Looking Back

Looking Back

Throughout this semester I have learned many different things that will help me for the rest of my life. I believe this semester I have learned skills that I may not have learned without taking this course. Without this semester I would still have issues with working in groups. I was never the best with working in groups and getting things done that way. I also believe I have gained a few skills of how to trim the fluff in my writing.

HULK SMASH

This class has prepared me in many ways when it comes to getting a job in the future. I learned how to conduct and participate in an interview. I also learned how to set up a resume to help make me standout to an employer more than someone else may.

Negative Nancy

I am here to encourage you to take action and try to become a better technical writer. I was never the one to ever even think about doing a blog, but I am forever grateful for this because it has helped me in learning more about technology and also about being a better technical writer. If you ever start to doubt yourself just remember, you are probably still a better technical writer than I ever will be! 

Blogs to Follow

Blogging Benefits

First, I will start off by saying I have never been the type of person that is into blogging, but it does have its benefits. There are a few things that, in the future, I may actually decide to blog about again. My ideas may not help anyone with anything that they had wished to learn, but I would blog about baseball and the way the game is played. I will also add things on how to manage a game from a coaching standpoint as well. My reasoning in doing so is I would love to give more insight of the game of baseball and help guys, or girls, that are playing or coaching another way they can look at the game.

Baseball Blogs

Yankees Baseball

Baseball Blogs is a great place for baseball/softball players to keep up with the way players and coaches learn what is working for them. Baseball blogs is not an exact blog post of its own, but a good bit of blogs that multiple people write so you aren't limited to one persons view of the game of baseball. I find that baseball blog is a great website that gives a lot of easy access to all of the blogs the promote. The blogs from this site will help anyone who is trying to learn more about baseball and anyone who is trying to learn different ways things work in the game.

Baseball Musings

Baseball

Baseball Musings is a great blog website that is solely written by David Pinto. Pinto gives a great

deal of insight on what is going on in todays game of baseball. Pinto gives insight from day today on the way games play out, the way players play in those games, and even the post game festivities that go on. I enjoy seeing all of the knowledge he gains from the games that are played from day to day. Pinto usually updates his blog everyday. One thing I will say about these blogs is that Pinto seems to favor the pitchers. Most of Pinto's blogs have to do with the way pitchers succeed and also the way pitchers fail.

Huffington Post

Food, food, food!

With the Huffington Post I love to see the food blogs that they have. They have many different blogs on their site but my favorite to look at are the "Best Food Blogs". These blogs tend to have many different recipes for many different kinds of foods. I have been an experimental cook since I was 12 years old and the "Best Food Blogs" give me a great idea of different foods I can try that I have never tried before. For those who want to learn ways to experiment in the kitchen, I definitely recommend checking out this blog.

Formal Research Proposal Reports and Technical Communication

Technical writing is not just about being able to write with technical reasoning. Sometimes as a technical writer you must be able to interact with colleagues, teammates, or even classmates. Being able to communicate with others is a big part of technical writing.



Group Communication
While working with others in class I was more of the, stand back and let things happen type. For others they may have been more assertive during the project and had more of a leadership role. I know after learning more about technical communication and practicing my skills that I need to be in a more assertive role when I am in a group just so I feel like I am apart and not just taking orders from others. With others they may learn that they are too assertive and should sit back and actually listen to other peoples views instead of being headstrong towards theirs.

Effective Communication
Like I said before, technical communication is more than just being a good writer. I believe that learning about technical writing is a great attribute for those of you who may want to go farther in a career. Being great at technical writing will help because of the ability to be assertive enough to give an opinion, but also to be able to listen to other peoples opinions as well.

Prezi

Review of Media Software

Technical communication could never happen if you do not have someone there to listen or see what it is you may be talking about. With presentations it gives both you, as the presenter, and the audience an easy and well flowing way of presenting information.

When you think of presentations or power points you think of Microsoft. With Microsoft everyone has seen everything they have to offer in a power point setting so it may actually lull you audience asleep. Plain and simple Microsoft is just old and has been overused throughout its time. With that being said, do not panic, there are many more programs that can be used to create such a presentation.

My favorite to use is Prezi. One thing you should be weary of with Prezi is that they try to get you to sign up for the program that costs money and make you use your credit card. Prezi actually has a free setup to where you do not have to pay a single thing and it works just the same as the one that cost money.

http://www.gradhacker.org/2012/08/29/prezi-a-dynamic-presentation-or-nauseating-experience/

With prezi I love the way you can set up how you transition over from one slide to another. It makes it a fun and enjoyable presentation to present and to watch.

One problem I had with prezi, which was not a big problem, was the creating new bubbles and being able to put text into the bubbles. I am not a very tech savvy guy, so this posed an issue for me.


Overall, Prezi gave me an amazing experience in using their program and I would recommend it to anyone who has to create a presentation for anything.

