Communications for ICT
David Tuffley
Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person -- a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one.
-- John Steinbeck
Published by David Tuffley at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 David Tuffley
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
Dedicated to my beloved Nation of Four
Concordia Domi – Foris
Pax
Contents
The process of technical communication
Persuading an audience with effective argument
Writing software project documentation
Preface
Communications for ICT is an essential guide to technical communication for IT professionals. This useful text goes well beyond the conventional technical communication text book by also including important topics such as professional conduct, argument/persuasion, software project documentation (like requirements specifications), international communication, high-performance project teams and the ethical technologist. These are in addition to how to write technical reports, user manuals and whitepapers.
Communications for ICT supports a course in the School of ICT at Griffith University, a top-ten research university in Australia. The author combines 15 years of practical experience as a technical writer in the IT industry, with his ongoing academic teaching and research since 1999. Dr. Tuffley has produced a practical guide that can be understood and applied by any IT industry worker wishing to develop these important, but often neglected skills.
Offering outstanding value for money, Communications for ICT provides you with instruction that is the equivalent of a high-quality university level, education. It is the prescribed text book for a university course by the same name.
Main topics:
- Principles of clear communication
- Writing university assignments
- Technical communication process
- Writing software user documentation, technical reports
- Modes of Technical Communication (paper-based, on-line)
- Tool support
- Editing techniques
- Cross-cultural communication
- Presenting a persuasive, well-argued case
- Effective team membership
- The ethical technologist
Introduction
Effective communication in the workplace and in life generally is a major factor contributing to career success and happiness in life. This course introduces you to the principles of clear communication across the areas that a technology-focussed worker will need.
The book takes a holistic approach by placing the content in its larger context of a person’s life. You are shown how these principles apply to your work-related activities, but also how they apply in how you think and live.
The book therefore aims to equip you to become a competent technical communicator with a good understanding of the techniques and tools that are used to produce a broad spectrum of reader-friendly documentation. The book also includes a component on the history of technology, effective team communication skills and the basics of ethical IT
Technology in Perspective
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans have excelled as tool-makers. One of our earliest technologies was the ability to communicate, which is the development of language and writing. With these our ancestors were able to coordinate activities such as hunting and gathering that allowed them to survive in a generally hostile world.
Then came the many hand-tools and weapons that further extended our capabilities to obtain food and defend ourselves. In the present day, information technology can be seen as the most sophisticated tools we have ever made. More than just inanimate objects though, information technology is an extension of our minds. Technology lets us extend our ability to think and process information beyond our biological brain, out into the environment. Just think of how you use your computer to process information for you.
This ability to extend our minds into our tools did not begin with information technology. We have always done this. Andy Clark, a respected cognitive scientist reports that brain scans show that if you were to pick up, for example, a garden rake and start to use it to gather leaves, within a short time your brain would have mapped the tines of the rake to be extensions of your hands. We call it haptic touch.
The computers that we have come to depend on are just another tool that we project our minds into and use to outsource some of our thinking tasks. If you doubt this, imagine if you lost your personal computer. In some ways, it would be like having a stroke. Part of your brain would have disappeared, and you would very much feel the lack of it. You might feel lost and debilitated until a replacement is found, complete with restored data.
So people have a closer relationship to information technology than is commonly realised, having become an extension of our biological mind. As millions of extended minds have reached out and merged with each other we can observe a remarkable phenomenon, the formation of a new layer of consciousness in the world.
Language is the currency of thought
George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 warned us that a person can only think what they have language to think with. Language is the currency of thought. A person with a limited vocabulary and an inability to construct meaningful language therefore has very limited capacity to think.
In 1984, the government reduced the number of words people were allowed to use, and in so doing limited their ability to think critically. This suited the government in the novel, who wanted to exercise complete control over people’s thoughts and actions.
This course aims to do the opposite; to give you the tools with which to think positively and clearly. It is only from such a mind-set that clear and effective communication can come. It will deal with the psychology of language as well as the techniques of language. In approaching it this way, it matters less whether English is your first language.
Code of Professional Conduct
This section is a detailed introduction to the topic of how IT professionals must behave in the work environment in order to be perceived as professionals. This topic will be advanced through out the remaining chapters.
For IT practitioners, behaving in an ethical, professional manner involves more than simply learning a code of conduct. To be ethical, a practitioner must be competent and highly effective. These are the foundation of ethical IT practice. How can an incompetent person behave ethically? They are unable to perform the work.
