Felicia Chong and Tammy Rice-Bailey Volume 6 Chapter Description This chapter provides an introduction to core concepts, tools, and processes associated with usability and usability testing. The objective of the chapter is to help you better understand what is involved in these activities. Throughout this essay, we explain the importance of understanding users and provide […]
Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing Read More »
Clinton R. Lanier Volume 6 Chapter Description This chapter outlines the key phases of presentation development and delivery, and how best to go about them, with reference to theory andpractice from the disciplines of technical communication and information design. While the purpose of this chapter is to prepare you for workplace presentations, some of the
Social Media as a Space for Today’s Technical Communication Work Read More »
Yvonne Cleary Volume 6 Chapter Description This chapter introduces readers to the rhetorical situation of topic-based writing in the context of digital technical communication, which has replaced manuals for many types of products and services. In contemporary work contexts, technical communicators are likely to work in teams, and to write topics, or short chunks of
Writing Technical Content for Online Spaces Read More »
Darina M. Slattery Volume 6 Chapter Description This chapter outlines the key phases of presentation development and delivery, and how best to go about them, with reference to theory and practice from the disciplines of technical communication and information design. While the purpose of this chapter is to prepare students for workplace presentations, some of the examples will
Technical, Scientific, and Business Presentations: Strategies for Success Read More »
Lauren Esposito Assignments & Activities Archive Activity Description When I started teaching professional writing, I would ask students: “Imagine you’re a nurse and you need to explain the signs of a stroke to a young child. Or, imagine you’re a business student writing a “how-to guide” for investors that will be published on a company
“Establishing the Who”: Professional Writing, Power Dynamics, & Improv Read More »
Ellen Cecil-Lemkin and Tamara Gluck Volume 5 Chapter Description From school to the workplace, managing team projects isn’t always easy, but this chapter aims to prepare students for success. In this chapter, we guide students through different tools for working with others, maintaining project goals, and completing projects where technology is at the forefront. We
Navigating Your Collaborative Project Read More »
Matthew A. Vetter and Oksana Moroz Volume 5 Chapter Description In a previous Writing Spaces essay entitled, Wikipedia Is Good for You!?, James P. Purdy introduces us to the idea that the online encyclopedia, often devalued in educational spaces, can serve as a starting place for research and a process guide to research-based writing. By
You Are Good for Wikipedia Read More »
Rachel Donegan Volume 4 Chapter Description In this chapter, I provide some basic terminology and context for disability and accessibility and discuss how access features not only have direct benefits for a disabled audience, but are beneficial rhetorical bonuses for all writers (nondisabled and disabled).* By emphasizing access in their writing projects, students have the
The Rhetorical Possibilities of Accessibility Read More »
Lance Cummings, Rin Jackson, & Moriah Yancey Volume 4 Chapter Description Most students dread that fateful “group project,” often for good reasons. Our past experiences with group work sometimes don’t speak well to this kind of project.* But most writing in the 21st century is deeply collaborative and happens mostly in digital spaces. Observing the
Technologies of Trust: Creating Networks of Goodwill for Collaboration Read More »
Raquel Corona, Kami Day, & Michele Eodice Volume 4 Chapter Description This chapter advocates for student writers to collaborate and coauthor. When opportunities to write together are offered—as part of in-class or outside-class writing assignments—students can benefit in a number of ways, including learning how audiences are addressed and how immediate feedback can become a
Writing with Your Peers Read More »
