1. Free Alternatives to Expensive Technical Writing Software
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... to expensive software that technical writers use. Gimp: Simply put, technical writers need to understand how to manipulate images. The most used graphics software is Adobe Photoshop, but the retail version ...

2. How to Write Editing Comments For Authors
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... to write when editing someone’s work. The example below does a couple of things. First, it tells the author that I don’t understand the sentence or the meaning they were trying to relay. Second, it gives ...

3. Quickly Getting into Technical Writing
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... want to switch from a tech-related degree and some are getting ready to graduate and are hoping to expand their options. Understand that technical writing is not simply writing well and knowing about technology. ...

4. Using Old School Web Design
(Web Design/Web Design Tips and Articles)

... visually appealing. There’s no research to show that this style of corner improves understanding. And though made possible through technological advancements—CSS or JavaScript—they were not a “technological ...

5. Usability Testing: Using Eye-Tracking Software
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

Using eye tracking to understand the usability of user interfaces is something that's been around for a few years now, but it is still being understood by researchers. Through specialized eye tracking ...

6. Web Design: Font and Page Size
(Web Design/Web Design Tips and Articles)

... to enhance understanding when reading online information. Maybe it has something to do with how we read online. We scan for information, when we find that information we concentrate on it, and then move ...

7. How to Write Policies and Procedures
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... is the case for you, or if you just want to get some different insight into writing policies or procedures, hopefully this brief article can help. Where to Start? First, as always, you need to understand ...

8. Technical Communications and Programming: The Economic Reasons for Commenting
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... on maintaining their own software (1; 2; 3). Labor, specifically the amount of time spent by maintenance programmers understanding another person’s code, obviously accounts for a large portion of the cost. ...

9. Technical Communication and Programming: Internal and External Documentation
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... code, while external documents are needed to give context to the program itself. Internal documentation serves a basic function: it helps people more quickly and easily understand the code. This is accomplished ...

10. Why You Should Edit Your Information
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... a significant amount of cognitive ability from your reader. First they must find the step. Then they must read the step. Then they must understand the step. Then they must remember the step. Finally they ...

11. How to Use Metaphors in Web Site Design
(Web Design/Web Design Tips and Articles)

... to represent either a whole web site or design elements in the site. This representation will work to help the user more quickly understand how to use the site, or to more quickly understand how the site ...

12. Universal Usability and Culture
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... people read and--more importantly--understand information. These cultural factors lay at the very foundation of how we judge the world and make decisions. Research--by NMSU's very own Barry Thatcher among ...

13. Persuasive Writing Example
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... more information about the corporate advisory board, see the NMT TC program website at http://www.nmt.edu/~tc. So where do I start? Well the first thing to do is understand what I want, and then I need ...

14. PowerPoint Tips
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... is simply there to reinforce what you're saying, or to help you make complicated information easier to understand. In these two respects PowerPoint slides are more like graphics used in a technical document. ...

15. When To Use Graphics
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

In a word: always! According the three goals of technical communication we want to help our readers quickly find, understand and utilize information. Because of how our minds work, these goals are more ...

16. Resume Guide Part 9
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... if I was to simply list my title and assume people would understand what that meant I would be wrong, because only someone who’d worked for this company would understand. So try to identify two or three ...

17. Resume Guide Part 6
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... similar to this one. They want you to understand what it takes to be in this position, and they want to know that you can carry out the tasks required in this job. The proof you offer can come from a variety ...

18. Resume Guide Part 5
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... the previous discussion on keywords and how your resume and cover letter will be read. If you understand that someone is simply going to be scanning it for certain words that match keywords in their job ...

19. Resume Guide Part 3
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... want the person scanning it to easily and quickly pick out the keywords needed to understand that we are qualified for the job.  Cover letters, however, are meant to be read, so information can be slightly ...

20. Resume Guide Part 2
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... of job performance, and provide guidance for personal problems. Notice how easy it is to find your point. A reader immediately understands what it was you did in this position; there are no questions left ...

21. Resume Guide Part 1
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... letters. But now let’s redefine these documents from the perspective of someone trying to get a job—that is, us.   The resume and cover letter are your ins (more about this next). Once we understand what ...

22. How to Align Text
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

Along with several other elements on a page, the alignment of your text helps achieve the goals of technical communication (making the information easy to find and easy to read/understand). You need to ...

23. Technical Communication and Programming: Using Writing Rules
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... wheel. And in each case a common element is that people unfamiliar with the code need to understand it. To help them there are many resources available, but aside from the obvious well-written program—for ...

24. Usability Testing: Task-based Testing
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... While doing this researchers often ask participants to talk aloud while performing the task. Thus, if the participant says "I don't understand" during one portion of the test, you gain a better understanding ...

25. Usability Testing: Tapping Task
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... overload. Albers found that this occurs when web pages force participants to focus unnecessarily on the text. Instead of intuitively-named links, for example, links are difficult to understand. The information ...

26. Usability and Engineering Design
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... task. Satisfaction: The user should be satisfied with the result, and be confident in the result. Ease of learning: The item should be easy to understand and learn, which leads to being easy to use. It ...

27. Usabiltiy in Logos
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... The bottom line is to understand that principles of usability can apply to everything, not just physical objects. When using or creating graphics, documents, symbols or logos, stop and try to think about ...

28. How to Use Whitespace
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... if a reader has to look at this page in a hurry, they would find it difficult to find any specific piece of information they need within this paragraph. Understand that our eyes are naturally able to more ...

29. Goals of Technical Communication
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... must also be kept in mind. What are they trying to do? Learn? Make a decision? Put something together or install something? Understand that purpose and design the information to help them attain their ...

30. How to Use Font Types: The Sequel
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

In the first lesson on font type I highlighted how they can be used to make information easier to understand, and how the look of the font accomplishes that. Here I'd like to discuss how fonts can actually ...

31. How to Use Font Type
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... goals of technical communication, we try our best to make information easy to find and understand. The type of font being used has a lot to do with this goal. Simply put, there are font types that are ...

32. What Font Size to Use
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... information easy to find, and making it easy to understand. Depending on what context your information is being transmitted, certain font sizes are better to use than others. When writing information to ...

33. Consistency in Writing
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... locations (D). Aside from ensuring that your document looks professional, consistency does something else. It helps the reader understand where they are in the document, and where to look for their information. ...

34. The Context of Communication
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... delivering the presentation to your team members, there is a lot of information you can disregard. They will probably already know the ins and outs of the project. They might understand why the project ...

35. Your Audience
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... on the audience for which we design the information. Understand that the people we write to are not often like ourselves. Each person has a different knowledge set from which they draw to understand the ...