Technical Writting Questions

Question 3

Review the information in Chapter  6 about expert opinion and select a topic from science or technology on which experts might disagree (for example, possible health hazards of cell phones, global warming/global climate change, or the value of vitamin supplements). Use the Internet to research this topic and find one point on which experts seem to agree, one point on which experts disagree, and one opinion that seems to be influenced by financial or political motives. In your discussion post, state your topic, report the three points above, and discuss what your learned from this research. Be sure to cite the URL of the websites you used for your information. Explain in at least 200 – 250 words.

Question 4

Discuss what aspects of conducting research are the easiest and the most difficult for you and why you find these areas easy and difficult. Include at least one ethical issue from your reading in Chapter 5 last week as one of the easy or difficult issues. Which types of sources do you find most difficult to evaluate and why? What specific idea did you learn from your reading and/or assignments this week that will help you in your future research? Explain in at least 200 – 250 words.

Question 5

Explain the importance and purpose of technical definitions. Select a term you know the meaning of but others may not. Using the guidelines presented in Chapter 18 of the text, create a sentence definition and then expand the definition using one or more of the expansion techniques presented in the chapter. Post the term, the sentence definition, and the expanded definition. Explain in at least 200 – 250 words.

Question 6

What is the primary purpose of a proposal and why must a proposal be persuasive? Provide an example of a written (or oral) proposal you have made. If it was successful, discuss what elements discussed in our text you used to make it successful. If it was unsuccessful and did not achieve its purpose, discuss what you could have done differently to make it successful. Explain in at least 200 – 250 words.

Question 7

Search the Internet and find examples of each of the following:

    a graph
    a chart
    a graphic

Study the three examples you found and compare each one to the guidelines for using that type of visual, the guidelines for incorporating color, and the guidelines for fitting visuals with text and usability of visuals found in Chapter 12 of the text. In your post, briefly describe each visual and discuss how well the visual conforms to the guidelines. Be sure to cite the source of each visual in your post. Explain in at least 200 – 250 words.

Question 8

Find an example of effective page design and an ineffective page design in a magazine or on the Web. In your post, describe each page design and why it is effective or ineffective. Be specific in your evaluation. With the ineffective page design, make specific recommendations for improvement. Be sure to cite the source of each example you choose. Explain in at least 200 – 250 words.

Question 9

Over the past five weeks, we have covered many subjects related to technical writing. If someone asked you to prepare a written summary of this five-week course, what would you write? Summaries are often written to make long documents quickly understandable. However, as our text explains, we often have to write summaries to report on meetings, conferences, projects, or programs. Using the information you learned in Chapter 9 of the text, write a 200 – 250 word response that incorporates the elements of a usable summary and summarizes the essential messages of this COM 340 course.