Suggested Response to “The Syllabus as Technical Communication”
Responses will vary, depending on the approach you took to creating the syllabus and on whether it is a paper document or a web-
The characteristics of a technical document are easy to identify: the syllabus addresses a particular audience (the student), helps readers solve problems (understand their responsibilities in the course), and so forth. Some of the characteristics, such as being produced collaboratively, probably will not apply. The measures of excellence should also be obvious: the syllabus will be clear, accurate, comprehensive, and so forth.
Suggested Response to “Addressing the Audience of a Website”
Although responses will vary, sites such as those listed in this exercise have clear audience profiles that determine site contents. The American Cancer Society’s site, for example, sees its audience as being interested in learning about cancer research and treatment options and, perhaps, willing to make donations to the organization. MTV’s site is designed for a young audience interested in videos, music, and other entertainment options. A professional organization’s site, such as that of the American Chemical Society, wishes to help its audience understand the role of the organization, describe the organization’s services, and encourage readers to join.
Suggested Response to “Evaluating the Purpose of a Website”
The challenge of navigating a site as complex as Edmunds.com is that so much information can overwhelm the visitor. After studying the home page of the site for a few minutes, students will be able to list some of the major purposes of the site—
Suggested Response to “Evaluating the Accessibility of a Phone Book”
Responses will vary because each phone book has its own accessibility devices. One complication that your students will probably encounter is that phone books often contain a lot of advertising at the start, making it difficult to find the table of contents and even to determine what the different color pages signify.
Suggested Response to “Evaluating Measures of Excellence in a Letter”
The dentist who wrote this letter to his patients wishes to explain a change in his office procedures: he will no longer be a “preferred provider” with the various insurance companies that cover his patients. This policy change means that he will no longer limit his charges to the amounts mandated by these insurance companies; he will charge more for those procedures that he feels require more time or expense.
The dentist begins the letter effectively by expressing his gratitude to his patients. He then goes on to explain that remaining a “preferred provider” would compromise his standards of professional care by forcing him to work too quickly. (It’s not clear to me, however, how remaining a “preferred provider” would force his patients to wait longer, as he claims in paragraph 4.) His basic argument taps into most people’s concerns about managed care.
The letter argues that patients will not see a big change in their bills. However, the fifth paragraph would be more effective if he provided some examples in the form of a simple table showing a variety of typical and atypical procedures.
The professionalism of the letter is undercut by its numerous writing errors, including spelling errors. The writing is frequently awkward. While we don’t necessarily expect our dentists to be expert rhetoricians, the shortcomings of this letter are especially noticeable given that the writer’s thesis is that he wishes to remain fully professional.
Suggested Response to “Learning About the Lives of Technical Communicators”
“A Week in the Life of a Technical Communicator” shows clearly that the life of a technical communicator involves a lot more than writing. In fact, a typical tech writer spends less than half the day writing. The rest of the time is consumed by tasks such as attending training, participating in meetings, interviewing subject-
Suggested Response to “Technical-
Studying job ads helps students understand the role of technical communication in their careers. In my experience, a sampling of at least four to six ads from different sources improves the quality of a student’s response. Although responses will vary depending on your students’ majors, successful responses will address each question posed in the assignment and will feature specific examples from the ads to support the writer’s claims.
Suggested Response to “Interviewing a Professional”
Interviewing professionals in the workplace helps students understand the role of technical communication in their future careers. Students are more successful in this assignment when they interview professionals with at least two to three years of experience. Although responses will vary, successful responses will address each question posed in the assignment and will feature specific examples from the interview to support the writer’s claims. Finally, interviewing a person in the profession they hope to enter can be intimidating for some students. Consequently, some students may appreciate additional guidance on how to interview (see Chapter 5).
Suggested Response to “Annual Reports as Technical Communication”
The Canon annual report displays each of the six characteristics of a technical document. It addresses particular readers—
The Canon annual report also seems to fulfill the eight measures of excellence for technical documents. Although it is impossible to assess whether Canon’s annual report is honest, the writing and graphics are reasonably clear. For example, most of the report’s audience will understand the table and graphics located under “Financial Highlights” (page 2). Although difficult to assess quickly, the report seems accurate. The table of contents and financial table of contents (page 33) indicate its comprehensiveness; the report seems to provide all the information readers need. The table of contents and other accessing aids make it easy for readers to locate information. The report is reasonably concise. Each section is approximately a page of text plus two to five graphics. Finally, the report looks neat and professional and observes the conventions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.
