Throughout the semester, we were assigned many different styles of technical documents. Each of these documents met at least one of the seven course goals, and in some cases two or more of the goals.
The first course goal was to analyze communication contexts rhetorically by understanding audiences, purposes, and situations. This course goal was met by all of the assignments for this class. In every document you write, you must analyze your audience, purpose, and situation in order to tailor your document appropriately. For example, when writing my job letter and resume, I had to write it keeping in mind that a potential employer was going to read it. I had to think like my audience in order to write the paper effectively. Also, when writing my multicultural redesign, it was very important to remember that I was writing for someone in
Thailand. My redesign had to fit the different culture norms and beliefs, such as individualism vs. collectivism and feminine vs. masculine. It is very important to keep in mind your audience, situation, and purpose in order to write effective communication.
The second course goal was to create technical documents that solve problems and improve situations through communication. This course goal was met through the correspondence package assignment. For example, the purpose of writing my claim letter was to come to a resolution with the Dell Corporation. This document would potentially solve my problem with my defective printer. My using the appropriate document, I was able to effectively communicate with Dell in order to receive a new printer. This goal was also met through the bad news memo. The memo is effective in delivering bad news to employees while still remaining mostly positive. By encasing the bad news in between two sections of good will, I solved a problem and improved communication with others in the company.
A third course goal was to write effective technical prose. This course goal was met by every assignment given in this class. For every assignment, I had to be able to write effectively in order to solve my problem, or meet the needs of the situation. For example, while writing my job letter, I had to use clear and effective prose in order to convince the reader, a potential employer, that I had the necessary writing skills to perform whatever job it is that I am applying for. Being able to write effective technical prose is a skill that is necessary in every document that you write.
The fourth course goal was to design convincing and usable documents. This goal was met by all of the assignments. Using design techniques in your writing helps a reader analyze the document in an easy and effective way. For example, using appropriate spacing, graphs and charts, pictures, bold fonts, and different size fonts will help the reader to better follow your document in a more effective and less confusing way. Making your documents visually appealing is an easy way to get your reader interested in your document. In the instructions set, for example, using design was very important to the user-friendliness of the document. Using design elements such as bold fonts and pictures made my instructions easier to follow. Design was also an important element in the oral presentation. Using design in the power point slides made the presentation go more smoothly and presented the information more effectively to the audience than with talking alone.
The fifth course goal was to analyze the ethical responsibilities involved in technical communication. Ethics should play a part in everything a person does in their life, including their communication, both written and oral. Ethics is simply doing what is right. One of the assignments that has a huge focus on ethics is the resume. The sole purpose of a resume is to make yourself look appealing to a potential employer in order to get an interview with that company. Because of the nature of the resume, it is a document that makes it very tempting for a person to pad or even lie on in order for them to make themselves more appealing to an employer. However, one must realize that doing the ethical thing is always a better idea. Employers can always find out if you lied on your resume by doing some research, and in the end it is better to portray yourself as you are instead of as you are not. Ethical responsibilities in technical communication are very important and played a part in every assignment we did in this class.
The sixth course goal was to communicate effectively with diverse audiences. Communicating with diverse audiences is an important skill to use in many different forms of communication. When writing the instruction set, it was important to write the instructions to where people from diverse groups could understand and follow them. With a document like an instruction set or a process description, you never know exactly who will be reading it. In order to reach as many people as possible with your writing, you must make it applicable to many different types of people. One way to do this is through plain English. Plain English is when you tailor your communication style to fit people from diverse backgrounds. You must avoid using slang and technical jargon that most people could not follow.
The seventh and last course goal was to collaborate on communication projects. In today’s workplace, working with others on different projects is more the norm than the exception. It is very important to learn how to work with others and how to find everyone’s strengths and weaknesses in order to find out what their greatest contribution to the group will be. This goal was mainly met through the proposal and the oral presentation of the proposal. By working in groups, we were better able to fully explore the topic of our proposal and able to determine what topic fit best for our group and our assignment. Working in groups can be both beneficial and frustrating. The saying that the group is only as good as its worst member is unfortunately true on group projects. It is essential on group projects that the people on the team work together and that each member contributes equally. Being aware that others are depending on you is a strong motivator in group projects.
