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<title>Ugur Akinci - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ugur_Akinci</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:29:48 -0600</pubDate>
<image><title>Ugur Akinci - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
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<copyright>Copyright 2012 EzineArticles.com - All Rights Reserved.</copyright>
<description><![CDATA[Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a senior technical writer with 20 years of technical communication experience, including over 10 years with Fortune 500 IT corporations. He is a senior member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). As a member of STC's Washington DC chapter he has served as a Lead Juror and Juror in STC Technical Documentation competitions since 2000. Dr. Akinci is specialized in software, hardware, networking, security access and intrusion detection documentation. Over the last 10 years he has produced many user guides, system administration guides, installation guides, quick start guides, release notes, spec sheets, help files, technical ... ]]></description>
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<title>API Writing - As Technical As Technical Writing Gets</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3651410</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3651410</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:53:22 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Some technical communication fields have low entry thresholds (like press release and resume writing, for example). Others have far tougher entry conditions and they also pay accordingly. API (Application Product Interface) writing is one such highly technical documentation field. API writing is for software engineers who would like to switch to documentation, or technical writers who know programming and have an intimate grasp of software design and build process. It's a tough specialization that pays well.]]></description>
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<title>Two Reasons Why You Should Not Discount Your Products and Services Deeply</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3085639</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3085639</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:45:45 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Make the case that you're not a "Cost Center" but a "Profit Center" for the business in question. Otherwise you'll be chasing one $50 dollar hack job after another on job bidding sites since there's no end to lowering your fees and prices. It will be a RACE TO THE BOTTOM where there are no winners -- the customers included. You have to nip that spiral in the bud, with courage, conviction, and full belief in your own worth.]]></description>
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<title>Writers - Don't Quote an &quot;Hourly Rate&quot; Or Fixed Fee For Your Writing Job</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3085614</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3085614</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:05:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Here is something I've learned the hard way: if you publish or quote a fixed hourly rate or a fixed fee for different types of writing services, you'll end up attracting the cheapest and hardest clients and you'll never make money in this freelance writing business. We writers are generally very nice people.]]></description>
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<title>Create Lovely Microsoft Word Borders With Plain Fonts and Horizontal Lines</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2985920</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2985920</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:14:57 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you know that you can create great looking borders for your Microsoft Word documents by using nothing but the fonts that already exist on your machine? Here are a few combinations that you can create TOP and BOTTOM borders for your all your documents.]]></description>
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<title>Movie Review - Butterfield 8 (1960)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2488783</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2488783</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:22:20 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Another "bad girl with a heart of gold" story that won gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor her first Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar in 1961 (the other for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" In 1966). The ridiculous transparency of her character's name ("Gloria Wandrous") aside, Taylor brings an implosive vulnerability to her role that is hard to match.]]></description>
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<title>4 Layers of &quot;Learning Pyramid&quot; For a Junior Technical Communicator</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2474865</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2474865</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:20:31 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Once you take an interest in technical communication and documentation you'll quickly discover that's it's an "endless country," really.  There is so much to learn and track since both the market and the technology changes constantly.  But this does not mean that you can learn things randomly and become a successful technical communicator. Actually there's a better way that I call the "Learning Pyramid" which requires you establish a wide base of learning first and keep on building the upper layers on top of such a strong foundation. Each layer of this pyramid supports the more specialized layer established on top it. Read this article to learn more about the "Learning Pyramid."]]></description>
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<title>Movie Review - The Honeymoon Killers (1970)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2472126</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2472126</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:16:52 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This Leonard Kastle film is based on the real-life story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck who met back in the 40s through "Lonely Hearts" ads. Then they became a part of American crime annals by going on a murder spree by trapping lonely but wealthy widows into Ray's "love net." Perfect casting, a scary story, plus the "amateurish" candor of a first-time director created a movie masterpiece indeed.]]></description>
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<title>Movies - Facts and Trivia About &quot;The Honeymoon Killers (1970)&quot;</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2472314</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2472314</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:02:13 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[It is the only film ever shot by director Leonard Kastle who at the time was writing operas and librettos. Having written no screenplays earlier and being completely new to the movie business, Kastle was asked to ghost write the script by producer Warren Steibel. His identity was finally revealed when the script (originally written by hand) was liked by everybody, including the investors and the producers.]]></description>
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<title>Book Review - Descartes's Secret Notebook</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2470395</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2470395</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:01:02 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you'd like to understand the world we live in at a much deeper level you owe it to yourself to read this book because, as Aczel reminds us, even the GPS system that we use today in our cars and airplanes would've been impossible without Descartes' principles of analytical geometry and his Cartesian System. (Did you know that?)]]></description>
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<title>Movie Review - Tokyo Story (1953)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2470294</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2470294</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:00:44 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[There are movies in which "production value" is nothing to write home about (to put it mildly). The sound is so-so. Camera is o-kay. No sex or car chases either. But the story is so real and so heart-wrenching that it sears into your memory indelibly. "Tokyo Story," a modest production by all means, is one such powerful story that sweeps you along with its strong narrative current. A G-rated drama classic for all ages by director Yasujiro Ozu. Beautiful pacing with lovely black-and-white photography. A film to remember and revisit for ages.]]></description>
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<title>Movie Review - Le Doulos (1962)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2469504</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2469504</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:55:42 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A convoluted crime story shot in gorgeous black-and-white frames by a great director who nevertheless could not help but be a witness and victim of the culture he was raised in. Hold the judgment and pass on the popcorn.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What Constitutes &quot;Doctoring&quot; an Image in a Technical Document?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2469028</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2469028</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:07:26 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[First of all, as a technical writer, make sure that you have the legal right to use an image in your technical document before doing anything with it. Period. Then (assuming that you have the legal right to use the image in question) if you modify it, the new image is sometimes referred to as the "derivative" work or image. ]]></description>
