TECM 5190: Style in Technical Writing provided important insight into how style, tone, and other linguistic elements of writing can impact reader perception, and how generative AI tools can be of use in the technical communication field. Both of these course objectives provided important guidance as I finished up TECM 5190 and continued work at my internship.
How did the use of an AI tool influence your approach to graded work in the course? Explain.
I have had limited experience with generative AI tools in previous technical communication classes, but TECM 5190 was the first class that asked for generative AI content to be used within assignments. I was — and remain — skeptical of generative AI content, but I do acknowledge its quickly rising importance in the technical communication field.
One of the most important skills I learned in this course was how to correctly write AI prompts. I did not realize the depth of how a well-worded prompt can shape the outcome of an LLM’s response. Dr. Kim’s interactive assignment that taught different prompting techniques was particularly helpful in my work, especially in further assignments like the generative AI tone of voice creation. While I don’t prefer to use generative AI content in my work, knowing how to correctly use it as a tool is important as I continue my career and work in the technical communication field.
What course materials had the greatest impact on your own career goals? Be specific. Why did that material make such an impact? (If you cannot easily address your career goals, answer based on your course goals.)
In particular, I found this course’s discussion of tone and style guide, and their impact on content at both high- and low-levels, very impactful to my own career goals and current work. I discussed in my first blog post how I was inspired to create a style guide for my main internship project. As I learned more in this course, as well as in my internship, I was able to successfully implement this style guide both in my main project and in other tasks.
One of my first major tasks for my project was to edit pre-existing content for its first quality control phase. In this phase, my supervisors stressed the importance of consistency and “one voice” throughout the document. Thanks to TECM 5190’s discussion and assignment on style guides, I was able to author a style guide that helped guide the editing process of this document.
One of the biggest issues for this task was the lack of consistency in the original content — constantly changing tenses, non-hierarchical text, and inconsistent pronouns were just a few of the issues I encountered. After reviewing the content and making note of these problems, I was able to create a style guide that addressed these issues and set a standard for how they should be fixed.
For example, I defined the document’s tone of voice as “technical, knowledgeable, and professional.” I then included an example that fit this tone and an example that did not. This was particularly useful as many of the people who will potentially see this document are not writers by trade. Including examples helps others gain tangible knowledge on what the style guide means and what it can do for their writing.
My work on the quality control portion of this project is still happening, and my style guide has seen many updates and changes since its conception. However, my supervisors have expressed interest in implementing it at a company-wide level. I have also gotten the chance to use it on smaller side tasks in my internship, proving its usefulness across multiple genres. I am glad that TECM 5190 gave me the tools to create and implement a style guide.
How would you guide a new student taking the course? What is most important to do to succeed? What is most important to avoid doing? Explain.
In my experience, the most important thing to succeed in this course is careful examination and analysis of the materials. Thirty minutes of in-depth studying — taking notes, making connections, and developing assignments — is more useful than two hours of reading the material but not truly comprehending it. I have learned over the years that collecting my notes in one document, typically for each week or module of a course, is the most effective way to gather information and truly learn.
For this course, I made sure to include the titles and links to the required material in my notes. This made referencing materials during assignments easier, but it also serves as a ‘library’ that I can go back to and reference even outside of this course. I have already referred back to my notes on style guides and plain language when at my internship!
Somewhat related to my above points, I would avoid procrastination in this course. The eight-week format always moves more quickly than expected, and getting started early in the week was the best way for me to get my work done without stressing (too much). While it’s easier said than done, I always felt better prepared in the weeks that I was able to start work on the course early.
Conclusion
Overall, TECM 5190 is an important part of the TECM MA program. Learning the importance of style and tone in content is integral to the creation of successful, meaningful content. Additionally, learning about new technology, such as generative AI, is also important to stay up-to-date in the ever-evolving technical communication field.
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Image Sources:
Sora Shimazaki, https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-filling-job-application-form-in-office-with-boss-5668858/.
Lum3n, https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-click-pen-on-white-paper-167682/.
PNW Production, https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-laptop-9218664/.