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English 8115

Periodically, I’ll upload some of my lecture notes here. Most of these will be downloadable Word, PDF, or PowerPoint files. This should save you some time in note taking. You’re more than welcome to download these files for personal use.

A Disclaimer: most of these handouts are rather informal. The information contained therein is usually not tested by rigorous research but just personal reflections on certain issues and readings.

Technical Communication: A Brief History
This is a very brief outline of the history of professional and technical writing dating back to as early as Aristotle. Inevitably, it includes aspects of rhetoric, composition, and communication as professional and technical writing is generally considered a branch and an integration of these disciplines.

Definitions of Technical Communication
Various definitions of technical communication by the same author. We’ll look at these definitions to see how this term has evolved over the years and how our perspectives on technical communication has changed.

Expressive, Cognitive, & Social Approaches 
An overview of the three approaches. Using Burke’s pentad, it outlines the differences among these three major approaches.

Elements of Usable Instruction

This is a summary of part of Chapter 23 in Lannon’s text.

• Have a clear and limiting title.
• Provide an introduction that explains the rationale, purpose, and intended audience/users (when appropriate)
• Describe the necessary conditions/tools for performing a task.
• Warn audience of any possible risks and display your warnings prominently.
• Number the instructions if they are procedural, and use an unordered list if they’re not.
• Don’t skip any steps.
• Use language appropriate to the audience.
• Use action verbs and the imperative mood.
• Be task oriented rather than feature oriented.
• Use visuals whenever appropriate.
• Conclude on a persuasive note.