Technical Writing

309

Sections

Chapters

Parts

Free

Always

Start Reading

About This Book

A free, comprehensive textbook on technical and professional writing: clear thinking, documents and structure, academic and scientific writing, workplace and software documentation, presentations, and a capstone portfolio.

Front Matter

1. Think, Then Write
2. Preface
3. How to Use This Book
4. Prerequisites
5. Acknowledgments

Part I: Part I — Writing Is Thinking

1. Part I — Writing Is Thinking
2. Chapter 1: Why Writing Matters More Than You Think
3. Chapter 2: Audience: The Most Important Word in Writing (and the One Most Writers Ignore)
4. Chapter 3: Clarity: How to Say What You Mean in the Fewest Possible Words
5. Chapter 4: Structure: How to Organize Information So Readers Actually Find What They Need
6. Chapter 5: The Writing Process: Planning, Drafting, Revising, and the Myth of the Perfect First Draft

Part II: Part II — The Building Blocks

1. Part II — The Building Blocks
2. Chapter 6: Sentences That Work: Grammar, Style, and the Mechanics of Clarity
3. Chapter 7: Word Choice, Tone, and Voice
4. Chapter 8: Paragraphs That Flow: Cohesion, Transitions, and the Logic of Sequence
5. Chapter 9: Visuals and Data: Figures, Tables, Charts, and How to Write About Them
6. Chapter 10: Design and Layout: Making Documents That People Actually Want to Read
7. Chapter 11: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism: Academic Integrity in Technical Writing
8. Chapter 12: Editing and Revision: The Skill That Separates Adequate Writers from Excellent Ones

Part III: Part III — Academic and Scientific Writing

1. Part III — Academic and Scientific Writing
2. Chapter 13: Lab Reports and Technical Reports: Documenting What You Did and What You Found
3. Chapter 14: Research Papers: Contributing to the Scholarly Conversation
4. Chapter 15: Literature Reviews and Research Synthesis
5. Chapter 16: Theses and Dissertations: The Longest Document You'll Ever Write
6. Chapter 17: Grant Proposals and Funding Applications
7. Chapter 18: Conference Presentations and Posters

Part IV: Part IV — Professional and Workplace Writing

1. Part IV — Professional and Workplace Writing
2. Chapter 19: Emails That Get Read and Get Results: The Most Important Writing You Do Every Day
3. Chapter 20: Proposals and Business Cases: Persuading Decision-Makers to Act
4. Chapter 21: Workplace Reports: Progress Reports, Status Updates, and Incident Reports
5. Chapter 22: Instructions and Procedures: Writing That Tells People How to Do Things
6. Chapter 23: Collaborative Writing: How to Write with a Team Without Losing Your Mind

Part V: Part V — Software and Data Writing

1. Part V — Software and Data Writing
2. Chapter 24: Code Documentation: Comments, Docstrings, and the Art of Explaining Your Code
3. Chapter 25: README Files, API Documentation, and Developer-Facing Writing
4. Chapter 26: Technical Tutorials and How-To Content: Teaching Through Writing
5. Chapter 27: Writing About Data: Memos, Reports, and Dashboards That Tell a Story
6. Chapter 28: Blog Posts, Articles, and Science Communication: Explaining Technical Concepts to Everyone
7. Chapter 29: Writing with AI: Using LLMs as Writing Tools Without Losing Your Voice or Your Thinking

Part VI: Part VI — Presentations and Oral Communication

1. Part VI — Presentations and Oral Communication
2. Chapter 30: Slide Design: Visual Communication for Presentations
3. Chapter 31: Delivering Technical Presentations
4. Chapter 32: Visual Storytelling: Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Architecture Documents

Part VII: Part VII — Writing for Specific Fields

1. Part VII — Writing for Specific Fields
2. Chapter 33: Writing for Engineering: Standards, Specifications, and Technical Requirements
3. Chapter 34: Writing for Computer Science: From Code Reviews to Architecture Decision Records
4. Chapter 35: Writing for Science: The Conventions That Govern Scientific Publication
5. Chapter 36: Writing for Medicine and Healthcare
6. Chapter 37: Writing for Business and Policy: Executive Summaries, White Papers, and Policy Briefs

Part VIII: Part VIII — Synthesis

1. Part VIII — Synthesis
2. Chapter 38: Ethics and Responsibility in Technical Writing: The Power and Danger of Clear Communication
3. Chapter 39: Your Writing Life: Building a Practice That Lasts Beyond This Course

Part IX: Part IX — Capstone

1. Part IX — Capstone
2. Chapter 40: The Communication Portfolio: Bringing It All Together
3. Capstone Project C — The Documentation Sprint
4. Capstone Project A — The Communication Portfolio
5. Capstone Project B — The Translation Challenge
6. Capstone Rubric

Appendices

1. Appendix A — The Clarity Checklist and the 20 Most Common Errors
2. Appendix B — Document Templates
3. Appendix C — Citation Styles Side by Side
4. Appendix D — Self-Assessment Rubrics
5. Appendix E — A Prompt Library for Writing and Revision
6. Appendix F — A Reader's Guide to the Major Style References
7. Answers to Selected Exercises
8. Glossary
9. Bibliography
10. Index

Technical Writing

About This Book

Table of Contents

Share This Book