Ethical IT practice therefore involves being competent, and also to develop a success mentality that works proactively to be highly effective.
Every developed country has a code of professional conduct for IT professionals. There are also codes that apply internationally, put forward by professional bodies like IEEE that have a global reach.
The Australian Computer Society’s Code is arguably as good a code as any to and a good place to begin our exploration of ethical IT practice..
The following summary is provided with thanks to ACS (full version: http://www.acs.org.au/index.cfm?action=show&conID=copc ).
The Public Interest
Safeguard the interests of your clients provided that they do not conflict with the duties and loyalties owed to the community, its laws and social and political institutions
In performing work for a client your priority should be to satisfy that client's needs and to meet the specifications to which you are committed. If, however, in meeting these requirements you are forced to breach law or inflict damage upon a third party, then you are professionally responsible to make the client aware of these consequences and agree an alternative course of action.
Integrity
Do not breach public trust in the profession or the specific trust of your clients and employers.
Observance of utmost honesty and integrity must underlie all your professional decisions and actions. Circumstances will undoubtedly arise during the course of your professional career where it may appear to be beneficial for you to deceive your client in some way. The resultant short term gains from this type of behaviour is not acceptable professional practice, nor is it worth eroding the confidence and trust that is built up over the longer term.
Confidentiality
You must not disclose information acquired in the course of your professional work except where consent has been obtained from the rightful legal owner or where there is a legal or professional duty to disclose
This is applicable to most professions, but it is particularly applicable to you as an Information Technology professional as you are likely to have access to clients' information due to the nature of your work. You should be aware that information is the property of the client, and must not be distributed freely or used for your personal advantage or that of a third party without the client's consent.
Objectivity and Independence
Be objective, impartial and free of conflicts of interest in the performance of your professional duties
In each professional assignment undertaken, you must be seen to be free of any interest which is incompatible with objectivity. Always make sure you are aware of your client's objectives and the benefits he is looking for, and be careful not to lose objectivity created by the latest development technology or by the desire to promote your own product.
In the situation where a conflict exists between two or more clients, a full and frank explanation and disclosure of the conflict should be made to the clients.
Competence
Accept only such work as you believe you are competent to perform and do not hesitate to obtain additional expertise from appropriately qualified individuals where advisable
You should always be aware of your own limitations and not knowingly imply that you have competence you do not possess. This, of course, is distinct from accepting a task of which the successful completion requires expertise additional to your own. You cannot possibly be knowledgeable on all facets of Information Technology but you should be able to recognise when you need additional expertise and information.
Keeping Up-To-Date
Keep yourself, and subordinates, informed of such new technologies, practices and standards as are relevant to your duties Others will expect you to provide special skills and advice; and in order to do so, you must keep your knowledge up-to-date. This is true for members of all professions, but particularly so in Information Technology which is developing and changing rapidly.
You must also encourage your staff and colleagues to do the same, for it is impossible to retain one's professional standing by relying only on the state of one's knowledge and competence at the time professional status is achieved.
Subordinates
Ensure subordinates are trained in order to be effective in their duties and to qualify for increased responsibilities
Take action to ensure that your hard won knowledge and experience are passed on in such a way that those who receive it not only improve their own effectiveness in their present positions but also become keen to advance their careers and take on additional responsibilities.
Responsibility To Your Client
Actively seek opportunities for increasing efficiency and effectiveness to the benefit of the user
Whatever the precise terms of your brief, you should always be aware of the environment surrounding it and not work solely towards completion of the defined task. You must regard it as part of your duty to make your client aware of other needs that emerge, unsatisfactory procedures that need modification and benefits that might be achieved. You, as an innovator, should take into account the relevance of new methods and should always be looking for the possibility of additional benefits not foreseen when the project was planned.
You should also look beyond the immediate requirements to the needs of the ultimate user. For example, the invoice your system produces may be right for company accounting procedures but confusing for the person who is being asked to pay against it.
Promoting Information Technology
Endeavour to extend public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Information Technology People, for various reasons, can often be mistrustful or demonstrate resistance when it comes to Information Technology. Aim to promote Information Technology by educating people as to the benefits that can be achieved through its application to their business. You should, however, only express an opinion on a subject within your level of competence and when it is founded on adequate knowledge and honest conviction, and oppose any untrue, inaccurate, exaggerated or misleading statement or claims.
