Engineering Writing/Writing Engineering

							           The Technical Communicator as Author
                                              Ryan K. Mears
                                            ryan@crashpod.net

Abstract                                               popularity. The transmission view of
Section 11 of Central Works in Technical               communication, our first model, focuses on
Writing “The Technical Communicator as                 moving information from one person to the next.
Author”, discusses the role technical                  The second model, known as the translation view
communicators play in existing academic focus          of communication seeks to convey meaning with
of communication.                                      the transfer of information. Our third and final
                                                       model is that of the articulation view of
Specifically, this article discusses how technical     communication: with a goal of refinement and
communication is implemented in the three              re-articulation, it is the newest of the
communications models of Transmission,                 communications models.
Translation, and Articulation.
                                                       2.3 Transmission communication
Class Readings Referenced                              “Of the three views of communication, the
Jennifer Daryl Slack, David James Miller, and          transmission view has to be the most clearly
Jeffrey Doak. Technical Communicator as                delineated”. This statement opens Slack, Miller,
Author. Central Works in Techincal                     and Doak’s discussion of transmission
Communication. Page 160 - 173                          communication in a technical setting.
                                                       Transmission communication is the most basic
                                                       of the discussed concepts for propagating
1. Introduction                                        information. In the technical realm, it is literally
The authors of this work attempt to integrate the      telling someone what to do. For example: the
concept of a technical communication author            instruction manual for a video camera might tell
into the accepted standards of the                     us: “insert the battery into the charger “.
communication field. By providing descriptions
and examples of how technical communicators            This straightforward quality gives the author
manifest themselves in each of the three given         great power in the transmission model. His or
communication models, Slack, Miller, and Doak          her reader will be following the written
hope to create a roadmap that can be used to           commands closely, so being specific is of great
define the curriculum of undergraduate students        importance.
studying technical communications.
                                                       2.4 Translation communication
This response will examine the rationales for          In translation communication, the author’s goal
each model the authors present and provide             is to lead their reader to understand the meaning
commentary on the argument’s validity.                 of the subject content. For instance, in our video
                                                       camera example, we could say “placing the
2. Analysis of Readings                                battery on the charger will allow an electrical
2.1 Opening Discussion                                 circuit to be established”.
“The Technical Communicator as Author” is
opened with a brief discussion on the position of      Translation communication does not often find
author, and privileges and powers awarded              it’s way into technical writing in a purely
therein. Slack, Miller, and Doak argue that the        instructional form. More often it is called upon
credibility granted to an author is manifested         to describe concepts and practices that need
differently given the communication model that         clarification for proper understanding.
is in play.
                                                       2.5 Articulation communication
2.2 Communications Models                              Communication via articulation seeks to refine
According to this document, the field of               and recycle it’s content in ways that improve the
communications recognizes two main models for          meaning it is attempting to portray. Finishing off
information transfer, with a third quickly gaining     our video camera example, the articulate version
                                                       of the statement would be “setting the battery on
the charger allows it to be fully charged when
plugged in”. Here articulation communication
not only gave an order to the reader, it explained
why they would want to follow through with the
direction.

3. Conclusion
3.1 Communication model
understanding leads to success
Covering content that is of great importance to
the technical writing community, this article was
very enlightening. As technical writers we must
be aware of how we are addressing our audience.
All three models discussed in this article are of
use to our field in their own respects.

It would be counter productive to use translation
communication to explain the physics and
architectural history behind the screw that is
holding up a reader’s bookshelf. Similarly, it
would be pointless to attempt explanation of a
fiber optic communications network simply by
offering “this little thing plugs into that hole”.

As technical communicators, we are faced with
the daunting task of providing both results and
meaning to our readers. Understanding of the
concepts presented in this article is a worthwhile
step towards fulfilling this goal.