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<title>How to Use RSS Feeds to Subscribe to Craigslist Job Search Results</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2460632</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2460632</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:15:28 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Craigslist-dot-com is a wonderful resource for those looking for copy or technical writing job assignments. I personally have used it many times in the past to find excellent part-time writing assignments.  But most people check out the ads by eyeballing them daily. That's a lot of work.  Here is a much easier and automatic way of finding out about new jobs: create your own Craigslist RSS feed.]]></description>
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<title>How to Find a Job Without Asking For One</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2459936</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2459936</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:50:32 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The worst thing you can do when looking for a job is to pick up the phone or write a letter and ask if they've got one. The answer, 99 out of 100, would be a firm "No!"  If the company has taken out an ad inviting a response, then of course that's a different story. Then you need to address all the points mentioned in the ad and send in a formal application.  But let's say you "hear" things about this one company that they "might" be hiring, even tough there is no official word on it, yet. Or perhaps that's one company that you'd really like to work for. What do you do? Read this article to learn the secret of finding a job without necessarily asking for one...]]></description>
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<title>A Great Time to Retrain For Technical Communicators and Writers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2455076</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2455076</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:34:06 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. and the world economy is going through some dire straits as these lines are written. But have you considered that the economic recession might also be an excellent time for retraining? That way, when the economy bounces back, you'll be in an excellent position to take advantage of the new opportunities out there. Here are 4 suggestions to bolster up your training as a technical communicator...]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How ADP Solved Its &quot;Web-Based Tutorial Storyboard Template&quot; Problem?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1971093</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1971093</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:49:56 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The ADP technical writing team tackled a well-known problem faced by all who develop storyboards for online training modules. Changes to the final HTML module is very difficult to make once the initial development and review phase is over. Yes, the SMEs wanted to see a "finished prototype" before giving a green-light. But who said this had to be an HTML prototype? What if the whole module could be simulated in MS Word, as a Word document with a FORM that looked exactly like the finished product? ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - An Elite Technical Publication - &quot;Pictures of the Future&quot; by Siemens</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1971117</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1971117</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:41:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Siemens corporation's "Pictures of the Future" (POF) bi-annual publication has won the STC (Society for Technical Communication) Washington DC Chapter's BEST OF SHOW Award in the 2008-2009 Technical Publications Competition (in which I served as a Lead Judge). Let's remember that POF is published on behalf of a R&D department that spends 3.4 Billion Euros a year for 8,000 inventions (or 21 inventions EVERY day!), developed in 150 corporate locations around the world. It's a great publishing and communication responsibility that Pease and his team discharged very well indeed.]]></description>
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<title>7 Tips For Enhancing Your Value As a Technical Writer by Drawing Great Labels in Adobe Illustrator</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2449935</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2449935</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:24:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You can enhance the value of your services as a technical communicator and writer if you learn how to draw labels. Thousands of companies out there need labels to market their products. While some of these labels are rather elaborate and require the skills of a trained graphic artist, not all labels require that level of artistic skill. There are many businesses in the industrial, manufacturing and hi-tech fields that require simple labels consisting of the product name and similar basic information that you can easily create and supply in the form of a label. Read this article to learn the 7 useful productivity tips to create such basic labels in Adobe Illustrator...]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Write a Section of a Chapter</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1992424</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1992424</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:24:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Every chapter consists of more than one section. Reserve the first section for a "mini overview" of what follows inside the chapter. ]]></description>
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<title>Is Technical Writing Really &quot;Boring&quot; Or Consistent and Reliable?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1989028</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1989028</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:18:17 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One traditional complaint leveled at technical writing is that it's "boring." I obviously strongly disagree with that charge and I'll explain why. Here is my argument, in a nutshell: Technical communication aims to explain, train, and teach us. And to achieve that, it needs to be disciplined, and consistent. If it calls a widget "Part A" on page 1, it needs to refer to the same widget with the same label on ALL the other pages.]]></description>
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<title>Is Technical Writing Really &quot;Unnecessary&quot;?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1989087</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1989087</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:45:45 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One sometimes hears the comment that technical writing is not only "boring" but "unnecessary" as well. Nothing can be further from the truth than that. Good technical writing at its best is INVISIBLE. You don't even know it's there and that scores of people have benefited from it.  And at its most extreme, yes, good technical documentation do save lives. Bad technical writing, on the other hand, can be a frustrating and maddening consumer experience, at the least. And at its worst, bad technical documentation can outright kill people.]]></description>
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<title>5 Tips For Holding a Great Technical Writing Webinar</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1982670</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1982670</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:36:50 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Pay attention to the following tips if you'd like to hold a successful technical writing webinar: 1) Do not rush your technical writing or product presentation even if you are used to speaking at a machine gun pace. There might be people in your audience with hearing problems, international participants who do not know your language that well, or there might be a technical problem with the way your voice is transmitted across the line.]]></description>
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<title>How to Host a Good Technical Writing Webinar - 2 Top Recommendations</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1982655</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1982655</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:11:21 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A few days ago I participated in a technical writing webinar that I was looking forward to. But it didn't go well. It was not a good "technical communication experience" at all. I had to disconnect after 15 minutes. Afterward, I thought a bit about all the things that went wrong in that webinar and I came up with a list of "positives." Here are the two MOST IMPORTANT things that I recommend you do to hold a successful webinar.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What is &quot;Content Strategy&quot;? - Who is a &quot;Content Strategist&quot;?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1971143</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1971143</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:39:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your organization perhaps does have a STYLE guide. But does it have a CONTENT guide too? And if it doesn't, who is positioned better than you, a technical communicator, to bring that up?]]></description>
