Customer Reviews

Writing for the Technical Professions (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This textbook shares some useful information, but at times I feel myself saying "well, duh - that's just commons sense." Some sections feel a bit wordy and cluttered. I thinks it's pretty comical that the first sections of the book talk about organizing your ideas before you begin writing, but some places in the book seem so disorganized. Overall though, I'm learning what I need to know from the book to be able to pass my class and feel that some of the information will come in handy throughout my future career.

This book has become an indispensable reference guide when I write. It is written in a manual/workbook format with tabs for quick reference. It is clearly organized and endlessly useful; each chapter has:
- a brief overview of the topic/writing project
- strategies for execution (including rhetorical context and device)
- steps and process tips
- checklists and conceptually illustrative charts
- excellent examples
- classroom exercises

The book is organized into two sections, Basic Tools (featuring format, style, and editing issues) and Professional Applications (featuring specific kinds of technical writing like reports, proposals, executive summaries, etc). The book includes a useful glossary and additional online resources.

The formatting is excellent: attractive, "scannable", with clear visual hierarchies. The pages look more like a website than a reference guide.

My copy is battered from over-use, highlighted, tagged, and cross-referenced. Use it, you will love it. I'm buying another copy so that I can have one at home and one at work.

This is a excellent resource for actual professionals or those just getting started in tech writing. Contents include everyday documentation like emails, reports, and RFP responses as well as sections on international communication. It also covers style and rhetorical strategy (pathos anyone?).

I used this book for a college course then kept it for my work in the real world, writing user guides for technology classrooms at my University. It is designed as a handbook and not a textbook so some chapters may be repetitive if you a reading from cover to cover. Those of you looking for long drowned out chapters of text with no meat should look elsewhere.

I hear there is a 4th edition floating around somewhere.

I was aware that the seller had not sold much on Amazon.com so I was a little leery, but the transaction was smooth and the shipment was fast. Thanks!

This book helped me write technically and professionally. The author highlighted the common errors by the writters for the technical writting. Tabs are an excellent way to organize this workbook. Some English professors already used this book as a reference book in their Technical Writing classes. I would like to use this book as a workbook to practice my technical writing skill for the computer software user manuals.

The book is suck. The book describes all techniques in first chapter at once and too many complicated examples. Should have been wrote clearly step by step. I don't think it is a good book for students.