The chapter 8 reading focused on the organization of writing, the steps involved in writing a technical document, and a multitude of ways to bring your point across.
I thought the section on genres was a little far fetched. This seems like it should be placed at a much early level in our writing careers. By now most of have written enough memos, emails, letters, research papers, etc. to know how to use each effectively. On that same note I noticed a lot of this seemed like review material.
I did however enjoy the outlining method of using a PowerPoint. I think this stems from the fact I find it easier when giving presentations to really think about what I put on my slides, so that when presentation time comes I don’t have to memorize or think too hard, but just let the words come naturally. You could easily make slides like you were going to give a presentation, then type your document, rather than give the presentation.
Something I thought this chapter could have done a little better would have been to tie the patterns of arrangements in with the different types of readers. Rather than giving example after example of how each is used, describe a type of audience that each scenario could be used for. For example, when trying to persuade a reader to see your side of an issue, cost and benefit, or better and worse, would good options to choose. Where cause and effect, or a chronological ordering would be better suiting for maybe informing the public if a situation or problem.
I also disagreed with some of the points made about the conclusion. I agree that you should certainly make your conclusion obvious, but I don’t like some of the transitions described in the chapter. More often than not people use these abruptly and it makes of a very choppy end to the presentation or document. I always like to choose a more fluid way to bring myself into the conclusion, rather than surprising the audience by rattling off main points preceded by “To sum it up”.
Conclusions
I would definitely agree with you about the section on conclusions. I'm not sure what kind of English curriculum everybody here has had throughout their lives, but many of my teachers have told me to avoid transitions like "in conclusion" or "to sum it up." Whenever I see that kind of transition, it strikes me as being pretty elementary. However, if simplicity and straightforwardness are the goals of technical writing, then maybe the rules are different. Maybe our instructors can follow up on this.
On another note, I've also noticed that many people in my classes have trouble writing conclusions. It seems as though the first line states the conclusion, and then they write 3 or 4 more sentences that say the same thing, but with different wording. Obviously it's important to state the main conclusion, but I also think that it's important to include the primary reasons for drawing that conclusion.
Patterns & Genres
I completely agree with you on the section about patterns of arrangement and when to use which with what kind of reader. I felt like the reading could have also done a lot more in terms of telling us how to use the genres instead of telling us which genres are available to technical writers. Often times, we won’t have to choose the genre, it will be provided for us (e.g., your boss asks you to write a proposal for a meeting, etc.). I also have to agree with your statements about obvious conclusion transitions. While I think it’s important to let your reader know that this is your conclusion, I think if you’ve argued your point well or presented your information logically that you can find more unique phrasing than “In conclusion,” to alert your reader that you’re finished.
Kristin
PowerPoint
I agree that utilizing PowerPoint is an effective method of outlining. Outlining is probably one of the most simple underestimated preparation phases. As the chapter suggested, computer software can help frame your writings for further presentations. In my recent upper level courses, almost all of my technical writing documentation will ultimately be presented in front of the class and professor for a final project presentation. In addition to the presentation, a final draft of my compiled work is to be written and turned in. It never occurred to me to build on both documents together for better continuity. Outlining in a presentation format and using PowerPoint can give you a great advantage when creating both the presentation and document.