November 24, 2008

Response to Aaron and Rhiannon

I was just now getting an opportunity to see what everyone was writing about, but as I read your posts regarding the webmaster's response, I recall feeling much the same way as I read it almost two weeks ago. This person was not writing with the reader in mind, unless they meant to make us feel like we were no help at all.

The one comment I was completely confused with was this, "[r]emember that down the line the entire university may do a rebranding, and IT will be implementing a different site system that may or may not come with templates that override any design that is in place now." Wasn't one of our suggestions to use the more standard layout you see on most other WSU pages?

Hopefully we were able to offer some ideas they can "happily" use. I look forward to seeing changes if/when they happen.

November 21, 2008

I have learned so much in this class; it is hard to determine where to begin. First, and foremost, I learned to think about my reader in everything I write. This is so far from anything I've ever been taught. Typically, instructors want you to write to prove you learned something, and the content is virtually useless long-term. In English 402, not only were we encouraged to research something of true interest, but also we were instructed to write it in a way someone might actually use it. I have started a file of what I wrote in this class, and I am confident I will refer to it again either for content or structure.

I have also learned to love (sort of :) ) writing for this blog. This was a brand new experience, but I like how you can at any moment share your thoughts and read about what other people are thinking. I hope to continue this practice.

In all, I enjoyed this class very much. I think we had great discussions. Thank you, everyone for making it fun. Thank you, Kat for facilitating the experience.

November 17, 2008

Response to Sergiy Kondrenko

I too will be taking information from this chapter reader to help prepare a quality presentation. While classes both in English and Speech always gave information on "this is what you do," "you should have these visuals," etc., no class has ever provided the WHY. Knowing why certain visuals work better than others do in different situations, and also knowing why a certain style works better than another for different presentations not only helps you buy into the idea but also helps you remember for future presentations. Although I am not promising a perfect presentation, I definitely have the information to translate into skills as I prepare for both the group and individual presentations in this class. English 402 is quite possibly the most usable information I have received in my academic career thus far.

November 14, 2008

Chapter 17

This chapter gave suggestions for carrying over your reader-centered approach in your writing to a listener-centered approach in your oral presentations. There are guidelines ranging from defining your presentation's objectives, to setting up your visuals and rehearsing. You must start similar to when you plan your writing. Determine what your listeners want to know, need to know, and best way to deliver it to them.

There are three different styles for oral presentations. The scripted style is good for complex information, but it limits your ability to interact with your audience and make adjustments should you discover you need them. The outline style starts with bulleted points, and while it allows for a more flexible presentation, you are less likely to seem unorganized and miss key points. The impromptu style is best when you know the subject forward and back. There is little preparation and allows for a more interactive presentation.

Group presentations do not require a whole lot of different preparation techniques. It is important to plan well, all for some individual differences, move well between presenters, respect each other, and practice together for the best results.

Chapter 18

This chapter gives guidelines for developing a web page or site with the reader in mind. While there were some points that made sense, even though I had not consciously thought of them while surfing websites on my own, constructing the site so readers with disabilities can use it was one area I had not considered. There was information on what type of text to use so a visually impaired person can enlarge it, and the tag that will help convert your written type to audio with specific programs. There are ways to add captions. Making a clickable area larger can help readers who have difficulty operating a mouse. It can also be important to include visual prompts as a supplement to audio cues for those with hearing impairment.

It is no surprise the book again offers excellent information on targeting your reader (or listener).

November 10, 2008

Response to "The Persuaders"

In my line of work, banking, some of my fellow employees were surprised to learn we are in the business of selling. We do not think of ourselves as sales people, but rather customer service providers or financial professional, etc. While we are not working with advertisement per say, it all seems to be a part of a whole big plot.

The way a customer feels when they call on the phone or visit a branch does a lot for whether they will tell a friend something positive or negative. As part of our sales training clearly states, people do not choose their bank, car, or drink (or whatever it may be) for logical reasons. It is human nature to buy with emotion and then rationalize with logic. Advertising agencies know this, of course.

Even in a non-marketing specific position at a bank, I am trying to appeal to the needs of welcoming and confidence with every customer. I do not know about the scientific approach of establish code and all of that, but in a society where there are a million choices, surely every company is trying to win the emotional vote of the consumer.

I did not find the information in the video to be disturbing, but perhaps that is because I was already conducting myself under these assumptions. Does it bother me the amount of information there is about me that is available to companies? Yes and no. Am I going to start spending cash only and cancel my internet and magazine subscriptions? No. Like many people, I will continue trying to weed through all the noise, and try to make purchases based on logic rather than emotional motivation. Well, at least I'll be sure my logical reasoning after-the-fact sounds good.

November 7, 2008

Chapter 2 provides helpful information for creating a resume and cover letter. It gives specific help for resumes that will appear online. I have not yet used a resume to seek employment, but I anticipate needing to use its structure to obtain a possible promotion following the completion of my degree. I also appreciated this chapter because I see resumes on a regular basis, and it is easy to see where applicants have not been privey to this information.

Providing significant information, arranging it so it is easy to read and follow, and revising it in an attempt to show you've reviewed your work are all important aspects of constructing your resume and cover letter. Once again, thinking about your reader through all steps, and using what you know about your reader to guide you are at the peak of importance for this type of communication. A cover letter or resume may be your only opportunity to sell yourself to a possible employer, so they have to be the best they can be.