The Image Of The Profession And The Society
Refrain from any conduct or action in your professional role which may tarnish the
image of the Information Technology profession or unjustifiably detract from the good name of your professional body Information Technology is a relatively new industry, characterised by rapid change. It is unlike other professions such as accounting or medicine in that it has not had the opportunity to evolve over many years and acquire its own standards and legislation.
Any person can, in fact, practice within the industry and claim the title of Information Technology Professional.
The Society is aware that the public image of Information Technology is of some concern. It is imperative, therefore, that members of the Information Technology profession endeavour to maintain a professional standard that improves and enhances the industry's image.
Writing white papers
A white paper (or "whitepaper") is a well-researched, expository piece of writing that authoritatively reports on issues of interest or concern. White papers are used to inform interested parties, and often to help them make decisions.
This chapter outlines a proven method for writing high quality white papers for the professional world. The approach can be equally used when writing university
Many books have been written on this topic. Some go into much detail. This chapter presents the essence of report writing, a stripped down, easy to understand and apply method for writing high quality reports, even if you do not consider yourself a good writer.
Time Management
Time is a valuable resource. Once spent or wasted, it can never be recovered. All of us have a limited amount of time on this earth, even if it seems a long time when you are young.
People who learn how to manage their time to greatest effect are among the most successful people in the world. It is an essential skill for success. If you spend your time wisely, putting your efforts into those activities that produce the greatest return is a success secret that many people never fully appreciate. On the negative side, poor time management is a sure way to consign you to a mediocre life of low-achievement.
Many people arrive in the IT world without having mastered this essential skill while at university or college. Traditional IT education focuses heavily on the technical side of knowing how to write software but not reports. It is essential that you learn this skill now. It will make your life a whole lot easier.
Time management can be simplified to a few essential points.
Use a Scheduling Tool
Use a scheduling tool (like Google Calendar, or similar). At the beginning of the project, enter all tasks into the calendar. You must be able to see at a glance, everything that needs to be done, weekly and monthly.
Put other important dates into your schedule, like when you will be travelling, social engagements, sporting events, holidays and recreation. Everything.
Look at your calendar every day to make sure you know exactly what is going on, and what needs to be done in the days and weeks ahead.
Expect the Unexpected
Give yourself an extra week or two to complete assignments by starting them early. Leaving an assignment until a few days before it is due, then finding that you are unexpectedly busy, sick or otherwise occupied will put you between a rock and a hard place.
Most managers will not grant an extension to the submission deadline on these grounds, as it is simply poor time management that created the problem. You have known about the task for weeks. After all, you are a professional and are expected to behave like one.
In the professional world, missing deadlines for any reason is considered unprofessional. Disorganised people quickly earn a reputation for being unreliable, and this severely limits their career prospects. Indeed, in any profession, and beginning with your time at University, you are expected to have reached a level of control over your own life that allows you to reliably deliver on time what it is you must deliver.
Break tasks down into chunks
Assignments can be intimidating. The size and scope of some assignments seems so large that it can seem very daunting.
The best approach for any complex task is to break it down into smaller pieces. Then deal with each piece without worrying about the remaining pieces until it is time to do them. If you give yourself enough time, and work steadily away at it until the job is finished, you can produce almost anything.
For example, after having been a first year student, a PhD student has worked their way up to writing a 100,000 word thesis describing a piece of original research that is fit for publication in the world. This might take him/her four years to complete, but planning the whole project in detail, breaking it down and completing each task in turn, the job gets done.
This is how anyone completes any major work. The hard part is cultivating enough self-discipline to keep working when there are so many more pleasant things you can think of to do. Enter the world of procrastination, a student’s biggest enemy.
Procrastination is your enemy
Procrastination is an all-too-human weakness that causes people to spend time on less-important activities, at the expense of the more important activities.
To combat procrastination, you objectively look at what needs to be done, then decide how best to spend your time. Try to identify those activities that bring the greatest benefit and do them. The less important activities can either be done later, or not at all.
Guide to effective report writing
When you wish to instruct, be brief; that men's minds take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson, and retain it faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.
-- Cicero Roman author, orator, & politician (106 BC - 43 BC)
This section outlines a practical method for students and professionals in a wide range of disciplines to develop reports (including essays) that address the needs of the reader and which are expressed in language easily understood by the reader.
The skills you learn here will be directly transferable to the professional world.
Note that a “Report” is a generic term covering any piece of expository writing, including the essays you write at University. We are teaching you how to write reports for work by practicing on University essays.