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<title>&quot;Technical Writing For Engineers and Scientists&quot; by Barry J Rosenberg</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1971102</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1971102</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:30:18 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This is definitely one of the better technical writing books out there. You can tell it was written by an industry professional who himself spent quite a few years in the "trenches," trying to solve one pesky documentation problem after another and learning a valuable bunch along the way.]]></description>
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<title>Where Technical Writing Meets Scientific Writing - &quot;Euclid's Proof&quot;</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1945532</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1945532</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:42:43 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Technical writing shares a number of characteristics and overlaps with other types of writing, including business, creative, copy, and scientific writing.   Technical writers, for example, also make excellent science writers since they do not always have to write user manuals and other standard products of the trade. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Write a Corporate Form 10-K Annual Report</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1933020</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1933020</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:17:58 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[All U.S. companies that issue publicly traded stock shares must file an Annual Report with the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) by law. They have to disclose their financial dealings, strengths and vulnerabilities, by filing Form 10-K every year.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - 3 Tips For Writing Corporate Form 10-K Annual Reports</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1933040</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1933040</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:04:26 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Writing Form 10-K Annual Report writing as a lucrative niche that you should consider if you have a finance or investment background or feel comfortable with terminology of economics. Every U.S. company with assets over $10 million and with 500 or more shareholders need to file an Annual Report by law and file it every year with the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What to Do During Economic Downturns?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1925399</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1925399</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:20:00 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We are in the midst of an economic downturn as these lines are written. Things are not peachy for a lot of people right now, including writers. For technical writers, location is important in times like these. For those who do not live in hi-tech metropolitan areas, well-paying jobs might not be that easy to come.  So what should a technical writer do in-between jobs? Such temporary downtimes can actually be an excellent opportunity to work on basic skill sets and build up one's portfolio.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - A Short Summary of Basic Grammar Rules in English</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1922954</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1922954</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:21:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We technical writers usually do not stop and think about any grammar rules the way a driver never thinks about how the carburetor or alternator works. But sometimes I get letters from my readers asking various grammar questions. So let's review some of the basic rules of English grammar for a refresher.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Use Fonts Properly in a Technical Document</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1920029</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1920029</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:29:00 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a technical writer, you should be aware of certain basics about fonts and some basic rules to observe in your documents. The most basic distinction about fonts is whether they have a "serif" or not. That's why font families are split into two major categories: Serif and Non-Serif fonts.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What's the Difference Between a &quot;Font&quot; and &quot;Font Family&quot; Or &quot;Typeface&quot;?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1920043</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1920043</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:08:51 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A sound knowledge of fonts is a must for any technical writer. In about fifteen or twenty years that may not be as crucial as it is today if and when the technical communication field makes a wholesale shift to "structured authoring" in which the writers may lose control over how their "content" will be formatted and "presented."]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Use Acrobat 7 Or 9 to Export Your PDF Files Into Word With Same Formatting</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1914413</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1914413</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:03:36 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Adobe Acrobat is a basic tool that technical writers use on a regular basis, not only to read the PDF (Portable Document Format) documents but also to create them. Once a document is converted into PDF it can be read on any machine running any kind of operating system. It acquires a cross-platform "immortality" of sorts.   Acrobat's newest version (Version 9) has a few features that you should pay close attention to since it can save the day in certain situations. Read this article to learn more about it.]]></description>
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<title>How to Follow the Market and Re-Position Yourself As a Technical Writer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1909932</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1909932</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:37:25 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We live in a fast-moving world. Nothing remains the same for too long. New trends, new developments, and new facts rock our world on a daily basis. The election of President Barack Obama was one such momentous event.  What that means for us writers is that we also need to "go with the flow." But that of course does not mean jumping tracks and trying our hand in topics that we don't know anything about. No. What it requires is re-positioning our profiles. If you are in the job market, study your strengths and see how you can re-package them in your updated resume as sources of strength and continuity rather than weakness and discontinuity.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Design Boxes Around Paragraphs in Your MS Word Template</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1886086</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1886086</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:00:05 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft Word is easily the most widespread text and page layout software used in the world. Thus it is important that as a technical writer you know your way around this powerful software to design the best possible template for your technical writing document.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Custom Design Numbered and Bulleted Lists in Your MS Word Template?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1897745</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1897745</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:28:04 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[MS Word, the world's most popular text and layout editor, comes with a number of built-in numbered and bulleted list templates for technical writers. But you can also go ahead and custom-design your own lists for special document templates.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Use a Concordance File to Index Your MS Word Technical Document?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1901264</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1901264</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:36:15 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You can create indexes for your MS Word technical documents by two methods: 1) Manual, and 2) Automatic (Concordance) method. In this article we will focus on the concordance method.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Auto Format Your Technical Document With MS Word</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1901039</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1901039</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:17:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[MS Word has a powerful "auto format" function that you should take advantage of as a technical writer when writing your technical documents. To set up the auto correct options, select Tools AutoCorrect Options... from the main menu of your MS Word to display the AutoCorrect dialog box.]]></description>
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<title>3 Rules of Good English in Technical Writing</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1900602</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1900602</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:04:30 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Here are three rules that will help you write technical documents that are much easier to read, understand and remember.  1) Follow the subject of the sentence immediately with the verb. 2) Chain-link multiple sentences in a paragraph by ending and starting consecutive sentences with the same topic. 3) Consolidate the group of short sentences written about the same topic.]]></description>
