Technical Writing Skills

Over the course of this past semester I have grown from someone who did not know much about technical writing into a skilled technical writer.  Throughout this year I have learned many things a skilled technical writer needs to know.  I learned how to be able to write clear cut instructions to present to someone.  Instructions need to be well written and have no holes where the reader could be left guessing.  I also learned how to properly plan a presentation for class.  A great presentation needs to be well written and also have visuals to go along with it.  I believe if i was hired to work for a company I would be able to create an effective presentation to present to my peers or to the customer that would contain all the information needed and be very informative.  I also believe I would be able to persuade my audience to my stance based off of the research I will do for the presentation as well.  I also am able to work great in groups when making a presentation because of this course.  Technical writing has allowed me to learn how to efficiently work in a group towards a common goal in making a proposal presentation.  I learned that each member has a specific job, but also must all work as a team to have the best overall project.  I think I could be a huge part in contributing to any company because i would be a great team player in any group setting.  I have learned to be a follower if i need to be but I can also lead if that is what is needed for the group to be successful.  Another thing this technical writing class has taught me was to be more well rounded and marketing myself for a job interview.  I learned how to type resumes to really sell myself and how to answer questions during an interview.  Overall throughout this technical writing class i have not only became a better technical writer but a better person altogether.  I believe that with the help of taking this course I am ready for a job interview and with any type of task that is given to me.

I got this picture from http://rlv.zcache.com/keep_calm_and_trust_your_technical_writer_square_sticker-r005278d60c6746e694372354f8a34ccd_v9byj_1024.jpg?rlvnet=1

Blogging

Blogging is a way for people to talk about a hobby or interest that they have.  There are many blogs about there on the internet that talk about almost everything possible.  A lot of companies use blogs to talk about their careers and what is happening now inside the company.  A lot of media websites also have blogs to talk about the celebrity gossip and news that is going on in this world.  I think if I were going blog again it would either be about sports or the news.  Writing a sports blog would allow me to talk about the sports I love and give my input on the sport.  I would also enjoy following a news blog in the future to keep me more updated on current events in todays world.  I have found three blogs that I would recommend to people to view in the future.

http://www.sportsblog.com is a blog for any sports fan out there.  The blog is updated everyday and has articles for every sport.  They have videos of interviews with everyones favorite players too.  The site is very easy to navigate through and allows easy access for whatever your favorite sport may be.  I highly recommend using this blog site as a sports fan myself for the latest news about your favorite players or teams.

I got this image from http://mochadad.com/app/uploads/2012/12/sports.jpg

http://www.tmz.com is a blog for anyone that loves celebrity gossip.  TMZ is a blog about all the latest news and gossip going on with celebrities.  They talk about all the famous people from movie stars to athletes.  There are new stories and videos updated everyday constantly to make sure everyone is in the know. For anyone that loves reality tv and drama tmz is definitely the blog for you. I recommend this blog to anyone that wants to know the juicy gossip going on in the lives of the celebrities today.  

I got this image from http://arceng.net/wp-content/gallery/tmz/tmz_logo.jpg

http://www.huffingtonpost.com is a blog for anyone that wants to know about the latest politics and news in the world.  They keep you updated on the latest news about the pesidency and the events going on in the United States, and across the world.  The site is also updated constantly throughout each day as more and more news and events occur.  I would strongly recommend this blog to anyone that loves politics and wants to keep up with the latest news from our government and around the world.   

I got this image from http://www.libertasoccidentalis.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Huffington-Post-Logo-002.png

Proposal Idea

In order to have a successful proposal planned you need to be organized and gather as much research and knowledge about what you are proposing as possible.  A proper proposal has great visual aids, great talking points, and also data to support the cause at hand.  Our proposal was to shut off the emergency blue light polls and higher police to have a night shift instead.  Our first approach was doing the research on the blue lights and calculating our budget that best suited the proposal.  We then decided to have a survey with the students on campus asking them their opinions about safety on campus with the blue lights.  Once all of our data was collected our group put together a visual aspect for our presentation.  In presenting a proposal you have to speak loud and clear and have confidence in what you are proposing.  In doing all of these things we managed to bring to the class a proposal idea with all of the right tools for a successful proposal. 

