Wonky words. You can find them anywhere: on billboards, on beer bottles, on bus-stop signs. I’m talking about words that make you go hmmm. I’m talking about the kind of writing that makes word nerds ...

Editor’s Note: The following piece, by Jean Hollis Weber, is part of our collection of “classics”–articles that stand the test of time no matter how many technologies come and go. Don’t forget to ...

Here’s the scenario: You’re finishing up your latest HTML Help project…no more late nights or weekends…back to a “normal” 50-hour work week. That’s when the development team lead strolls into your ...

This chapter from Steve Hudson’s Work in Progress on Advance Word Usage covers topics such as when to use (and when not to use) master documents, as well as “The Ten Heretical Rules of Masters,” which ...

As a technical writer, you likely work with a myriad of different files for each project you work on; a single document or document set can often be derived from dozens if not hundreds of source files ...

TechWhirl recently sat down with Barry Saiff of Saiff Solutions to talk outsourcing, debunking a few myths and shining some light on how to make practical decisions on managing content creation ...

Editor’s Note: Mark Baker begins his ongoing series on Structured Writing by framing a working definition. Look for future articles on the key concepts of structured writing and their practical ...

Following a successful presentation to STC Phoenix on Plain Language and Simplified Technical English, NAU Senior Lecturer Erika Konrad and alumna Karen Field Carroll joined TechWhirl for a Fast 5 ...

Imagine you’re driving in your brand new Acura TL. It’s your first car, and you love how it drives. An icon appears on the dash with a bright orange exclamation point. What does this mean? You panic.

I once received a long writing sample from a technical communication applicant who had written about a complex medical device. The sample demonstrated all the marks of quality: clean and consistent ...

In my 30 years as an editor and technical writer, I’ve seen endless examples of how readers can misinterpret texts. In the most egregious cases, I’ve even seen authors misinterpret their own writing, ...

At this point in this series, I am going to start looking at the algorithms of structured writing. An algorithm is a formalized method for performing a task. We often associate algorithms with ...