Power Tools for Technical Communication (Paperback)

by David A. McMurrey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Grounded in authentic workplace scenarios, the step-by-step approach of POWER TOOLS FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION prepares students for real world communication and workplace problem solving.

About the Author
David A. McMurrey spent 11 years at IBM Corporation working as a writer, editor, and vendor coordinator in new products areas, in particular, areas involving the AIX, RISC, and Power technologies. He is the author of Processes in Technical Writing (Macmillan, 1988) and Power Tools for Technical Communication (Heinle, 2001) and co-author of Writing Fundamentals (Macmillan, 1985) and Writing as an Engineer (Wiley, 1996).

Product Details

• Paperback: 459 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 1 edition (September 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0155068989
• ISBN-13: 978-0155068988
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #430,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Up to date student level book at a library level price!, October 24, 2003

By	Dr. Robert D. Williamson (Norwich United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Daved McMurrey's 'Power Tools' contains 21 'openly-sequenced' chapters on a wide range of aspects of technical writing. Intended for use on an undergraduate level course, it assigns homework - sorry - Workshops with each chapter.
Many of the chapters are a bit basic, but this allows for inexperienced readers (explains how to use styles in word processor software, for instance).
Some of the writing is 'undergraduate' or 'highschool' e.g. "4. Do some research. To write even a simple comparison, you may need to do some research. If you did some research on voice-recognition software, you'd find advertisments ..."
In the book's favour, it is very up to date (2003), covering the Internet, e-mail and HTML.
Against it, the price (currently 80 USD)! I can't imagine that anyone listing this as a recommended course text would ever be able to talk to their students again.
To sum up, useful if you're new to technical writing and loaded!

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best technical writing book available, January 26, 2002

By	kaf3 - See all my reviews

I've been teaching science and technical writing every semester for 17 years and have examined just about every text available. McMurrey's approach to organization, presentation and content make this the best book I can find for my students. It is the book I'd write. I swear McMurrey is in my head. I use the book in in-class and on-line courses to supplement my discussions. Power Tools contains a collection of common writing tools that form the core of all science and technical writing. Learn the tools with McMurrey's sensible approach and you improve your information gathering, thinking, organization and writing. The book is organized so I can assign chapters to fit my perception of the order in which I think students should learn. Numerous short exercises are built in or are available on a companion web site. If you are in a job that suddenly calls for technical writing, this book can help you develop skills by teaching you how to approach writing projects. Usually I have to throw out half a text because it contains materials not relevant to my courses. Not Power Tools.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best technical writing text ever, January 26, 2002

By	kaf3 - See all my reviews

I've been teaching science and technical writing every semester for 17 years and have examined just about every text available. McMurrey's approach to organization, presentation and content make this the best book I can find for my students. It is the book I'd write. I swear McMurrey is in my head. I use the book in in-class and on-line courses to supplement my discussions. Power Tools contains a collection of common writing tools that form the core of all science and technical writing. Learn the tools with McMurrey's sensible approach and you improve your information gathering, thinking, organization and writing. The book is organized so I can assign chapters to fit my perception of the order in which I think students should learn. Numerous short exercises are built in or are available on a companion web site. If you are in a job that suddenly calls for technical writing, this book can help you develop skills by teaching you how to approach writing projects. Usually I have to throw out half a text because it contains materials not relevant to my courses. Not Power Tools.