The design of effective reports
Designing effective reports is a three stage process:
Planning
Planning is the most critical stage for the success of the document. Planning means thinking about the following:
1. Who will be your audience? Describe the responsibilities, job level(s) and attitudes of all primary readers. Who will act on what you write? Who else might read what you write? What was the situation that led to the need for this document?
2. What is your purpose in writing the document? Why are you writing? What do you want to achieve with your writing? Do you need to restate your purpose to fit the reader's perspective? What kind of image do you want to project of yourself.
3. How will you organize your message for greatest effectiveness? What main ideas do you want to include? Which ones to exclude? Considering your reader(s) attitudes, needs and perspectives, in what order do you think these ideas should be presented?
4. Visual aids. What visual aids can you use to make the message as concise and clear as possible?
5. Writing style. What writing style will be most effective? Based on your analysis of who will read your document, what language are they most likely to understand.
Writing, evaluating and revising
This applies the results of your analysis in stage 1 to the development of your document (which could be a report, proposal, procedure, policy or even an article for publication). As you write, you need to constantly evaluate what you have written against the decisions made in stage 1. You will revise what you write. For important documents, you need to set time aside to evaluate and revise what you have written.
Editing
Editing focuses on the mechanics of your writing to ensure technical accuracy and general clarity.
While a three stage process may seem to be a burden at first, with practice you'll find that it becomes an efficient, reliable guide to developing any document - telling you what you need to say and not say.
Understanding the business communication context
For many people, their formal writing style is derived, or is at least influenced, by the kind of writing they did at school and university. There are a number of important distinctions that need to be made between university writing and writing in a professional context.
In understanding the context of business writing and the distinction between academic and business writing, the following points need to be addressed:
Writing at work achieves job goals
Your work writing helps the organization achieve its corporate goals and allows you to do your job - its a prerequisite for job effectiveness. It is not a vehicle to convince anyone that you know a subject and deserve at least a passing grade.
Writing at work addresses a variety of readers
The reader for whom you write is no longer a single reader (a stakeholder, a manager, a professor etc.). Surveys have found that business writings are addressed to many readers with varying educational backgrounds, but most often to people who know less about the subject area than the writer themself. You will often need to write for people in other parts of the organization. They will read what you write based on their own jobs, backgrounds, education and technical expertise. Unlike the people you were at school or university with, those with whom you work will probably not have the same educational and technical background as you. Your success at communicating with them will depend largely on how well you gauge the unique background of your reader(s).
Writing at work addresses readers with different perspectives
Your reader, unlike your teacher, will feel no obligation to read what you have written. They have their own jobs and will seldom bother to read something unless they see it as being helpful to them personally.
Writing at work creates excessive paperwork
We live in the age of infoglut where the quantity of information available to us increases exponentially. People have more to read than they'll ever have time to read. Few documents are read completely - most are skimmed. So when a reader picks up your document, they will be asking themselves; What is this? Why should I read it? How does it affect me? What am I going to have to do? They will want to find the main points straight away. They will become impatient if they can't find them by glancing down the pages. In short, your reader is not a captive audience - you have to make your message clear and easy to read. You also need to make your message as interesting an relevant as possible. Correct writing that cannot be read quickly and easily is not likely to be read. Few readers will be impressed with verbose, disorganized writing, even if each sentence is technically correct.
Writing at work may be read by readers unknown to the writer
Your writing will be read by two categories of people: the primary readers for whom it was intended, and secondary readers who will perhaps receive copies because the information is relevant to their jobs. Whoever your primary readers are, you should always anticipate the secondary readers. Its important not to underestimate the problem presented by unknown readers. Copies of your reports will often be placed in files that can be accessed by people who know little or nothing about the situation you are writing about. Yet these same reports can be used in assessing your performance and determining your promotion potential. Its often the case that readers who know little about you will make decisions about your competence based on how well you write. In other words, what you write at work is much more than a knowledge indicator that helps a teacher to determine a grade.
Writing at work has an indefinite lifespan
Much of what is written in organizations will remain in the organization's files for years. Because known and unknown readers may use your documents for an indefinite period, the problem of trying to identify the reader is further complicated by the length of time that the document is accessible. Academic writing, on the other hand, applies to a specific semester and lecturer.
