Category: Guest Blogger

Aug 20

Lessons from Linda: Language is Fun

Years ago, I had the fortune to meet someone I believe to be a 20th Century Renaissance Man (if there could be such a mixture): Stephen Jay Gould. In 2000, Dr. Gould received an STC Honorary Fellowship. (I led the committee who championed him to the STC Board of Directors.) A gentleman of grace and charm, he joined our conference in Orlando at Disney World where I had the honor of meeting him, dining with him, and introducing him to our members. It was one of the great experiences of my life. To this day, I treasure those few hours as ones that helped me recognize the beauty and benefits of good technical communication.

Aug 13

Talking Usability: Why Mental Models Are Important to Usability

A friend purchased a smartphone to replace her aging cell phone. She used the smartphone for one thing—to make phone calls. The other features and functions of her smartphone are unknown to her because she does not know they exist and does not know how to use them. She is easily confused by new technology because she won’t read the user guide. She relies on assumptions of how things should work and is frustrated when her assumptions prove incorrect. Eventually she “figures it out” on her own and rejoices with her new-found knowledge.

Aug 11

Publishing Perspectives: Fonts and Fashion

I’ve been thinking about fonts lately; in particular, unfashionable fonts. If you search for “bad fonts,” you will discover a core set of fonts that no professional will admit to liking. The obvious “offenders” are Comic Sans and Papyrus—they make everyone’s list. But there is surprising agreement on several more, including Copperplate, Arial, Impact, and Brush Script. Others find their way onto both best of and worst of lists. For example, Trajan, Times Roman, Gill Sans, Courier, and Helvetica.

Aug 08

Nine Steps to Improve Technical Editing Skills

Technical writers always want their work to be recognized by the audience. Technical writing and editing skills are highly associated with each other. Effective editing will help make bad writing good and good writing becomes even better. Experienced editing will catch both factual and grammatical errors in copy before it is published, preventing  embarrassment, additional costs, and possible legal action. To become an experienced editor, here are some steps to improve your editing skills.

Aug 06

Letter from the UK: Writing Manuals for Paul Revere

One of the things we have a lot of, here in the UK, is recorded history. Over the weekend, I discovered our family is directly related to Henry Copland (1706-1754). Henry was an engraver and rococo designer of furniture, and, it turns out, he was also the co-author of a book called A New Book of Ornaments. This book was a manual for other engravers and furniture designers, such as Paul Revere, on how to create items in the Rococo style.

Jul 25

In Memoriam: Bill Owen Coggin, 1948-2014

BILL COGGIN, STC Fellow and Student Advisor of the Bowling Green State University Student STC Chapter, passed away on 9 February 2014 after a long illness. Bill served the technical communication profession and STC both in the academic and professional/industrial arenas with significant personal and professional success.

Jul 24

Plainly Speaking: Ambiguous Antecedent

Being a technical writer and editor, I’m somewhat fond of style guides. The other day I found a good deal on the Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 2013, so I bought it and took it home. Flipping through the book later, I read this in the Foreword:

Jul 23

Linda’s Lessons: When is Good Enough Good Enough?

We often hear that something is “good enough.” I used to consider that phrase derogatory. In fact, working as often as I have within the government, I have always hated the phrase, “good enough for government work.” As a proud professional, I like to think that my work is error-free. I know most writing and editing rules and I try to follow them, yet sometimes, mistakes happen! As a new technical communicator, I had little flex about what was right and what was wrong. Back then, I had the luxury of working in a job where my talents were appreciated and the company didn’t focus on next quarter’s share prices. Combine that environment with my brand-new, college-degreed book-learning, and my only choice was to strive for perfection.

Jul 18

Fifty Years with Bill: The NAFTA Problem in 1989

A few months after I became STC president, I was invited to visit the Toronto Chapter to discuss with them an issue regarding education of technical communicators. I arranged a visit in December 1989, and invited my newly appointed Assistant to the President for Academic Affairs, Bill Coggin, to go with me.