Technical Writing @ SLCC

Reviewed by Anna Erwert, Lecturer, Portland Community College on 11/10/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

I really appreciate a book that covers writing for the sciences and writing for engineering because it is very often composition instructors who teach technical writing since it is in the writing sequence. Of course many competition instructors have never taught a science or engineering class so this is actually new to them. I love having somewhere to send my students for tips on how to write for these disciplines. However, I think some of the more general aspects of technical writing, such as resume and cover letter and memo should also be covered because those modalities transfer across many different professional situations. Perhaps a more general section as well as these specific sections would be helpful.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As far as I can judge, I found the information to be very accurate. There is a strong section on the writing process which I greatly appreciate. I can't speak to the accuracy of the sciences and engineering sections beyond my rather nascent understanding of writing for both but they do have strong sources and examples that lend credibility

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

In a global economy, skipping resume and cover letter, even if they were to be packaged with for example a science resume or a science cover letter or a CV for an engineer... I think this is a misstep and because the book is missing this keeps it from being eternally relevant. I've taught technical writing several times and whenever I don't include an aspect of job search whether resume or cover letter, students complain. I also think that there's a small problem in not recognizing that the term technical writing has been problematized even within the discipline of technical writing. People argue over what the definition means and which disciplines are allowed to say they include technical writing. Acknowledging the limited scope of this particular text or accompanying this text with a second text that explored technical writing of other types would make it more complete. It would also make it more culturally relevant because of course there are aspects of technical writing to many new and emerging professions that have been skipped here

Clarity rating: 5

The book is very well laid out with good use of accessible headers and clear, concise language with good examples

Consistency rating: 5

I found this book to be very consistent in tone and scope. It's laid out logically with a friendly but not overly effusive use of language that would make it approachable by community college audiences. Not

Modularity rating: 5

I'm going to use this book specifically for the two modules that I personally don't have that much experience in, science and engineering writing. For that reason alone, I strongly suggest this book for its modularity and see it complimenting other content in a course that was more general or based on more diverse interests in community college students

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization is very logical and easy to follow. I don't find any of the chapters to be over long and I think the balance between information and examples is well thought out

Interface rating: 5

There is nothing confusing here. It's been well designed for aesthetics and for comprehension

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't find any grammar errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I think there is a slight dated quality to the aspect of cultural relevance here. Diversity isn't exactly addressed nor is culture versus subculture. Even within the field of engineering, after all, they're going to be many different types of engineers from different countries etc. And as I've already mentioned, there are emerging professions that aren't even addressed here which makes it less culturally responsive in general

Comments

I would like to thank the writer for sharing this with the community at large. I can't wait to incorporate aspects of it into my class this winter

Reviewed by Naishon Patterson, Assistant Lecturer, Southern Illinois University Carbondale on 3/31/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book is very comprehensive and covers a wide range of topics required for students to learn the skill of technical communication.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

While reviewing some of the examples, text was highlighted in red which seems to indicate that there may be some inaccuracy, however it is unclear why the text is highlighted.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Some of the content should be updated. Some of the example documents are outdated.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clear to understand, conversational in tone and accessible. The jargon and technical terminology are adequate.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The text provides a useful table of contents that helped to identify the various sections/topics.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The content organization is logical by topic.

Interface rating: 3

The content is well organized, however, the electronic version of the text did not provide adequate instructions for navigation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find any of the content culturally insensitive or offensive.

Comments

Overall, it's a good resource.