
British Cataloguing in Publication Data
A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.
All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the
authors, but not necessarily of the publisher.
This book is dedicated to the four individuals who helped me improve my writing most. My mother, Rox-
Ellene Greenlaw, always took a great interest in my writing and always shared her time and energy with
me. Whenever I asked her to proofread a manuscript or to make suggestions, she did and her comments
always taught me something new and worthwhile. My mom possessed a remarkable command of the
English language and an amazing eye for details. Then there is my good friend Dr. Adrian Plante my
high-school English teacher. Adrian too took a great interest in my writing, and I was lucky to have him
as a mentor during my formative years of study. We read over 50 classics together, and he always pro-
vided deep insights during our one-on-one discussions of these works. And, Hugh Willoughby who
copyedited several of my books gave me perspective on many topics relating to language. I am sure
several grammatical errors remain in this work that Hugh would cringe at, and I apologize to him for
not being a better student. Dr. Larry Ruzzo my thesis advisor helped me tremendous with my technical
writing via example. He never criticized me but simply showed me how to improve my work. These four
individuals inspired me to push forward and complete this manuscript. Whatever is valuable and worthy
in this work, I dedicate to them.
Table of Contents
Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................xii
Preface .................................................................................................................................................xiii
Acknowledgment .................................................................................................................................xx
Chapter 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................1
Approach to Professional Ethics .....................................................................................................1
Approach to Technical Writing .......................................................................................................2
Approach to Presentation Skills ......................................................................................................3
Approach to Online Writing ...........................................................................................................4
Who Should Read this Book? .........................................................................................................4
Contents of this Book .....................................................................................................................5
Chapter 2
Ethics for the IT Professional..................................................................................................................8
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................8
Code of Ethics .................................................................................................................................9
Ethical Scenarios ..........................................................................................................................13
Applying the Code of Ethics .........................................................................................................16
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................17
Chapter 3
Online-Communication Forums ...........................................................................................................19
Online versus Offline Writing .......................................................................................................19
Online-Writing Forums .................................................................................................................21
Developing and Maintaining a Website ........................................................................................29
Future Trends ................................................................................................................................33
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................33
Chapter 4
Blogging ................................................................................................................................................35
Interesting Facts about Blogs ........................................................................................................35
Types of Blogs ..............................................................................................................................38
Blogs for the IT Professional ........................................................................................................42
Introduction to Free Blogging Software .......................................................................................43
Blogging Code of Conduct ...........................................................................................................45
Cautions about Blogging ..............................................................................................................46
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................48
Chapter 5
Comments on Manuscript Preparation ..................................................................................................50
Getting Started and Staying Productive ........................................................................................50
Tips for Writing Effective Prose ...................................................................................................55
Technical-Writing Style Issues .....................................................................................................58
Figures and Tables and Captions ..................................................................................................62
Grammatical Tips ..........................................................................................................................65
Miscellaneous Writing Details ......................................................................................................69
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................72
Chapter 6
Structure of a Technical Paper ..............................................................................................................73
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................73
Opening of a Paper .......................................................................................................................74
Introduction of a Paper .................................................................................................................76
Contents of a Paper .......................................................................................................................78
Closing of a Paper .........................................................................................................................80
Paper Submission and Follow-Up ................................................................................................81
Miscellaneous Issues Regarding Papers .......................................................................................83
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................86
Chapter 7
Ethical Issues in Writing .......................................................................................................................87
Moral and Social Responsibilities of Scientists ............................................................................87
Responsibilities to Coauthors .......................................................................................................89
Citations and Plagiarism ...............................................................................................................89
Copyright Issues ...........................................................................................................................93
Permissions for Tables and Figures ..............................................................................................97
Future Trends ..............................................................................................................................101
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................101
Chapter 8
Professional Communication ..............................................................................................................104
Four Rules of Communication ....................................................................................................104
Email ...........................................................................................................................................106
Texting ........................................................................................................................................106
Telephone Calls...........................................................................................................................106
Taking a Telephone Message ......................................................................................................107
Memorandum ..............................................................................................................................107
Communicating in a Group Setting ............................................................................................108
Status Reports .............................................................................................................................110
Future Trends ..............................................................................................................................112
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................112
Chapter 9
Documenting an Event, and Reports ..................................................................................................114
Introduction .................................................................................................................................114
Key Issues ...................................................................................................................................115
Computer Bug Reports ...............................................................................................................117
Trip Reports ................................................................................................................................119
Reports for Experiments .............................................................................................................123
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................124
Chapter 10
Fundamentals of Presentation .............................................................................................................126
Selecting a Presentation Topic ....................................................................................................126
Setting for a Presentation ............................................................................................................129
Preparing for a Presentation ........................................................................................................132
Multimedia ..................................................................................................................................133
Presentation Equipment ..............................................................................................................135
Supplemental Materials ..............................................................................................................139
Talk Advertisements ...................................................................................................................141
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................143
Chapter 11
Delivering a Presentation and More ...................................................................................................144
Presentation Style .......................................................................................................................144
Presentation Genres ....................................................................................................................148
PowerPoint ..................................................................................................................................153
Key Slides in a Presentation .......................................................................................................159
Trouble Spots ..............................................................................................................................161
Miscellaneous Presentation Hints ...............................................................................................164
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................165
Chapter 12
Writing a Résumé ................................................................................................................................167
History and Purpose of the Résumé ............................................................................................167
Essential Parts of a Résumé ........................................................................................................170
Common Parts of a Résumé .......................................................................................................174
Miscellaneous Parts of a Résumé ...............................................................................................176
Common Parts of a Curriculum Vitæ .........................................................................................177
Final Checklist ............................................................................................................................181
Submitting a Résumé or Curriculum Vitæ ..................................................................................182
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................182
Chapter 13
Introduction to LATEX .......................................................................................................................183
Introduction .................................................................................................................................183
Essential Concepts ......................................................................................................................184
Basic Document Structure ..........................................................................................................186
LATEX Commands ....................................................................................................................187
Style Files ...................................................................................................................................190
Environments ..............................................................................................................................190
Labels and References ................................................................................................................194
Installing LATEX ........................................................................................................................197
Sample Document .......................................................................................................................198
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................198
Compilation of References ...............................................................................................................199
Related References ............................................................................................................................204
About the Author ..............................................................................................................................222
Index ...................................................................................................................................................223
Detailed Table of Contents
Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................xii
Preface .................................................................................................................................................xiii
Acknowledgment .................................................................................................................................xx
Chapter 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................1
There are four main topics addressed in this book: professional ethics, technical writing, presentation
skills, and online writing. These topics and the intended audience of Information Technology (IT)
professionals and others working in technical disciplines define the scope of the book. In this chapter,
the author motivates each of these subjects by providing a section on who should read this book and a
section that summarizes the contents of this book.
