Introduction for Students

Introduction for Students

New graduates making the transition from college to the workplace are often surprised by the amount of writing they are asked to do—especially those graduates who did not major in disciplines typically associated with writing. New hires also report that their supervisors expect them to already have the writing skills necessary to communicate complex information in a clear and understandable manner to a variety of readers. Not surprisingly, new hires also need to quickly learn the preferred form and style of an organization’s documents. This book provides you with a head start on refining the writing skills that will help you adapt to different expectations in the workplace.

Anatomy of a Case

A case is a detailed story of a workplace communication problem, complete with characters, dialogue, and props in the form of sample documents. Based on an actual problem solved by practicing technical communicators, each case in this book provides a realistic workplace situation, a series of documents related to the situation, and several tasks for you to complete. Together, these elements offer snapshots of what it is like to create documents that solve problems for readers in the workplace.

Effective technical communication addresses particular readers and helps them solve problems. That is, the decisions you make when creating a technical document depend on the intended audience and purpose. Cases give you opportunities to explore how the complexities of specific workplace situations shape technical documents.

The elements of each case in this book work together to present a complex writing situation.

Advice on Getting Started

Just like the communication challenges you will likely face in your chosen career, the solutions to the problems raised in these cases might not be readily apparent, and there is often not a single “correct” answer. When responding to tasks, consider the following advice:

Finally, think of these cases as a way to practice in a nonthreatening environment the single greatest determining factor of success in the workplace: your communication skills. Launching your career with a firm command of these skills in place will ensure you are well prepared to face the unique challenges of today’s workplace.