Customer Reviews

Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach (with MLA Updates)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am so impressed with the book. My engineering students are pragmatists - they don't like arbitrary rules and someone else's idea of elegance. But this book shows them how to achieve objectives with written communications - something they really get. Effortless (almost) to read and provided with a number of checklist tools to remind the writer what he seeks to do and the means to do so, no student has indicated that this book was "not relevant". I use my copy often to work the academic decision making regime. A salute to Dr. Anderson!

This book helps readers understand how to write professional writings in most effective way. A lot of visuals and examples helped me a lot with the technical writing course.

Very impressed. The item arrived in the mail faster than I had expected and was in great condition. I will continue to use Amazon to get text books :)

This book is just what I needed for a technical write course. It would be a great addition to anyone needing guidance with technical writing.

The book came in a timely manner and was exactly as the description said it would be. I was satisfied with the entire service.

Additional purchase required for supplemental materials

Throughout this book, the reader is pointed to inserts in the margin offering additional help on many points, and web addresses are given. Be advised that purchasing this book does not allow you access to this additional information. You are required to have an access code, which the publisher's technical support person says must be purchased in addition to the book.

Poor editing

This book may be the most poorly edited textbook I've encountered in 5 years of university classes. The additional shame of it is that the subject matter is Technical Writing, which should /begin/ with good editing. A few examples of editing issues, which often seem to be related to the very point the author is advising against, are given below.

To have a typo ("tremperatures") in an example in which the author advocates "bolstering confidence" by "preparing a neat and carefully proofread memo" is counterproductive.

The author cautions against graphics that detract from your message or confuse readers, then uses one. Page 343 contains a graph with a confusing relationship between the "Salary" scale on the vertical axis and the various animal populations on the horizontal axis. Were these paid beasts?

There is an excellent point presented on page 226, which states that the words /this/ or /that/ should be followed by a noun when used as an echo word at the beginning of a sentence. At the top of the same page, however, the author uses /these/ without a noun after it, and again two pages later, on page 228, he uses the phrase, "when this happens," again with no associated noun.

I don't understand the author's phrase, "but they can always lead to the unethical treatment of other people," on page 228. I understand "they can lead" and "they always lead," or even perhaps, in rare circumstances, "they always can lead," but not "they can always lead."

Troubling gender choices

In addition to the poor editing, the author made troubling gender choices for the characters presented in his examples. In the first few chapters, "Sarah" is a metallurgist, while "Larry" is a nutritionist; "Alyssa" receives correspondence from "Frank" on testing she required; "Marti" is a mechanical engineer, while "Donald" uses inflammatory language in his memo.

Conclusion

I have no idea what other texts may be available for technical writing instruction, but if I were a professor, I'd be looking for them.

The book was in good condition, but it seemed to take longer than expected to get here. This may just be because I was impatient to get it. Overall I am completely satisfied. The book came just as it was described.

This is perhaps the best experience I have ever had shopping in the Amazon marketplace. The item was listed as very good/good- what an understatement! It looked and felt like it had never been used- no mark-ups, no page tears, not even wear to the cover. I am endlessly happy with my purchase- it was low price and high quality, and it's delivery was quite prompt. Phenomenal!

This book is pretty good for a text book about something that is not typically very interesting. It is very easily accessible to find information quickly.

I ordered my book on an emergency basis and received it before the next class! Good timing.But their service would be way better if only they had replied to my email asking by when I should receive my book.