To: Nancy Myers

From: Dane Rogers

Date: 4/24/20
Subject: APLED 121-Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter 4
Objectives in Technical Communication
Audience recognition- consider the following

 Who is the audience?

 What does the speaker or the listener know?
 What does the speaker or the listener not know?
 What must be said to ensure audience comprehension?
 Can the writing apply to multiple audiences?
 What’s the audience’s position in relation to your job title?
 What issues about diversity should be considered?
 Knowledge of Subject Matter
 High-tech audience
o Experts in the field that you are discussing
o Similar level of expertise to the speakers
o Less detail required for standard procedures
o Little background information needed
 Low-tech audience
o Familiar with the subject, but their responsibilities lay elsewhere
o They can understand certain abbreviations, but explanations may
still be necessary
o Technical concepts must be explained to fully inform the
audience
o Background information is a welcome addition to low-tech
audience members
 Lay audience
o Have little to no knowledge on the subject matter
o Have no familiarity with terms, so those must be explained
o High-tech terms either must be heavily explained or avoid entirely
o Background information is essential
 Multiple audiences
o People outside of your intended audience may still be able to read
your writing
o Provide a reference line so readers unfamiliar with the subject
have the option to research further
o Abbreviations should be explained
 Writing for future audiences
 Judicial members that rely on past reports to decide the verdict
  New workers practicing/learning how to complete tasks assigned to
them
 New managers who needs to be informed about procedures

Defining terms for audiences

 Terms can be described using the following processes

o Parenthesis – CIA (Cash in Advance)
o A sentence – explain the concept through a sentence
o Inside an extended paragraph- use a whole paragraph to explain the
concept
o A glossary- extended definitions index
o Pop-ups through online-embedded links to lead to online help

Audience personality traits

 Perceived personality
o Are they eager or slow to react?
o Are they organized or not?
 Attitude of the topic
o Negative or positive?
o Informed or not?
 Audience style preference
o Do they understand contractions?
o Is short and to the point better?
 Response
o Do you want audience to consider your ideas?

Biased Language-Issues of Diversity

 Will each translated version be identical in content and readability?

 Will the first language version suggest advantages to investors over
translations?
 Are all translations matching in tone?

Multicultural team projects

 Make sure that you aren’t being ethnocentric, or if your values are the norm.
 Diversity is protected by the law
 Respecting diversity is the right thing to do
 It’s good for business
 Keeps business competitive
 Multiculturalism- the Global Economy
 All major businesses have markets outside the United States
 Avoid jargons and idioms
o Crunch time
o Pull the plug
 o Through the roof
 Distinguish between nouns and verbs
 Know the difference between noun and verb versions of words
 Watch for Cultural Biases/Expectations
 Certain words have different connotations in different countries. Note the
differences and avoid the conflicts
 Be Careful when using slashes
 Avoid confusion by not using them
 Avoid Humor and Puns
 Humor is far from universal
 It can be distracting and offensive
 Realize that translations may take more and less space
 Paper size fluctuates between countries
 Web site functions would vary through translations and could break menus
 Avoid figurative language
 No “tackling” a chore
 Getting “booted” from the job
 Be Careful with Numbers, Measurements, etc.
 Measurements need to be converted and formatted correctly
 Dates are abbreviated differently in other countries, make sure the one
you want is the one they understand
 Time can also be confusing with 24-hour time and use of colons or periods
 Use stylized graphics to represent people
 Stick figures could be used to help represent what your talking about

Avoiding Biased Language

 Ageist language-avoid age entirely

 Disabilities - AIDS patient over AIDS victim
 Sexist – stereotyping women by ignoring them or treating them as
secondary concerns
 Stereotyping – the teacher must file vs. the teacher must file her
 Pronouns – avoid masculine pronouns instead using plural ones like they
or them
 Gender tagged nouns – people over mankind

Audience Involvement

 Personalized tone
o Pronouns-you, we, I
 Names
o Directly using their name can make for a friendlier environment
 Reader Benefit
 Explain the Benefit
 o Explain the exact benefits of your writing to show what the read
could benefit from
 Use Positive Words
o Like thank you, enjoy, achieve, advantage

The Writing Process at Work

 Prewriting
o Write an outline of what needs to be said
 Writing
o A rough draft to go over and edit
 Rewriting
o A reviewed draft that can be sent out!