Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication)
Gerald J. Savage, Illinois State University
Dale L. Sullivan, North Dakota State University
Sam Dragga, Series Editor, Texas Tech University

ISBN-10: 0205321062
ISBN-13: 9780205321063

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2001
Format: Paper; 292 pp
Published: 11/09/2000

Suggested retail price: $40.00
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This is the first collection of narratives by practicing technical communicators telling their own personal stories about the workplace and their lives on and off the job.

The stories vividly demonstrate the unique power of narrative as a teaching and learning tool. Unlike fabricated cases, these real-life narratives show new and veteran technical writers at work on the job, dealing with tasks, clients, and co-workers, and revealing their insights, values, and attitudes about their work. The stories also show the skills required in the profession and the ethical and other issues raised in the course of the workday.

  • Twenty-two personal accounts by technical communicators throughout North America provide insight into the range of career opportunities available in the profession.
  • Division into three sections — Initiation Stories, The Process, and Life On and Beyond the Job — offers a variety of perspectives on the profession, its culture, and the professional community.
  • The stories address current issues in the profession, including gender issues, professional status and recognition, contracting and consulting, and the relationship of technical communicators to technical experts and managers.
  • The authors portray a wide range of jobs: writers, editors, interface designers, marketing writers, and trainers working in 9 different technical fields, including software, R&D, engineering, medicine, transportation, and telecommunications.
  • Abstract concepts such as collaboration and teamwork, law and ethics, uses of technology, and the role of technical communication in society are made tangible through these stories and therefore are more accessible and meaningful for students.
  • Topics often overlooked in the classroom, such as working as a contractor or consultant, working with Subject Matter Experts, and the draft review process, are addressed through these stories.
  • Candid and compelling portrayals of workplace policies and practices that have, and have not worked, prompt readers to discuss and learn from these experiences.



Preface.

I.INITIATION STORIES.

Rosalie Dwyer, I'm a Nibbie: The Tale of an Object-Oriented GUI Developer.

Brad Connatser, The Great Pyramid War.

Michael Asay, Glimpse into Reality.

Kendra Potts, My Entry Level Life.

Melissa Alton, First Time Out.

Alina Rutten, How I Became a Goddess.

Beth Lee, A Job Like a Tattoo.

Carol Hoeniges, It's Not Mark Twain's River Anymore.

II.THE PROCESS.

Rahel Anne Bailie, Three Months, Three Pages.

Geoff Hart, Conquering the Cubicle Syndrome.

Mark Bloom, Try and Try Again: The Story of a Software Project.

Tim Casady, Tech Writing and the Art of Laziness.

Julie S. Hile, I've Been Working on the Railroad: Re-Vision at BNP Railway.

Shawn S. Staley, Daze at the Round Table.

Elna R. Tymes, Diary of a Tech Writer.

Steven Jong, Samurai Review.

Rochelle Gidonian, Thumbnails.

III.LIFE ON AND BEYOND THE JOB.

Christine Pellar-Kosbar, What a Life.

L.M. Hayes, It Isn't What You Write That Makes You a Tech Writer: A Love Story.

Jerry Kenney, Fluff.

Reva Rasmusson, Madame Mao in the Midwest.

Lenore Weiss, Stranger in Paradigm.

Dale L. Sullivan, Afterword: Talking to the People Who Know.

Further Reading on Narratives.

For Technical Communication - Advanced


For Technical Communication - Intro


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