Student Evaluation of English 322: Technical Writing
There are a number of legal and ethical concerns which technical writers sometimes face. To make these issues more concrete, please read and respond to the ethical dilemmas listed below.
To: pagnucci@iup.edu
From: your email address
Cc: your email address
Subject: 322 TJ: Ethical Scenarios
Body of the Message:
(Copy the questions below into your email message. Type your answers after each question. Then send your completed TechJournal to Dr. Pagnucci. Write answers that are as complete as possible. Note also that grammar and spelling will not be counted for eJournals, so just do your best.)
Your Full Name (include your full name at the top of EVERY EMAIL so I can give you credit for your work)
Scenario 1
You’re part of a company team that has written a large manual for a new building heating system. The manual is 235 pages long. Your supervisor informs you that the manual is going to be too expensive to print at that size. She tells you to cut 60 pages from the manual and suggests that the 20 pages you’ve used throughout the manual for safety warnings could easily be cut. What do you do?
Scenario 2
You are working for a large software company that makes a highly popular word processing program. You are a technical writer at this company and have been writing parts of the software’s online help documentation. In particular, you have been documenting the advanced word processing features such as built in style sheets. One of the programmers at the company sends you a report that another advanced feature, macros, which allow writers to automate their work, is highly susceptible to computer viruses. How should you respond to this memo and why?
Scenario 3
You have a job as a public relations writer for a large industrial firm. A reporter for the local paper writes a story that your company has been dumping waste into the Allegheny River. You try to collect some facts confirming the accuracy of this story, but no one is talking. Your boss asks you to write some press releases to counteract the story and shore up your company’s sagging public image. How do you handle this situation?