Leigh Soltis
(lsoltis@emich.edu)

Technical Communication: We do it everyday, why is it still hard?

This website serves as a portfolio for the work that I did in English 424, Technical Writing. This course wasn't designed to just teach us to write memos, but to show us all of the different factors that come into play when writing or communicating successfully. These include things like context, situation, audience, and purpose. We communicate all the time, but we never really stop and think about why we say things the way we do. By teaching us how to analyze these kinds of things, we can better analyze rhetorical situations and hopefully become better writers.

Technical Writing means writing for people who are on the other side of some kind of divide. This could be a divide in expertise, for example, if I knew a lot about linguistics, and tried to explain the sound system of English to someone who knows nothing about it. The divide could also be one of power, such as a lower level employee who writes about their sales goals for a manager. The divide could even be differing goals, like one person who may want their airbag turned off because they are really short and another person who has heard rumors about airbags hurting people, but is really in no danger himself. All the things that are important to the writer and readers need to be thought about, and analyzed according to the situation.

Rhetoric is a tool that technical communicators use to achieve their goals. Rhetoric is the art (or science?) of using language effectively for some purpose. Since almost all language has some sort of purpose, we are already skilled rhetors without even realizing it. Part of this class was recognizing rhetoric, and being able to identify and talk about it. Rhetoric is only useful in a certain context and a certain situation. In order to be able to use rhetoric effectively, we need to be able to determine what it is trying to achieve, and how is the best way to use language to achieve it.

All the things that I have learned in this class will be useful later on in life, regardless of what field I go into. Since I already do this kind of stuff everyday, it will always be relevant. I now know to stop and think about why I speak or write the way I do, and to think about how others may interpret what I say.

The Team Introduction Memo (TIM) and Process Documentation Memo (PDM): Me as a Technical Communicator

Contextualizing the TIM & PDM

Did I mention that I like cats?
Our first assignment was to write a memo of introduction to our classmates. We were to share experiences that we have had that can somehow be related to the class. The idea was that through these experiences we have learned something that can be valuable to the class. We had to give specific examples, explain the lessons learned, and tie it back to the topics covered in this class.

We were also asked to write a process documentation memo about writing the team introduction memo. In it we were to look at specific changes that were made between drafts, and the reasons behind those changes. We were to make the case that the changes make the memo better, and to show the work and thought that was put into it.

Reflecting on the TIM & PDM

The Most Time Consuming Introduction I've Ever Written
The first assignment was a bit confusing for me, because it was introduced in a way that I am not used to. The first thing we were asked to do was brainstorm about the situation (I had no clue what that meant at the time) and then write the memo. In most of my other classes I am usually given an assignment with a rubric and often examples of a good quality paper. Usually I can use these things to write the paper well the first time, and only have to do minor editing in later versions. In this class, however, we weren't given such specific guidelines, and resulted in me having to totally rewrite everything many times. This was probably good for me because I haven’t really had much practice doing that before. As we read about in the paper by Anson, Chris, and Lee Forsberg, many writing students feel unprepared when they enter the workforce. Being an intern was really stressful for them because they were not given as much instruction as they are used to. This class was probably a little closer to a real work environment than other classes because it wasn't as straight forward. Though frustrating at times, it was probably good for me and will build character, as many frustrating things do.

What the Heck is a PDM Anyway?
It seemed a bit odd to write a memo about writing a memo, but now I understand why. If you spend a lot of time working on and revising a document for work and your boss asks you what you did, you need more than just the drafts themselves to show him. You need to be able to show that you are an inventor in the process of writing, and that the skill you have comes in being able to effectively analyze the rhetorical situation. You have to be able to pick out the important changes that were made, and showcase those to your best advantage.

The Creative Rhetoric Scenario: How to Win an Argument

Contextualizing the Creative Rhetoric Scenario

The Creative Rhetoric Scenario was an assignment that asked us to write a fictitious dialogue between ourselves and someone that we know very well, in which we explain the idea of rhetoric to them. We had to be true to the way that we actually communicate with that person, and explain rhetoric in a way that might actually interest them. We had to start out with an introduction explaining our relationship with the other person. After the dialogue we wrote an analysis section explaining how we communicate with each other. We wrote about how we speak with this person on a general basis, using examples from the dialogue. We also wrote about examples specific to the dialogue, and how those are representative of the way we actually communicate with that person. So, in a nutshell, we had to use rhetoric to introduce rhetoric, use rhetoric to describe rhetoric, and then use rhetoric to analyze rhetoric. That's a lot of rhetoric.

