Test of technical communication knowledge

1. What is technical communication? Give examples.

Technical communication is the process of conveying complex technical information to a specific audience through a variety of mediums such as writing, speech and multimedia. The purpose of technical communication is to facilitate the communication of ideas and concepts to the ideas and in some cases direct to audience to take a specific route of action.

An example of technical communication is a technical manual written for an electronic device so that the buyers learn how to operate it. Another example would be a project proposal written by a laboratory researcher in a grant application.

2. Who produces technical communication?

Technical communication can be produced by technical professionals from different fields including but not limited to sciences, technology, electronics and business. Technical communicators such as writers, editors and illustrators also produce technical communication by coming up with ways to better present technical data.

3. Why is technical communication important to your career?

I am studying computer science and this field is full of technicalities and terminologies that most of the population will be unable to understand. Therefore it is up to us, the computer scientists, to translate the highly complex information to an easier language for our audience to understand.

4. What are the 6 major characteristics of technical communication? Explain each.
Technical communication is meant to fulfill a mission: It conveys information to a particular audience so that they understand something or carry out a task. To accomplish these goals, it must be clear, accurate, comprehensive and professional.

Technical communication addresses a particular audience; thus it is the responsibility of the reader to make sure that the writing is geared towards the audience and that it is understandable and interesting.

Technical communication is intended to help readers learn or do something and it helps readers solve problems.

Technical communication is produced collaboratively by teams. Collaboration is common in technical communication because no one has all the information, skills or time to create large documents alone.

Technical documents include words or graphics or both. Graphics help reinforce difficult concepts, summarize data and make the document more appealing to readers.

Technical documents are created using high-tech tools such as word processing, graphics and desktop publishing software, chicago computer repair.

5. What are the 8 measures of excellence in technical communication?

Honesty, clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, correctness.

6. What are ethics?

Ethics is the science of conduct; it is the study of principles that govern right action or conduct.

7. What is copy right Law?

Copy right laws are laws created to protect intellectual property; they grant the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its publication, distribution and adaptation for a certain amount of time before the work enters the public domain.

8. What is trademark law?

Trademarks are distinctive signs or indicators used by individuals or organizations to identify that the product or services which have the trademark originate from a unique source of origin and are distinct from other entities. Trademarks are regarded as intellectual property and trademark laws prevent the unauthorized use of registered trademarks by other companies.

9. What are the guidelines to protecting trade marks?

A registered trademark confers its registered owner exclusive rights over the use of the trademark for the products or services for which it was registered. The owner of a registered trademark can prevent the unauthorized use of the trademark by other companies by going to a state court.

10. What is contract law?

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that is enforceable by law. Contract law ensures that the contract is kept by recognizing breaches of contract and offering remedies.

11. What is liability law?

Liability law is the area of law involving fault. It includes personal injury, death and property damage or financial loss caused by a defective product.

12. What are the principals for ethical communication?

Communicate according to the appropriate professional code of conduct.
Follow the relevant laws, do not break them.
Be honest: Tell the truth and do not mislead your readers.
Be clear.
Do not use discriminatory language.
If you use assistance from others, acknowledge it.

13. Outline the Writing process?

1- Determine the purpose and the audience of the technical writing piece.
2- Collect relevant information.
3- Organize the information.
4- Write a first draft.
5- Revise the draft, make necessary changes and edit.

A. Outline the advantages and disadvantages of collaboration?

Advantages:

When the project is too large to tackle individually, it is better to split it up into parts and distribute among groups.

Different individuals have different skills and these complement each other for higher quality and efficiency. There is a diverse environment for ideas.

Everyone in the company becomes accountable, leadership is shared. There is an atmosphere of mutual exchange of ideas and trust which is conducive to productivity.

Competition created in the team can boost productivity.

Disadvantages:

Collaboration requires a lot of time, effort and understanding by the parties involved to build effective communication.

It is hard to coordinate the time schedules, needs and interests of different people.

Mistrust and conflicting interest can make collaboration very difficult.

There can be issues of ownership or custody that might need to be settled.

B. When you conduct a meeting, what are the five key aspects of such meetings?

Agenda: The meeting should have a focused agenda clearly outlining all the key factors that are going to be discussed and the goals that need to be achieved during the course of the meeting.

Time and focus: Time and focus should always be kept in check to make sure that there is enough time allocated to each agenda item and that the discussion stays within the agenda and does not diverge.

Group participation: Meetings are the most productive when everyone contributes to the discussion; a conducive environment needs to be maintained to get all parties to contribute. Only this way, a consensus can be reached without bias.

Decision making: Everyone’s opinions should be heard and the decisions should be reached through a collaborative process.

Minutes and action items: For reference purposes, minutes should be recorded and action items should be delineated with clear instruction, NYC Computer Repair

C. We set agenda’s in last week’s class, how does one set an agenda?

Agendas are basically blueprints for the meeting; they contain a list of points that the discussion will follow. In order to set agenda, one should first have a clear goal for the meeting. Writing down this goal in a clear and concise manner will create a focus and result in more productive meetings. The intermediate steps needed to reach this goal should be determined and clearly written down. These steps should be as specific as possible and should be categorized in specific manageable discussion points. Next, one has to select the right people to attend the meeting. These people should be decision makers or those with a direct connection with the goal. It is essential to identify potential barriers and roadblocks before hand so that conflicts that come up during the meeting can be managed more effectively.

D. Why must we be concerned with gender and culture when we collaborate?

Gender and culture are a large part of people’s social identities. A lot of us have preconceived notions about different genders and cultures and often judge others based on these characteristics. Sometimes we stereotype people subconsciously, without even realizing, because these ideas are so deeply entrenched in us. Therefore it is essential to realize that gender and culture shapes people’s decisions and we must be very respectful towards different genders and cultures and be as open-minded and non-judgmental as possible.

E. What are gender stereotypes of women and men? Use details to support answer.

In many cultures, men are the breadwinners. They are expected to be strong and support the family, look after the wives and the children. They should not show signs of weakness and should keep their emotions to themselves; in a lot of cultures it is really hard to see men cry.

Women are seen as weak, needy and not as smart as men. This is obviously not true but there is a lot of patriarchalism that still exists today. A lot of people still think that the women’s place is the kitchen and that their role should be limited in professional life.

F. What are differences between Japanese students and US students in terms of collaboration and communication?

Japanese students did not seem to have a fixed policy toward contributing to a conversation unlike their American peers, who always had contribution to conversation in mind. The Japanese chose shorter answers and often kept silent whereas American students chose longer responses, asked questions and regarded silence negatively. American students confronted if they did not agree with something while the Japanese were much more hesitant to confront and express disagreement. In general Americans were more talkative, expressive and confrontative while Japanese students preferred harmony and silence.

G. When reflecting on your collaborative meetings last week, what are some things you would like to accomplish as a member of your own business team?

I would like to effectively communicate my ideas in written form. As a nonnative speaker of English, I find writing in English particularly difficult and I would like to improve my writing skills to write compelling and lucid articles. Also, I would like to learn to moderate business meetings and give moving and interesting presentations to motivate my business team and become an effective leader.

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