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<title>In Defense of Technical Writing As a Job and Technical Communications As a Field</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1897509</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1897509</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:07:33 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Once in a while I come across remarks lambasting technical writing for how "boring" or "unnecessary" it is, or worse... I both understand and do not understand the level of emotional reaction to this unique writing niche. There are bad technical writers in this world just like there are bad movie directors and bad financial advisers. And neither of these occupations is for anyone and everyone. You really have to love the essence of these disciplines to enjoy their challenges and produce superlative work. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writers, Screen Writers and Financial Writers - Are They All Good and Exciting?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1897580</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1897580</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:54:11 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[There are some people who take delight in disparaging technical writing as a job and technical communications as a field for being "boring" and "redundant." "Who spends a Saturday night reading user manuals?" they quip. Well, you'd be surprised... I've spent "quite a few hours" in my spare time just reading and examining manuals and dreaming of ways to improve them.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Old Tired Expressions and Phrases a Technical Writer Should Never Use</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1894082</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1894082</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:28:10 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[All the rules of good writing apply to technical writing as well - with the exception of a few (like the one about "using a colorful language that varies in rhythm and vocabulary").  One such rule is to stay away from old and tired phrases and expressions. There is no reason why technical writers should use the following expressions in their documents:  "As a matter of speaking..." - What kind a new information this expression provides? Nothing.   Read this article to discover other expressions that you should never use in a technical document.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Why Should a Technical Writer Be Familiar With Design Specs and Testing Specs?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1894071</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1894071</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:27:04 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Spec sheets are like "maps" for the captain of a ship or the "blueprints" for an architect. No project can start without first putting the "specs" on paper.  We have already covered in another article what Scope Statement, Marketing Specs, and Functional Specs documents are and why a technical writer should be familiar with them.  Here are two more spec sheets that a technical writer should be familiar with.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Importance of Scope Statement, Marketing Specs,and Functional Specs Documents</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1894065</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1894065</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:26:44 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[There are many different kinds of "spec sheets" that a technical writer should pay close attention to since they may (and they do) prove to be indispensable for writing all sorts of technical document.  We have already covered in another article what Design Specs, and Testing Specs documents are and why a technical writer should be familiar with them.  Here are some other important "spec sheets" you should know as a technical writer.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Why Should a Technical Writer Know How to Ask For the Right Kind of Spec Sheet?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1894056</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1894056</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:24:19 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Imagine a situation in which a technical writer does not know the difference between a "testing" and a "marketing" spec sheet, and even perhaps their difference from a "scope statement." If in such a situation the writer asks to see the "marketing specs" or the "scope document" as a reference material for the troubleshooting chapter, there may be questions about his or her competency. That's why it is important that as a technical writer you know your way around these various spec sheets and know when to consult or ask for one.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What Are the &quot;Spec Sheets&quot; and Why Are They Important For Technical Writers?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1894043</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1894043</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:02:09 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Can you build a house without a blueprint? Technical writers are equally helpless if they are asked to "build" a document without any "specification sheets," or "spec sheets" for short. We use the term "sheet" but actually what we are referring to is just another multi-page document SPECIFYING the DETAILS of WHAT certain ITEMS in a LIST should LOOK LIKE.  In essence, that's what a "spec sheet" is all about.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Eliminate Equivocation and Uncertainty From Your Technical Documents</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1888843</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1888843</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:13:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a technical writer you are supposed to tell your readers what to do and how to accomplish specific tasks. It would not be an exaggeration to say that your task, in essence, is to show them "how the world works and how to act correctly when the situation demands it."  When that is your mission, you'd better do it with authority and clarity. That's your responsibility as a professional communicator.  Prevarication, equivocation and "hedging your bets" might be a good tactic in politics and diplomacy so that there is always room for "plausible deniability." But in technical writing you should have no room for such uncertainty.  ]]></description>
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<title>How to Express Percentage Changes and Use Numbers Correctly in Technical Writing</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1888726</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1888726</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:32:09 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A number is tricky thing. As a technical writer you have to pay attention to the way you are using numbers and expressing changes in ratios and percentages. Here is an easy but fool-proof method to calculate such numeric changes correctly in your technical documents.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - 4 Cool Tricks to Draw Page Borders in a Microsoft Word Document Template (7)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1886280</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1886280</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:29:39 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a technical writer you can draw tastefully done borders around the pages of your MS Word document template. Here are four cool tricks how you can do that.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Design Borders Around Pages of a Microsoft Word Document Template (6)?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1886235</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1886235</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:29:29 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A technical writer needs to know the MS Word inside out. Why? Because Microsoft Word is the world's most used text and page layout software. The chances are, in one technical writing job assignment or another, you'll be asked to use MS Word to design a document template or edit an existing one. So you'd better know all the wonderful things you can do with it to enhance your technical writing career. Read this article to learn how to draw all kinds of borders around the pages of your MS Word document template.]]></description>
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<title>2 Features That Technical Writing Shares With Screenplay Writing, and 2 Others That it Does Not</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1880880</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1880880</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:53:35 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[At first sight, there cannot be any two writing niches as different as technical and screenplay writing. But these two different writing niches share two important characteristics as well. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - 4 Advantages of Hiring a Freelance Technical Writer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1876133</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1876133</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:23:56 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Freelance technical writing demands a lot more personal energy, sacrifice, and drive than payroll work. If you are a freelancer, you already know how hard it is to find 2,000 hours of work a year; year after year.  However, individuals differ greatly of course. And I'm sure that a top-earning freelancer will always make more money than a top-earning payroll writer.  Having established that, let me also count the four reasons why employers may consider hiring a freelance technical writer.]]></description>
