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| Preface | |
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| Planning To Write | |
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| The Quest | |
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| Technical Writing Theorems | |
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| Technical Writing Can Be Creative | |
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| Tell 'Em | |
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| The Value of Technical Communication to You | |
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| Comparing Technical Writing to Engineering and Science | |
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| Audience | |
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| General Education Level | |
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| Experience and Expertise | |
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| Breadth of Audience | |
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| Native Language | |
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| Native Culture | |
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| Audience Motivation | |
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| Medium and the Message | |
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| Becoming the Audience | |
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| Summary of Audience | |
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| Documentation Plans | |
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| Document Specifications (Doc Specs) | |
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| Doc Specs: Sample | |
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| Documentation Project Plans | |
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| Documentation Project Plan: Sample | |
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| Summary of Documentation Specifications | |
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| Writing: General Principles | |
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| Words | |
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| Jargon | |
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| Consistency | |
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| Verbs | |
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| Adjectives and Adverbs | |
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| Pronouns: He, She, and They | |
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| Pronouns: You Pronouns: It and They | |
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| Fluffy Phrases Commonly Confused Words | |
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| Summary of Words | |
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| Sentences | |
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| Active Voice and Passive Voice | |
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| Active Voice Is Better | |
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| When Is Passive Voice Okay? | |
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| Short = Sweet Causes of Long Sentences | |
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| One Sentence = One Thought Parenthetical Clauses | |
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| Summary of Sentences | |
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| Paragraphs and Sections | |
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| Sentence Transitions | |
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| Paragraph Length Paragraph Transitions | |
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| Sections | |
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| Summary of Paragraphs and Sections | |
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| Lists | |
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| Bulleted Lists | |
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| Elements in Bulleted Lists | |
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| The Length of Each Element | |
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| Numbered Lists | |
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| Directions | |
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| Introductions to Lists | |
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| Parallel Lists | |
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| Summary of Lists | |
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| Tables | |
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| Column Headers | |
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| Units of Measure | |
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| Arrangement of Columns and Rows | |
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| Parallelism in Tables | |
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| Amount of Text in Cells | |
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| Rules | |
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| Shading | |
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| Captions | |
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| Summary of Tables | |
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| Graphics | |
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| Graphics | |
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| Time Series | |
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| Extra Detail in Online Graphics | |
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| Before and After | |
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| Callouts versus Embedded Text | |
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| Graphics That Orient Readers | |
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| Screenshots | |
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| Color Blindness | |
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| Block Diagrams | |
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| Text That Supplements Figures | |
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| Technical Photography | |
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| Line Art Enhances Technical Photographs | |
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| Big Picture First, Then Details | |
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| Layout: Controlling Focus | |
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| Layout: Keeping Eyes on the Page | |
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| Layout: White Space | |
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| Summary of Graphics | |
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| Professional Secrets | |
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| Explanations of Formula-Based Rules | |
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| Examples Examples by Metaphor | |
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| Examples for Programming Documentation | |
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| Question-and-Answer Format | |
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| Question-and-Answer Format Example | |
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| In Other Words | |
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| Tone | |
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| Pace | |
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| Footnotes and Other Digressions | |
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| Beyond the Obvious | |
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| Precision Descriptions | |
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| The Hardest Part of Writing | |
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| Summary of Professional Secrets | |
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| Writing: Spectific Kinds of Documents | |
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| Manuals | |
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| Manual Style: Cookbooks | |
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| Cookbook Example: Installing the Carambola Server | |
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| Manual Style: Tutorials | |
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| Tutorial Example: Getting Started with HTML | |
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| Manual Style: Guides | |
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| Guide Example: Creating HTML Headers | |
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| Manual Style: Reference Manuals Reference Example: The pr1me Utility | |
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| Manual Style: Nonverbal Manuals | |
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| Online Help: Overview | |
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| Online Help: Best Practices | |
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| Online Help Examples | |
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| Release Notes | |
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| Release Notes Example: Carambola Web Server Version 3.7 | |
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| Prefaces | |
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| Preface Example | |
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| Glossaries | |
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| lossary Example: Tropical Weather Terms | |
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| Tables of Contents | |
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| ndexes | |
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| dexes: Providing Concise Entries | |
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| dexes: Permuting Terms | |
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| dexes: Providing Entries for Concepts | |
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| mmary of Manuals | |
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| Web Sites | |
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| Plans Home Page: Specify | |