Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is fear of long words. Find a poem on the same below:

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

On the first day of classes, I secretly beg
my students Don’t be afraid of me. I know
my last name on your semester schedule

is chopped off or probably misspelled—
or both. I can’t help it. I know the panic
of too many consonants rubbed up
against each other, no room for vowels

to fan some air into the room of a box
marked Instructor. You want something
to startle you? Try tapping the ball of roots

of a potted tomato plant into your cupped hand
one spring, only to find a small black toad
who kicks and blinks his cold eye at you,
the sun, a gnat. Be afraid of the X-rays

for your teeth or lung. Pray for no dark spots.
You may have pneumonoultromononucleosis—
coal lung. Be afraid of money spiders

tiptoeing across your face while you sleep
on a sweet, fat couch. But don’t be afraid
of me, my last name, what language I speak
or what accent dulls itself on my molars.

I will tell jokes, help you see the gleam
of the beak of a mohawked cockatiel. I will
lecture on luminescent sweeps of ocean, full

of tiny dinoflagellates oozing green light
when disturbed. I promise dark gatherings
of toadfish and comical shrimp just when you think
you are alone, hoping to stay somehow afloat.

Reference: http://www.slate.com/id/2094134/

Business Communication:
“Communication used to promote to promote a product, service, organization; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and similar issues. It is also a means of relaying between a supply chain, for example the consumer and manufacturer.” – From Wikipedia.

Type of Business Communication:

There are two types of business communication in an organization:
1. Internal Communication
2. External Communication

1. Internal Communication
It includes all the communication within an organization. It may be formal or informal. Effective internal communication is a vital means of addressing organizational concerns. Good internal communication may help to raise job satisfaction, safety, productivity, profits and decrease complaints.
Internal Business Communication Further Categorized as:

a. Upward Communication
b. Downward Communication
c. Horizontal / Lateral Communication

Upward Communication:
Upward communication is the flow of information from subordinates to superiors, or from employees to the management. Upward communication helps the management to know, whether messages have been received properly or not, and others problems exist in the organization.

Upward Communication is a means for staff to:

• Exchange information
• Offer ideas
• Provide feedback
• Express enthusiasm

Downward Communication:
Downward communication is the flow of information from the top of the organizational management hierarchy and telling employees in the organizational about mission and policies.
Downward communication provides enabling Information, which allows a subordinate to do something. For example: instruction on how to do a task, etc.
Downward communication comes when upward communication has been successfully established. The necessity of downward communication in an organization is to:

• Transmit vital information
• Give instructions
• Encourage two way discussion
• Announce decisions
• Provide motivation
• Increase efficiency
• Obtain feedback.

Both Downward and Upward Communications are collectively called “Vertical Communication”

Horizontal/Lateral Communication:
Horizontal communication involves coordinating information, and allows people with the similar rank or designation in an organization to cooperate or collaborate. Communication among employees at the same level is important for the mutual understanding, which results in the increase of efficiency and productivity of organization.
Horizontal communication plays an important role in:

• Solving problems
• Improving team work
• Accomplishing task
• Boosting efficiency
• Building goodwill

2. External Communication:
Communication with people outside the company is called External Communication. For example, supervisors communicate with sources outside the organization, such as vendors and customers.
A good external communication leads to better:

• Sales volume
• Operational efficiency
• Public credibility
• Company profits

External communication can improve:

• Overall performance
• Public goodwill
• Corporate image

Eventually, external communication helps to achieve:

• Organizational goals
• Customer satisfaction

In my opinion, documenting is a lot more easier than proofreading. I can just go on and on writing as per my flow of thoughts. The moment I need to proofread through my document, it becomes a dreary task. As technical writers, proofreading is very important. We need to ensure that grammar usage, punctuation, words used are all correct and consistent. I found this article on eHow website which explains how to proofread documents. I think the best way is to create a checklist while proofreading.

Checklist for Proofreading

1. Spell check your document (Ensure spell check is enabled)
2. Read document thoroughly for grammar errors.
3. Double check accuracy in technical content if any.
4. Double check consistency in terms used,User Interfaces etc.
5. Double check punctuation marks
6. Double check capitalization of words
7. Double check your headings for heading rules.
8. Ensure abbreviations are not used. All words need to be spelled out fully.
9. Double check your Headers, Footers and Contents page.
10. Check for usage of deadwood phrases. Replace with simple words if deadwood phrases are used.
11. Check if document content is within its scope.

I am sure if we follow a checklist, then proofreading becomes a lot more simpler.

Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_4962135_proofread-your-documents.html

I have come across several non-native English speakers who tend to use that and which interchangeably; however, there is a faint, but significant, difference between the use of that and which in a sentence. This difference primarily refers to relevance. English grammar experts frequently use the terms, such as “restrictive” and “non-restrictive” when it comes to relative clauses. A relative clause provides supplementary information regarding the noun it describes, but it may be considered relevant or irrelevant to the overall point of the sentence. In other words, a restrictive relative clause, which often begins with that, is usually considered essential or restrictive, whereas relative clauses beginning with which may contain non-essential information and would be considered non-restrictive.

For example:

• India won that cricket match by seven wickets.
• India won the cricket match, which was played at Chinnaswamy Stadium, by seven wickets.

