2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Technical Writing Textbook, September 18, 2003
This book, by Theodore A. Sherman & Simon S. Johnson is a masterpiece! I studied Technical Writing this summer and checked about 6 books out of the Library. This was by far the best one I used.
Reasons I recommend this book:
* This book is very easy to understand.
* It follows all its own advice when it comes to being clear, logically organized, and succinct.
* The book makes effective use of headings, numbered lists, graphs, and tables to make it easy to read.
* The authors really knew the subject, and they have a very effective style of teaching.
* There are Exercises and Assignments at the end of each chapter, which would be useful in applying what you've learned (though I did not take advantage of them).
* The text is interspersed with many excellent examples of good Technical Writing, so you don't just read about it in theory, you see it in practice
* You learn the reasons WHY something is done, so that you understand it and can apply it to othersituations, instead of learning that "that's just the way they do it."
Example: Footnotes and references always seemed to me to be the most arbitrary, complicated things. I thought it was impossible to ever be able to remember the correct form, even after studying lists over and over again. However, now, after reading the following portion from this book, it has suddenly become easy! "A footnote usually answers the following four questions, so far as possible, in the order indicated: (1) Who said it? (2) What was the title of the piece of writing in which it was said? (3) Where or by whom was this writing made available? (4) On what page or pages may the material cited be found?" The whole book is like this. It makes Technical Writing understandable.
Topics this book teaches:
TECHNICAL WRITING IN GENERAL
Introduction
The Writing Process
Effective Style
Organization
Mechanics (Manuscript form, Technical Style, etc.)
Special Areas (Definitions, Technical Descriptions, Explanation of a process, Instructions, etc.)
Tables and Figures
REPORTS, PROPOSALS, AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Reports--Their Importance and Qualities
Procedure in Writing a Report
Reports--Their Variation in Form and Purpose
Special Elements in Reports
Formal and Semiformal Reports
Proposals
Oral Presentation of Technical Information
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
General Principles of Business Correspondence
Special Types of Letters
Letters Concerning Employment and Resumes
HANDBOOK OF FUNDAMENTALS
Paragraphs
Standard Usage
Unity and Coherence in the Sentence
Punctuation
Capitalization
Italics
Abbreviations
Spelling
Glossary of Standard Usage
Explanation of Technical Terms.
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