Chapter 9 and 10 give great guidelines to follow for writing both introductions and conclusions. These are typically difficult areas to write effectively. While guidelines 1-3 of writing introductions are similar to those we learned when starting a paragraph. They are perhaps more important in this stage of writing because they open the door to your entire communication. The guidelines for writing introdutions are:

• Give your readers a reason to pay attention
• State your main point
• Tell your readers what to expect
• Encourage openness to your message
• Provide necessary background information
• Include a summary unless your communication is very short
• Adjust the length of your beginning to your readers' needs
• Adapt your beginning to your readers' cultural background
• Begin to address unethical practices promplty-and strategically

The conclusion is possibly the second place a reader may look when deciding whether or not read an entire communication. In the introduction, you described what you planned to tell your reader and how you were going to accomplish that task. The conclusion is a quick place to find the answers to questions and review what you communicated in the entire piece. The guidelines for constructing a good conclusion are:

• After you've made your last point, stop
• Repeat your main point
• Summarize your key points
• Refer to a goal stated earlier in your communication
• Focus on a key feeling
• Tell your readers how to get assistance or more information
• Tell your readers what to do next
• Identify any further study that is needed
• Follow applicable social conventions

While your content is not to be discounted, without a good introduction and conclusion, it may not ever be read.

November 3, 2008

Response to Peter's Response

I like that Peter points out how being revision happy can actually hurt your work. I do think, however, there are certain types of writing where less is more and other types where a lot of revision, making the communication very formal, is necessary. Since this class discusses "technical" writing, I have (perhaps unnecessarily) classified the type of writing to which each of these chapters is referring.

Certainly Peter's other blog is supportive of his style to just "go." The way he writes in this media keeps you reading. On the other side, a set of directions on how to perform a task online probably would not be as effective with the same style.

October 31, 2008

There are three steps to revising your work. These steps are identifying possible improvements you could make in your draft, deciding which of the possible improvements to make, and making the selected changes. While all are necessary to produce your best work, the third step, making the selected changes, is no different than the process of writing your draft and therefore is not included in this section. The two parts of identifying possible improvements are checking and reviewing. Chapter 14 lays out guidelines for both of these activities. The second step of deciding which of the possible improvements to make is also included in the chapter.

Guidelines to follow for checking your draft yourself are as follows.

• Check from your readers' point of view
• Check from your employer's point of view
• Distance yourself from your draft
• Read your draft more than once, changing your focus each time
• Use computer aids to find (but not to cure) possible problems
• Consider the stakeholders' perspective

Guidelines to follow for having your draft reviewed are as follows.

• Discuss the objectives of the communication and the review
• Build a positive interpersonal relationship with your reviewers or writer
• Rank suggested revisions--and distinguish matters of substance from matters of taste
• Explore fully the reasons for all suggestions
• Use computer aids for reviewing in a reader-centered way
• Review from the stakeholders' perspective

While the guidelines for checking your own work is more obviously steps you will perform on your own work, the guidelines for reviewing can be used whether you are the reviewer or the one being reviewed. Ultimately, what I took from the information is making sure your writing is useable and persuasive can be more important than the spelling and grammar, since most of these guidelines focus on the point of view your reader will use when reading. This is not to say spelling and grammar can be thrown aside, because surely a piece of writing draped with errors will distract from both the usability and the persuasiveness. It is important, however, to not get caught up on the detailed things and view the writing as a whole and try to determine where whole ideas are ineffective and intended meaning is lost.

Once possible areas for revision are highlighted, you have the task of performing the revisions. Sometimes you will not have time to do all of the suggested revisions, you may have received advice from multiple reviewers that contradict each other, and you may even have received suggestions from someone such as a boss you think will weaken the effectiveness of the writing.

The following guidelines help deal with these issues in the revising stage.

• Adjust your effort to the situation
• Make the most significant revisions first
• Be diplomatic
• To revise well, follow the guidelines for writing well

Taking the time to do this step, and do this step well, will greatly improve your writing. Deadlines sometimes get in the way of making all the possible changes, but that is why a timeline of your writing process is so important in the beginning of the project.

Chapter 15 gives guidelines for testing your draft. I had a hard time distinguishing this process from the reviewing step of identifying areas of improvement, but perhaps it is not meant to be a separate process. I suppose I can see how testing is more specific than reviewing because testing is done with an entire process of planning, conducting, and interpreting. Testing your draft, like the entire writing process, goes to improve both usability and persuasiveness of your communication.

The following are guidelines for conducting a test of your draft.

• Establish your test objectives
• Pick test readers who truly represent your target readers
• Focus on usability: ask your test readers to use your draft the same way your target reader will
• Focus on persuasiveness: learn how your draft affects your readers' attitudes
• Interview your test readers after they have read and used your draft
• Avoid biasing your test results
• Interpret your test results thoughtfully
• Test early and often
• With communications for readers in other cultures, choose test readers from the culture
• Obtain informed consent from your test reader

By performing the testing process throughout drafting, you can ensure you are staying focused and not putting too much effort into something that will be ineffective. What I have taken from both these chapters and the class as a whole is to not become too attached to your writing. When constructing technical writing, you are not writing for you. You are always writing for the reader, and you should take every opportunity to change the piece to accommodate what will work best for your reader. Your ideas will not be lost but better received.