Frank R. Smith Award for Outstanding Journal Article
Technical Communication, the Society’s journal, publishes articles about the practical application of technical communication theory and serves as a common arena for discussion by practitioners. Technical Communication includes both quantitative and qualitative research while showcasing the work of some of the field’s most noteworthy writers.
The Frank R. Smith outstanding journal article award recognizes the authors of exceptional articles that appeared in Technical Communication during a calendar year. Since 1966, STC has paid tribute to the authors whose contributions have made Technical Communication one of the most highly respected journals devoted to the arts and sciences of technical communication.
Judges base their decisions on the article’s content and form. Content is judged on the degree to which it represents contributions to new knowledge, new perspectives, or practical communication applications or techniques. Form is judged by the degree to which it embodies effective and appropriate organization; apt language and correct grammar; relevant and meaningful tables and illustrations; and spirit of vibrancy, intensity, conviction, or enthusiasm in transmitting information.
Honorees notified: After vote by STC Board of Directors
Award Presented: At the Honors Event at the STC Technical Communication Summit
Nomination Process
Consult the guidelines for the complete nomination process.
Eligibility
Technical Communication authors are eligible.
Who may nominate: Frank R. Smith Award Committee
The guidelines and application will be published in the fall of 2024.
Awardees
Outstanding Article of 2024
Recipients: Alisa Bonsignore
Title: It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It: Mitigating the Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Effective Content
Issue: February 2023
For a topical tutorial that urges technical communicators to consider the energy costs of their content strategies. The author demonstrates how high-energy content choices can run counter to plain language and provides tools so that content strategists can reconsider carbon emissions across content design and governance processes. The tutorial opens timely conversations about the materiality and justice of content strategy.
Distinguished Article of 2024
Recipients: Lin Dong and Zhujin Gao
Title: Who Are China’s Technical Communicators? A Survey on the State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of the Profession
Issue: August 2023
For an exploratory study that paints a well-researched portrait of technical communication in China, providing a better understanding of issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the under-studied profession. The authors open doors to better recognize the contributions, challenges, and needs among China’s technical communicators and expand understanding of DEI in technical communication to include non-Western views.
2024
Outstanding Article of 2024
Recipient: Alisa Bonsignore
Title: It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It: Mitigating the Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Effective Content
Issue: February 2023
Distinguished Article of 2024
Recipients: Lin Dong and Zhujin Gao
Title: Who Are China’s Technical Communicators? A Survey on the State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of the Profession
Issue: August 2023
2023
Outstanding Article of 2023
Recipients: Nora K. Rivera
Title: Understanding Agency through Testimonios: An Indigenous Approach to UX Research
Issue: November 2022
Distinguished Article of 2023
Recipients: Daniel Hocutt, Nupoor Ranade, & Gustav Verhulsdonck
Title: Localizing Content: The Roles of Technical & Professional Communicators and Machine Learning in Personalized Chatbot Responses
Issue: November 2022
2022
Outstanding Article of 2022
Recipients: Rebekka Andersen, and JaAnn Hackos
Title: Practicing Technical Communicators' Experiences with and Perspectives on Academic Publishing
Issue: August 2021
Distinguished Article of 2022
No award in 2022
2021
Outstanding Article of 2021
Recipients: Dr. Ryan Boettger, and Dr. Erin Friess
Title: Content and Authorship Patterns in Technical Communication Journals (1996-2017: A Quantitative Content Analysis
Issue: November 2020
Distinguished Article of 2021
Recipient: Dr. Charles Kostelnick
Title: The Art of Visual Design: The Rhetoric of Aesthetics in Technical Communication
Issue: November 2020
2020
Outstanding Article of 2020
Recipients: Aileen Cudmore and Darina Slattery
Title: An Analysis of Physical and Rhetorical Characteristics of Videos Used to Promote Technology Projects, on the Kickstarter Crowdfunding Platform
Issue: November 2019
2019
Outstanding Article of 2019
Recipient: Jason Chew Kit Tham
Title: Interactivity in an Age of Immersive Media: Seven Dimensions for Wearable Technology, Internet of Things, and Technical Communication
Issue: February 2018
2018
Outstanding Article of 2018
Recipient: Carolyn Boiarsky
Title: Effects of Communicating with Emails and Texts in Risk Communication: Information Poor, Writer-Based, A-Synchronous
Issue: August 2017
Distinguished Article of 2018
Recipients: Ann Shivers-McNair and Clarissa San Diego
Title: Localizing Communities, Goals, Communication, and Inclusion: A Collaborative Approach
Issue: May 2017
2017
Outstanding Article of 2017
Recipient: Charles Kostelnick
Title: The Re-Emergence of Emotional Appeals in Interactive Data Visualization
Issue: May 2016
Distinguished Articles of 2017
Recipient: Rebecca Walton, Robin E. Mays, and Mark Haselkorn
Title: Enacting Humanitarian Culture: How Technical Communication Facilitates Successful Humanitarian Work
Issue: May 2016
Recipient: Carlos Evia and Michael Priestley
Title: Structured Authoring without XML: Evaluating Lightweight DITA for Technical Communication
Issue: February 2016
2016
Outstanding Article of 2016
Recipient: Petra Ten Hove and Hans Van Der Meij
Title: Like It or Not: What Characterizes YouTube’s More Popular Instructional Videos?