Writing at work can create legal liability for the writer and the reader
Unlike academic writing, professional writing has the potential for being used against you in court. Both the writer and the person approving the document become responsible for the content. You need to keep in mind the indefinite lifespan of the material and the difficulty of knowing just who will read the document. In addition to this, you need to also remember that people may use your writing for reasons you never considered. Its possible that people might take sentences and even paragraphs out of context for use in situations unrelated to your original intent. They can then use what you say to support claims against you and your organization. Because we live in an increasingly litigious society, its important to consider these legal aspects.
How to organize business communication
Organization can help or hinder your reader in understanding your writing. To improve the accessibility of your writing, do the following:
1. Use clearly worded titles.
2. Use a summarising opening.
3. Use headings to indicate partitioning of ideas.
4. Use topic sentences to announce the content of paragraphs to help the reader move quickly through.
By following the above guidelines, you enable the reader to quickly answer the four basic questions: What is this? Why am I receiving it? How does this document affect me? What am I supposed to do? The guidelines allow a busy reader to navigate easily and grasp the essential content without needing to read the whole document.
The following specific guidelines can be used to achieve the above:
Structure the content to help the reader find key points
As indicated in the introduction above, when the average reader picks up a document, they have four basic questions in mind: What is this? Why am I receiving it? How does this document affect me? What am I supposed to do?
The structure and internal organization must help readers find the answers to these questions quickly. The ease with which the reader can grasp the essential meaning of the document determines how much of the document they decide to read.
Begin with the most important information
Once you know what you want your document to accomplish and what your readers need from the document, place that information at the beginning in a paragraph for medium length reports and in an introduction or summary for long report or reports that will be read by a number of readers who have different levels of familiarity with the subject.
Discussion, development or support of the main information follows in the body of the document. The conclusion follows the body. The following structure is appropriate when the reader is mainly interested in the conclusion, recommendation or result being reported upon.
1. Main ideas - paragraph summary or introduction plus paragraph summary.
2. Development - explanation, support for each idea given in the summary.
3. Conclusion - restatement of main ideas, what the reader needs to do in response to the main information.
Attachments - supporting data
When your report focuses on analysis as the heart of the report, or you need to emphasize the discussion in order to justify the conclusion, or if the reader is likely to be hostile to your conclusion and you need to change the reader's attitude to the subject before presenting the conclusion, then the following structure is appropriate.
1. Main ideas - abstracts, summary, foreword.
2. Development - discussion, main body of report.
3. Evaluation, Conclusions, Recommendations - results of the discussion.
4. Appendix, Attachments - supporting data for ideas in the discussion.
Design clear titles
Formal reports should use titles that are both concise and descriptive of content. Research backs up what common sense suggests, that readers comprehend documents more quickly if they know what the document is going to discuss.
Design the summary
While the summary is placed first in a document, it is usually the last item you write. You are best able to encapsulate a topic after you have become thoroughly familiar with it during the development of the discussion.
A summary may consist of one sentence, one paragraph or several paragraphs for long reports. The summary should address the four questions alluded to previously: What is this? Why am I receiving it? How does this document affect me? What am I supposed to do? How long the summary is depends on the size and complexity of the report.
Design the introduction
Whereas summaries give the reader the main ideas presented in the document, introductions provide the setting in which writer prepares the reader for what is to follow in the discussion. Whether or not you provide an introduction depends on the readers familiarity with the subject. If the reader is familiar with the problem or situation that led to the document, you can open with a summary and omit the introduction.
If however you anticipate that some readers will not readily understand what the document is about and why it was written, an introduction will give them the background necessary to answer the four questions (see previous section). The introduction enables any reader, even one months or years in the future to understand why it was written. So if in doubt, include an introduction.
Like summaries, introductions vary in length and development, depending on the length and complexity of the document. As a general guide, the introduction should contain the following elements:
1. Subject of the document.
2. Purpose of the document.
3. Background - what led to the document.
4. Major points discussed.
5. Scope of document - topics covered and not covered.
6. Procedure for developing the content.
Research shows that readers understand content more quickly when they are prepared for that information, that is, if they are told up front what they are going to read. Introductions therefore improve the accessibility and readability of documents because they tell the reader what to expect.
Consider using overviews
Like introductions, overviews state the topic, the purpose of the information that follows, and how it is organized. Overviews frequently precede major sections, particularly major parts of the discussion of the report.
Like the introduction, the overview improves the readability of that section. Overviews are generally shorter than introductions because they deal only with the section that follows and helps the reader know how to approach that content. Overviews are particularly useful in long reports made up of several long sections.
