WEB Connect

 
The following Web connections will take you to sites that provide useful advice and examples. Please note that, at any time, a site might change its URL or the site might disappear.

Chapter 1
The following links deal discuss the nature of technical writing, technical writing careers and job listings for technical writers, collaborative writing techniques, and hints for effective technical documents.  

http://www.inkspot.com/admin/where.html
http://www.chss.iup.edu/wc/resources/
http://www.stcloudstate.edu/~scogdill/collaboration/biblio.html
http://uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/ProfJ/What_is_Technical_Writing.htm

This site operates as the home page for the Society of Technical Communicators:
http://techwriting.about.com/arts/techwriting/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://stc.org/region8/sdc/www/01cezar.htm

Chapter 2
The following site usefully discusses audience analysis.
http://www.chss.iup.edu/wc/resources/audience.html

Chapter 3
Try the Clarkson University Writing Center’s tips for writing efficiently and effectively; look for “General Writing Skills”, half way down the Center’s home page.
http://www.clarkson.edu/~wcenter/index.html

Chapter 4
These two sites focus on essay writing, but their advice can be applied to business writing, also.
http://www.tc.cc.va.us/writcent/handouts/writing/argument.htm
http://www.wuacc.edu/services/zzcwwctr/you-attitude.txt

Chapter 5
This site lists books and other resources which discuss ethical issues for technical writers and engineers, among others.
http://www.siu.edu/departments/coba/mgmt/iswnet/isethics/biblio/part5.htm

Chapter 6
The first of the following sites offers a comprehensive guide to Web search engines.  Next, the Megaresearch site defines focus groups.  The Okanagan University College, Mount Royal College and Berkeley sites advise how to use a variety of traditional and electronic research tools.
www.monash.com/spidap.html
www.megresearch.com/focus.html
www.ouc.bc.ca/libr
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/programs/academserv/lib/Indexlibweb.htm
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/GuidesInternet/FindInfo.html

Chapter 7
In the following site, Kathy Shrock provides wide-ranging advice on how to critically evaluate Web-based material.
http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/eval.html

Chapter 8
A tour of the following sites reveals that documentation “experts” have not yet agreed about formats for citing electronic information sources.
www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/bibliostyles.htm
www.westwords.com./guffey/documentation.html
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html
www.chss.iup.edu/wc/resources/online.html

Chapter 9
The next two sites discuss summary writing.
http://www.chss.iup.edu/wc/resources/summary.html
http://www.clearcf.uvic.ca/writersguide/Pages/summariesTOC.html

Chapter 10
Virginia Tech’s Web site provides advice about structure in scientific writing, in a set of PowerPoint transparency masters.
http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/eng/mech/writing/handbook/visuals/structure/index.htm

Chapter 11
Many Web sites provide advice about writing clear prose and exercises to improve one’s editing techniques.  Here is a representative sampling:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index2.htm#exercises
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/90.html http://quintcareers.com/writing http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/ http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/lists.html
 http://europa.eu.int/comm/translation/en/ftfog/index.htm
Note: probably the most useful of the above sites is the last one, a site sponsored by the European Commission’s Translation Service.  

Chapter 12
The following Web sites are less commercial than most which deal with graphics.
www.arcm.com/illustra.html
www.arcm.com/illustra.html
http://ltid.grc.nasa.gov/Publishing/graphics/samillus.htm
www.wcdd.com/dd/ddindex.html

Chapter 14
The first of the following sites discuss operational definitions.  The last two sites illustrate operational and categorical definitions of terms used in physics and in medicine.
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/psychexer1.htm
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/glossary.htm
http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/def_ex.html

Chapter 15
The first of the following sites presents an excellent example of extended mechanism description.
Then the next two sites discuss how to write effective descriptions of mechanisms.
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/cisco/mkt/servprod/voip/prodlit/ptelb_rg.htm
http://english.ttu.edu/grad/AHanson/2309/description.html
http://www.uwec.edu/Academic/Curric/jerzdg/English305/formats/mechanism.htm

