Technical Writing For Dummies
£15.20
Let’s face it, a lot of technical documentation reads as if it had been translated into English from Venutian by a native speaker of gibberish. Which is annoying for you and expensive for the manufacturer who pays with alienated customers and soaring technical support costs. That’s why good technical writers are in such big demand worldwide. Now, Technical Writing For Dummies arms you with the skills you need to cash in on that demand.
Whether you’re contemplating a career as a technical writer, or you just got tapped for a technical writing project, this friendly guide is your ticket to getting your tech writing skills up to snuff. It shows you step-by-step how to:
- Research and organize information for your documents
- Plan your project in a technical brief
- Fine-tune and polish your writing
- Work collaboratively with your reviewers
- Create great user manuals, awesome abstracts, and more
- Write first-rate electronic documentation
- Write computer- and Web-based training courses
Discover how to write energized technical documents that have the impact you want on your readers. Wordsmith Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts covers all the bases, including:
- All about the red-hot market for technical writing and how to get work as a technical writer
- The ABCs of creating a strong technical document, including preparing a production schedule, brainstorming, outlining, drafting, editing, rewriting, testing, presentation, and more
- Types of technical documents, including user manuals, abstracts, spec sheets, evaluation forms and questionnaires, executive summaries, and presentations
- Writing for the Internet―covers doing research online, creating multimedia documents, developing computer-based training and Web-based training, and writing online help
Combining examples, practical advice, and priceless insider tips on how to write whiz-bang technical documents, Technical Writing For Dummies is an indispensable resource for newcomers to technical writing and pros looking for new ideas to advance their careers.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (8 Feb. 2001), For Dummies |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 340 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0764553089 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0764553080 |
| Dimensions | 18.85 x 1.83 x 23.62 cm |
by An occasional Amazon customer
I regularly have to write short technical notes, and occasionally contribute to larger manual projects. I am literate but have had no formal training in technical writing. I imagined that this book would serve as a useful tool to improve my skills in this area, and it is certainly advertised as being aimed at beginners and professionals alike.
Unfortunately, it seems to have been written for an absolute beginner; in fact, at times I thought it was written for an eight-year-old child. Near the start of the book, the author recommends that you write your name on it clearly in case the book goes missing. If this is the kind of handy hint that you find useful, then the rest of the book will not disappoint you. Throughout it is written in a condescending, overly chummy manner, as if the author is trying to get a two year old to eat a Brussels sprout. I hope I never have to wade through any technical documents written by her if this is the style she usually employs to get ideas across.
There are sections that are entirely useless and have presumably been added in to pad out the book (the useful points could certainly have been boiled down to a small pamphlet). For example, there is a lengthy chapter on ‘using the internet to perform research’, which roughly equates to ‘how to use google’ guide. Helpful.
Ultimately, this reads like it was written to make a fast buck. I really couldn’t recommend it to anyone, unless you actually are an eight-year-old child putting together a manual on building a cartie or tyre-swing for your six-year-old brother. In which case, this book’s for you, but you might want to skip the section on using the Internet – you won’t need it.
by Galway Customer..
As described but a bit dated
by Derek Domino
Didn’t realise this book was so old. Completely useless.
by Pia Andersen
This book is from 2001 – too old. I had not noticed that. It is out of touch with the technology and writing structure and systems for Technical content