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<title>2 Features That Technical Writing Shares With Copywriting and 2 Others That it Does Not</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1871979</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1871979</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:50:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Technical writing is different from copywriting but then there are things shared by both as well. Read this article to discover the 2 features that technical writing and copywriting do share and 2 others that they don't.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What is &quot;Variance&quot; and How Can a Technical Writer Eliminate it in Documents?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1870105</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1870105</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:25:00 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA["Variance" is an important term in statistics and plays a crucial role in technical documentation as well. Without getting too technical about it: "variance" denotes the way the values of a set of  elements vary around a central mean value. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Communication - 3 College-Level Technical Writing Jobs That Pay Well</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1868855</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1868855</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:04:36 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Some technical writing jobs require that you have a science background or that you are familiar with finance and banking terminology and know how the financial markets work. Here are three such well-paying writing opportunities for technical communicators with a college background.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Communication - 4 Computer Industry Technical Writing Jobs That Pay Well</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1868822</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1868822</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:01:15 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you are a technical writer with a science or engineering degree, or have extensive on the job experience with computer systems, you can find yourself a well-paying job as a technical communicator in one of the below four well-paying niches: 1) Software Documentation. This is probably the most widely available hi-tech writing job there is due to prevalence of software in our lives. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Write Objectively and Avoid the Qualifier &quot;Very&quot; as a Technical Writer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1869012</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1869012</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:36:01 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Technical writing needs to be objective. When different people read a technical description, they should be able to perform identical tasks and obtain identical results.  And for that to happen, the words you use must not be open to wide-raging interpretations.  One of the ways to accomplish that is to eliminate the qualifier "very" from your vocabulary for once and all since the exact meaning of "very" differs greatly from one person to another.  Read this article to learn through examples how to write a more objective technical documentation.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Avoid Exaggeration and &quot;Fine Writing&quot; As a Technical Writer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1868986</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1868986</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:32:29 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Technical writing fails when it tries to become "fine writing" or "creative writing." Why? Because one of the main tools of "fine writing" is attributing human-like qualities to non-human actors and agents. That's a definite taboo in technical documentation.    For example you commit that error every time you write a sentence like "When the system becomes aware of a user selection, it switches channels." ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Communication - 7 Low-Tech Technical Writing Jobs That Pay Well</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1868758</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1868758</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:00:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You do not need to be a computer engineer or a scientist with Ph.D. to become a top-notch technical writer. There are many low-tech writing niches that you can prosper in even if you are not too comfortable with hi-tech subject matters. Here are seven such opportunities available to all technical writers:]]></description>
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<title>Technical Communication - How to Find a Technical Writing Job in an Economic Recession</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1868553</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1868553</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:25:24 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We're going through some rough times as these lines are written. A younger technical writer friend of mine asked me what he should do to find a job. And this is the summary of what I recommended him to do. I hope it will help you in your job search as well. Read this article for my specific recommendations...  Don't give up and circulate your good name around until something comes around. There are usually a lot more technical and business writing assignments out there than meets the eye. ]]></description>
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<title>7 Productivity Tips to Use Webinar Successfully As a Tool in Your Technical Writing Job</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1867707</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1867707</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:32:15 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Technical writers should use every productivity tool available to them to gather and present information, and facilitate the review process. A webinar, the two-way live video and audio "Web Seminar" broadcast, is one such tool.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Communication - How to Use Webcasts and Webinars in Your Technical Writing Job?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1866791</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1866791</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:25:58 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Webcasts and webinars are among the tools that a technical writer can use to collect information, interview Subject Matter Experts, make a presentation to the stake-holders in a project, give and take feedback on document reviews.   A webcast is a one way live video broadcast over the Internet. When there is a two-way interaction, it is called a webinar.  Webcasts and webinars differ greatly in terms of the things they allow a technical writer to accomplish, depending on the company that hosts the event, its interface, and the membership plan. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Communication - Make $62,780 a Year in Your Technical Writing Job</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1866614</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1866614</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:00:25 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I did not make up the annual income figure in the headline. That is the Average Annual Wage earned by technical writers across the United States in 2007 according to the "2007 Technical Communicator Salary Survey" conducted by Society for Technical Communication.   For example, in California, technical writers made as low as $43,490 (the bottom 10th percentile) in 2007 and as high as $110,220 (the top 10th percentile). For the United States as a whole annual wages for technical writers ranged between a low of $36,490 and a high of $94,550.  Just because you like writing does not mean you need to live a life of want and destitute. ]]></description>
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<title>Why Technical Writing Jobs Are Among the Best Writing Options in an Economic Depression</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1866273</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1866273</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:20:48 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I think technical writing is one of the best writing niches in an economic depression. The reason is simple. Think of all the things people quit doing in an economic depression.]]></description>
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<title>9-Point Checklist to Determine If a Technical Writing Job is the Correct Career Choice For You</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1866351</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1866351</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:20:54 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you are just starting out on your professional career or thinking to make a career change, you might want to use the below check list to see if technical writing would be a correct choice for you. Here are two items from this checklist:   8) Do you enjoy a steady good income generated either by steady full-time employment or a steady volume of freelance jobs? Then technical writing might indeed be the right field for you. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - 3 Easy Ways to Capture Screen Shots For Your Technical Documents</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1863207</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1863207</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:50:34 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Screen shots are a must if you are a technical writer authoring a software manual of any kind. Here are three easy methods to capture and use a screen shot that would increase your productivity and help your readers follow the procedural directions more easily.]]></description>