Chapter 16
The Cisco site contains process description as well as mechanism description.  The next two sites show process descriptions from medicine (liver transplants) and computer software operation (true type fonts).  The fourth site illustrates a set of instructions.  The fifth site deals with a variety of descriptive writing, including processes and instructions.
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/so/neso/voso/voip/ptelb_rg.htm
http://www.cpmc.org/liver/process.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/opentype/otspec/ttch01.htm
http://www.fishingnorthwest.com/flypterns.htm
http://www.dsu.edu/departments/liberal/english/techwrit/

Chapter 17
The first of the following sites explains why it’s important to write readable, usable manuals. Next, Peter Ring’s Web site on user-friendly manuals is mostly commercial in nature, but the site does contain a very useful list of free information sources.
http://www.westworld.com/~ayale/TechWrtg.html
www.prc.dk/user-friendly-manuals/

Chapter 18
First, you’ll find U.S. and Canadian government sites which provide RFPs for suppliers and contractors.  Then, sites sponsored by Dakota State and the University of Wisconsin discuss proposal writing, among other things.  Also, check out the U of Toronto’s advice.
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/comp/proc/acquisitions/itpa/itpa-rfp.htm
http://contractscanada.gc.ca
http://www.dsu.edu/departments/liberal/english/techwrit/
http://darkstar.engr.wisc.edu/zwickel/397/397refs.html
http://www.ecf.toronto.edu~writing/proposals.htm

Chapter 19
The first site, a Netscape listing of technical reports, is very interesting. Then, the next five sites will take you to examples of technical reports, most of which have an analytical purpose. The final site, from Kent State, gives report writing advice.
http://search.netscape.com/cgi-bin/search?search=+technical+reports
http://www.cics.uvic.ca/climate/change/cimpact.htm
www.ec.gc.ca
http://www.pipeline.com/~bkyaffe/altfuel/
http://ltid.grc.nasa.gov/Publishing/editing/vidcover.htm
http://jaring.nmhu.edu/Chaut98/rwojtecki/report.html

Chapter 21
The listed sites discuss, and in some cases illustrate, a variety of job-related reports. http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/progrepx2a_non.html
http://www.ecf.toronto.edu/~writing/shrtrept.htm#Attachments
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/text/labreport.html
http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/progrep.html
http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/feas.html

http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/props.html 

Chapter 22
Letters And Memos:
http://www.ecf.toronto.edu/~writing/memo.htm
www.wuacc.edu:80/services/zzcwwctr/you-attitude.txt

E-mail usage:               
www.pimall.com/nais/n.pgp.faq.html
www.webfoot.com
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/e-mail.htm

Chapter 23
Resumes:
http://www.contractengineering.com/data1/ResCivil.htm
http://www.headhunter.net/jobseeker/index.htm?siteid=cmhome
www.provenresumes.com
www.stantongp.com/resume.htm

http://www.careermosaic.com/cm/rwc/

Job market research:                     
www.kenevacorp.mb.ca/
www.monster.ca
www.monstertrak.ca/
www.cacee.com
www.schoolnet.ca/ngr
www.careermosaic.ca
www.careerpath.com
www.webpost.net/th/TheJobMarket/employ.html

Cover letters:
http://jobsmart.org/tools/resume/cletters.htm#Good
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/covers.html

Chapter 24
Preparing Speeches          
www.speeches.com./index.shtml
www.eeicom.com/eye/shyness.html
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/oral.htm

Technical talks:           
www.ieee.org/pcs/creimold.html
http://darkstar.engr.wisc.edu/zwickel/397/presgraf.html

Chapter 25
Designing Web pages is fully discussed in the many linked sites listed at the following sites.
http://trace.wisc.edu/world/web
www.world-ready.com/readlist.htm
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/web/index.html

 

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