Chapter 2
Ethics for the IT Professional..................................................................................................................8
This chapter focuses on ethics for the IT professional. The learning objectives for this chapter are to
understand basic ethical principles relating to IT, to develop a framework that supports making informed
decisions regarding ethical problems, to apply an ethical code in typical situations, and to understand
future trends relating to IT ethics. The author includes material on each of these topics and also sections
with conclusions and references. After having mastered the material in this chapter, a reader will have
a much-better understanding of ethical principles relating to the IT profession. But, more importantly,
a reader will be able to make practical use of that knowledge by applying it in the workplace to solve
ethical dilemmas.
Chapter 3
Online-Communication Forums ...........................................................................................................19
This chapter takes a close look at online-communication forums. IT professionals often have to prepare
information for an online forum. Writing for an online audience (what the author calls online writing)
is a vastly different activity than writing for an offline audience (called offline writing here), and being
good at one form of writing does not ensure that one will be effective at the other form. Thus it is worth
carefully exploring the differences in these two styles. The chapter begins by making a comparison
between online and offline writing.
Chapter 4
Blogging ................................................................................................................................................35
The previous chapter covered a wide range of online-communication forums. This chapter focuses on
another extremely-popular online forum, namely, the blog. A blog is essentially an online listing and
description of related items, and for some individuals it the equivalent to maintaining an online personal
journal or activity log. From blogging’s origins in late 1997 until now, there has been a tremendous ex-
plosion in the number of blogs. The discussion begins here by presenting a history of blogs. The chapter
presents a classification scheme for blogs and a number of examples of interesting blogs. It next pro-
vides a review of popular blogging software. This software has made setting up, adding content to, and
maintaining a blog very simple; this software has help to fuel the popularity of blogging. Tim O’Reilly
and others proposed a Blogging Code of Conduct, and the chapter includes a section where the author
discusses that code. This material is followed by cautions about blogging. The chapter also reviews a
number of IT-related blogs, and wraps up with conclusions and references.
Chapter 5
Comments on Manuscript Preparation ..................................................................................................50
According to one study of the fastest growing areas of employment, desktop publishing was going to
experience a 67% increase in the number of employees from the year 2000 to the year 2010, adding
about 25,000 new workers (Bear, 2010). And, in an update of that study, it was noted that job growth
in this field has slowed some in part because many employers expect all employees to possess good
writing skills. There is a great demand for good writers and specifically technical writers. Among other
things, professional writers inform people about new products, produce documentation for software,
edit manuals, write books, and develop grant proposals. Nearly all people who work in a science-related
field or with computers write a great deal. Since writing is a large facet of many jobs, it is important
to write well and efficiently. This chapter will help to improve one’s writing skills and writing habits.
Chapter 6
Structure of a Technical Paper ..............................................................................................................73
This chapter provides basic information about the structure of a technical paper. Some of the comments
made here can be applied to non-technical papers as well. The chapter begins with a section that discusses
the opening of a paper, then discusses the items that appear in the first part of a paper: in particular, the
title, authors and affiliations, the abstract, and keywords are discussed. Next, the chapter discusses the
role the introduction plays in a paper and the information one typically finds in the introductory section
of a paper. The author includes a general section with guidelines about the content of a paper, followed
by one about the closing portions of a paper. There, he talks about conclusions, acknowledgments, refer-
ences, and biographies, and then he describes issues relating to paper submission and how to follow-up
with a submission. He includes some other key issues that occur during the submission and acceptance
phase of a paper’s life cycle. The author includes a few other valuable points in the miscellaneous sec-
tion, where he discusses submitting to online publications, effective collaboration among coauthors, and
reusing one’s own work. There is also a brief section with conclusions.
Chapter 7
Ethical Issues in Writing .......................................................................................................................87
In this chapter, many ethical considerations are discussed when it comes to technical writing. One of
the things that discussed is the moral and social responsibilities of scientists. That section describes the
moral responsibilities of being honest in research and why it is a grave ethical violation to forge results.