Andrews Tackles Global Technical Communication.

Technical Communication in the Global Community

Deborah C. Andrews.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1998. xvii+588 pp., appendices, references, index. ISBN 0-13-103060-4.

Global technical communication, in spite of its changing multinational environment, consists of many conventional strategies that are steadfast. One's familiarity with audience, ability to articulate in a specialized format, and propensity t resent oral-written--nonverbal information meeting audience expectations for a given subject are basic strategies discussed in Deborah C Andrews' Technical Communication in The Global Community. It is imperative to understand and develop the ability to communicate even in complex technical information effectively to all audiences in a professional and easily understood context. "Thinking like writers" is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for students and professionals in scientific and technical disciplines. Andrews has her finger on the pulse of today's undergraduate students in her post as coordinator of technical and business-writing program at the University of Delaware. The primary focus of her book is to demonstrate that successfully bridging the gap between what is knows and what is communicated requires thinking on four levels (1) internationally, (2) collaboratively, (3) ethically, and electronically.

Andrews divides her book into five parts and an appendix. Throughout there are highlighted boxes with various cases and exercises. In part One, "Performing Your Role as a Communicator," Andrews lays out some fundamental groundwork for written communication in the global context. Developing a consistent writing routine, writing in various teams, and writing ethically are some basic attributes of a writer's professional persona discussed here. In addition, Andrews reminds us of an old truism: "You will live by your words."

Part Two "Managing Information for Readers" gives guidelines for communicating with global audiences who have various levels of literacy. Andrews offers two broad approaches for gathering empirical information: "On the ground" information (includes interviews, surveys, and site visits) and "book research" information (includes memos, books CD-ROMs, and internet resources). Finally, Andrews ties together these functions and demonstrates hot to organize a plan that will result in more effective presentations, whether oral or written.

Part Three addresses "Creating the Appropriate Expression" through the use if sentence composition, choice of visuals, and documented or screen design to persuade an audience or t prove some findings are true. Also, editing and usability testing are critical steps in conveying an intended message.

Instructions for preparing abstracts, proposals, progress reports, final reports, and procedural reports appear in Part Four "Developing Technical and Scientific Documents". The author use in-depth illustrations throughout this section to exemplify the described formats for these specialized documents.

In Part Five, Andrews focuses on "communicating a s a Professional" through the process of effective letter writing, searching for a job, creating effective memos and electronic mail, writing articles and revise of literature, and oral presentations.

Finally, in the Appendix, the author presents a list of some mechanical for documenting sources. These lists are drawn from the modern Language Association, the American Psychological Association, and the council of Biology Editors.

The greatest strength of the book lies in the overall approach to subject by including these supplements boxed highlights to help bring the message home, electronic edge, closer look, and crossing cultures. The use of real--world examples is a welcome tool in the classroom textbook, and this text is chock-block with them. In particular, the electronic edge boxes give scenarios directly related to the Interact and use of e-mail.

Another strength of the book is the inclusion of the topic tat deals with the very objective if any student who attends a university--the job search. The importance of composing a resume, writing a letter of application, and following up with appropriate letters cannot be understated. Furthermore, the timelines of the book is evidence through the discussion on "web resumes" which link to one's personal web page. Here again is confirmation that, although modern technology enables a more advanced medium of communication, conventional elements of a well-prepared job search are intact.

A final attribute of the Andrews' book, although seemingly insignificant, is the thought provoking, interrelated quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Insightful and somewhat humorous, this collection of quotes sets the stage for each topic in a lighthearted and fitting application. Some examples: "Looking for a job is a job" (Student complaint, p. 451); "Communication equals remembering what it was like not to know" (Richard S. Wurman, p. 433); and "The letter is longer than usual only because I haven't had time to make it shorter" (Blaise Pascal, p 3)

Instructional textbooks reach various levels of knowledgeable, or not so knowledgeable, individual. More-advanced readers may find the book's weakness to lie in its belaboring the elementary concepts which are probably intended for lower-level readers. For example, the letter writing sections contains a list of state abbreviations (p.450), with which one would assume students of higher education would already be familiar but obviously aren't. Parts One, Two, and Three may be regarded as beginner level rhetorical concepts that remind the reader of communication fundamentals. It isn't until Part Four and Five that the real nuts and bolts of the book are realized and the content becomes sophisticated and applicable to global technical communication in the 21st century.

Although This text is primarily designed as a teaching tool for classroom instruction to prepare today's students for technical communication in the global workplace, it will also serve as a supplemental tool for veteran businessperson whose activities are branching out across the globe. Because the need to Be an effective communicator is increasingly crossing international borders, there is a usefulness to the text

Which transcends solely domestic interest and satisfies the need for experienced professionals to stay abreast of today's technical writing etiquette and accepted practices in the changing global environment.

The book will also be of value to the businesspersons who have mastered the concepts of communication but still need to envision the implications of electronic technology on Communications.

Special note by the Book Review Editor: The fact people in important positions do not know those abbreviations can be costly. I once audited a bill of lading on which an entire trainload of assets was beaded from California to Mississippi instead of Michigan because someone wrongly thought that "MI" is the abbreviation for "Mississippi" (which is, of course, "MS"). Last-minute discovery of the error probably avoided some $20,000 in re-routing costs.--rdr

Reviewed by Carol Ann Hunt, P.O. Box 2167, Albany, LA 70711-2167,USA, carolannhunt@msn.com