This practical text offers a research-based account of the technical communication profession and its practice, outlining emergent touchpoints of this fast-changing field while highlighting its diversity.
Through research on the history and the globalization of technical communication and up-to-date industry analysis, including first-hand narratives from industry practitioners, this book brings together common threads through the industry, suggests future trends, and points toward strategic routes for development. Vignettes from the workplace and examples of industry practice provide tangible insights into the different paths and realities of the field, furnishing readers with a range of entry routes and potential career sectors, workplace communities, daily activities, and futures. This approach is central to helping readers understand the diverse competencies of technical communicators in the modern, globalized economy.
The Profession and Practice of Technical Communication provides essential guidance for students, early professionals, and lateral entrants to the profession and can be used as a textbook for technical communication courses.
Part 1: The Profession of Technical Communication
1. The Nature of Technical Communication
2. Technical Communication Education and Professional Development
3. Technical Communication Communities
Part 2: The Practice of Technical Communication
4. Technical Communication Activities, Tools, Genres, and Artifacts
5. Technical Communication Workplaces
6. Technical Communication Futures
Part 3: Theories and Methods
7. Theories of Professions and Practice
8. Data Gathering and Analysis
9. Conclusions and Strategic Directions
Appendix A. Profession and Practice Resources
Appendix B. The Survey Instrument
Biography
Yvonne Cleary is Head of Technical Communication and Instructional Design at the University of Limerick, in Limerick, Ireland. Her research interests include professional issues in technical communication, technical communication pedagogy, virtual teams, and international technical communication.
"Yvonne Cleary’s The Profession and Practice of Technical Communication (2022) offers a narrative survey on communication design/technical communication as an academic field of study but also builds bridges between academic work (both pedagogical and research-oriented) to work environments and practitioners in the professional realm. Because of the book’s organizational structure and approachable text, Cleary is highly successful both in her research and the presentation of it, creating a valuable resource for students and providing insight for field practitioners."
Anthony DeGenaro, Ohio Dominican University, USA
