Syllabus   

   MS Word: A Writer's Perspective.  Ron Mashburn's help for using Microsoft Word.

Day 1:

1. What is technical writing?  
   The authority for technical writing standards & advice.  Faults of science & engineering writing.  Fundamental concerns of technical writing. Things to catch in revision.
2. Technical writing basics: 
   • Audience analysis
   • Document design by explicit organization 
   • Graphics
3. Technical writing goals: 
   Clarity, honesty, accuracy, comprehensiveness, conciseness, appearance, & grammar.  Revising for visual organization & audience analysis.
4. Writing a technical document.  
   Understanding the problem; methods for audience analysis, table of contents, first draft, & revision.
5. Revising for grammar.  
   Passive voice, point of view, diction level, technical terms, pompous terms, frequently misused terms.
6. Organization & Revision.
   A Near-miss Accident Report.
7. Case #1: Anti-smoking at Anders High School.  
   Controlled data for a case study.
   
   Day 2:
   
8. Case#1: solutions.  
   How the case data might be organized & presented.
9. Techno-babble & Grammar.
   Causes, Jargon, Grammar, the Federal mandate for plain language documents.
10. Memo revision.  
    A revised memo.
11. Pantex Radiation Protection Program Assessment.
    A revised Pantex report. 
12. Collaborative Writing.
    Advantages & disadvantages, meetings, conducting meetings, critiquing drafts, reviews (peer, factual, editorial, management, security).
13. Case #2: data.
    Controlled data for a case study.
14. Case #2: assignments.
15. Case #2: phone log solution.
    Notes for a phone call to solve some of the case problems.
    
    Day 3:
    
16. Case #2: letter solution.
    A formal letter that may solve the problems.
17. Case #2: evaluation criteria.
    Points to consider in evaluating student solutions.
18. Case #2: audience analysis.
    Explanations of choices used to write the letter (#15).
19. Technical writing logic & the Internet.  Unintended humor, e-mail, & producing online documents.
20. Grammar & the Chicago Manual of Style.  Grammar & usage questions answered by the editors of the most influential style guide.
21. Editing again.
    Copy marking symbols, steps in document production, types of editing & their concerns.
22. Interviews.
    Preparing for an interview, conducting the interview, managing the interview; confidentiality, observation. 

References & Acknowledgments.
MS Word: A Writer's Perspective. 

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John Rothfork, West Texas A&M University.