Throughout the semester, we completed many different assignments and learned many new skills. When I first enrolled in technical writing, I was expecting a class filled with boring assignments and was simply hoping to get out of the semester a little more educated then when I started. I have been pleasantly surprised throughout the semester by how much I have learned and how many new skills I have acquired. For example, I am now more aware of the use of design in my documents and how design affects my readers. I am also more skilled at analyzing my audience and tailoring my documents to my readers. These skills will be useful throughout my career and in every day life.
There were many documents assigned for the semester, but the one that I am most proud of is my resume. I had prepared resumes before, and thought at first that this would be an easy assignment for me. However, when we started going through the process of putting a resume together, I realized how involved a resume can be. The resumes I had written before were not tailored to any type of specific audience. Through the resume assignment, I learned that you must change your resume for every job that you apply for. Tailoring your resume for different opportunities only betters your chances of being offered an interview. After looking back on a resume I turned in for a previous class, I realized how much this class has improved my resume writing skills and how much that will help me in the future. After a lot of hard work, I finally got my resume to where I am proud to show it anyone.
The documents that we were assigned that I am the least proud of are the reader responses. I feel that I did not give enough attention to the assignments and should have focused more time on them. Because they were not worth as many points as some other assignments, I did not feel that they merited much attention. However, I feel as if I could have done a much better job expressing my opinion and my knowledge of the things we had discussed.
The most challenging assignment for me was the instruction set. I did not have as much trouble writing the document as I did in coming up with an idea for the assignment. I had the hardest time developing any ideas on what to write about for the assignment. My career will most likely be in social work or counseling, so I could not think of any instruction sets that would apply in these situations. I am sure that there are many, but none would come to mind while I was trying to complete my assignment. Therefore, I chose to write an instruction set over how to pick corn and prepare it for freezing. I will not do this in my future profession, but I have done it many times on my grandfather’s farm. I am sure that I could have come up with a better topic, but writer’s block was severe at the time of this assignment.
Another assignment that was difficult for me was the solicitation e-mail. I personally do not like to receive these e-mails and had a difficult time coming up with one that others would want to read. I am not involved in any organizations and had a difficult time coming up with an idea for the e-mail. I finally decided to write about the Ronald McDonald House Charities because I had done an internship there this past summer and felt that it was for a good cause. I decided that it is much easier to try to get people to do what you want them to do when it is for a good cause. It is also much easier to try to convince people to do something when you have actually done it yourself. Although I did have first hand knowledge of the organization, it was still difficult for me to conform my writing to the solicitation e-mail genre and come up with a way to convince a reader to join my organization.
The assignment that was the easiest for me was the bad news memo. I sometimes am assigned to write memos such as this at my job, so I had a little bit of prior experience with this topic. Additionally, for an assignment like this, I just asked myself how I would like to be approached with bad news at my job. Presenting good will at the beginning and end of the memo with the bad news in the middle just seemed like the most logical way to present the negative information and not offend anyone or step on anyone’s toes.
One of the things that I accomplished in this portfolio that surprised me is the portfolio itself. I am not all that skilled on a computer and have never set up a blog before. I am very proud of myself for learning the skills necessary to design my blog. I am also very glad that I learned these skills with today’s workplace being as wired as it is. I believe that this skill will benefit me greatly in the future.
Throughout this semester, I have acquired many skills that I had not had before. I have learned to better analyze my audience before writing my document and have learned that the true purpose of a job letter is not to just make my resume look more professional. I had never thought about tailoring my writing to a global audience and am glad that I was made aware of this concept before going out into the workplace. I realize that it is a fairly simple concept in this day and age, but I have never had to use this skill in my experiences.
In conclusion, through this class I have improved my writing skills and am better prepared for my future career. My perception of technical writing has changed for the better and I have further developed as a writer. I believe that this class had been very beneficial for me and I have definitely come away from it with more knowledge and skills than I started out with.