Reflecting on the Creative Rhetoric Scenario

Joe and I are Really Weird
I chose to write a dialogue between myself and my boyfriend Joe. In order to do this, I had to pay attention to the way that we talk to each other when no one else is around. I realized that we are really odd and often say things that wouldn't make sense to anyone else. We also find things funny that no one else would understand. Although I enjoy creative writing, it is much more difficult to try and recreate real dialogue than to just make up dialogue and make up characters. I think I did a pretty good job of getting to a topic in a way that could really happen. I often give him advice on things, and so explaining rhetoric isn't too far out there. It's kind of fun to analyze yourself and think about the real reasons why you say certain things the way you do.

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The Airbag Letter Case: One Letter Fits All

Contextualizing the Airbag Case

Writing one letter to satisfy different audiences
In this assignment we were given a scenario in which we work for a car company that has received a number of complaints regarding airbags. We were given an example of a letter written in response to a customer complaint. The response letter was rude, and didn't really solve the problem of the customer complaint. We were asked by our boss to write a new letter that could serve as a form letter to be sent to all customers who write in about airbags. We were given three criteria for this new letter:

1. Offer instructions about how to properly use the restraint equipment to avoid injury.
2. Be in step with recent federal regulations regarding the installation of on/off switches in airbags.
3. Accurately represent SIA's genuine concerns about customer satisfaction and safety as well as their commitment to standing behind the quality of their products.

The challenge here was to try and think of the different kinds of people who might write in, and try to imagine what they would want out of the document. The letter had to satisfy as many customers as possible, but still be kept short and sweet. We were also asked to write a PDM explaining the changes that were made in drafting the letter.

Reflecting on the Airbag Case

Everyone loves receiving form letters
This assignment required a bit of thought since it had to serve different purposes for different people. My first draft was written solely keeping the little old lady in mind. By the end I realized that not everyone will be eligible for the on/off switch, and for most people that wouldn't even be desirable. I had to include a lot of information in a short, easy to read letter, and I had to keep in mind the boss's three instructions. I had to put these guidelines into use in a way that would be relevant to the customer. This was a good exercise in determining how the same document could be used in different situations.

The Context & Genre Analysis Project: Writing Practices at Livonia Media Play

Contextualizing the Context & Genre Analysis Project

The Final Big Project
This assignment had a lot of parts to it. We were to chose a context in which we were a part of (preferably a workplace or a class) and analyze the way documents are used in that context. We had to limit our study to certain processes and certain documents. Because most contexts are so broad, we wouldn't be able to get an in-depth look at everything. Through our experience in this context, we had access to documents and a good idea as to how they work. We studied these documents, and put together a report that explains the features and uses of the documents in the specific context. We then showed how the documents worked situationally, and tied some of our findings in with articles that we have read in this course. Our reports were set up as follows:

Abstract: a summary of the study and our findings.
Introduction/background: an overview of what this study is, and background information about our chosen context.
Methodology: an explanation of our role in the context, and how we collected the data for the study.
Context Data: data relating to a specific process. Includes the documents, how they work, and how they are supposed to work.
Genre Data: data relating to a specific type of document.
Context Discussion: a look at how the documents work situationally, and how the findings relate to the topics discussed in class.
Genre Discussion: a look at how the specific type of document works situationally, and how its use relates to the topics covered in class.
Conclusions

Reflecting on the Context & Genre Analysis Project:

I never looked at it that way before
This was an interesting assignment because it required us to look back on a context that we were part of, and analyze it as if we were an outsider. I already knew that many of the documents used at Media Play were not very effective, but I never really thought about why. I never thought about how we as employees adapted the documents to suit our needs, even though I was a part of it. It is easy to see how a study such as this could be useful in the working world. If the corporate office ever wanted to figure out why things weren't working the way they were supposed to, or if they ever wanted to try to revise the documents to make them work better, they would need to do a study like this. Only by seeing how the context, purpose, audience, situation, and all of the other factors come that come into play affect the use of the documents, can one begin to think about how to improve the documents.
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