writing technologies

Beyond Audience Analysis: Three Stages of User Experience Research for Technical Writers

Accessibility, digital literacy, identity, linguistic difference, linguistic diversity, professional writing, technical writing, Volume 6, writing technologies /

Joanna Schreiber Volume 6 Chapter Description UX research is central to technical writing work. The three phases of user experience (UX) research—background, primary, and usability testing—presented in this chapter are intended to help you see research as both a fundamental and ongoing part of technical writing. This chapter provides a foundation for building your knowledge […]

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Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing

Accessibility, digital literacy, professional writing, technical writing, Volume 6, writing technologies /

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

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Social Media as a Space for Today’s Technical Communication Work

digital literacy, professional writing, social media, technical writing, Volume 6, writing technologies /

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

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Writing Technical Content for Online Spaces

digital literacy, drafting and revising, professional writing, technical writing, Volume 6, Volume 6, writing technologies /

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

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Reading in Conversation: A Student’s Guide to Social Annotation

reading, reading strategies, Volume 5, writing technologies /

Michelle Sprouse Volume 5 Chapter Description Students are often encouraged to annotate while reading. However, annotation is often framed as an individual undertaking, a conversation between a reader and text. This chapter repositions annotation in the writing classroom as a social activity that can support students’ literacy development. Beginning with opportunities for students to reflect

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Writing Like a Game Designer

Activities, Community-engaged writing, research, visual/multimodal rhetorics, writing technologies /

Elizabeth Caravella & Rich Shivener Assignments & Activities Archive Activity Description As students turn to composing more multimodal and digital pieces in their writing courses, a number of writing instructors have employed the process known as gamification, or, the application of game-like elements, to their classrooms. Through this activity, students will learn to also utilize

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Multimodal Proposal

Assignments, rhetorical situation, visual/multimodal rhetorics, writing technologies /

Charles McGregor Assignments & Activities Archive Assignment Description This assignment is intended to be used as a proposal for a big multimodal composition project. The goal of this assignment is to help students articulate their topic, think through their intended audience and where they exist, and practice composing through a non-linguistic mode of communication they

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How to Write a _____ Like a _____

Accessibility, Assignments, drafting and revising, rhetoric, visual/multimodal rhetorics, writing technologies /

Keri Epps Assignments & Activities Archive Assignment Description As a writing instructor dedicated to researching and teaching rhetorical genres, I often struggle with how to facilitate students’ learning of what makes a genre, how it circulates, and who it matters to. In short, designing scaffolded assignments around “genre” has seemed difficult in writing courses at

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“Lend Ears!”: Creating Audio Recordings of Final Drafts to Develop Rhetorical Awareness

Accessibility, Assignments, drafting and revising, rhetoric, visual/multimodal rhetorics, writing technologies /

Heather Shearer Assignments & Activities Archive Assignment Description Many composition instructors ask students to read drafts aloud during writing workshops because doing so helps writers identify logical gaps, stylistic mishaps, or localized errors they overlook when reading drafts silently. To amplify the writerly knowledge gained from reading drafts aloud, we can extend the read-aloud practice

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