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<title>3 Levels and 3 Profiles of Technical Writing</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1860394</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1860394</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:42:01 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you are wondering what levels one can expect to reach in a technical writing career, here are 3 profiles just to give you a rough idea.  Please don't forget that this is just an approximate picture and does not mean that you have to go through each level in exactly the same manner.  You may perhaps start off from the Intermediate level if you are bringing with you a strong background in software skills and job experience.  ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Regulatory Writing - A Lucrative Writing Niche For Medical Writers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1859712</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1859712</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:01:42 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Medical writing is a special subset of technical writing that requires familiarity with medical and pharmaceutical terminology. It is the perfect writing niche for writers with a medical, chemistry and/or pharmacology background. Regulatory writers produce the documents to secure the approval of the government's regulatory agencies before a new drug can be marketed for general public use. In every country the respective regulatory agency differs but in the United States it is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And within the medical writing subset, regulatory writing is another specialty that pays very well since your employers are usually pharmaceutical companies that rarely have any cash problems. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Set Page Layout Options For a Microsoft Word Document Template (4)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1849094</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1849094</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:38:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft Word, in terms of the number of writers using it, is the most popular text and page layout editing software used by the technical writers. In the fourth article of this series, we will explain how you can set the page layout options for a technical document template. Just follow these steps...]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Pros and Cons of Online Job-Bidding Sites For Technical Writers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1848556</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1848556</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:32:33 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Recently I had the opportunity to study some of the Online Job-Bidding Sites catering to copy and technical writers. Some of these sites are very well known. And some others are not. But there are a bunch of them out there and they are all similar in the way they work: the employers post their writing projects and the writers compete for them. The assignment usually goes to the lowest bidder.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Downside of Some Online Job-Bidding Sites For Technical Writers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1848610</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1848610</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:18:55 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[There are some Online Job-Bidding Sites out there that offer "writing opportunities" for budgets mostly as low as $35 or $50 dollars, and going up to $250 for some gigs:  The kind of respectable and professional writing careers that I recommend to my readers will be difficult to build with those kind of writing assignments that I see posted every day on such job-bidding sites. You have to ask yourself this: "Do I want to work for a whole year, bidding for one $50 gig after another, and end up making perhaps $10,000 total, if lucky? Or, do I want to build up a serious portfolio and go for a job that would pay anywhere from 3 to 10 times as much, with benefits?"  In other words: what is the monetary value of your one hour, one month, and one year?  ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Why You Should Not Outsource Your Hi-Tech Technical Documentation Project</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1847904</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1847904</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:02:29 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A hi-tech software and hardware company would be well advised not to outsource its technical documentation project to an independent vendor on the other side of the world for the following reasons:  Confidentiality. Most hi-tech IT corporations have trade secrets to protect. Although a number of outsourcing vendors are reputable companies with a good track record, there is no way to know that for sure in advance for all outsourcing vendors. Documentation exactly describes how a product works, how it is installed and configured, and thus reveals all the features and benefits of a market. If such information falls into wrong hands, especially for a product that is brand new to the market, it can create a severe disadvantage for the marketing division of the company, if not for the developers.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - When Does it Make Sense to Outsource Your Technical Documentation Project?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1847866</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1847866</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:54:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Outsourcing has been one of the inevitable results of globalization. When communication costs fell off sharply thanks to the Internet, having a service performed at the other end of the world at a fraction of what you'd pay at home became too hard to resist for a number of businesses.]]></description>
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<title>Movies - Are You Worried That Hollywood Will Steal Your &quot;Great Film Idea&quot;?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1846525</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1846525</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:55:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You cannot copyright an idea. But if you write a 20-page treatment and then register it with Writers Guild of America you can perhaps claim credit for it. The registration is good for 5 years.  The best is to write a full screenplay. Then the idea becomes a PRODUCT and you can copyright it to make it your INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.  ]]></description>
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<title>Movies - Lessons of WALL-E For All Screenwriters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1846510</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1846510</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:43:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Yesterday I watched WALL-E -- as slick and astonishing an animation as they come! How will PIXAR top this one off, from a technical point of view, I don't know. (Are we still going to need any movie actors 100 years from today?)  But when I looked at it as a screenwriter, boy, there's really nothing new under the sun. It's all repackaging, re-purposing of old ideas and rearranging the furniture -- which is not to say that any such combination of old ideas will automatically be interesting. But if you're a writer suffocating with "writer's block" you might want to do what the creators of WALL-E did. ]]></description>
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<title>Movies - Importance of &quot;Dilemmas&quot; in Movie Stories and Screenplays</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1846575</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1846575</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:22:19 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A dilemma is an important conflict engine in a screenplay. Find a good dilemma for your main character, and you practically have a good movie right there.  A dilemma is a situation in which you have two options and both are WORSE than the other. It's the ultimate mental torture for anyone.  A second condition for a good dilemma is that we should also CARE FOR it. A dilemma can be a dilemma TECHNICALLY. But when it comes down to it, it might be downright silly. ]]></description>
