Technical communication is most likely going to be the most difficult part of my professional career as a computer scientist. Writing for this field is similar to other fields since programmers are expected to be able to write documents that are easily understandable by the software users, and are readily usable with technical details for professionals. Programmers must write many documents directed at the non-technical audience which consists of text within programs, read me files, help files, manuals on software use, presentations for clients, and many more. Documents directed towards colleagues would consist of comments in code, memos, software documentations, software specifications, status reports, presentations, and multiple more types. Programmers are expected to be able to write to all audiences these many different types of documents; however, any student entering the professional world will undoubtedly find it to be a difficult task to learn to write to each type of audience.
Writing non-technical documents to users is probably the most difficult part of being a computer scientist because these documents require the ability to translate technical terms into easily understandable language. Non-technical users demand that information presented to them be understandable way which can be difficult. Finding the correct words or images to display to a user can be problematic because misinterpretation of the display may cause the user to become frustrated when using software. Explaining step by step processes through a help file is a part of the many files a computer scientist may have to produce for users, and some programming jobs require software to be described through presentations to non-technical users of...
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...on-technical and technical audiences can be a challenge for a programmer as they have to switch between a programming mindset and a writers mindset. Learning to do these writing tasks for multiple audiences will most likely start out with using information gained about writing in the classroom as a basis and slowly attempting to develop writing style for each audience. Technical writing classes attempt to give students a feel for the writing done at professional jobs; however, each job will vary on the type of writing, quantity, and audience. No matter how much writing is learned through education, no one can be perfectly prepared to write for any professional job from college courses alone. Obviously, writing technical documents can be difficult for new professional programmers, but over time they will learn the task by a trial and error procedure or practice.
Wardle, Elizabeth. "Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces." Wardle, Elizabeth and Doug Downs. Writing about Writing A College Reader. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2011. 520-537. Print.
In the professional discourse community, written papers or reports must follow specific instruction. Writing as a professional engineer requires papers and reports to be formal and precise, clear and concise, grammatically correct, and straightforward but easy for the reader to follow and understand the instructions. Engineers uses Memos a lot in their work in order to communicate with each other and to communicate with their supervisors. Therefore, they have to follow specific ways of writing so that they could be understood which states the importance of written forms in this professional discourse
Sam Dillion wrote “What Corporate America Can’t Build: A Sentence” for an audience of college students, employees and corporate people. In his article, Sam points out that companies are spending a lot of money annually on remedial training. According to Sam, the writing problem appears in e-mails, reports and texts. He is informing his audience to brush up on writing skills before entering the corporate world, in order to avoid remedial training. Companies like to hire employees with excellent writing skills but many of employees and applicants fall short of that standard.
As a nursing major it is very important for me to even be considered for a job. Technical Writing class is a way for me to learn how to communicate effectively with others.
In “Writing to Learn: Writing across the Disciplines,” Anne J. Herrington finds different sources stating that writing is to be taken serious. Janet Emig says, "writing represents a unique mode of learning-not merely valuable, not merely special, but unique” (1) meaning that writing is far more essential than we ought to make it seem. Anne Herrington wants educators teaching in economics, history, chemistry or any other subject to guide their students into understanding why progressing their writing skills will be more helpful to them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the educator; whether he/she wants their students to use writing as a way for students to adapt to different disciplines.
The article “Is Writing an Essential Skill for Engineers” by James Koelsch discussed how having the ability to write and communicate is a very important quality for all engineers to possess. The author used multiply techniques in trying to persuade the reader as to why successful engineers must be able to write, as well as be able to communicate to others. Koelsch started out by using anecdotes, talking about his own personal experience with learning about writing and communication in his college years, which he used to relate to his audience because his audience seems to be engineering college students. Likewise he used a few different examples on some professionals’ views on how they
In 2005, the City of Houston’s Bureau of Air Quality Control (BAQC) terminated the contract it had with a state agency, to conduct enforcement of state rules and regulations (Williams & James, 2009). Ranked consistently among the United States’ worst cities for air quality and pollution control, the previous collaboration with the state was ineffective with applications and processes that were cumbersome to maneuver through for both employees, entities, and citizens (Williams & James, 2009). The City of Houston’s BAQC implemented a new strategic plan, to internalize the functions the state previously handled, and included policy changes, better technology utilization, and most importantly, strategies for getting the community involved (Williams & James, 2009). The emphasis of this case study analysis will be on the technical communication aspects of the City’s plan to improve air quality.
After four years in the Air Force as an Arabic cryptologic language analyst, it is impossible to ignore the significance of technical literacy and keeping up with technological innovations. I strive to not only increase and maintain my literacy in these matters, but to contribute meaningfully in the form of software development. While the Air Force champions flexibility and maintaining technological superiority, opportunities to be creative and experimental occupationally are limited, especially as a linguist. As such, I decided to pursue education full time with a primary focus on computer science and software, fields that demand, not simply provide opportunities for, experimental and creative thinking.
Many scholars agree that technical communication, although considered a professional writing genre, could still be defined as separate from the communication used by business professionals (e.g. professors, business people, doctors, lawyers, etc.) To begin to understand writing in the workplace, one could start by defining what collaboration in the workplace is. Scholars Burnett, et al. describe collaboration in the workplace as communication that occurs across project groups, departments, divisions and other social configurations. This communication serves as a process that allows peers, specifically co-workers in this instance to interact and work together to achieve shared goals, both before and after the production of a text or document. Collaboration is important in the workplace because it enables social interaction amongst coworkers and encourages workers to communicate, help one another, and form productive relationships. Effective collaboration in the workplace has been proven to produce a happier, more productive
...ing, organizing, analyzing, generating, integrating and evaluating. It is essential that as occupational therapy students we become self-determining, independent thinkers. Technical writing skills will be used throughout our career. Mastering technical writing will come with practice and will prove to be one of the most instrumental elements we have learned in our curriculum.
writing” by R. Ramsey, the ability to write competently is a requirement for success in any field.
Mariani, M. "Computers and Career Guidance: Ride the Rising Tide." Occupational Outlook Quarterly 39, no. 4 (Winter 1995-1996): 16-27.
A crucial component of the software development process, software documentation serves to describe the various operations or uses for computer software or source code. Commonly referred to as user guides or technical manuals, software documentation revolves around the explanation of software-related features and information, based on material published by Marie Kennan, contributor to the Salem Press Encyclopedia (Keenan, 2016). Evolving from printed manuals to vast electronic databases, software documentation encompasses nearly every component necessary to successfully use a given program or source code, and is available in an array of different formats and languages. From large-scale, company-based software development, to small-scale, personal-based
Writing has changed because of the efficiency that technology provides. With the invention of instant messaging, writing has started to become something new entirely. People are writing more often and faster to get a message across. Luckily, students know that the writing that they do with friends is much different than what employers are looking for in the work place (Guffey, M.E., & Loewy, D., pg. 3-29).
Another critical strategy is to write with a clear sense of purpose and audience. Each academic field presents the college writer with specific writing styles and unique writing expectations. As stated by Johnson, “College level writing involves more than collecting information from sources and inserting information into your paper” (2009, para. 4)....