The document discusses technical writing and provides examples of ethical scenarios a technical writer may face. It addresses challenges like balancing objectivity with the needs of the company. Readers are asked to consider how far they would go to defend their company's ethics or save their job. Maintaining complete objectivity in technical reports is also discussed. The final project asks readers to write about a subject they feel compelled about.

1. Technical Writing
A MORE IN DEPTH APPROACH

2. Today’s Agenda
 Technical Writing as a Field
 Helping Readers Read
 Ethical Technical Writing
 The Final Project: Step 1
 Assignment Q & A

3. Technical Writing Is…
 Professional writing for a technical field

4. A Technical Writer
 Dabbler in many fields, master of none
 Social Acts
 Reader-Centered

5. Window Model
 Information passes through the tech writer
 Tech Writer should be as transparent as possible

6. Your Thoughts
 Is this possible?
 Is this a good model for technical writing?

7. Translation Models
 Technical Writer as a translator
 “Translates” information from its source

8. Your Thoughts
 Is this possible?
 Is this a good model for technical writing?

9. A Reader Centered Approach
 Write for your reader
 To the point; short.
 Usability
 Persuasion

10. Professional Ethics
 Professional organizations
 Companies

11. Ethical Technical Writing
 The Ethic of Expediency

12. What is the Ethic of Expediency?
 What’s more important?

13. You
 How far are you willing to go?
 What are you willing to sacrifice?

14. Scenario 1
 Your company is currently suffering a series of
layoffs. You are asked to compile a report of the
technical strengths and weaknesses of your
coworkers’ work groups for a purpose unexplained to
you. What rubric do you set to determine the
strengths and weaknesses and how do you compile
this report? What consequences might come out of
your report?

15.  Evaluation sheet to determine differences between one coworker and
another
 Grade people more specifically, rate their skills. Give high points and their low points.
 Consequence: weaker people will be laid off
 People could be promoted
 Workshops could be developed to get everyone on the same page
 People are going to get mad once they find out what you wrote about them.
 Without strict rules, you could create the rules in this report – checking the
performance of the employees
 Compile in the indirect approach, we’re happy but unfortunately…do the
same with the consequences of the report – which won’t get people mad
 Will have to explain how production will be redistributed
 Could be done based on strengths and weaknesses

16. Scenario 2
 Your company has been in the news for a series of
environmental disasters in South America that it
caused. You are asked to develop a report explaining
the environmental good and charities your company
has donated to in the last year in the United States.
What sort of information do you include in this
report? What consequences might this report have
on the general public?

17.  The types of charities that were donated to
 If you have your own workforce on the issue
 What they were offering to others
 Someone’s getting fired
 Good publicity
 Rock and a hard place
 Profits of the company might go down
 Handling issues with the environment is always difficult
 Produce vs reduce – producing goods, reducing
emissions vs what other companies are doing
 It’ll blow over eventually. People can only boycott for so
long then something else will happen.

18. Scenario 3
 Your company’s product has caused several injuries
and deaths over the course of the last year. Half of
the users were injured. Your company is being sued
for several million dollars, which could put it out of
business. You are asked to compile a report
defending your company’s safety record and showing
that the users of your product were using it
improperly. Upon researching the data, it is not clear
whether the product was used improperly or not.
How would you continue about your work?

19.  Get a lawyer
 It is a tough decision if your job is on the line
 Show everything great about your company
 Call for a recall
 Change the directions on the product
 State the facts about the incidents
 Try to blame the user instead of the company
 Further test your products
 Say you’re doing an investigation yourselves
 Most folks are quitting.

20. Objectivity
 The “Big T” Truth
 Your position is irrelevant
 Knowledge as it exists

21. Subjectivity
 Your position vs. the position of others
 Your knowledge vs. the knowledge of others
 “Big T” Truth vs. “Little t” truth

22. Bias in Technical Writing
 Tech writing comes from a biased standpoint
 Information will be translated or submitted based
upon the writer’s subjectivity

23. Writing Assignment
 Explain your ethics. How far are you willing to go to
defend the ethics of your company? What ethics are
you willing to bend in order to save your job?
 Is it possible to remain completely objective in
writing technical reports?

24. Final Project
 Take 20 minutes. Write about ten subjects that
matter to you in your daily life.
 Choose the subject that you feel most compelled to
write about. Write an email to me about that subject.