Suggested Response to “Introducing the Fundamentals of Technical Communication”
The National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) is part of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. The site states that a network of professionals is available to provide specific information to local communities around the country. The site also lists the members of the NPPS staff and advisory board and provides brief biographies, pictures, and contact information. Such information effectively introduces the people who make up the NPPS.
Parents, interested community members, and the general public are the site’s intended audience. The authors of the site appeal to this audience by providing such information as playground safety tips and a “Frequently Asked Questions” section that allows parents to submit questions on topics that concern them. The newsletter, report cards, resources and statistics, and NPPS products all make this site’s content appealing to this audience.
The NPPS hopes readers will learn how to prevent injuries on playgrounds. The site’s “About Us” section clearly communicates the program’s role in making playgrounds safer. However, the site does not make clear what the readers’ roles should be. Although substantial resources are available, readers would further benefit from a discussion on what they could do to make playgrounds safer. The site seems more focused on describing the NPPS and its resources than on helping readers prevent injuries on playgrounds.
The links and information available communicate the purpose of the site. However, the site could be improved if it focused less on describing the purpose of NPPS and more on making it easier for readers to learn how to prevent playground injuries. For example, the site’s authors could create a page that answers the question “What can this site do for me?” and could provide links to topics such as “How To Prevent Playground Injuries” to help readers.
Suggested Response to “Judging Entries in a Technical-
Sample memo with attached scoring guide:
TO: Cheryl Burnett, Pat Jones
FROM: [your name]
DATE: June 7, 2016
SUBJECT: Scoring Guide for Tech-
This memo describes my proposal for evaluating the entries for this year’s technical-
Scoring Procedure
We will evaluate each entry based on five criteria: audience, design, content development, style, and language conventions. Scores given to each criterion range from 5 (outstanding) to 1 (seriously flawed). We will determine the total score for an entry by adding the five scores. Each of us will independently assign scores to the entries. While scoring an entry, we will also record specific and general comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the entry. These comments will help justify our scores and serve as feedback for the students.
After all entries are scored, we will compute an overall score for each entry by combining all three of our scores. We will then use these overall scores to determine a winner. In the event of a tie, we will discuss the merits of each of the tied entries and then take a vote to determine the winner. If necessary, we will continue voting and eliminating entries receiving the fewest votes until an entry receives a majority vote (that is, two out of three of us think an entry is the winner).
Justification
My approach to judging entries focuses on five important features of all technical communication. Audience reflects the most significant characteristics of technical communication: that it must address particular readers and help them solve problems. Design helps us focus on how the student uses design and graphics to increase readability and accessibility and to effectively communicate information. Content development refers to the honesty, clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and conciseness of the entry. Style asks us to judge the degree to which the student chose the right words and phrases. Finally, language conventions refers to how well the student observes the conventions of grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and mechanics.
I thought that it would be fairest if we evaluated the entries independently and provided comments justifying our scores. Our scores and comments would be an excellent way to provide feedback to all the students who submitted an entry. Our comments would also help us discuss entries in the event of a tie. Overall, the approach outlined above is sufficiently detailed to help us to determine a winner but streamlined enough to allow us to efficiently evaluate two boxes of entries.
Action Items
I would appreciate it if you would work on the following tasks and bring your completed scoring guides and notes to our meeting on Wednesday, June 15.
Read over the scoring procedure and scoring guide.
Use the scoring guide to score the three entries we discussed last week.
Jot down some notes on how well the scoring guide worked.
