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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Photo by Chase Kennedy on Unsplash In the modern “fake news” era, “facts” are increasingly flexible rather than tangible, provable, stable things. People increasingly accept opinions and gut feelings ...

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, ...

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 ...

As a technical writer, are you finding yourself wishing for just a bit of respect from the engineers, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), or other technical people you work with? Are you finding that these ...