Group items tagged

This was my favorite bookmarked relating to Chapter 1. It is quite comprehensive and touches on a lot of what was covered in the chapter. I find this very usefeul.

This is actually appears to be an online textbook for a technical writing course. I found that the introduction and many of the examples/models were great tools in helping to understand chapter 1. Also, I think the page in itself is a great example of technical writing.

I like this site because it discusses all of the principles of design mentioned in chapter 1 of our textbook. It also discusses other principles that are not mentioned in the textbook such as continuance and alignment. Overall, very informational and helpful.

I thought this was a good site just because with all the priciples it describes it gives diagrams or drawings as examples to demostrate what they are talking about.

This page decribes similar or the same principles as the text. Aside from expanding on the explanation of each princple this page offers diagrams and drawings to try and help demonstrate what the princple is describing. Principles listed on page: *Balance *Rhythm *Proportion *Dominance *Unity Even though the principles may have different names than the text the way they describe them easily relates to the ones presented in the book.

This site is really simple but offers some good points about designing effective logos. The textbook offers an example of logo design, so I wanted to explore some more information. According to this site, there are four main principles: the logo should be simple, versatile, memorable, and relevant. One good point the author made was that most of the top corporate companies use only one or two colors in their logo. A logo must also be expected to appear in many different formats, ranging from a billboard designed to be seen from a distance to a logo etched onto a pencil.

This website expands on the grid discussion in the textbook. It offers a template called the 960 grid system, which refers to the width of the viewport, which is the area in the browser in which the website is displayed. The height of the example template, the artboard, is three scrolls of the screen height. I found this interesting because according to the author, three is the average number of scrolls a user with an average amount of interest will scroll,

Textbook chapter on transnational communication.

Yet another description of how to write a formal report. A lot less detailed than the textbooks but sometimes simple is better.

I own this textbook and it really is my best tool for writing instructions successfully. There is no preview on Google Books, but if you are really interested, look it up at your closest library. Part 2 helps you plan the document.

I really like this site because it gives you step by step instructions on how to effectively grab your audience's attention and create a successful ad by using "format" as mentioned in chapter one of our textbook. 

I really like this article because it gives a clear definition of flow. It also provides some great examples of flow in addition to those already listed in the textbook. 

This page is similar to the textbook, which makes it a perfect example of how contrast works. It takes two examples of advertisements and allows readers to compare the two, to determine which leaves a lasting effect on the reader. Both advertisements are from the same people or corporation. It is apparent the first advertisement uses contrast more effectively and personally leaves a better lasting impression on me. 

This is written more in textbook form, but it gives samples and explains why flow is better in one design than another.

This website gives examples of several common mistakes people make when trying to use emphasis. These issues can occur when the emphasis is more of overkill than beneficial, such as when emphasis techniques are overwhelming. Other problems include inconsistent emphasis and illogical function, meaning that there is emphasis on unimportant details.

This website begins with a description of the steps in the design process. It covers all of the ones that were also in our textbook such as analyzing audience, determining purpose of message, choosing the right format and layout. There were only four principles covered in this website which were those of balance, emphasis, rhythm which we can consider as flow, and unity which we can consider to be alignment. -What i liked about this website is that it offered explanations about the elements of design such as lines, shapes, and colors. I liked that it gave us the table on the "Psychology of color". It will be very useful especially when we think about the objective and audience of the message.

This website provided useful tips about the elements of design such as color, lines, and shapes that will be helpful when beginning to design. It will also help when considering who your target audience is and what the objective is!

 Although visually pretty dry, has a pretty comprehensive treatment of design basics.

This not only shows how to write directions but is specifically for technical communications. 

This will be very helpful with project 1 because not only does it tell you how to write instructions, it also is specifically for technical communications, which will be needed in project 1.

This webpage describes Horizontal, Vertical, Edge, Center, and Visual Alignment styles to create a layout that is visually pleasing. It also says that good alignment is invisible, because viewers only notice when a page is not aligned correctly.

Great site on peer review and and team writing.

Article concerning assumptions made at the start of a writing project

interesting article concerning assumptions made at the start of a writing project

"Transnational Communication among Arab Americans in Detroit"

I like that this article discusses the grow populations of Arab groups, especially in the Detroit area, and how we need to get a better understanding between the two cultures.

Transnational Communication among Arab Americans in Detroit: Dimensions, Determinants, and Attitudinal Consequences

This is a very good quick reference site for guidlines on writing and formating a formal report.

Component by component guide to creating formal reports.

Traditional textbook rationales for the technical writing course locate the essence of technical writing in objectivity, clarity, and neutrality, and the need for teaching it in its usefulness to employers. Such rationales, however, are unable to accommodate a notion of ethics and responsibility: if the writer merely serves the interests that employ her by reporting facts in an objective way, how can she exercise choice when ethical problems arise? An alternative view is to see technical writing as always rhetorical and involved with potentially conflicting agendas and interests, with objectivity, clarity, and neutrality serving merely as stylistic devices in the writer's rhetorical toolbox. Technical writers are rhetoricians who continually make ethical choices in serving diverse interests and negotiating between conflicting demands. The recognition of the fundamental rhetoricity of technical writing is the first step towards accommodating a meaningful notion of ethics into the technical writing curriculum.