Review in the STC’s Journal: Technical Communication
The opinions
expressed by reviewers are their own and do not represent the views of the
editors or of the Society for Technical
Communication.
The Writing
System: A Step-by-step Guide for Business and Technical Writers
Daniel O. Graham and Judith H. Graham 2002.
Sometimes you
can just pick a book up, leaf through the pages, and get a good idea of its
overall theme. The Writing System is such a book. The pages shout,
"Structure!" and I found that to be the theme of the book.
The Writing
System is designed to give subject matter experts a method for writing business
and technical documents. The process of writing is broken down into
pre-writing, writing, and post-writing steps. Each numbered step is further
broken down into techniques, and each technique contains an additional level of
tips.
The book is
written as an example of the modular layout that the authors advocate. The technique
level or the tip level is explained as a topic. For example, in the pre-writing
phase, Step 5 is "Write sentence outline," Technique 5.2 is
"Evaluate points to eliminate irrelevancies and redundancies" (p.
42), and Tip 2 under that technique is "Eliminate redundancies and
unnecessary repetition" (p. 44). Tip 2 is the topic that is then developed
in the two-page layout.
Each topic is
broken down into the following sections:
·
Tip—The
actual tip or tips to be reviewed
·
Warning—A
warning about what not to do (most warnings begin "Do not ... ")
·
Example—Samples
of the techniques
·
See
also—References to other parts of the book (without page numbers or outline
reference numbers, however)
·
Discussion—Text
in a gray box providing further thoughts on the topic (really the most helpful)
·
Exercises—A
number of exercises, always on the right page of the layout, with answers in
Appendix A
The authors
stress the advantages of this modular layout over conventional layout in
Appendix D, which describes the process used to write long documents. They
write, "In a modular layout, each topic occupies two pages (one page each
in some cases), and all the topic shifts occur at the top-left corner of the
page" (p. D2). This structured approach may not appeal to all writers, but
it does provide a foundation for breaking large documents into same-sized
components that can be tackled more readily. It also provides a model for
creating documents for audiences that do appreciate the tight structure of the
modular layout.
The layout is an
integral part of the book and will appeal to some readers but not to others. It
reminds me of reading PowerPoint slides for a presentation that I've missed.
Once I became accustomed to the structured format, I found a great deal of
useful writing information presented in a clear, concise manner.
There is a
great deal of information on editing. Of the 13 steps listed in The Writing
System, seven are post-writing steps, four of which involve editing. The writer
is encouraged to write during the writing phase—free of any editing
distractions such as spell checkers—and to edit during the post-writing phase.
The editing steps include editing for coherence, clarity, economy, and
readability. In their discussion of editing for economy, for example, the
authors stress cutting out the deadwood. The discussion sections for the
editing steps are the most informative sections of all the topics. All but the
most expert of writers could profit from simply paging through the book,
reading the discussion boxes (all located at the bottom of left-hand pages) to
learn or refresh their writing techniques.
Educators who
teach business or technical writing could use the book as a text or as an
accompaniment to other texts because it is filled with examples and exercises.
Appendix A provides answers to the exercises and thorough explanations of the
answers provided.
I think,
however, that the target audience of subject matter experts without writing
expertise will benefit the most from this book—if they have the patience to
follow through the system as laid out by the authors. The book without
appendixes is only 180 pages long. Almost half of those pages (the ones on the
right-hand side) consist of exercises, so the system is concise, even though
the book itself is quite large. Exercises for every topic allow the reader to
practice the topic material with the confidence of knowing that the answers are
readily available in the appendix. This format is often unavailable outside of
the classroom. If an even more concise format is desired, Appendix E provides a
quick reference guide summarizing the system in six pages.
Although
concise, The Writing System contains a great deal of specific detail that its
target audience will probably appreciate. For example, they read that when they
are writing a long document using the two-page layout for each topic, their
limit is 960 words per topic. They also learn that an executive summary
includes four parts; an informative abstract, five.
A short
appendix discusses writing letters, memos, and e-mail. The guidelines for
e-mail provide another excellent tool. It is worth reading,
especially because e-mails are often the most widely read documents that we are
likely to write! Another feature of the book is an appendix on English as a
Second Language (ESL), which emphasizes how ESL professionals can use The
Writing System.
I would
recommend this book to subject matter experts who lack writing expertise. The
exercises and examples are especially beneficial to lone writers who often do
not have an expert writer nearby to review their writing. I myself fall into
that category and find that I could easily understand The Writing System.
Irene Jones
IRENE JONES is
a technical writer for a software company specializing in insurance rating
software near
=====================
Amazon Customer Reviews
|
A great book that
teaches how to write technical reports and papers., October 20, 2005
This
is a phenomenal book that teaches a person how to write scientific-style
documents such as peer-reviewed articles and technical reports. If you have
problems with writing or struggle to quickly write a paper, this book will
help. |
|
|
Engineers!
Scientists! Physicians! Lend me your pinnae! Listen
up you professional ladies and lads! This is THE writing
course/guide/reference for folks who know everything about their area of
expertise, and have NO idea how to write about it clearly, expertly,
professionally... Even if you have some skill in academic writing, you can
vastly increase the quality and readability of your prose using this book.
And if you, like many of us, "don't have a clue" about how to turn
out clear, concise and readable prose for your chosen audience - this book
will teach you how to do it in a systematic, repeatable, easy to master way!
This book and course is especially useful to intelligent, organized,
experienced professionals who never quite "got" it when it comes to
good writing. This book WILL make you an accomplished and confident writer if
you take the time to work through it! No more "writing
anxiety"...ever. As close to an educational "sure thing" as
you are ever likely to find! I used this book in Graham's writing class, and
for the first time in my life, at age 59, I "get" it... Guess what
- it's a science, not an art! What a revelation... |
|||
|
|
So many engineers are
excellent scientists and mathematicians, but are sorely lacking when it comes
to grammar and writing techniques. This book acts as a textbook, a refresher,
and a desk reference, all in one concise, easy-to-follow volume. The
techniques presented in this book introduce a whole new system of writing and
revision that will lead to more efficient document creation. A must-have for any reference library, especially
for any engineer who frequently writes reports, papers, and journal articles. |
|||
Engineers,
Scientists, Physicians - Writing Delight!, January 14, 2005