Tech2 Flashcards
TO learn genius
What are the four stages of the writing process?
Gathering information
Planning the document
Drafting the document
Revising the document
What are five questions to ask when working with ideas and information?
Have I defined the issue accurately?
Is the information I’ve gathered complete, accurate, reliable, and unbiased?
Can it be verified?
How much of it is useful?
Is a balance of viewpoints represented?
What are five questions to ask when planning a document?
What do I want it to accomplish?
Who is my audience, and why will they use this document?
What do they need to know?
What are the “political realities” (feelings, egos, cultural differences, and so on)?
How will I organize?
What are five questions to ask when drafting a document?
How do I begin, and what comes next?
How much is enough?
What can I leave out?
Am I forgetting anything?
How will I end ?
What are five questions to ask when evaluating and revising a document?
Does this draft do what I want it to do?
Is the content useful?
Is the organization sensible?
Is the style readable?
Is everything easy to find?
Why is proofreading important as a final step?
Ensures Accuracy and Polished Presentation: Proofreading identifies and corrects errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting, ensuring a professional and error-free final document.
What are six types of errors to look for when proofreading?
Sentence errors
Punctuation errors
Usage errors
Mechanical errors
Format errors
Typographical errors
When should you proofread?
After completing the final draft and before sharing or publishing the document.
How many times should you proofread?
It’s advisable to proofread multiple times, ideally with breaks between sessions, to ensure a thorough review.
What are three digital technologies that enhance the writing process?
Collaboration Tools (e.g., Google Docs)
Outline and Brainstorming Software (e.g., MindMeister)
Presentation Software (e.g., PowerPoint, Microsoft Word)
What are the four procedural stages of the research process?
The four procedural stages of the research process are:
Formulating a research question or hypothesis
Conducting a literature review
Collecting and analyzing data
Drawing conclusions and communicating results
What are the five critical thinking stages in the research process?
The five critical thinking stages in the research process are:
Identifying the problem
Formulating the research question
Collecting relevant information
Analyzing and interpreting data
Drawing conclusions and making recommendations
What are the three levels of depth in the research process?
The three levels of depth in the research process are:
Surface level (popular media)
Moderate level (trade, business, and technical publications)
Deepest level (specialized literature for professionals)
What is the difference between evaluating findings and interpreting findings?
Evaluating findings involves assessing the credibility, reliability, and usefulness of the information, while interpreting findings involves analyzing the data to derive meaningful insights and draw conclusions.
What are primary and secondary research?
Primary research involves obtaining information directly from original sources through methods like interviews, surveys, or observations. Secondary research involves using existing information gathered by others, such as books, articles, and databases.
What are the two ways of locating online secondary sources?
Two ways of locating online secondary sources are through subject directories (compiled by editors) and search engines (scanning for key words).
What cautions should you observe when using Google and Wikipedia?
Cautionary measures when using Google and Wikipedia include verifying information from multiple sources, checking for credibility and bias, and being aware of the dynamic nature of content.
What are five other online secondary sources?
Other online secondary sources include general, commercial, and academic websites, government websites, online news outlets and magazines, blogs, and digital libraries.
What tool should you use to locate traditional secondary sources at the library?
To locate traditional secondary sources at the library, use the library’s online public access catalog (OPAC) or other search tools.
What are the four types of primary sources?
The four types of primary sources are documents and manuscripts, personal narratives and oral histories, artifacts and objects, and visual materials (photographs, paintings, etc.).
Difference between Evaluation and Interpretation:
Evaluation: It involves assessing the reliability and credibility of sources and evidence. This includes considering factors such as currency, reputation, motives, and cross-checking against other sources.
Interpretation: It refers to the process of making an overall judgment about what the findings mean and what conclusions or actions they suggest. It involves considering the level of certainty, underlying assumptions, personal biases, and alternative interpretations.
Four Ways to Evaluate a Source:
Determine the currency of the source.
Assess the reputation of the source.
Consider the possible motives of those who funded a study.
Cross-check the source against other, similar sources.
Four Ways to Evaluate Evidence:
Determine the sufficiency of the evidence.
Differentiate hard evidence (facts, expert opinion, and statistics) from soft evidence (uninformed opinion and speculation).
Decide whether the presentation of evidence is balanced and reasonable.
Consider how the facts are being framed.
Hard Evidence and Soft Evidence:
Hard evidence: Facts, expert opinion, and statistics.
Soft evidence: Uninformed opinion and speculation.
Four Ways of Interpreting Findings:
Identify your level of certainty (conclusive, probable, inconclusive).
Examine underlying assumptions.
Be alert for personal bias.
Consider other possible interpretations.
Three Levels of Certainty:
Conclusive answer (irrefutable)
Probable answer (likely)
Inconclusive answer (uncertain)
Faulty Generalization:
Generalizing on the basis of limited evidence.
Faulty Causal Reasoning:
Confusing or distorting why one thing caused or will cause another thing to happen.
Five Types of Faulty Statistical Reasoning:
Sanitized statistics.
Meaningless statistics.
Undefined averages.
Distorted percentage figures.
Bogus rankings.
Three Ways Research Findings Can Be Limited:
Not all research is valid and reliable.
Research studies can be flawed.
Research can be deceptively reported.
