A Strategic Guide to Technical Communication incorporates useful and specific strategies for writers, to enable them to create aesthetically appealing and usable technical documentation. These strategies have been developed and tested on a thousand students from a number of different disciplines over twelve years and three institutions. The second edition adds a chapter on business communication, reworks the discussion on technical style, and expands the information on visual communication and ethics into free-standing chapters.

The text is accompanied by a passcode-protected website containing materials for instructors (PowerPoint lectures, lesson plans, sample student work, and helpful links).

Heather Graves' profile page

Roger Graves' profile page

Heather Graves is Associate Professor of English at the University of Alberta.

Roger Graves is Professor of English and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum at the University of Alberta.

“A Strategic Guide to Technical Communication provides clear and focused instruction on important elements of technical writing, including genre, structure, purpose, usability, visuals, and technical prose. My students found the explanations and guidance offered consistently accessible and useful. I appreciated the well-grounded theoretical approach, as well as the pedagogical support. The second edition strengthens an already valuable textbook by bringing genres to the fore, treating ethics more distinctly, and focusing on issues specific to technical prose, particularly clarity and plain language. The use-value of this textbook is outstanding!” — Patricia Lynne, Framingham State University

“A Strategic Guide to Technical Communication covers all the important concepts in an undergraduate Technical Writing class. It has chapters on necessary forms and formats and also pays a good deal of attention to the nuances of persuasive writing and what constitutes clear technical prose. The book is easy to follow, clear, and precise. I highly recommend it.” — Andrea Clark Mason, Washington State University