Technical Communication Today [Rental Edition]

For courses in Technical Communication.

Fully centralizes the computer in the technical workplace, presenting how writers use computers throughout their communication process.  

The networked computer, from smartphone to mainframe, has become the central hub of written, spoken, and visual communication in today’s scientific and technical workplace. Firmly rooted in core rhetorical principles, Technical Communication Today presents computers as thinking tools that powerfully influence how we develop, produce, design, and deliver technical documents and presentations. This popular text helps communicators draft and design documents, prepare material for print and web publication, and make oral presentations. Speaking to today's readers, the narrative is “chunked,” so that readable portions of text are combined with graphics and can be “raided” by readers seeking the information they need.

Retaining these features, the 6th Edition of Technical Communication Today also marks an important shift to drawing readers’ attention to the centralization of innovation and entrepreneurship in the technical workplace. Revised chapters, new case studies, and new exercises and projects demonstrate that those who know how to write clearly, speak persuasively, and design functional and attractive texts will be the most likely to succeed in today’s innovation-based and entrepreneurial workplace.

Technical Communication Today , 6th Edition is also available via Revel™, an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience. Learn more.

Richard Johnson-Sheehan is a Professor of Rhetoric and Professional Writing at Purdue University. Previously, he was a technical writer/editor in the electronics industry, and he worked as a grant writer in the arts. He is the owner of Phronesis, a company that does technical writing and editing and communications consulting in scientific and technical fields. He is also currently working with The Foundry, a start-up incubator for scientists and engineers at Purdue University. He has written numerous books including Technical Communication Today, Writing Proposals, Writing Today, Argument Today, and Strategies for Technical Communication Today. He has also written many articles about the rhetoric and history of science, as well as technical communication. He is a long-time member of the Society for Technical Communication and he is a Fellow of the Association of Teachers of Technical Communication. 

I. Elements of Technical Communication

1. Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace

2. Profiling Your Readers

3. Working in Teams

4. Managing Ethical Challenges

II. Genres of Technical Communication

5. Starting Your Career

6. Types of Technical Descriptions

7. Technical Descriptions and Specifications

8. Instructions and Documentation

9. Proposals

10. Brief Reports

11. Reports

III. Planning and Doing Research

12. Thinking Like An Entrepreneur

13. How to Be Persuasive

14. Researching in Technical Workplaces

IV. Drafting, Designing, and Revising

15. Organizing and Drafting

16. Using Plain and Persuasive Style

17. Designing Documents and Interfaces

18. Creating and Using Graphics

19. Revising and Editing for Usability

V. Connecting with Clients

20. Presenting and Pitching Your Ideas

21. Writing for the Internet

Appendix A: Grammar and Punctuation Guide

Appendix B: English as a Second Language Guide

Appendix C: Documentation Guide