Issue: February 2015
2015
Outstanding Article of 2015
Recipient: Leo R. Lentz, Henk L.W. Pander Maat, and Ted J.M. Sanders
Title: Towards Evidence-Based Writing Decisions: The Knowledge Base Comprehensible Text
Issue: February 2014
Distinguished Article of 2015
Recipient: Saul Carliner, Adnan Qayyum, and Juan Carlos Sanchez-Lozano
Title: What Measures of Productivity and Effectiveness Do Technical Communication Managers Track and Report?
Issue: May 2014
2014
Outstanding Article of 2014
Recipient: Lisa Meloncon and Sally Henschel
Title: Current State of U.S. Undergraduate Degree Programs in Technical and Professional Communication
Issue: February 2013
Distinguished Article of 2014
Recipient: Hans van der Meij and Jan van der Meij
Title: Eight Guidelines for the Design of Instructional Videos for Software Training
Issue: August 2013
2013
Outstanding Article of 2013
Recipient: Lisa Meloncon and Sally Henschel
Title: Current State of U.S. Undergraduate Degree Programs in Technical and Professional Communication
Issue: February 2013
Distinguished Article of 2013
Recipient: Hans van der Meij and Jan van der Meij
Title: Eight Guidelines for the Design of Instructional Videos for Software Training
Issue: August 2013
2012
Outstanding Article of 2012
Recipient: Hanna Jochmann-Mannak, Leo Lentz, Theo Huibers, and Ted Sanders
Title: Three Types of Children’s Informational Web Sites: An Inventory of Design Conventions
Issue: November 2012
Distinguished Articles of 2012
Recipient: Saul Carliner
Title: Using Business Models to Describe Technical Communication Groups
Issue: May 2012
Recipient: Jason Swarts
Title: New Modes of Help: Best Practices for Instructional Video
Issue: August 2012
2011
Outstanding Article of 2011
Recipient: Henk Pander Maat and Leo Lentz
Title: Using Sorting Data to Evaluate Text Structure: An Evidence-based Proposal for Restructuring Patient Information Leaflets
Issue: August 2011
Distinguished Article of 2011
Recipient: Luc Desnoyers
Title: Toward a Taxonomy of Visuals in Science Communication
Issue: May 2011
2010
Outstanding Article of 2010
Recipient: Tatiana Batova
Title: Writing for the Participants of International Clinical Trials: Law, Ethics, and Culture
Issue: August 2010
Distinguished Articles of 2010
Recipient: Nicole St. Germain-McDaniel
Title: Technical Communication in the Health Fields: Executive Order 13166 and its Impact on Translation and Localization
Issue: August 2010
Recipients: Lisa Meloncon, Erin Haynes, Megan Varelmann, and Lisa Groh
Title: Building a Playground: General Guidelines for Creating Educational Web Sites for Children
Issue: November 2010
2009
Outstanding Article of 2009
Recipient: Han Yu
Title: Putting China’s Technical Communication into Historical Context: A Look at the Chinese Culinary Instruction Genre
Issue: May 2009
Distinguished Article of 2009
Recipient: Nicole St. Germain-Madison
Title: Localizing Medical Information for U.S. Spanish-Speakers: The CDC Campaign to Increase Public Awareness About HPV
Issue: August 2009
2008
Outstanding Article of 2008
Recipient: Roger Munger
Title: Green Printing: A Guide to Environmentally Responsible Printing
Issue: February 2008
Distinguished Articles of 2008
Recipient: Tiffany Craft Portewig
Title: The Role of Rhetorical Invention for Visuals: A Qualitative Study of Technical ommunicators in the Workplace
Issue: November 2008
Recipients: Marieke Welle Donker-Kuijer, Menno De Jong, and Leo Lentz
Title: Heuristic WebSite Evaluation: Exploring the Effects of Guidelines on Experts' Detection of Usability Problems
Issue: November 2008
Recipient: Lynne Cooke
Title: How Do Users Search Web Home Pages? An Eye-Tracking Study of Multiple Navigation Menus
Issue: May 2008