Introduction
The practice of Scientific and Technical communications has been around for years; however the fields are both considered new fields. While there have been writers writing about the latest scientific discoveries since Aristotle, and technology since before the printing press was invented, the fields were not given these names until just the last few decades. Due to the fact that the fields often intertwine, knowledge of what is expected to practice in both can be invaluable to anyone wishing to practice in either field.
The goal of a scientific or technical writer is to create communications that enable the reader to take some form of action, or to make important critical decisions based on the information the communication is relaying to them. Another goal, simply put, is to take something difficult to understand and make it easy to understand. Scientific and technical writers do not just communicate the information others give them; often times they help to create the information that they communicate.
A person who practices in either of these fields has a diverse arena in which they can practice their craft. It is important to remember that it is a craft, while you are not writing fiction-you are writing, and you have the opportunity for your style and talent to shine through whatever document you are producing. Whether you are producing pamphlets for a pharmaceutical company or documentation for software-while it has to follow certain standards-there is nothing saying it has to be boring. A writer writes and both the scientific and technical fields are a great place to do it.
The goal of this course is to help a prospective student decide if either scientific or technical writing is a career that they would like to pursue. This will be accomplished through the use of the text "The Practice of Technical and Scientific Communication: Writing in Professional Context", which is edited by Jean A. Lutz and C. Gilbert Storms.
The course will show the many arenas open to a scientific or technical writer by showing the various fields; what the role of a scientific or technical writer is in each of these fields; how one prepares to enter each of these fields; what additional education is necessary, and the prospects for a future in each of them. There will also be profiles of communicators in each of these fields to give a student a “hands-on” idea of what is really involved.
Through lessons and reading the student should leave the course with a strong feel for what is involved, and whether or not it is something they would really like to pursue. It is my hope that this course provides enough information to help them make an informed decision.
Lessons
Click here to see course syllabus