I was thinking on how each one of us differ in our ways of learning. A research on this led me to the different models defined to understand the process of learning in-depth.

One of the models that I came across was the Kolb’s Learning Styles. A four-stage life cycle has been defined so as to identify the learning styles.

They are:
1. Concrete Experience (CE)
2. Reflective Observation (RO)
3. Abstract Conceptualization (AC)
4. Active Experimentation (AE)

Based on this, the four learning styles would be:

1. Converger (AC/AE)
2. Diverger (CE/RO)
3. Assimilator (AC/RO)
4. Accommodator (CE/AE)

Please do read up more on Kolb’s learning styles to find out what kind of learner you are.

Reference Link: http://www.coe.iup.edu/rjl/instruction/cm150/selfinterpretation/kolb.htm

Subject-Verb-Object
A full sentence in English does not get simpler than this. I love you. I is the Subject. Love is the verb. You is the Object. Best sentences in technical writing stick to this basic format, although it’s not always possible to write in such a simple straightforward manner.

A PRONOUN is a “place holder” for a noun. When you refer to yourself as “me” instead of using your full name and last name you are using a pronoun.

A PREPOSITION is the connective tissue between two words or clauses. There are dozens of prepositions in the English language like “on,” “under,” “before,” “after,” “with,” “without,” “in,” “at,” “for,” “until,” etc.

The VERBS “to be” and “to have” must agree with the case of the SUBJECT
Subjects are singular or plural. If we are using personal pronouns, they also split into first, second, and third person cases, each with its singular and plural variations. The verb of a sentence must agree with the case of the subject.
The shop IS closed. [But] The shops ARE closed.
I AM okay. [But] We ARE okay.
The building HAS a window. [But] The buildings HAVE windows.

An ADJECTIVE describes/qualifies a NOUN.
The bus made a SUDDEN stop [Noun].
She made an URGENT appeal [Noun] for more funds.

An ADVERB describes/qualifies a VERB.
The bus stopped [Verb] SUDDENLY.
She URGENTLY appealed [Verb] for more funds.

INFINITIVE form of a verb is the one that starts with “to,” without any inflections. “To write” is the infinitive form. “Wrote” is its simple past inflection.

SPLIT INFINITIVE is what strict grammarians caution against all the time. It happens when an adverb is used after the “to” of an infinitive.
“To QUICKLY summarize the issue…” [Correct: "To summarize the issue quickly, ..."]
“We agreed not to SUMMARILY dismiss his argument…” [Correct: "We agreed not to dismiss his argument summarily..."]

GERUND form of a verb is the one that ends with “-ing” and usually acts as a noun. “Shopping,” although used as a noun, is actually the gerund form of the verb “to shop.”

PARTICIPLE is the present or past participle form of a verb which is used as an ADJECTIVE.
“His DEPLETED bank account…”
“Our SOARING ambition…”
“The COOKING instructions…”

DANGLING PARTICIPLE happens when we cannot tell the correct subject of a verb due to the improper placement of the “participle” in a sentence.
“Burnt down to a rubble, the fireman sifted through the ashes of the house.” What is “burnt down to a rubble” is of course the house, not the fireman. A better sentence would be: “The fireman sifted through the ashes of the house burnt down to a rubble.”

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Technical-Writing—A-Short-Summary-of-Basic-Grammar-Rules-in-English&id=1922954

Shipra Dewan is currently working as an Information Developer in Sterling Commerce Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. She graduated with a Masters in English and with a B.Ed and had no prior work experience. She successfully completed the TWB Certification Program in 2008. Team TWB interviewed her and the following is an excerpt.

What influenced your choice of career?

I developed a flair for writing when teaching English in a school. I read various articles about Technical Writing as a budding profession in India. I enquired and found that TWB provides a certification course in technical writing. This is how my journey to become a technical writing began.

Do you think the training helped you? If so, how is it relevant in your current job?

Yes, definitely. The training at TWB proved to be a stepping stone towards a successful career as a Technical Writer. The modules are organized in a way that helps an overall development of the required skills. Estimation, DDLC, Content Development, and so on are used every day in my job.

What are your professional achievements?

I have been awarded the Extra Mile award twice.

What are the new tools you learnt when you joined the company you are working for?

I learnt Adobe FrameMaker.

What are the different kinds of documents have you worked on?

I have worked on all kinds of user guides such as Implementation, Installation, Upgrade, Customization, Overview, Concept, Localization, and so on.

What kinds of tasks do you complete during a typical day or week?

On a typical day, I complete the following tasks:

• Estimating for a new project
• Schedule meetings for information gathering
• Attend design review meetings
• Defect fixing for the earlier product documentation
• Content development for ongoing projects

According to your definition of success, how successful have you been so far?

In my opinion, opportunity to grow in a team is success. I feel contented and learn something new everyday. I am a happy technical writer.

How would your co-workers describe you?

My co-workers describe me as an efficient and easy-to-work-with resource.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional with whom would it be?

I would like to trade places with my Team Lead, Aravind Anand. This is because, I have never seen a person who could smile in the utmost critical situations and say “All is Well”.

What, for you personally, are the pros and cons of being a technical writer?

It’s too early in my career to find pros and cons of being a technical writer. I am in that phase of my career when I am constantly learning various skills and have so much more to learn.