Technical Communication: Process and Product: Sharon Gerson and Steven Gerson

Technical Communication:
Process and Product

Eighth Edition
Sharon Gerson and Steven Gerson
Chapter 2: The
Communication Process
Copyright © 2014, 2012, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Learning Objectives
• Understand the writing process including
prewriting, writing, and rewriting
• Prewrite to help you determine goals, consider
audience, gather data, examine purposes, and
determine the communication channel
• Use various prewriting techniques to help you get
started: reporter’s questions, mind mapping,
brainstorming or listing, outlining, storyboarding,
creating organization charts, flowcharting, or
researching
Technical Communication: Process and Product, 8/e Copyright © 2014, 2012, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Sharon Gerson and Steven Gerson 2
Learning Objectives (continued)
• Decide whether you are communicating to
persuade, instruct, inform, or build trust
• Write a rough draft, by organizing material,
considering the layout and design of the
communication, and adding visual aids such as
tables and figures
• Communicate content through e‐mail messages,
instant messages, blogging, letters, memos,
reports, brochures, proposals, Web sites, and
Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
Learning Objectives (continued)
• Perfect your text by testing for usability
• Rewrite your document by adding, deleting,
simplifying, moving, reformatting, enhancing, and
correcting
• Proofread, an essential part of the rewriting step
in the writing process
The Writing Process: An Overview
To produce successful technical communication,

approach writing as a process. The sometimes
simultaneous stages of the process are:
•Prewriting: generating information, considering the needs
of the audience, and choosing the communication channel
•Writing: organizing the draft, supplying visual aids, and

formatting the content so that your readers can follow
easily
•Rewriting: re-doing the draft so you can test for usability
and perfect your document
The Writing Process
Prewriting, Writing, and Rewriting:
Prewriting
Prewriting allows you to plan your communication.

Steps in the prewriting process are:
1.Examining your purposes
2.Determining your goals
3.Considering your audience
4.Gathering your data
5.Determining how your content will be provided
Examine Your Purposes
Are you writing due to:

•External motivation. Has someone else
requested the correspondence?
•Internal motivation. Have you decided to write
on your own accord?
Determine Your Goals
Are you writing to:
•Inform. Share information objectively?
•Instruct. Explain what to do or how to do
something?
•Persuade. Change opinions or policies?
•Build trust. Create rapport (empathy,
understanding, connection, or confidence)?
Consider Your Audience
Are you writing:
•Direction. Up to management? Down to
Subordinates? Laterally to coworkers?
•High-tech readers. Experts in your field?
•Low-tech readers. People with some knowledge
about your field?
•Lay readers. Customers or people outside of your
work environment?
Gather Your Data
Once you know why you are writing and who your
audience is, decide what to say. Data gathering
techniques include:
•Answering the reporter’s questions
•Mind mapping
•Brainstorming or listing
•Outlining
•Storyboarding
•Creating organization charts
•Flowcharting
•Researching (online or at the library)
Determine How the Content Will Be
Provided
After you have determined your audience, goals,
and content, decide which communication channel
will best convey your message:
•Email, instant messages, text messages, letters, and
memos
•Reports and proposals
•Brochures and fliers
•Web sites and blogs
•Oral presentations
•Social media
•Videos
Writing
Once you have gathered your data, determined
your objectives, recognized your audience, and
chosen the channel of communication, the next
step is writing the document. You must consider:
•Organization: Space (spatial organization),
Chronology, Importance, Comparison/contrast,
Problem/solution
•Formatting: Consider how the text looks on the
page or screen
Rewriting
After you have prewritten (to gather data, organize
your thoughts, and understand your audience) and
written your draft, your final step is to rewrite for
usability and correctness. Steps include:
•Revise: add missing detail, delete dead words and
phrases, simplify unnecessarily complex words and
phrases, move around information, reformat where
necessary, enhance the tone and style
•Proofread: correct any errors to ensure accurate grammar
and content.
Usability Testing
Usability testing focuses on these key factors:
•Retrievability. Can the user find specific
information quickly and easily?
•Readability. Can the user read and comprehend
information quickly and easily?
•Accuracy. Is the information complete and
correct?
•User satisfaction. Does the document present
information in a way that is easy to learn and
remember?
Chapter Highlights
1. Writing effectively is a challenge for many
people. Following the process approach to writing
will help you meet this challenge.
2. Prewriting helps you determine your goals,
consider your audience, gather your data, examine
your purposes, and determine the communication
channel.
Chapter Highlights (continued)
3. Prewriting techniques will help you get started.

Try answering reporter’s questions, mind mapping,
brainstorming or listing, outlining, storyboarding,
creating organization charts, flowcharting, or
researching.
4. When you prewrite, decide whether you are
communicating to persuade, instruct, inform, or
build trust.
5. To begin writing a rough draft, organize your
material, consider the layout and design of the
communication, and add visual aids such as tables
and figures.
6. You can communicate content through e‐mail
messages, instant messages, blogging, letters,
memos, reports, brochures, proposals, Web sites,
and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
7. Perfect your text by testing for usability.
8. Rewrite your document by adding, deleting,
simplifying, moving, reformatting, enhancing, and
correcting.
9. Proofreading is an essential part of the rewriting
step in the writing process. Lack of proofreading
causes businesses to lose money.
10. Accuracy is an essential skill in business
according to the National Commission on Writing.

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Technical Communication: Process and Product: Sharon Gerson and Steven Gerson

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Technical Communication:

Process and Product

Sharon Gerson and Steven Gerson

Copyright © 2014, 2012, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

To produce successful technical communication,

•Writing: organizing the draft, supplying visual aids, and

Prewriting allows you to plan your communication.

Are you writing due to:

3. Prewriting techniques will help you get started.

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