Conclusion There’s so much more we could say about requirements and specifications. Hopefully, this information will help you get started when you are called upon–or step up–to help the development ...

Geoff Hart reviews Gavaler and Goldberg's Revising Reality, and how writers can frame their work in light of their audience's ...

Editor’s Note: The following piece, by Jean Hollis Weber, is part of our collection of “classics”–articles that stand the test of time no matter how many technologies come and go. Don’t forget to ...

I was browsing through a long list of contract opportunities for technical writers on the Internet, when I spotted one from a manufacturing company looking for a documentation specialist. It stated ...

This chapter from Steve Hudson’s Work in Progress on Advance Word Usage covers topics such as when to use (and when not to use) master documents, as well as “The Ten Heretical Rules of Masters,” which ...

Editor’s Note: Mark Baker begins his ongoing series on Structured Writing by framing a working definition. Look for future articles on the key concepts of structured writing and their practical ...

Because all good tech writers know the value of research, I went to Wikipedia for an informative article on the Allen wrench: “A hex key or Allen key is a simple tool used to drive bolts and screws ...

In my 30 years as an editor and technical writer, I’ve seen endless examples of how readers can misinterpret texts. In the most egregious cases, I’ve even seen authors misinterpret their own writing, ...

Replace Adobe FrameMaker with OpenOffice.org Writer? Most people’s first reaction is amused disbelief. “FrameMaker is a hugely capable publishing product,” my editor at Newsforge admonished me. “OOo ...

In a classic detective story, the intrepid investigator sets out to discover the true story behind an event—in literature, perhaps a murder or theft. But in editing, we’re trying to find the author’s ...

Introduction I once received a long writing sample from a technical communication applicant who had written about a complex medical device. The sample demonstrated all the marks of quality: clean and ...