Tips for Resume's and Job Interviews

Marketing Yourself

Technical communication could be, possibly the most under rated thing when it comes to the way of life and how you need to use it. Here I will give you a bit of information on what I think you may need to know when it comes to technical communication in applying for jobs.

There are many things that you should take into consideration when applying for a job. Many details should be put into, not only the resume itself, but also the way to approach a job interview. There are many things that certain people may think are more important than what I will pass on to you.

Picture from CRBM

My Top Tips for a Resume

1. Always submit digital copies as PDFs. (unless told otherwise)
2. Always use normal fonts so that the interviewer can read it. (Calibri, Times New Roman, Arial)
3. Try to list things instead of creating sentences or paragraphs.
4. Back up the qualities you give in your resume.
5. Try to use the right keywords to get their attention.
6. Include the intentions on where you are heading in the companies aspect.
7. Avoid all negativity.
8. Sell yourself in a way others wouldn't.
9. Always include all of the truth.
10. Limit the white space.
11. Always have 2 to 3 people look over it to proofread.

My Top Tips for Job Interviews

1. Wake up early and be well rested.
2. Eat breakfast to help calm some nerves.
3. Be well dressed or at least dressed for the occasion.
4. Start off with knowing yourself and why you are there.
5. Have a smile on your face to make it seem like you are happy/excited to be there.
6. Have a firm handshake, but not too firm.
7. Know what you will say when certain questions are asked.
8. Make sure to know the background of the company and be able to elaborate.
9. Try to stay calm and no fidgeting.
10. Have questions for them that you have. (not about money)
11. Close strong and thank them for their consideration and time.

"How To" Instructions

In this area of my blog I am going to show you how to give/create instructions for another to follow.
First off, we want to start out with a set of simple instructions to give you an example of instructions.



How to Make Cheesy Scrambled Eggs?

Here you will learn how to create your own Cheesy Scrambled Eggs. There may be many other ways on how to make this delectable breakfast, but here is a way for you to learn quickly and easily.

Ingredients/Supplies Needed:

• Eggs
• Whisk
• Fork
• Plate
• Bowl
• Non-stick Skillet
• Spatula
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cheese

1. Preheat your stove to a medium heat and place the skillet onto the heat directly.
• WARNING: Be careful around the heat, it may cause serious injury if you come into contact with it.
2. Take 2 eggs and crack them and place them into the bowl.
• WARNING: make sure there are no shells in the bowl.
3. Use the fork or the whisk to blend both the yolk and the egg white until it is all yellow.
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper into the bowl and continue to blend the salt and pepper in with the eggs.
5. Pour the concoction into the skillet that should be well heated.
6. Pour the eggs into the skillet sprinkle some cheese onto the eggs and use the spatula to mix them together.
7. Continue pushing the eggs and cheese around in the skillet until the eggs have become firm, but has yet to become a solid.
8. Remove the skillet from the heat and then turn the heat off.
9. Pour your cheesy eggs onto your plate and enjoy!
• WARNING: Be careful when consuming because the cheesy eggs may still be hot and burn your mouth.

This photo was used from the food network.

As shown above, instructions are a really easy thing to do. There are just a few things you should take into consideration so that the users are able to handle the tasks at hand...

• Analyze your audience: Create instructions that an audience that may never have recollection on how to do the task at hand.
• Always remember the ethical and legal implications: Give precautions in your instructions that people may have to watch for when performing the task.
• Use standard organization and include all needed elements: Create a title that is clear and exact; create an overview of the instructions if needed; include the steps numbered in order; and include visuals, precautions, warnings, notes, dangers, and a conclusions as needed throughout.
• Provide an appropriate level of detail and technicality: Give the reader enough detail so that they can perform the task, but not too much that they may become confused.
• Write with readable style: Make sure to use clear and understandable language so the reader can fully understand what they need to do.
• Always test for usability: Make sure that your instructions are easy to follow and that the reader will be able to perform the task without any problems.

Now, as long as you go by the guidelines provided to you, you should be able to create your own set of instructions without any problem at all. Good Luck!!

What I Know About Technical Writing

Hi,

My name is Colton Lee and I attend school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I am a senior in general studies and I am here to tell you about what I know about technical writing. Although this class is required for me to graduate, I decided to take it to become more informed on how to use technical writing and what the benefits that may come from being able to use it. I have been given this task as an assignment for my English 365 class that I am currently enrolled in. For me I do not know whole lot about technical writing and the things that go along with it. What I can tell you is that there are a lot of instances where technical writing is used. There are many different ways that technical writing can be expressed whether it's someone is writing a letter to another or if an individual uses technical writing via digital communication such as an email or blog post for example. Like I mentioned earlier in my post, I do not know much about technical writing so I am not properly prepared to explain much more on this matter, but by the end of this semester I hope that I can return to shed a brighter light on the matter of technical writing.



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