If you have questions, give me a call at 692–
Attachment: Scoring Guide
| Student’s Name: __________________________________ | Total (5– |
| Judge’s Name: ___________________________________ | |
| Criteria | Score |
|
Audience Although audience is often synonymous with reader, it can refer to listeners and viewers as well. |
|
|
Design Design refers to the specific use of document features such as page size, page orientation, navigation aids, page layout, and typography to meet the needs of an audience. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Content Development Content development refers to the selection and logical placement of appropriate examples, details, and accurate facts used to support claims. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Style Style refers to the choices made by the author in determining the way he or she will write or say something. Style includes such elements as tone, point of view, level of formality, use of figures of speech, voice, and emphasis. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Language Conventions Language conventions refer to grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and mechanics relevant to a rhetorical situation. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
General Descriptions of Scores 1–
| Score | Descriptor | Comments |
| 5 | Outstanding | Demonstrates a high degree of competence and sustained control. May have occasional minor flaws. |
| 4 | Strong | Demonstrates clear competence. A 4 is not as skillfully controlled as a 5 and may contain minor flaws that can be fixed or overcome without much trouble. |
| 3 | Adequate | Demonstrates adequate competence and control, but with occasional lapses in quality. |
| 2 | Limited | Demonstrates some competence but is clearly flawed. A 2 indicates more frequent or more apparent lapses than those described for a score of 3. |
| 1 | Seriously Flawed | Demonstrates serious weaknesses. |
| Feature | Specific Comments |
| Audience | |
| Design | |
| Content Development | |
| Style | |
| Language Conventions |
General Comments:
Sample evaluations:
Student’s Name: Allison Sullivan Total (5–
Judge’s Name: [your name] __________
| Criteria | Score |
|
Audience Although audience is often synonymous with reader, it can refer to listeners and viewers as well. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Design Design refers to the specific use of document features such as page size, page orientation, navigation aids, page layout, and typography to meet the needs of an audience. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Content Development Content development refers to the selection and logical placement of appropriate examples, details, and accurate facts used to support claims. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Style Style refers to the choices made by the author in determining the way he or she will write or say something. Style includes such elements as tone, point of view, level of formality, use of figures of speech, voice, and emphasis. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Language Conventions Language conventions refer to grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and mechanics relevant to a rhetorical situation. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
General Descriptions of Scores 1–
| Score | Descriptor | Comments |
| 5 | Outstanding | Demonstrates a high degree of competence and sustained control. May have occasional minor flaws. |
| 4 | Strong | Demonstrates clear competence. A 4 is not as skillfully controlled as a 5 and may contain minor flaws that can be fixed or overcome without much trouble. |
| 3 | Adequate | Demonstrates adequate competence and control, but with occasional lapses in quality. |
| 2 | Limited | Demonstrates some competence but is clearly flawed. A 2 indicates more frequent or more apparent lapses than those described for a score of 3. |
| 1 | Seriously Flawed | Demonstrates serious weaknesses. |
| Feature | Specific Comments |
| Audience | By including blood pressure data for ages 15– |
| Design | You effectively use four questions that teens are likely to ask about blood pressure to present your information in small chunks. |
| Content Development | You define blood pressure and high blood pressure, as well as discuss the risks. The document could be improved if it included the sources for your facts. I couldn’t tell if all the facts, or just the blood pressure tables, came from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The clip art didn’t seem to have a purpose beyond getting readers’ attention. |
| Style | Your level of formality seemed appropriate for your audience, subject, and purpose. Addressing your audience directly was an effective strategy. Overall, you effectively used elements of style to meet your readers’ needs. |
| Language Conventions | Lapses in spelling and usage detracted from the overall quality of your document. For example, “your” instead of “you’re” and “1 in 3” at the start of a sentence instead of “One in three.” |
General Comments:
Overall, I thought you provided accurate and useful answers to the four questions posed in your document. I believe that, after reading your document, teenagers would have a better understanding of high blood pressure and how to reduce their risk.
