Links and Resources
Didn't find what you needed on our website? Here are some of the best STC-related links we could find. And, credit where credit goes, quite a few of these links were first found by Dr. Adkins and put on her TC Links page! (All links open in new window.)
Society Information
Society for Technical Communication
URL: http://stc.org/
The national STC organization, of which MWSU/STC is a student chapter. This organization provides information and articles to keep technical communicators up to date in their field, inform them about events, and help them network.
MWSU's STC Chapter Handbook
URL: http://missouriwestern.edu/orgs/soctech/MWSUSTCHandbook.pdf
Written by: Nichole Karr, Bob Poirier, and Heather Schenecker
The official reference guide for MWSU/STC's officers
MWSU's Technical Communication Degree
URL: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/degrees.asp
This is the official document listing all the MWSU Department of English degrees and their requirements, including the Technical Communication degree.
What Is Tech Com?
10 Reasons to Join STC
URL: http://www.stc.org/PDF_Files/10reasons.pdf
Provided by: Society for Technical Communication
A brochure provide by the Society for Technical Communication, detailing the benefits of joining.
You Want to Be a Technical What?
URL: http://stc.org/PDF_Files/hammack.pdf
Written by: Jane Hammack
Jane Hammack writes about how to become a technical writer, especially when transferring from a previous job.
Overview of the Technical Communication Industry
URL: http://saulcarliner.home.att.net/idbusiness/overviewtcindustry.htm
Written by: Saul Carliner
Where are other technical communicators? What do they do? Saul Carliner answers these questions and provides information about the work, organizations, publications, events, and practices in technical communication.
"Resource-ful" Links
Dr. Adkins' Guide to Technical Communication Resources on the Web
URL: http://staff.missouriwestern.edu/~kadkins/TClinks.html
Provided by: Dr. Kaye Adkins
This is Dr. Adkins' list of helpful technical communication resources, organizations, and (best of all) examples, which she uses for her ETC classes.
adobe.com
URL: http://www.adobe.com/
Sooner or later, all technical communicators deal with an Adobe product - whether it's last year's version of Photoshop or the spiffiest, newest version of InDesign or Robohelp. You can find support - such as tutorials - on Adobe's website.
50 Tools That Can Improve Your Writing Skills
URL: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/07/50-tools-that-can-improve-your-
writing.html
Provided by: Dumb Little Man
A list of 50 links to helpful tips to improve you writing skills, such as "beware of adverbs" and telling stories.
40+ Tips for Improving Your Grammar and Punctuation
URL: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2006/12/40-tips-to-improve-your-grammar-
and.html
Provided by: Dumb Little Man
A collection of links to various pages that provide tips and some drills on how to improve your grammar and punctuation, such as prepositions of spatial relationship and active vs. passive verbs.
Online Tech Writing
URL: http://www.io.com/%7Ehcexres/textbook/acctoc.html
An online technical writing textbook - for FREE!
Plain Language.gov
URL: http://www.plainlanguage.gov/
Sometimes, the plainest language - that is, THE Plain Language - is the best when you need to get your point across - or if you want to create documents that can be easily translated or understood by non-native English speakers.
EServer TC Library
URL: http://tc.eserver.org/
Provided by: The EServer
A free directory of online resources for technical communicators, covering a wide range of topics.
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
URL: http://jbt.sagepub.com/
Provided by: SAGE
After a free registration, you can read this journal online!
KnowGenesis International Journal for Technical Communication
URL: http://www.knowgenesis.com/journal/index.php
An online, completely free journal relating to technical communication.
Technical Writing at Wikiversity
URL: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Technical_writing
Take an online course through Wikiversity! And while you're at it, you can edit the pages yourself!
Klariti
URL: http://www.klariti.com/
A professional site with information on technical writing, as well as free tools, templates, and examples
Writing Resources
MLA Formatting and Style Guide
URL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
Provided by: The OWL at Purdue
Can't remember how to set up your paper according to MLA standards? How do you format quotations? This is the The OWL at Purdue's great web-guide to MLA formatting.
A Guide for Writing Research Papers
URL: http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml
Provided by: Capital Community College, Hartford, CT
If you're looking for specific examples of MLA citation used on works cited pages and in-line citations, this is website is for you.
APA Formatting and Style Guide
URL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Provided by: The OWL at Purdue
So you know that if the OWL at Purdue has an MLA guide, they must have an APA guide. This is a great overview of APA citation style.
APA Citation Style
URL: http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm
Provided by: Long Island University
A brief guide to APA style, because who knows what citation style technical writers might need to know how to use?
APA Style Tips
URL: http://www.apastyle.org/previoustips.html
Here are some specific tips on APA style.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
URL: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
Not to be left out, here's a style guide (the official online one, it seems) for Chicago citation.
Fun Stuff
Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness
URL: http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/hall/main.php
Provided by: Darren Barefoot
Boundless proof that even technical writing can have its funny moments - especially in translation!
WikiHow
URL: http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page
"The How-To Manual Anyone Can Edit" - a collection of people's how-to instructions, editable by everyone, that offer "solutions to everyday problems." Why not contribute with your technical writing skills?
