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Published bySherman Oliver Modified over 10 years ago
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1 TECHNICAL WRITING vs. ACADEMIC WRITING
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TYPES of WRITING 1.PERSONAL 2.ACADEMIC 3.PROFESSIONAL
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3 PERSONAL WRITING oPurpose/Objective: to entertain to inform oEvaluation: desired emotional response informed
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4 PERSONAL WRITING oGraphics: emoticons text-messaging lingo oFormats: e-mail letters journals text messages
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5 PERSONAL WRITING oAudience: equal knowledge friends colleagues oInformality
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6 TECHNICAL WRITING vs. ACADEMIC WRITING
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* AUDIENCES * Specific Audiences oboss osupervisor oteam ocommittee opoliticians obank officers ogeneral public General Audience ogeneric reader oteacher operhaps fellow students AWTW
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* AUDIENCES * 1 Document = Many Readers: (Many Readers = Many Needs) o“food chain” oboss, supervisor oteam oengineers oworkers opoliticians obank officers ogeneral public 1 Document = 1 Reader: (1 Reader = 1 Need) oteacher TWAW
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PURPOSES oPurpose = oWriting Situation oObjective oWhy was the document written?
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PURPOSES Situation-Oriented osee a need — oaddress a need ointernal motivation oprofessional motivation ooutcome-oriented: to get something accomplished Assignment-Oriented opassive (vs. active) ogiven a topic, test ogiven an assignment oexternal motivation oscholastic motivation ograde-oriented grade, g.p.a., degree TWAW
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EVALUATION CRITERIA Success osatisfaction of the needs of all readers osomething was done oinformed opersuaded Success ocorrect answer oright information ounity, coherence osupport, detail ogrammar AWTW
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APPLICATIONS Real-World Applications ocase studies oillustrative scenarios ooperations management ofor a job ofor a raise or promotion ofor a bid practical College Application o“academic” writing oessays oessay exams ofor academics ofor grade ofor degree o“show what you know” demonstrative TWAW
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DISCIPLINES Across Disciplines o“interdisciplinary” ocomputer sciences opsychology omixture of: history math science technology Single Discipline o“discipline-specific” literary data for an English paper historical information on a history paper psychological ideas on a psychology test orarely a mixture TWAW
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*PAGE DESIGN* oParagraphs 6-10 lines vary lengths for visual oWhite Space oColumns oHeadings oLists oGraphics oVarying Fonts oUse of Color oRelative Spacing oRelative Margins oRelative Justification oParagraphs Minimum of 3-5 sentences No maximum length oNO White Space Columns Headings Lists Graphics Varying Fonts Use of Color oDouble Spacing oEqual Margins oLeft Justification TWAW
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COMPONENTS Oral, Visual, Written oproduce documents opresent documents owrite to be read owrite to be seen owrite to be heard Written oinfrequent oral and visual components opredominant written component owrite to be read by teacher owrite to be graded onot to be seen or heard TWAW
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GRAPHICS otables ocharts ographs odiagrams ophotographs omaps oblue prints ouncommon ophotographs TWAW
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FORMATS omemos oe-mails oletters ocover letters oresumes oproposals omanuals oportfolio oabstracts oreports formal informal oessay questions oessays based on the rhetorical strategies Description Narration Illustration Process-Analysis Division-Classification Comparison-Contrast Definition Cause-Effect Pro-Con Argument TWAW
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GRAMMAR Grammar-less ovisual-oriented ogrammar = less important ofragments = permissible oactive voice odescriptive writing oconcise sentences ospelling! oproofread! Grammar-full owritten-oriented ogrammar = key osentence errors = avoided oactive voice odescriptive writing oconcise sentences ospelling! oproofread! TWAW
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19 CONCLUSIONS oTechnical Communication: Practicality in the employment world Real-World application oAcademic Writing: Demonstration of knowledge Limited to academia
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20 CONCLUSIONS oTechnical Communication: By an informed writer Conveying necessary information Both visually & verbally To a lesser-informed reader (writer = teacher) oAcademic Writing: By a student-learner for an expert reader
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21 CONCLUSIONS oTechnical Communication: Read by many, To satisfy the needs of many oAcademic Writing: Read by one, To appease the criteria of one
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22 CONCLUSIONS oTechnical Communication: “Information Retrieval” organization & format = designed to help readers quickly & easily locate information oAcademic Writing: “Information Retrieval” little concern beyond a logical organization
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23 CONCLUSIONS oTechnical Communication: Public Speaking component — formal conference speeches informal meeting speeches oAcademic Writing: Limited Public Speaking opportunities conferences or rare class projects Public Speaking courses
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24 DEFINITION Technical Communication: oEncompasses a wide range oof writing and speaking responsibilities orequired to communicate your ideas oon the job.
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26 SIMILARITIES oGrammar: active voice descriptive writing concise sentences spelling! proofread!
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27 SIMILARITIES oWriting as a Process: Planning Drafting Revising
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EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES writing: process & product oHEURISTIC: process reader-focused how-to analyze-and- compose process oPRESCRIPTIVE: product writer-focused models/forms of writing writing: product oPrescriptive/regulat ory oteach from models oRhetorical/abstract strategies owriter-focused TWAW
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29 ACADEMIC WRITING oPurpose/Objective: to demonstrate knowledge to “show what you know” oAudience: superior knowledge teachers, perhaps peer editors oEvaluation: correct information unity, coherence, depth, clarity, grammar oGraphics: limited to explain or persuade/convince
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30 ACADEMIC WRITING oFormats: Description Narration Illustration Process-Analysis Division- Classification (Rhetorical Strategies or Writing Models) Comparison-Contrast Definition Cause-Effect Pro-Con Argument- Persuasion
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31 TECHNICAL WRITING oPurpose/Objective: to entertain to inform oAudience: equal knowledge friends, colleagues oEvaluation: desired emotional response informed oGraphics: emoticons text-messaging lingo oFormats: e-mail letters journals text messages
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