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<title>Movies - What the &quot;Save the Cat&quot; Screenwriting Method is All About?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1846565</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1846565</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:21:17 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The book SAVE THE CAT and it's sequel (STC Goes to Movies) made quite a wave within the last few years and for a good reason -- both are great books for all screenwriters, written by the industry veteran Blake Snyder. When a professional Hollywood screenwriter makes millions of dollars by selling dozens of screenplays, we'd better listen. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Select a Single-Sourcing Documentation Software?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1841061</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1841061</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:26:22 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA["Single sourcing" (also known as "structured authoring" or "XML-based structured documentation") is the technical documentation methodology through which multiple documents are created from a single set of source files.  By "multiple documents" we mean the following TARGET CATEGORIES:     1) Multiple OUTPUT FORMATS:  Printed book; on-line help file; help file built into the application; web page; cell phone content; etc.     2) Multiple AUDIENCES: managers; field technicians, general public; installers; call center engineers; marketing and sales staff, etc.     3) Multiple USER PERFORMANCE GOALS: Installation guide; user guide; troubleshooting guide; in-house training course; on-line training tutorial; system admin guide; etc.    ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Design a Twitter Background to Market Yourself As a Technical Writer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1840528</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1840528</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:16:40 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I hope as a technical writer you're on Twitter already. It's a great social networking service through which you can market your technical writing and documentation services with great efficiency.  You can increase the effectiveness of your Twitter account by custom designing a new background instead of the default background that your Twitter account comes with. A great majority of professional marketers use their own custom-designed backgrounds for higher impact and more referred traffic to their business sites.  Here are the steps to design a new background for your Twitter page...]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Set Your Printing Options For a Microsoft Word Document Template? (3)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1840593</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1840593</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:40:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a technical writer you should know how to set up a document template in Microsoft Word -- arguably the world's most frequently used text and page layout editor. In the third of this article series on how to set up a technical document template by using Microsoft Word we'll explain the various printing options you can choose from to print your MS Word technical document.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Set Your Page Options For a Microsoft Word Document Template? (2)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1840584</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1840584</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:36:17 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a technical writer you should be very familiar with how to design a document template in Microsoft Word -- the world's most popular text and layout editing software. We are continuing with our article series on how to set up a technical document template by using Microsoft Word, the world's most frequently used word processor and page layout editor.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Design Your Page Margins in a Microsoft Word Document Template (1)?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1840558</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1840558</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:12:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft Word is the world's most frequently used word processor with pretty good page layout functions. It's installed on a great majority of home and business computers in every country. So it makes sense for you as a freelance technical writer to learn how to design a document template in Word. Read this article to learn how to design your page margins in a Microsoft Word template.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Make Sure the Information in Your Technical Document Fits the Audience</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1839917</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1839917</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:59:36 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a technical writer you have to serve your audience well by asking these two important questions before writing anything: 1)	Why do my end users need this information? What are they hoping to achieve with it? 2)	How can I write my technical document so that it will help my end users achieve the goal that THEY (and not me) have in mind? If you are writing a hardware "User Manual," for example, tell them how to turn on the system, operate it, and turn it off. ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Use Twitter to Market Yourself As a Technical Writer?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1840073</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1840073</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:57:57 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you're to make a single change in the way you market your services as a freelance technical writer, it should be to get on the Twitter - in case you still haven't. For example, let's say you are a freelancing technical writer and you're looking for a job with a software company.   1) You can search with key words "software company" and then follow the search results by simply clicking on the "Follow" button underneath the names and icons.   2) Once they accept your invitation and also start to follow you, you can send a message to your list expressing your desire to find a job as a tech writer.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Isolate and Identify the Core Idea of a Sentence by &quot;Elimination Method&quot;?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1835342</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1835342</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:42:15 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In technical writing sometimes we get lost in long-winded and complicated sentences.   Here is a guaranteed way to isolate and identify the core idea of your sentence through what I call the "Elimination Method."   When you eliminate all the 1) dependent clauses, 2) prepositional phrases, 3) conjunctions, and 4) adverbs or adverbial phrases in a sentence, what you are left with is usually the SUBJECT and the VERB (or the PREDICATE) of the sentence. And that is the CORE IDEA of a sentence.  ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How Not to Violate the English Grammar While Trying to Be Gender-Sensitive</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1835443</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1835443</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:42:32 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This is a grammar error that I see committed by some writers these days: mixing singular subjects with plural verbs and pronouns.  As a technical writer you would normally never say "He enter their password." But increasingly, in order not to commit a gender bias, I see documents that contain sentences like "the user should enter their password before gaining access to their account."  I'm fully aware why the English grammar is bent in that manner and I, a man who considers himself a sincere feminist, totally agree with the motivation behind such trespassing.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Why Should You Pay Attention to Wikis?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1832283</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1832283</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:47:26 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In case you are not too familiar with it, Wiki is a web site that can be built by many authors together. That's its most basic definition. The word "wiki" comes from Hawaiian "quick." Wikipedia is the world's best known wiki but, as important as it is, it barely scratches the surface of the wiki applications on and off the Internet. The reason why you should pay attention to wikis and learn more about them is because high-tech companies have started to shift their documentation load to wikis where not only technical writers but engineers, field technicians, quality control engineers, managers, and even clients and end-users can also participate in knowledge creation. The online help software creator Quadralay is one such company that opened up its knowledge base to its end-users through corporate wiki. In such a new environment, technical communicators shoulder the editing and facilitation roles as well.  Be the first one in your company to learn as much as you can about wikis. Develop your own writing guidelines and be in front of this important technological wave. The future belongs to the "quick" and the "wiki."]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What is DocBook and Why Should You Learn It?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1832639</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1832639</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:46:07 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DocBook is a set of tools for implementing XML (Extended Markup Language)-based structured documentation. It is developed back in 1991 and is widely used today by those technical writers who generate single-sourced documentation. It is especially well suited for software, hardware and networking documentation.  A DocBook set includes the DocBook DTD (Document Type Definition) to determine all the relationships between all document elements, a collection of pre-defined XML tags to mark up the content with, DocBook XSL stylesheet, and processing tools to apply the XSL stylesheet to the DocBook markup file.   If you'd like to get ahead in your career as a technical writer who keeps up with the advances in technology and who is ready for the future, familiarize yourself with XML publishing in general and DocBook in particular.   