Ch 4: Technical Editing & Rewriting Lesson Plans

1. Achieving Clarity in Technical Communication

It is important in technical communication, particularly in document creation, to clearly articulate your objective and what the command or prompt to action is. Learn more about the four ways to achieve clarity in technical writing and why it is important to make documents clear.

2. Organizing Technical Communication for Clarity

Properly organizing technical communication is vital for the sake of clarity and audience understanding. Learn about the five organizational patterns for writing: spatial, chronological, order of importance, compare and contrast, and problem-solution.

3. Grammatical & Contextual Correctness in Technical Communication

In technical communication, it is imperative the information is communicated properly to avoid misunderstandings and false information. Learn about contextual correctness and grammatical correctness, in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style.

4. Proofreading Your Message for Spelling, Grammar, Accuracy & Clarity

Proofreading is an essential step in the writing process, especially when sending messages. Learn what proofreading is, review how to check your work for spelling and grammar mistakes, and explore ways to improve the accuracy and clarity of your writing.

5. Simplifying for Conciseness in Technical Communication

Technical communication can be complicated and challenging for readers if it is not well written. Learn how to simplify for conciseness in technical communication and explore tips to gain readers' attention. Recognize how to eliminate unnecessary phrases, verbs, and words to make technical documents easier to read and understand.

6. Revising Your Message for Errors, Conciseness & Readability

When drafting a message, it is important to check for mistakes, run-on sentences, and choppy language. Explore common mistakes and tips for how to fix them when revising a message for errors, including spelling or grammar miscues and issues with conciseness and readability.

7. Achieving Completeness in Technical Communication

It is quintessential in achieving completeness in technical communication that the writing itself is accurate, focused and usable in a functional and rational sense. Learn more about completeness in technical communication, how to ensure it and it's importance.

8. Ensuring that Technical Documents Are Easily Understood

Clarity in technical documents is paramount in communicating what the document is trying to teach an audience in the way of information or protocol. Learn more about the importance of making technical documents easily understandable and four ways to write with clarity.

9. Sequence in Technical Documents

Technical writing refers to the style of writing used to prepare documentation, such as instructions for using computer software or employee training manuals. Learn the importance of clear sequence in technical documents: a clear introduction, focused paragraphs, strategically arranged information, and conclusions with reminders of key points.

10. Organization in Technical Documents

If special care isn't taken from the start, organizing technical documents can be a daunting task. Learn how to maintain organization in technical documents by using elements such as headings and subheadings, typographical cues, a table of contents, figures or images, and an index.

11. Achieving Unity in Technical Writing

Unity in writing occurs when the ideas and topics of the document are well integrated, making the text easy to follow for the reader. Learn the definition and purpose of unity in technical writing and explore how to achieve document, paragraph, and structural unity.

12. The Importance of Message Follow-Up

Message follow-up is an important component of business communication that is used to secure a response. Learn about message follow-up & the five methods of message follow-up in business communication.

13. Using Technology to Help Compose Your Message: Formatting & Effectiveness

There are many different ways to effectively compose a message using technology. Discover how to use style sheets, templates, autocompletion, autocorrect, file merge, mail merge, endnotes, footnotes, and wizards to effectively format a message.

14. Giving and Responding to Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback is usually given by a peer or superior, with the intent that the information will assist the receiver. Discover more about giving and responding to constructive feedback, such as the feedback sandwich and self-evaluations.