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

... doing some very technical research. I learned quickly that one of the most valuable assets an editor has is the ability to “talk” to authors through comments. I want to talk about some of the things technical ...

2. How to Gain Experience in Technical Writing
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... use contracting experience as a springboard into something full-time. If you only have a short period of time to get some experience--say you're graduating soon or the like--then you'll want to perform ...

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

... software, you can better see how users visually "enter" a website (or any graphical user interface), navigate the page, and where they focus. First I want to discuss the research and significance for eye-tracking ...

5. How to Use Color in Your Documents
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

People often use colors in their documents in the wrong ways. Many students think that bright colors should be used in a document when they want to attract someone’s eye to a place on the page. Colors ...

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

I want to spend some time on a series of articles on web design usability practices. I call this series, the HTML Museum. I hope to update it with articles that address past web design practices and why ...

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

... If you want a record, include it in the external doc. Otherwise, the only comments you should include in the code are the relevant explanations for future readers. For technical, professional and business ...

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

As I take a break from grading for a moment, I want to discuss an interesting technique in designing web sites. I read an article once that pointed out the usefulness of utilizing objects in the real world ...

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

... according to those same cultural factors. As an example I want to focus on instruction-writing. According to Thatcher's findings, people from within an oral culture draw on their cultural background when ...

11. 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 ...

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

I want to briefly discuss the use of PowerPoint (or similar technologies) for giving presentations. To begin with, they are wonderful aids for helping to engage the audience and reinforce the ideas being ...

13. The Use of Programming Source-Code Comments
(Technical Communication/Technical Communication Lessons)

... is that nobody else seems to want it. Technical communication journals--such as JBTC and IEEE PCS--both tell me that it's not something other tech comm folks would be interested in. I guess "soft" research ...

14. 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 ...

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

... past experience and try to show how that qualifies you for the job you’re now applying for. Hence, you want to emphasize that you already have experience in the types of things you’d be doing at the new ...

16. Resume Guide Part 8
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

... old fashioned resumes we’re used to seeing. So, if you want to know what separates a resume for a government job from a resume for a healthcare job, simply look at employment ads for the desired position. ...

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)

... and different duties, and these will require different skills and knowledge sets. So, each employer will be looking for different things. Some might want you to know how to use spreadsheet software as ...

19. Resume Guide Part 4
(Resume Writing/Resume Writing Lessons)

Proving Your Qualifications Again, though we will discuss this more, I want to point out the difference in proving your qualifications or skills. In the resume it’s a bit easy to show what you’ve done ...

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

... key words, but we also want to communicate that we can and will be able to do the work involved in this position. You may be asking why the difference. To put it frankly, the HR person has no idea what ...

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

Using the Active Voice I want you to notice something about the responsibilities bulleted under each past job in the resume example. Notice the words that begin each sentence: Assist, mediate, counsel, ...

22. Minimum Functionality for Increased Usability
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

I want to begin a discussion of minimum functionality for maximum usability, or mf = mu. It is obvious that the simpler an item, the more usable it should be. For example, think of the simplist writing ...

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

... you want them to give you a job. Why beat around the bush? These are the types of questions I’m asked every year by college students taking one of my writing classes. After putting in so many years at ...

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

... in comments, I want to briefly discuss the types of comments to write. Here I do not mean header comments versus inline comments, but rather what each type of comment is doing and which is best to use ...

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

... variety of things depending on what you wanted to measure. Having a participant install a software product, for example, measures that portion of the software, but it doesn't measure the software's use. ...

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

... discomfort. Safety: Reducing the risk to the user by reducing any type of hazard to the lowest possible level. User-defined Specs: does is match the requests/needs/wants as made by the user? What's missing ...

27. Usability Case Study: Apple Newton
(Usability/Usability Tips, Lessons and Articles)

... It wasn't a response to any need, only a collection of really cool concepts that weren't ready for release. Make sure that your products are driven by the right reasons: do people need or want this product, ...

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

... purpose. The second thing to remember is that you want to design the information so that it is easy to find. Your readers must quickly find the information they are looking for. If they must spend a lot ...

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

... easier to read and understand than others. What we want to do is identify those that are easiest to understand, and utilize them in our communications. However, that's not to say we'll never use any other ...

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

... be read on printed, paper documents, the smallest size you want to use for large amounts of text is 12 point. Studies have shown that this size allows the eye to quickly distinguish different words while ...

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

... example, the information you'll want to focus on is why it is behind, what you have to do to complete it, and how long it will take. Combine this with the information needed for a specific audience, and ...