The chances are, one these days, during an interview for one of those high-paying technical writing jobs, the recruiter or the HR manager will ask you whether you know anything about DocBook or not. That's why you should start learning it now. Get ready for that day.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How Wikis Will Transform Technical Writers Into Information Coordinators?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1832445</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1832445</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:29:40 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Here is a typical situation that is repeated on a daily basis in many hi-tech companies around the world:  You are a technical writer who authored all kinds of user documentation for this product or service. Let's call it "ABC" for short.  The ABC is such a product that it is installed and configured in a number of different ways by the end users. Let's say your company sells security gadgets, just to give an example. The end users constantly find out new features, and perhaps even bugs, let's say, while regularly demanding new features be made available in the next model.  But there is an inevitable time delay and content loss in this step-by-step process as the information is passed from one level up to another, depending on priorities, time and resources. In such cases a wiki could be what the doctor ordered for. In such a hypothetical situation the customers can directly enter their suggestions, comments, issues etc. into a wiki site. The information can be channeled instantly to all those authorized to receive it. If you are on that list, you can immediately start working on the updates and generate your drafts much faster.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Use a Wiki For Your Technical Documentation Project</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1832349</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1832349</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:27:40 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A wiki is a collaborative writing software with which you can set up a "wiki site" as well. With wiki's powerful database, editing and messaging capabilities you as a technical writer can accomplish much for your technical communication project.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What Should a Good Documentation Wiki Site Look Like?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1832536</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1832536</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:26:43 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Let's say you decided to set up a technical writing wiki site to support your document projects.  What should be the futures you should be looking for? Here are some of them...  Ease of Installation. Some wikis are so complicated to install that you'd better find a computer engineer to do it for you. But others are much simpler to install. And some web hosting companies offer a one-click installation on their server. Select a wiki that is appropriate for your level of technical expertise.  ]]></description>
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<title>Movies - Rendition (2007)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1830872</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1830872</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:18:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Anwar Al-Ibrahimi, an Egyptian-American chemical engineer with a Green Card, is apprehended by the CIA on his return flight from a conference in South Africa. Why? Because his phone records showed that he received cell-phone calls from Rashid Salimi, a well-known terror mastermind. ]]></description>
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<title>Movies and TV - Ron Howard - A Tribute</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1830507</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1830507</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:49:39 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Double-Oscar winning actor/director Ron Howard is one of those rare child actors that made it very good indeed.  Howard started acting when he was just a little boy with the active encouragement of his father who was a part of the New York TV scene. When the TV business started to sag, the family packed up their 1952 Plymouth and resettled in California.   Howard's career turned a corner when he landed the role of the "son" in The Andy Griffith Show." He was just 6 years old.   ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - What's the Best Way to Learn Structured FrameMaker?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1830680</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1830680</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:47:26 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[FrameMaker (FM) is a great and popular technical writing tool with XML-based single-sourcing functionality. But its learning curve is rather steep.   So how does a technical writer teach him- or herself structured FrameMaker? What's the best way?  Here are my suggestions, based on my ten years of Fortune 500 experience... Learning structured FM is not easy but it'll be worth the effort if you are to survive and prosper in the new competitive world of technical communications.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - Separation of &quot;Content&quot; From &quot;Format&quot; With XML in Technical Communication</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1830438</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1830438</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:17:16 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Until very recently content of information was always a part of the format in which it was delivered. For over 500 years, for example, a book's content and the way a book looked were one and the same phenomenon. You could not think about a novel without remembering its cover, the fonts used on the page, whether it had pictures and photographs, etc.   ]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - How to Write a Technical Document Consistently and Maximize User Trust?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1818095</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1818095</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:12:37 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A consistent technical document is one that instills confidence and trust in end-users. It all starts with a template. It doesn't matter whether you are creating a book, help file, or a web site. A template is a must. ]]></description>
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<title>Movies - &quot;The Kingdom (2007)&quot;</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1827377</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1827377</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:57:19 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A fast moving Iraq-War-era military action thriller.   An FBI team is sent to Saudi Arabia for a 5 day trip to investigate the head of a terrorist network who killed two FBI agents. Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) heads the team rounded off by a hand-picked team of professionals: Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman). On the Saudi side, Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) who escorts the FBI team in Saudi completes the cast.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - A Checklist For a Software Document Writing Project</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1827241</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1827241</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:25:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Here is a general check list that you might find useful to make sure your software documentation project does not miss anything. If you take your measures and precautions ahead of time depending on the answers to these questions you'll have a more successful documentation performance.]]></description>
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<title>Technical Writing - The Overlap Between Print and Online Documentation Formats</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1826723</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1826723</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:19:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Technical writing has used the "book" metaphor for a very long time. Basically, we technical writers create "books" made up of individual "pages," whether they are ever printed or not.  But that metaphor has come under a lot of fire with the rise of the Internet and prevalence of online information. Both technically and semantically it started to make less sense to talk about a "book." The new concept that serves the need of the age of globalization is the "topic" and not the "book."  ]]></description>
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<title>How High School and College Students Should Prepare For a Career in Technical Writing?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1826813</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1826813</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:56:46 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Are you a high school or college student planning to become a technical writer? Then first of all pay attention to your science classes. Work as hard as you can on your math, physics, chemistry, computer, biology/life science classes since you need to have good foundation in those subjects.   Secondly, learn your English and composition well. Writing in a clear language and the ability to express complex topics in a simple manner is a must for a technical writer.]]></description>
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