Contents

1. Accessibility Statement

2. For Students: How to Access and Use this Textbook

3. About BCcampus Open Education

4. Acknowledgements

5. Introduction

6. 1. What is Technical Communication?

   1. 1.1 KEY CONCEPT: Problem-Solving Approach to Communications Tasks

   2. 1.2 Conventions and Characteristics

   3. 1.3 Understanding the Rhetorical Situation

      Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

   4. 1.4 Case Study: The Cost of Poor Communication

   5. 1.5 Writing Processes

7. 2. Professional Style

   1. 2.1 KEY CONCEPT: Reader-Centred Writing

   2. 2.2 Communicating with Precision

   3. 2.3 Writing To Persuade

   4. 2.4 The Importance of Verbs

8. 3. Document Design

   1. 3.1 KEY CONCEPT: Readability

   2. 3.2 Headings

   3. 3.3 Lists

   4. 3.4 Figures and Tables

   5. 3.5 Style Tips: Revising to Enhance Readability

9. 4. Teamwork and Communication

   1. 4.1 Team Project Management Tools and Strategies

      Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

   2. 4.2 Models for Understanding Team Dynamics

   3. 4.3 Collaborative Writing

      Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

10. 5. Research Methods

    1. 5.1 Research Terminology

    2. 5.2 Finding and Evaluating Research Sources

    3. 5.3 Defining the Scope of your Project

    4. 5.4 Human Research Ethics

    5. 5.5 Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation

11. 6. Citing and Documenting Sources in IEEE Style

    1. 6.1 Frequently Asked Questions

    2. 6.2 Setting Up A Reference List – Sample Entries

12. 7. Common Document Types

    1. 7.1 Correspondence: Text Messages, Emails, Memos, and Letters

    2. 7.2 Proposals

    3. 7.3 Progress Reports

    4. 7.4 Technical Descriptions and Definitions

    5. 7.5 Long Reports – Recommendation Reports and Feasibility Studies

    6. 7.6 Lab Reports

    7. 7.7 Writing Instructions

13. 8. Oral and Visual Presentation

    1. 8.1 Building Confidence as a Presenter

       Monika Smith and Suzan Last

    2. 8.2 Developing Presentation Skills

       Suzan Last and Monika Smith

    3. 8.3 Presenting as a Team

       Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

14. APPENDICES: Academic Writing Basics

    1. Appendix A: Referring to Authors and Titles

    2. Appendix B: Writing a Summary

    3. Appendix C: Integrating Source Evidence into Your Writing

       Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

    4. Appendix D: Transitional Words and Phrases for University Writing

    5. Appendix E: Sentence Structure

    6. Appendix F: Punctuation Matters

    7. Appendix G: Writing Comparisons

    8. Appendix H: Peer Review Essentials

15. Versioning History