Critical thinking in the writing process:
Wether you are working alone or as part of a team you apply critical t. troughout the four stages in the technical writing process
-Gather and evalute ideas and information
-Plan the document
-Draft the document
-Revise the document
Make proofreading your final step. Proofread for the following errors
-Sentence errors(fragments,comma splices or run-ons)
-Punctuation errors(missing apostrophes or using too much commas)
-Usage errors(its for it’s,lay for lie,their for there)
-Mechanical errors(misspelled words,inarticulate dates,inaccurate abbreviations)
-Format errors(missing page numbers,inconsistent spacing,incorrect form of documenting sources)
-Typographical errors-typos(repeated or missing words/letters,missing word endings such as s/ing/ed,missing quotation marks)
There are three levels of information(do research at all three levels):
-At the surface levels are publications from the popular media, designed for general readers
-At the moderate level are trade,business and technical publications, designed for moderately informed to specialized readers
-At the deepest level is specialized literature, designed for practicing professionals
Primary sources versus secondary sources(combine the both by starting with secondary research)
Primary research-means getting info directly from the source by conducting interviews and surveys and by observing people,events or process in action
Secondary research-info obtained second hand by reading what other researchers have compiled in books and articles in print or online
Exploring secondary sources. They include:
-Web sites
-Online news outlets and magazines
-Blogs and wikis
-Books in the library
-Journal,magazine and newspaper articles
-Government publications
-Other public records
Online secondary sources.To find various sites you can use two basic tools:
-Subject directories
-Search engines(Yahoo,Google)
-Wikipedia,digital libraries,libraries and library web site
Types of secondary sources:
-Web sites-commercial(.com),organizational(.org) and academic(.edu)
-Government web sites-FDA(Food and Drug administration),CDC(Central for Disease Control)
-Blogs,social media,online groups,news outlets,books,peer-reviewed journal articles,gray literature(useful printed info that may be
unavailable at any library,unpublished or not topically cataloged material),reference works(indexes,bibliographies,encyclopedias,government documents,dictionaries,handbooks,almanacs,directories,abstracts)
Exploring primary sources:
-Unsolicited inquiries(letters,phone calls or email inquiries to experts)
-Informational interviews
-Surveys(help you form impressions of the concerns,beliefs,preferences,attitude or perceptions of a large group-target population,by
studying representatives of that group-a sample)
-Observations or experiments(your final step)
Evidence is any finding used to support or refute a particular claim
-Hard evidence is facts,expert opinion and statistics
-Soft evidence is uninformed opinion and speculation
See if the found info contains the following logical errors
-Faulty generalization(jumping to conclusions)
-Faulty casual reasoning(why something happened or will happen)
-Faulty statistical analysis(sanitized statistics,meaningless statistics,undefined averages,distorted percentage figures,bogus rankings
-Confusion of coloration with causation,biased meta-analysis,fa-liable computer model,misleading terminology-determine the meaning of a collected set of numbers)
-Correlation is a numerical measure of the strength of the relationship between to variables(smoking-lung cancer)
-Causation is the demonstrable production of a specific effect(smoking causes lung cancer)
Why is using visuals in technical communication important?
Visuals focus and organize information, making data easier to interpret and remember.
They offer new perspectives on data, revealing meanings that might be hidden in raw information.
Visuals help answer questions posed by readers during information processing.
Identify a time when you should use visuals?
Use visuals whenever they can make your point more clearly than text or enhance your text.
Use visuals to clarify and support your discussion, not just for decoration.
Use visuals to direct the audience’s focus or aid in memory retention.
What are the four categories of visuals, and what does each do?
Tables: Display organized data for easy comparison.
Graphs: Translate numbers into shapes, shades, and patterns, especially useful for comparisons, changes over time, patterns, or trends.
Charts: Depict relationships via geometric elements, arrows, lines, etc.
Graphic Illustrations: Rely on pictures rather than data or words.
What three questions should you ask yourself when deciding which type of visual to use?
Purpose: What is the purpose of the visual? Show facts and figures, parts of a mechanism, give directions, show relationships?
Audience: Who is the audience? Expert, general, global?
Form of information: Is the message best conveyed by numbers, words, shapes, pictures, or symbols?
What are the two types of tables, and what kind of information does each type present?
Numerical tables: Present quantitative information that can be measured.
Prose tables: Present qualitative information, such as prose descriptions, explanations, or instructions.
What are the two most common types of bar graphs, and what is the function of each type?
Simple bar graph: Displays one trend or theme.
Multiple-bar graph: Displays two or three relationships simultaneously.
What are the two most common types of line graphs, and what is the function of each type?
Simple line graph: Plots time intervals or categories on the horizontal scale and values on the vertical scale.
Multiline graph: Displays several relationships simultaneously.
What are the two types of pie charts, and what is the function of each type?
Simple pie chart: Shows the relationship of parts to the whole.
Exploded pie chart: Highlights various slices of the pie.
What are the three most common types of diagrams, and what do they show?
Exploded diagram: Shows how the parts of an item are assembled.
Cutaway diagram: Reveals interior sections by removing exterior layers.
Block diagram: Represents the relationship between parts of an item, principle, system, or process.
In what ways does color enhance any technical document?
Organize information using color backgrounds and rules.
Orient readers with color headings, tabs, boxes, sidebars, callouts, and leader lines.
Emphasize information with color keywords, cross-references, and web links.
