Discussion 1 asks us to do four things at once: It asks us to do some research about technical writing in the school library, identify the fictional company and product you’ll write your class assignments for this term, identify a real-world competitor to your company and its product, and introduce yourself to us all personally.
follow these FOUR steps, then, as you complete Discussion 1:
Step 1:
Find an article in the APUS Trefry Library that pertains to the role of technical writing in companies; read it and make note of its author, title, and publication information so you can use it in your initial forum post. Report out to the group what you’ve learned about technical writing from this article.
Tech Writing Treasure Hunt Note: There is no textbook for this class! Class readings come from the library, instead. You’ll be responsible for researching articles relevant to the week’s writing objectives and reporting on them to your peers in class discussion forums. Doing this will give you some good practice using the AMU / APUS Trefry Library and will familiarize you with academic technical writing journals. The class will basically conduct a technical writing treasure hunt each week, then, instead of looking at a traditional textbook.
Step 2:
Choose the fictional company name, company details, and a web hosting service for the class company you’ll be developing this term. Tell us the name of your company, the name of your product, and the URL of the website (this website can be hosted via a free service like Wix or WordPress and so on) you’ll be building for the company.
Step 3:
Find the website and / or app of a real-world competitor for your class product and critique it. This will be the 3rd paragraph of your post. Answer some of these questions in your critique (you do not need to answer them all):
Describe the interaction between the company and its customers. How active is each social media page? Does the company respond to complaints? What sort of posts are made to their Facebook page, for example? Are the social media pages easy to use, useful, and does the writing style reflect the needs of customers who use these platforms?
If the company has an app, what are its features? Is it easy to use? What information does the app provide for customers? Do they offer coupons? Sales ads? In what ways can the consumer interact with the app features?
Does the company’s site and / or app fit well on a smartphone or tablet screen? Describe the content, presentation and links, color, graphics, and writing style of the website. Is it easy to navigate?
Who is the company’s target audience? How do they appeal to this audience on their sites and app?
Step 4:
Your current understanding of technical writing, as informed by the library article you read.
Your chosen company name, along with any other relevant details you think we should know about it.
