Contents

1. Acknowledgements

2. Amendment Notes

3. Introduction: What is Technical Communication?

4. 1. TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION: A PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH

   1. 1.1 KEY CONCEPT: Problem-Solving Approach to Communications Tasks

   2. 1.2 Conventions and Characteristics

   3. 1.3 Understanding the Rhetorical Situation

      Suzan Last; Candice Neveu; and Robin L. Potter

   4. 1.4 Case Studies: The Cost of Poor Communication

   5. 1.5 Writing Processes

5. 2. GENERATIVE AI IN CONTENT CREATION

   1. 2.1 What is Generative AI?

   2. 2.2 GenAI Terminology—A Primer

   3. 2.3 Critical Issues in GenAI

   4. 2.4 Using and Choosing GenAI Tools

   5. 2.5 GenAI Prompting

      Robin L. Potter

6. 3. WRITING FOR TECHNICAL WORKPLACES

   1. 3.1 KEY CONCEPT: Reader-Centred Writing

   2. 3.2 Inclusive writing

   3. 3.3 Communicating with Precision

   4. 3.4 Writing To Persuade

   5. 3.5 The Importance of Verbs

7. 4. DOCUMENT DESIGN

   1. 4.1 KEY CONCEPT: Readability

   2. 4.2 Headings

   3. 4.3 Lists

   4. 4.4 Figures and Tables

   5. 4.5 Style Tips: Revising to Enhance Readability

8. 5. INTERPERSONAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

   1. 5.1 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Terminology

   2. 5.2 EDI in the Canadian Workplace

   3. 5.3 Indigenous Peoples: Building Communication Competence

   4. 5.4 Intercultural Communication

9. 6. TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION

   1. 6.1 Team Project Management Tools and Strategies

      Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

   2. 6.2 Five Models for Understanding Team Dynamics

   3. 6.3 Collaborative Writing

      Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

10. 7. CONDUCTING RESEARCH

    1. 7.1 Research Terminology

    2. 7.2 Finding and Evaluating Research Sources

    3. 7.3 Defining the Scope of your Project

    4. 7.4 Human Research Ethics

    5. 7.5 Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation

11. 8. CITING AND DOCUMENTING SOURCES (APA STYLE)

    1. 8.1 Writing a Summary

    2. 8.2 Integrating Evidence into Your Writing

       Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

    3. 8.3 Referring to Authors and Titles

    4. 8.4 Creating a References List

    5. 8.5 Frequently Asked Questions

12. 9. COMMUNICATING TECHNICAL INFORMATION

    1. 9.1 Formatting Technical Documents

       Robin L. Potter

    2. 9.2 Correspondence: Text Messages, Emails, Memos, and Letters

    3. 9.3 Instructions

    4. 9.4 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

       Robin L. Potter

    5. 9.5 Technical Descriptions and Definitions

13. 10. REPORTING TECHNICAL INFORMATION

    1. 10.1 Creating an Outline

    2. 10.2 Incident and Inspection Reports

    3. 10.3 Proposals

    4. 10.4 Recommendation Reports and Feasibility Studies

    5. 10.5 Progress Reports

    6. 10.6 Lab Reports

    7. 10.7 Sustainability reporting

14. 11. PRESENTATION SKILLS

    1. 11.1 Building Confidence as a Presenter

       Monika Smith and Suzan Last

    2. 11.2 Developing Presentation Skills

       Suzan Last; Monika Smith; and Robin L. Potter

    3. 11.3 Designing Your Presentation

       Suzan Last and Robin L. Potter

    4. 11.4 Presenting as a Team

       Suzan Last and Candice Neveu

    5. 11.5 Presenting Virtually

       Robin L. Potter

15. APPENDIX A: INDIGENOUS CONSIDERATIONS

    1. A1: Indigenous Peoples: A Brief History

    2. A2: Towards Truth and Reconciliation

16. APPENDIX B: EMPLOYMENT COMMUNICATION

    1. B1: Finding a Job

    2. B2: Résumés and Cover Letters

    3. B3: The Online Application Process

    4. B4: Interviewing Skills

17. APPENDIX C: WRITING FUNDAMENTALS

    1. C1: Transitional Words and Phrases for College Writing

    2. C2: Sentence Structure

    3. C3: Punctuation Matters

    4. C4: Writing Comparisons

    5. C5: Peer Review Essentials