A Day in the Life: Technical Writer

Last updated 10 months ago

1 question

Instructions

Read through a Day in the Life of your new job. Use the word bank to drag and drop the missing words into the correct spot to complete the worksheet.

Required

Just last week, you received confirmation that you have been awarded the contract to write both the maintenance and 1. ______________________  manuals for a new generation of server that will enable corporations all over the world to streamline and protect their information resources. Last night, you completed the final invoicing process for the repair manual you wrote for a new line of flat screen monitors to be introduced next month. That project was a big one, and took way longer than the six weeks you had allotted yourself to write it. Luckily, you work on the clock and not by a project cost. You had hoped to take a few days off, but this project is a gem. It also includes a trip to Tokyo to meet with the manufacturer. After getting up early, you begin by reviewing the 2. ______________________  that the manufacturer sent. They’re written in Japanese, and even though you are fluent in the language, it takes several hours for you to get through the complex terminology. Your knowledge of computer 3. ______________________  is essential to the work you do, as is your insatiable need to understand electronics inside and out. You make some notes about instructions you want to test out yourself and then depart for the distributor’s warehouse, where you will pick up a prototype. The only way to write a manual is to personally experience the equipment and learn its particular quirks! After eating lunch and spending some time on the Internet booking a flight to Japan, you carefully unwrap the server. You will be 4. ______________________  it and using a software system to save those diagrams for the manual you will be writing. As you work inwards, from the outside case into the motherboards, you are careful to represent each layer accurately in your sketches. So many manuals you have seen are confusing from the very beginning, since the drawings look nothing like the equipment in front of the user. You carefully 5. ______________________  your sketches and sit down at your desk to transfer them into a computer assisted design program. Your eyes are feeling strained, and you decide this is a good time to make some calls to an end-user. It is important for you to know the proficiency of the technicians who will be installing this server for its test run. Your language needs to be detailed, yet clear, and this can be a difficult balance to attain in the increasingly complex world of 6. ______________________ . Before the operating manual is released, you will be assisting in running usability studies. Then you can finish writing and editing the materials appropriately. You are surprised to see that it is already 6:00 pm, and time to stop work for the day. The hours you spend in front of computers—either taking them apart or writing instructions for them—always fly by!