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+Reflections on Technical CommunicationBreezy Giberson
ENGL 2311
RHETORIC01
Table of Contents
COLLABORATION02 CULTURALCONSIDERATIONS0304
ETHICS
3
What is technical communication?
Technical Writing, as well as Technical communication, is a way of communicating information across many platforms to deliver information in the most easy to comprehend manner.
Technical Communication is used in a variety of aspects in everyday life as well as a broad spectrum of career paths. It allows users to understand the material given to them in the most basic form. Covered by the umbrella of technical communicating technical writing and business writing. Business writing d the professional language used in a business setting to get across information in a professional manner.
We entered our journey in this class by learning and discussing the differences between the waterfall method of the 20th century of technical writing, and the agile model of 21st century of technical writing. With the waterfall model, the direction of work is only linear, work travel from one hand to the next and different aspects of the overall project may not have great connection. With the agile model, we compared it to that of a spin cycle on a washing machine, all of the different part of a project work together and any one aspect of the project can be returned back to at any point. This allows for greater communication and an overall better outcome
Introduction
ENGL 2311 Technical Communication
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The art of rhetoric.
Rhetoric was used tested over an over again throughout the course of this class. We fine tuned our writing styles and use of rhetoric through out many activities done in class. Rhetoric may be different in various forms depending on who the intended audience is and what the setting is. For example, an email that you are writing to your friend, and an email you are writing to your boss would be written with different levels of professionalism. I would say as a whole are well versed within the “friendly” form of writing. Our business writing was what needed practice, and practice is what we did.
Within Unit 1, we started our journey writing to employers. We discussed and wrote what makes a good resume as opposed to a less strong one. We acted in groups, as companies, looking to hire employees and hired ones based off well written resumes. We wrote our own resumes and had them looked at by our peers. We drafted cover letters for our resumes and thank you letters for employers as well.
Within Unit 2 we began our journey into proposals and our over head project for the semester. We started by writing elevator pitches and “selling” ourselves to the class and potential team members. We then drafted potential proposal ideas and posted them on blackboard for easy access.
Rhetoricsection 01
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Also in Unit 2, we created surveys to get an idea on how our potential proposals may be able to serve the masses. The surveys were an easy platform to get feedback quick that allowed us not only to pick the best topic, but later allowed to fine tune our projects. The survey links were then posted on blackboard so the entire class had access to take them
Initially, our group wanted to create an interactive booth to help students understand their own personal financial aid debt and teach them how they would pay that off after college with a realistic budget. To do this, we would have to teach them about interest, each individual type of load, and create budgets. The necessary information that needed to be put together was too much for the realm of our 5 week long class. The information was too dense and not enough non-essential information was able to be cut out for an easier outcome that was still beneficial to its intended audience
For our group, we eventually decided on our project as a way to help college students apply to graduate school. We wrote a list of instructions on how to apply as well as did a screen cast video with a step-by-step voice over and subtitles. Initially, we were going to show a video of a student walking to a college and applying in person until we learned that this was no longer the current way to apply. We learned all applications are submitted online so we decided doing a screen cast of applying would be a better mode of information
At the end of the project, we had created a Gantt chart of Excel with the group work delegated evenly along with deadlines, we submitted an informal memo proposal, a formal proposal, a set of instructions, results from our usability test which tested the effectiveness of our work, visual aids, progress reports, and in the end gave a 10 minute presentation discussing our project as a whole from start to finish.
Rhetoricsection 01
Rhetoric
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Collaboration makes the world go round
There were many times in this class that we would not have succeeded had it not been for collaboration with our other classmates and team members. For example, when we were testing the “Ikea” designs, it took the collaboration of all team members to able to pull of the end product. At one station we were face with an origami assignment, John, had practice origami before and taught our group the best way to fold. At the t-shirt folding station, Tanner also pulled info from past experiences and helped fill in information where the instructions lacked direction. At the station with the towel monkey, mike read us the direction while we worked on our towels so we could focus on doing it correctly per the instructions
Many times through out the semester we used our other classmates for peer editing, this allowed for both the reader and the writer to benefit from the experience. The writer, often got many useful tips and suggestions to makes their papers or assignments stronger. The reader, gained insight into that writers mind and sometimes was able to take ideas and thoughts that had come across while reading into their own work.
Collaborationsection 02
Through use of collaboration, we were able to bounce ideas off other classmates and see things in a way we might normally be unable to
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Cooperation and Collaboration
• . When it came to the group project, had we
not have the full cooperation of all team members, the project would have ever finished on time. The work needed to be broken up and delegated out for all the work to get as much detail and attention that it needed
Group projects are not always the easiest projects to work on, everyone has very busy lives outside of class. While we had ample time in class to work, some work always needed to be taken home. To account for this, we used Google docs so that we could work together without necessarily being in the same room all together.
Collaborationsection 02
In the figure above is the Gantt chart which is what we used to delegate different parts of the overall assignment to individual team members. This was also where team members could find deadlines listed
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Cultural Considerations
Cultural Considerationssection 03
Without taking culture considerations into account, the information at hand can not be spread as effectively
Cultural considerations play a vital role in speaking to many audiences While in class we discussed multi modal designs and how to
reach different types of audiences. What one group of people may find accessible, another group may be unable to access it.
For example, if you just speak during a presentation then the hearing impaired are unable to gain the information being shared. If you speak, and provide some sort of reading material, than those who are hearing impaired may benefit as well
This example works the other way around as well. If you only have visual aids during a presentation, then the visually impaired are also unable to benefit. Information should be accessible to any and all potential audiences
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Learn how the Locals do it In class we discussed the importance of being culturally aware
and how to take those considerations into a useful form. By refusing to comply with other cultures, you are refusing yourself success in any given topic or field. With a growing international business front, documents and writings are also having a growing need to accessibility to a widespread audience
Culture may not always mean another country though. Culture can vary by the people you are around, family influences, work influences, as well as much more. Even within the same business, culture may vary by department.
While in class we did a culture walk of the English and Philosophy building. It was interesting to observe this huge building on the Texas Tech campus and compare it to my own “home” building, the kinesiology building. Even though both buildings are on the same campus, the culture varies drastically. The English building was very quiet with few peoples in the halls, work seemed to be done solely inside of classrooms or offices. This varies drastically from the kinesiology building where the halls are typically filled with a more “loud and rowdy” crowd, There, is is just as typical to see class being held outside, or in a gym, as it is inside of a classroom. While emails may be a good way of getting messages across in the English buildings, posters and announcements do much better in the Kinesiology building.
Cultural Considerationssection 03
TIPS:• The best way to figure out how systems are ran or what is culturally appropriate is to “do as the locals do.” Ask question, observe protocol, analyze the environment.
•Cultural etiquette can vary. What may be acceptable in one culture can be frowned upon in another
•Culture can refer to the styling's of different countries and languages, different generations, genders, ethnicities, environments, and needs
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Ethics. What you do when no one is looking.
What does ethics mean
to you?
While in this class, all views and beliefs were respected and allowed to be spoken, this also us to understand more. There were a few times in class where sensitive subjects came up in conversation and people were respected in an ethical manner.
Ethicssection 04
Ethical considerations is what makes your work credible at the end of the day. By getting your information from reputable sources and giving credit where it is due, you follow the unwritten ethical guidelines. Respecting others opinions and being able to have a counterargument against them in a respectable manner would also be considered ethical.