Student’s Name: Alexander Luthor Total (5–
Judge’s Name: [your name] __________
| Criteria | Score |
Audience Although audience is often synonymous with reader, it can refer to listeners and viewers as well. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Design Design refers to the specific use of document features such as page size, page orientation, navigation aids, page layout, and typography to meet the needs of an audience. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Content Development Content development refers to the selection and logical placement of appropriate examples, details, and accurate facts used to support claims. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Style Style refers to the choices made by the author in determining the way he or she will write or say something. Style includes such elements as tone, point of view, level of formality, use of figures of speech, voice, and emphasis. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Language Conventions Language conventions refer to grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and mechanics relevant to a rhetorical situation. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
General Descriptions of Scores 1–
| Score | Descriptor | Comments |
| 5 | Outstanding | Demonstrates a high degree of competence and sustained control. May have occasional minor flaws. |
| 4 | Strong | Demonstrates clear competence. A 4 is not as skillfully controlled as a 5 and may contain minor flaws that can be fixed or overcome without much trouble. |
| 3 | Adequate | Demonstrates adequate competence and control, but with occasional lapses in quality. |
| 2 | Limited | Demonstrates some competence but is clearly flawed. A 2 indicates more frequent or more apparent lapses than those described for a score of 3. |
| 1 | Seriously Flawed | Demonstrates serious weaknesses. |
| Feature | Specific Comments |
| Audience | After reading your document, I am not sure if I know the intended audience for your document. |
| Design | The document fails to make use of design strategies that would help readers notice, understand, and remember what you say. |
| Content Development | The Java program seems to be accurate and logically constructed. Your opening paragraph adequately describes your thought processes for constructing the program. |
| Style | Overall, the document doesn’t seem to hang together, especially the opening paragraph. |
| Language Conventions | I had a difficult time evaluating how well you observed standard language conventions. Because I do not know the conventions for writing explanatory text in computer programs, I focused on your opening paragraph. |
General Comments:
I have to admit that I didn’t fully understand your entry. Lacking a background in computer science, I can only comment in general on the effectiveness of your Java program. Your primary purpose was to write a program to be used by a computer. Although your topic is certainly technical in nature, your document does not seem to address a specific audience, nor does it clearly help an audience solve a problem. You include a descriptive paragraph before the start of the program. I wasn’t sure of the audience for or purpose of this paragraph. Overall, I had trouble evaluating your document for the technical-
Student’s Name: Oliver Thomas Total (5–
Judge’s Name: [your name] __________
| Criteria | Score |
|
Audience Although audience is often synonymous with reader, it can refer to listeners and viewers as well. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Design Design refers to the specific use of document features such as page size, page orientation, navigation aids, page layout, and typography to meet the needs of an audience. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Content Development Content development refers to the selection and logical placement of appropriate examples, details, and accurate facts used to support claims. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Style Style refers to the choices made by the author in determining the way he or she will write or say something. Style includes such elements as tone, point of view, level of formality, use of figures of speech, voice, and emphasis. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Language Conventions Language conventions refer to grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and mechanics relevant to a rhetorical situation. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
General Descriptions of Scores 1–
| Score | Descriptor | Comments |
| 5 | Outstanding | Demonstrates a high degree of competence and sustained control. May have occasional minor flaws. |
| 4 | Strong | Demonstrates clear competence. A 4 is not as skillfully controlled as a 5 and may contain minor flaws that can be fixed or overcome without much trouble. |
| 3 | Adequate | Demonstrates adequate competence and control, but with occasional lapses in quality. |
| 2 | Limited | Demonstrates some competence but is clearly flawed. A 2 indicates more frequent or more apparent lapses than those described for a score of 3. |
| 1 | Seriously Flawed | Demonstrates serious weaknesses. |
| Feature | Specific Comments |
| Audience | Explaining the various uses of the equation editor and including specific examples from algebra, geometry, and calculus demonstrates your understanding of your audience’s background and needs. |
| Design | Using boldface to emphasize important elements of your instructions was an effective strategy. Your instructions would be easier to follow if you included informative sub- |
| Content Development | Although you provide accurate instructions for opening the editor, the steps would be easier to follow if you presented them as a numbered list. Also, less computer- |
| Style | Two stylistic flaws stand out: (1) use of sexist language (you assume all students are males) and (2) use of indicative mood (“the student should choose”) instead of the imperative mood (“Choose the Create New tab”). |
| Language Conventions | Overall, your document demonstrates your facility with standard language conventions. |
General Comments:
The strength of your document is its focus on how the equation editor can be used both in class and out of class by your audience. Including examples from typical math courses encourages readers to want to learn how to use the feature. Your document could be improved if you revised your document to include numbered step-