English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

Chapter 8 of “Technical Communication Today” stressed the importance of properly organizing documents. While the main concept of the chapter has been discussed in several of my other Communication and English classes over the years, it did contain some new information. It provided several ways of aiding in doing so as well as several different organizational structures.

Chapter 8 – Organizing and Drafting was nothing that hadn’t been drilled into in middle school, high school and ENGL 106. Have a beginning middle and end, tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, etc. I would say by now that after having to write papers and reports for almost every class that this is all common sense and even habitual.

I did like the “Smoking Gun” memo. As stated in the reading, it was a very good example of organization. While I stated that organization was common sense, it is always a good idea to look at good examples of other people’s writing.

I chose a position as a diagnostics engineer at HP for my job analysis. I chose HP because they are a large information technology corporation. This position would be a good start to my future career in IT. I have had a previous internship with Information Systems Resources. It is a small local IT company in my home town. They specialize in it solutions for small to medium businesses. I gained a lot of good experience with IBM AS400 systems and windows. I worked closely with one of their consultants and traveled with him to fix customer’s needs.

     Fast Enterprises: Software Engineer position

https://purdue-csm.symplicity.com/students/index.php?s=jobs&ss=jobs&mode...

Employer: Pixar Animation Studios

Position: Summer-Technical Director Resident

This reading response focuses closely on my recent experiences when writing my job ad analysis. Tips from Chapter 8 - Organizing and Drafting have aided me with my detection of flaws in my writing. Before writing, I should outline key points that I want to convey. I also am willing to try to writing the body of my text first, and finishing with the introduction.

The position of Sales Engineer for Trane Commercial Systems involves the sale of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, components, and controls to customers. An ideal candidate for this position is someone with a technical background in an engineering discipline (specifically mechanical or electrical), is self-motivated, and has strong interpersonal skills and business demeanor.

http://www.brutoco.net/employment.htm

The position I have chosen for my job analysis and ultimately applying for is as a project engineer for Brutoco Engineering and Construction Inc. I have chosen this particular position because I have worked as a field engineer for Mass. Electric Construction Company and a project engineer would be an “advance” from this.

Chapter 8, Organization and Drafting, begins to identify key points of acceptable elements in technical writing. Generally, technical writing contains the same basic platform you would typically find in any other work with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Reading this chapter reminded me of when I took a communications course here at Purdue. The instructor for the course said the same thing as this chapter. “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Then, tell them what you told them.” I found that this is very helpful for writing speeches and papers. I also think the idea of outlining is good. I have a hard time thinking of what I am going to type. When I make an outline or at least a scattered mess of ideas on a piece of paper it makes it easier for me to start. It also helps me to continue my thoughts as I go.