I got this picture from http://writepass.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Order-4962-9-PhD-Research-Proposal-Samples_May4.png

Media Presentation

In every successful presentation there is a good visual provided to give the audience a better understanding of what is being presented.  Almost everyone uses power point as their visual media presentation tool and it is becoming too common and basic for the common user.  For my class presentation on should the legal drinking age be 18 or 21 I used zoho as my visual media presentation tool.

I enjoyed using zoho for my presentation.  It was free to use and did not require me to plug in my credit card or anything to get an account.  All i had to do was make an account and log in and I was able to use zoho.  I had never heard of zoho before so it was brand new to me.  I found it was very easy to navigate through and was very similar to power point.  The slide show allows you to have transitions and background schemes that operate just as if you were using power point.  A picture of zoho can be seen below.

This is an example of a zoho slide.  I got this image from https://www.zoho.com/docs/presentation/greythemeimages/Apply-Slide-Transitions.jpg

It's main disadvantage is that it is so similar to power point that if you are looking for something completely new then zoho is not for you.  Overall though i would recommend using zoho.  It is very easy to learn how to use and is very similar to powerpoint for those who are not looking to explore completely new media presentation tools.  Zoho is a great website and i plan on using it again for future presentations. 

Marketing Yourself

This week in my technical writing class we learned how to market yourself for an interview.  We learned the things required in selling yourself for a job interview.  The style and layout of your resume are also key and what you put on them is extremely important.  Be sure to not lie on your resume either.  The resume you present with your interview is a first impression and you want it to be as strong as possible.   Below I will list a few tips for presenting a great resume when applying for a job.

The Resume:

• Single space
• 300-400 words
• Normal font size between 9-12
• Have bullets and lists, but no more than 7 bullets per topic
• Avoid paragraphs
• Include some white space
• Always start with contact information
• Always end with references
• Middle sections should be based on how good and strong the section makes you look for the job you are applying for

The Interview:

• Give a good firm handshake and present yourself properly
• Stay calm and don't rush your answers
• Talk with Confidence
• Make good eye contact
• Be honest
• Don't make an inappropriate joke or comment
• Don't ask how much money you are going to make or any benefits you are going to receive

I got this image from Google

The tips i have provided above for the resume an interview are very helpful for getting a good job.  Make sure you know the exact requirements expected for the job you are applying for.  If you are having a hard time getting a job it means you are not marketing yourself good enough.  It is crucial to have a strong resume and good interview to get a good job these days.  I hope these tips help you and you get the dream job you have always wanted.  

How to Jump A Car Battery

Items needed:
- A working car battery
- Jumper cables

Warning:   There is a potential of getting electrocuted.  The following instructions should be done with extreme caution.

1.  Park the vehicle with the working battery facing the vehicle with the dead battery so that the cars are headlights are facing one another.

2.  Shut off both engines and open the hoods on each vehicle. Make sure that both cars hoods are securely open and not going to fall.

3.  Take out a pair of jumper cables.

4.  Attach the red jumper cable (positive cable) to the working battery's positive terminal

5.  Attach the other end of the red jumper cable (positive cable) to the positive terminal on the battery that is dead.

6.  Attach the black cable (negative cable) to the dead battery's negative terminal.

7.  Attach the final black clip (negative cable) to a piece of solid metal away from the working car battery.

I got this image from http://www.briggssupercenter.com/blog/how-to-use-jumper-cables-to-jump-a-car/

8.  Once the jumper cables are all attached start the engine of the vehicle with the working battery.

9.  After the vehicle is on try to start the engine of the car with the dead battery.

10.  Once the car has been started remove the jumper cables and close the hoods of both cars.

11.  Drive the newly jumped car around for 10-15 minutes to give the battery time to charge, and if it does not start upon trying again it is time to replace the car battery with a new one.

Class Introduction

I got this from Google

Hello Everyone.  My name is Michael Hicks.  I am 20 years old and my birthday is December 8th.  I am a junior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  I am majoring in petroleum engineering and hope to one day be a very sucessful engineer.  I enjoy playing basketball and working out when I have some free time.  I am taking English 365 because it is part of my major's curriculum.  I have very little knowledge of what exactly technical writing is, but I am hoping to learn a lot over the course of this semester.  I have never blogged before so I hope this technical writing class will improve my knowledge of writing skills and communicating in the workplace efficiently.