Design the discussion
The main discussion section represents the bulk of the document. The discussion gives full development, explanation and support for the main ideas presented. But studies show that the discussion is the least read part of the report. This is basically because readers are busy and are only interested in the part(s) of the report that affects them, and read the parts that give them the information they need. For that reason, the discussion must be structured to enable the reader to find what they need without having to search through pages of information. In deciding how much to say in the discussion, keep your reader's knowledge level in mind.
When designing the discussion, be sure that the main points given in the summary are easy to locate in the discussion itself. Place the most important concepts first, unless your ideas follow a chronological or sequential order.
In developing the discussion, you will need to use the same development methods you have used previously at university - division and classification, description, illustration, comparison/contrast and causal analysis.
Design the conclusion
The final section, the conclusion, may include an evaluation, summary, and/or any recommendations based on ideas you have stated in your discussion. In the conclusion, you may reiterate your main points, elaborate any point that seems particularly important, and (if necessary) state any recommendations you believe are necessary.
Design attachments
Many times, you will include figures, data, calculations, or other information that support assertions made in the discussion. Including this supporting detail in the main part of the report is not appropriate since excessive detail hinders the reader's ability to follow your ideas.
If you do provide supporting material, you need to draw the reader's attention to it and indicate when it is relevant.
Structure paragraphs for easy reading
Readability research indicates that paragraphs are easier to understand when they begin with a topic sentence, rather than place the topic sentence in the middle or leave it out altogether.
The same principle applies to paragraph development as to document development generally - place the most important information at the beginning. When developing paragraphs, begin with a topic sentence that summarises the idea that will be discussed in that paragraph. Just as the report summary and introduction prepare the reader how to read the report, so the topic sentence prepares the reader for the information that follows.
Presenting information visually
Presenting information visually comprises the following:
The value of graphics
Considering using graphics increases the time it takes to produce a document, you might be tempted to ask: "why do I need to bother?" Graphics can increase the efficiency with which your reader extracts meaning from your document, intensifies the impact of the message, and improves the retention of information.
Ours is a visual society. We live in an age of too much information, an age when people have more to read than they can possible manage, where work has become increasingly abstract and data-defined, where pictures are as important as words, and where documents compete with other documents for the reader's attention. Graphics help the reader access meaning quickly and improves the chances that your document will be read and acted upon.
Thinking visually
Software packages like Excel, Powerpoint, and Photoshop offer a great deal of flexibility with the production of graphics. Now that producing graphics has been made easy, the most frequent problem is selecting a graphic that fits the information and meets the needs of the reader. For example, when showing comparative quantities, pie charts or bar graphs can be effective. But if a great deal of segmentation is required, a table may be the only choice (i.e. if there are 15 or more categories to display). Tables are however less effective than graphs at showing similarities and differences among quantities. One option is to use a combination of table and bar graph. Used together, the table gives the figures credibility, while the graph helps the reader see the relationships among the figures and gives them meaning. Where space is limited, the graph should be omitted in favour of the table.
Guidelines for writing visually
In short, writing visually helps you to be clear and convincing. It also helps to interest the reader in what you write by lessening the deadly effects of unbroken paragraphs.
The following guidelines will help you to decide when to use graphics:
1. If your writing includes extensive data.
2. If the document requires your reader's immediate attention, you can provide encouragement by helping the reader see your ideas rather than having to read them.
3. If you consider the reader will not be motivated to read, visual aids will encourage them because seeing is easier than reading.
4. If the reader is not familiar with the topic, visual aids can enhance understanding, stimulate interest, and even improve retention of information.
5. The distracting the reader's environment, the more a visual display will help the reader to process your message.
6. Use tables if the reader understands the material; flowcharts if the material is complex; and short sentences (listed) if you want the reader to memorize and retain the list.
Effective style
An analysis of your readership, the purpose of the document, and the context in which it will be read will help you decide the content, organization, format and very importantly the best writing style to use. In making each decision, your purpose is to enable the reader to grasp the content quickly and easily, to elicit the response you want and to ensure that the reader has a positive attitude towards you.
Style includes the words and phrases you choose, the sentence structure you use and the way you express ideas. Style can obviously vary widely and a good writer adjusts the style to the reader.
In determining the best style, consider the following:
1. Determine the reader(s) knowledge of the subject.
2. Determine the reader(s) expectations about style based on the kind of writing you are doing.
3. Determine the reader(s) probable reading level, based on the context in which the document will be read.