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I think there was a thread on this subject not too long ago, and someone
(I think Arroxanne?) provided a very thorough list of books. If you
can't find it, let me know and I will forward my copy to you off list.
However, I'm surprised that your TW certificate program can't recommend
anything for you. I went through that program a couple years back at the
University of Washington and our textbooks were excellent resources. I
still use mine.
In particular we used "Handbook of Technical Writing" by Alred, Brusaw,
and Olin. Also a good introductory book about the field of Technical
writing is "Technical Communication in the Global Community" by Deborah
C. Andrews. And for writing style we were given "Style: Ten Lessons in
Clarity and Grace" by Joseph M. Williams. In my editing class we used
Chicago Manual of Style, but I've learned that the textbook for that
class this year will be Words Into Type (not sure of the author).
Just to name a few.
Also, just something I found useful when going through my program -
don't forget about design and layout. There was much I knew intuitively,
but I learned that good technical writing is more than just putting
sentences together correctly. There's a lot to know about the visual
aspect of it as well.
Hope this helps.
Claire Conant
Technical Editor
Digeo, Inc.
www.digeo.com
www.moxi.com
Andy wrote:
>Hello, would anyone out there have one or two recommendations for
>technical writing books? I'm currently going through a TW certificate
>program and would like a good book that would explain "best practices"
>for technical writing.
>
>thanks,
>
>Andy
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