this is my final project in my technical communication class

1. Technical Writing
and Communication
By CaelanDecker

2. English 2311
Introduction to Technical Communication

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 – Rhetoric…………………………………………Page 4
02 – Writing……………………………………………Page 5
03 – Design…………………………………………..Page 6
04 – Collaboration………………………………Page 7
05 – Ethics/Culture…………………………….Page 8
06 – Applied Technology………………..Page 9
07 – Mode of Communication……….Page 10

4. Rhetoric
Before coming into this class I would approach
technical communication of all kinds with the
same mentality. With little to no regard for the
amount of professionalism that was necessary for
specific audiences. I quickly learned through Unit
1 and Unit 2 that this was an extremely important
part of technical communication. Through Unit 1,
my resume, I learned how to better present
myself through my communications both
electronically and through paper resumes. I
learned key skills to make my resume one step
above the potential competition in a professional
environment. I learned that this is a completely
different approach than that which was took in
Unit 2.
I learned through Unit 2 how to better
communicate instructions to a mass audience. I
learned techniques and helpful tips that would
help progress a user of an app to the most
proficient way to solve an issue with their car. I
believe that I will be able to take this with me in
my career as a teacher and a coach. I will have to
communicate both professionally with employers,
and instructionally with students and athletes
when trying to educate them.

5. Writing
I also learned how to be a better writer. Through this class I was able to stop writing generically with no
target, and start better communicating through my writing in different ways to different target
audiences. I learned that key points and verb first phrases were key in communication. More stuff, less
fluff.
I learned in Unit 3 that key points and verb first phrasing is very important because those taking our
usability test and participating in our survey would know what to do. We needed the key points in our
instructions so that they would stay on topic without swaying to some other subject, and so that they
would be able to effectively help us better our app. I believe that this will be of great help to me in my
future especially with students. This will help me have a better idea how to express instructions through
writing to students in an effective manner that keeps them engaged with what is being taught and help
steer them to the desired end result.

6. Design
Design is extremely important. I wish
that before this class I had put more
effort into the design of my writing. I
learned that the design of your
writing can make or break it. I
learned through Unit 1, and Unit 5
especially that a professional design
in your writing is important. I learned
of block formatting and how that
makes a resume and proposal look
much more professional, and that
alignment within text needs to be
consistent, left aligned and
professional looking.
There does not need to be excessive
white space, this makes it look bland
to anybody reading the text. I learned
in Unit 2 and Unit 4 that design is key.
You need to have pictures within
your writing so that people stay
engaged and interested in what is
being presented. This will help me
keep my future students engaged
during class, and will also help me
with potential employers by catching
their eyes with professional visuals.

7. Collaboration
During this course I have had
the most experience
collaborating that I have
ever had in my scholastic
career. I learned in Units 2
through 5 that collaboration
is key in any group project,
and that a lack of
collaboration can ultimately
result in failure.
I have acquired skills in
relation to planning and job
placing. Through this
massive group project I have
learned how to have a group
schedule and a project
management schedule. I
have also learned how to
write these out
professionally and efficiently.
I believe that this will help
me in the future to
collaborate with my fellow
teachers and coaches. I
know that especially in a
coaching career it is
necessary to be on the same
page as your colleagues to
be as efficient as possible
when planning different
sporting events.

8. Ethics and Culture
Ethics and culture are the two of, if not the most
important aspects of technical writing. It is necessary
in technical writing to know whom your speaking to,
as in their culture, or potential disabilities. For
example some hand gestures in the United States are
offensive to other people around the world and
recognizing this before you place pictures of those
gestures within your writing is key. Also not using
slang that may be offensive, or pictures that may be
offensive is key as well. In Unit 1 within my visual
resume I needed to be sure that the images I placed
would not offend any potential employers or
coworkers that might see it. This all ties into ethics. It
is ethical to consider the cultures that you may be
communicating with. Also being ethical in your
communication by not plagiarizing and not stealing
work from another person is extremely important as
well. This will help me in the future to know to check
the potential cultures of different work
environments. As a coach and a teacher plagiarizing
will be unacceptable and a highly punishable offense.
Knowing this, and knowing the potential
repercussions for such actions will help me to deter
students and coworkers from doing so.

9. Applied Technologies
Images, Tables and Graphs are all part of applied technologies. During this course I learned how to
more effectively use applied technologies to communicate information with images and graphs in a
faster more precise way. This is preferred by some people over reading because it keeps their attention
and helps them receive max amounts of information with minimal reading. I learned this is necessary
when expressing costs and timelines within app development, as well as cost and development within
a business proposal. This will be useful in the future because I will be able to take the knowledge of
what graphs and tables go where and how they will be able to help students better understand what is
being taught. This will also help me in my coaching career when I am calculating timetables for slumps
and hot streaks for individual players. As well as when I am teaching certain kinds of math that require
graphs to help teach the students.

10. Mode of Communication
The mode of communication is as important as anything else is, whether it be in paper form or
electronic, presentation or document. This is important because different modes of communication
have different necessary procedures. A formal document needs to be more professional and precise,
geared toward a business-like environment. Whereas a presentation also needs to be business
oriented, but with more pictures to keep people interested. During this course this was probably my
weakest aspect, but I feel that I have come a long way from the start of the semester. During the
semester we used both of the above forms in our resumes, and our mobile app. Our resumes needed
to be professional and proficient, easy to skim through with critical information being able to be picked
up quickly in our paper resume. Likewise in the mobile app we needed to make it precise and concise
with pictures to help the projected consumers achieve their goal as quickly and proficiently as possible.
This will be of extreme importance in the future when deciding what kind of job resume I would like to
send out, as well as when I am making presentations for a potential job so that I can better understand
what the consumer wants or needs and I can address those needs appropriately.

11. Epilogue
I am so grateful that I took this
course. It has taught me many
invaluable tools that will help me
succeed on a higher level in my
future. I have furthered my
knowledge of technical writing
both in a professional atmosphere,
and in an informative one as well. I
have become more experienced in
group project, and group
management, and my
collaboration skills have increases
exponentially through taking this
course. This course has helped me
to be a better writer overall and
will continue to help me be the
best technical writer I can be.
Especially when I look back and
remember all the rules and
formatting that can help my
resumes, presentations, and
proposals of the future.