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Technical Writing for Teams

The STREAM Tools Handbook

Erschienen am 28.05.2010, 1. Auflage 2010
Bibliografische Daten
ISBN/EAN: 9780470229767
Sprache: Englisch
Umfang: 264 S.
Einband: kartoniertes Buch

Beschreibung

A unique, integrative, team-centered approach to writing and formatting technical documents Technical Professionals: * Do you have difficulty producing high-quality documents with multiple contributors when faced with a tight deadline? * Do you need a process that enables global team members to collaborate online as they produce sophisticated documents? * Do you prefer the ease of a WYSIWG desktop publishing tool like Microsoft Word rather than more complex software like LaTeX? * Professors and Graduate Students: * Do you want to streamline the process of writing multi-investigator papers, reports, proposals, and books? * Do you spend a lot of time formatting documents instead of thinking and writing? * Do you write research papers in Microsoft Word and then need to convert them to LaTeX for your thesis? * Do you write research papers in LaTeX and then need to convert them to Microsoft Word when embarking on collaborations with your colleagues from industry? Undergraduate Students: * Do you need to write a research paper and don''t know where to start? * Do you need to collaborate with classmates on a long paper and find yourself lost in organizational details rather than immersed in the content? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook is for you. It provides an easy-to-learn system that streamlines individual and collaborative writing, allowing you and your teams to instantly become more productive and create the highest quality documents in a minimum amount of time. Introduced here are the STREAM Tools--Scientific and Technical wRiting, Editing, and file Management Tools--which unlock your collaborators'' potential and addresses team dynamics, separation of duties, and workflow. You''ll see how to ensure compatibility among multiple writers, achieve consistent formatting, organize content, integrate bibliographic databases, automate the process of document preparation, and move content between Microsoft Word and LaTeX. Checklists, guidelines, and success stories are also included to help you operate as efficiently as possible. From planning and editing documents to solving common team writing problems to managing workflow, Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook is the one-stop reference that allows teams to collaborate successfully and create unified, effective documents.

Autorenportrait

InhaltsangabePREFACE. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. 1.1 IN THIS CHAPTER. 1.2 OUR AUDIENCE. 1.2.1 A few horror stories. 1.2.2 Some history. 1.3 THE NEED FOR A GOOD "WRITING SYSTEM". 1.4 INTRODUCING STREAM TOOLS. 1.4.1 What is STREAM Tools? 1.4.2 Why use STREAM Tools? 1.4.3 The software of STREAM Tools. 1.4.3.1 Recommended packages. 1.4.3.2 A brief comparison of Microsoft Word vs. LaTeX: history and myths. 1.5 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK. 1.6 EXERCISES. CHAPTER 2. QUICK START GUIDE FOR STREAM TOOLS. 2.1 IN THIS CHAPTER. 2.2 A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE WRITING PROCESS. 2.3 INTRODUCTION TO WRITING QUALITY TOOLS: THE STREAM TOOLS EDITORIAL MARK-UP TABLE. 2.4 INTRODUCTION TO DOCUMENT DESIGN TOOLS. 2.4.1 Important fundamental concepts. 2.4.1.1 Step 1: Use template files to create your new manuscripts. 2.4.1.2 Step 2: Copy existing elements and paste them into a new location. 2.4.1.3 Step 3: Edit the element. 2.4.1.4 Step 4: Cross-referencing elements. 2.4.2 Creating Elements in a Document. 2.4.2.1 Headings. 2.4.2.2 Equations. 2.4.2.3 Figures. 2.4.2.4 Tables. 2.4.2.5 References (literature citations). 2.5 INTRODUCTION TO FILE MANAGEMENT: OPTIMIZING YOUR WORKFLOW. 2.5.1 General principles. 2.5.2 Using a wiki for file management. 2.5.3 Version control. 2.6 CONCLUSIONS. 2.7 EXERCISES. CHAPTER 3. DOCUMENT DESIGN. 3.1 IN THIS CHAPTER. 3.2 CREATING TEMPLATES. 3.2.1 Headings. 3.2.1.1 How to create and cross-reference a heading template. 3.2.1.2 How to alter a heading template. 3.2.1.3 Common formatting mistakes in headings. 3.2.1.4 Common stylistic mistakes for headings. 3.2.1.5 Tips and tricks. 3.2.2 Equations. 3.2.2.1 How to create and cross-reference an equation template. 3.2.2.2 How to alter an equation template. 3.2.2.3 Common formatting mistakes for equations. 3.2.2.4 Common stylistic mistakes for equations. 3.2.2.5 Tips and tricks. 3.2.3 Figures. 3.2.3.1 How to create and cross-reference a figure template. 3.2.3.2 How to alter a figure template. 3.2.3.3 Common formatting mistakes in figures. 3.2.3.4 Common stylistic mistakes in figures. 3.2.3.5 Tips and tricks for figures. 3.2.4 Tables. 3.2.4.1 How to create and cross-reference a table template. 3.2.4.2 How to alter a table template. 3.2.4.3 Common typesetting mistakes. 3.2.4.4 Common stylistic mistakes in tables. 3.2.4.5 Tips and tricks for tables. 3.2.5 Front matter. 3.2.5.1 Controlling page numbers. 3.2.5.2 Table of contents. 3.2.6 Back matter. 3.2.6.1 Appendices. 3.2.6.2 Indices. 3.3 USING MULTIPLE TEMPLATES. 3.3.1 Controlling styles. 3.3.2 Switching between single-column and double-column formats. 3.3.3 Master documents. 3.4 PRACTICE PROBLEMS. 3.4.1 Headings. 3.4.2 Equations. 3.4.3 Figures. 3.4.4 Tables. 3.5 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. 3.6 EXERCISES. CHAPTER 4. USING BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES. 4.1 IN THIS CHAPTER. 4.2 WHY USE A BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE? 4.3 CHOICE OF SOFTWARE. 4.4 USING ENDNOTE. 4.4.1 Setting up the interface. 4.4.2 Adding references. 4.4.3 Citing references. 4.5 SHARING A DATABASE. 4.5.1 Numbering the database entries. 4.5.2 Compatibility with BiBTeX. 4.6 FORMATTING REFERENCES. 4.7 EXERCISES. CHAPTER 5. PLANNING, DRAFTING, AND EDITING DOCUMENTS. 5.1 IN THIS CHAPTER. 5.2 DEFINITION STAGE. 5.2.1 Select your team members. 5.2.2 Hold a kick-off meeting. 5.2.3 Analyze the audience. 5.2.4 Formulate the purpose. 5.2.4.1 Persuasion. 5.2.4.2 Exposition. 5.2.4.3 Instruction. 5.2.5 Select the optimum combination of STREAM Tools. 5.3 PREPARATION STAGE. 5.3.1 Evaluate historical documents. 5.3.1.1 Journal articles. 5.3.1.2 Proceedings/papers. 5.3.1.3 Theses and dissertations. 5.3.1.4 Proposals. 5.3.1.5 Reports. 5.3.2 Populate the file repository. 5.3.3 Create

Leseprobe

Leseprobe