edunotes from b&b: a successful grant writing session · by jeff randolph, ocstc chapter...
TRANSCRIPT
www.ocstc.org December 2003 Vol. 42 No. 11Orange County STC Newsletter
EduNotes from B&B: A SuccessfulGrant Writing Session
By Bill Darnall and Brian McCaleb, OCSTC Education Committee Chairs
1 EduNotes from B&B:A Successful GrantWriting Session
Publication Policies2
President's Message2
3
3
to page 8 >
6 Chapter Contacts
8 Orange Juice:Membership News
9 November MeetingReview
10 Society Pages
11 OCSTC EmploymentInformation
Calendar of Events12
Editor's Desk
Contents
2004 OCSTCAdministrative CouncilPositions Available
5
Grammar Tip11
Next Meeting
Creative MoonlighterWeb Site Review
4
Spring 2004 OCSTCScholarship—ApplyNow!
6
On a gloomy, smoky day with ashes falling from the sky, theEducation Committee conducted its first grant writing class,entitled Grant Writing 101, in a classroom at the Mesa Verde UnitedMethodist Church in Costa Mesa. All 12 seats were filled bychapter members who wanted to learn more about the grantwriting process and help the Orange County STC chapter develop aneducation program that will benefit us all.
Our chapter is fortunate to have dedicated volunteers who arewilling to spend their spare time building the future of the OCSTC.Among the participants were people with hands-on experiencewriting grants and people who said they knew almost nothingabout the topic. The class used Grant Writing for Dummies by BevBrowning (Wiley, 2001) as a textbook. Despite its dubious title, this300-page book is a highly regarded treatment of the subject andcontains a balanced mixture of theory and practical advice. Booksand materials for the October 25 class were provided free toparticipants because the chapter has already received grant moneyfrom a local foundation to be used for education.
Of course, a one-day class in grant writing does not a grant writermake. The twelve who participated in the class have agreed tocontinue to work together as they study the book, form teams, andcollaborate on grant writing efforts for the chapter. The EducationCommittee plans to launch a Web-based collaborative workshopwhere our grant writers can share information, post and retrievedrafts, conduct reviews, and otherwise maximize valuablevolunteer time producing grant applications instead of drivingaround the county to attend meetings. We expect to report detailsabout this innovative work environment in future EduNotescolumns.
What’s Next?We aren’t yet ready to dig in and start writing grant applications.Participants first have to finish reading the book. Subsequently,they will form teams and conduct research. A critical element of thegrant scene is doing good research before writing a single word.
2 TechniScribe December 2003
The TechniScribe is published 11 times a year as abenefit to the members of the Orange CountyChapter of the Society for Technical Communica-tion. The goal of the publication is to reflect theinterests, needs, and objectives of OCSTCmembers. The TechniScribe strives to be anadvocate for, and an inspiration to, technicalcommunicators by keeping them connected toeach other and to opportunities for professionalgrowth.
Articles published in this newsletter may bereprinted in other STC publications if credit isproperly given and one copy of the reprint issent to the TechniScribe Editor.
Submission InformationThe editorial team retains and exercises the rightto edit submitted and requested material forclarity, length, and appropriateness.
When submitting material please remember to
Include a 25-word biography aboutyourselfSend articles in Word format, RTF (Rich-TextFormat), ASCII, or in the body of an e-mailmessageSend material to the editor five weeks priorto the date it will be [email protected]
Editorial StaffManaging Editor Carrie DamschroderCopy Editor Barbara YoungCopy Editor Anne StratfordCopy Editor & Proofreader Rosemary HulceProofreader Steve BlossomWeb Version Jeff Randolph
Monthly Advertising Rates¼ page $401/3 page $45
½ page $60
Full page $80
Subscriptions $10/year to members of other STC chapters
PrinterUnisys Corporation, MissionViejo, CA
President's MessageBy Jeff Randolph, OCSTC Chapter President
Publication Policies
to page 4 >
We are in our secondmonth of our “Seasonof Giving” for theFriendship House inLaguna Beach. Westarted the programlast year and it was agreat success. JanetLarkley, executivedirector of the shelter,spoke briefly at ourOctober meeting. She
thanked us for our efforts last year, and based onhow well received they were, encouraged us todonate again this year. Last year, we gave gift bagsof toiletries and other essentials to the 29 occupantsof the shelter along with a turkey, and the rest ascash for the shelter to buy day passes or monthlypasses from the Orange County TransportationAuthority (OCTA).
Janet explained the mission of the facility: to providea short-term, positive atmosphere that allows thosewho became homeless, generally for the first time intheir lives, to get back on their feet. The shelteraddresses issues of why the persons were in thesituation they were, and leads them back to livingindependent lives once again. In addition to theirfacility in Laguna Beach, Friendship Shelter operatesadditional longer-term facilities (for 6-month or1-year periods) in San Clemente.
If you want to give—remember, this is a tax-deductible, charitable donation—please send a checkpayable to OCSTC, and in the memo section write“Season of Giving.” Send the donation to
OCSTC Season of Givingc/o Elaine Randolph22181 Lantern LaneLake Forest, CA 92630-4316
We will send you a receipt for your donation. If youwant to help, please contact Elaine Randolph [email protected] or 949.380.6128.
By this time you should have received your STCrenewal dues notice, either by e-mail or by snailmail. I went to the STC Web site and painlesslyopened up my wallet and paid online. I hope youwill do so, as well. If you renew by February 28,2004, you can vote in the STC-wide election. Amongother items, we will be voting for a successor toBonni Graham, our current Director-Sponsor forRegion 8, whose term is expiring.
2003 December TechniScribe 3
When: Tuesday, December 16, 2003, 6:00–9:00 P.M.
Where: Wyndham Garden Hotel 3350 Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa, CA 92626 714.751.5100
Cost: Members with reservations $21 Students with reservations $16 Nonmembers with reservations $23 Walk-ins or those registering after deadline $31 No-shows billed $11
Directions to the Wyndham Garden HotelComing from north and central Orange CountySouthbound on I-405, exit at Bristol Blvd. Turn leftonto Bristol Blvd. Turn right onto Anton, left ontoAvenue of the Arts. Turn right into the Wyndhamparking lot.
Please park in the Wyndham Garden Hotel parkingstructure.
Coming from southern Orange CountyNorthbound on I-405, exit at Bristol Blvd. Turn rightonto Bristol Blvd. Turn right onto Anton, left ontoAvenue of the Arts. Turn right into the Wyndhamparking lot.
Please park in the Wyndham Garden Hotel parkingstructure.
Next Meeting Editor’s Desk
ReservationsReservations are due by 9:00 P.M., Monday,December 15, 2003.
Registration OptionsRegister at www.ocstc.org/dinres.asp
Call Carolyn Romano at 714.894.9221 and leaveyour name, membership status, and phonenumber.
You Are the Expert—Act Like It!Speaker: Lance Gelein
By Carrie Damschroder, TechniScribe Managing Editor
Many of you haveprobably recentlyexclaimed, “I can’tbelieve it’s Decemberalready!” or “Theholidays have come tooquickly!” or “Anotheryear is almost over—ohno!” The next few weeks
will seem to pass even more quickly than theprevious ones and soon 2003 will be over. Whilethere are still a few weeks left in 2003, pause fromyour busy year-end tasks to rekindle old holidaytraditions or start new ones. Some simple, relaxingactivities that you can participate in alone or withyour children include watching favorite holidaymovies and reading classic holiday stories (bothactivities we writers enjoy a lot!).
Instead of starting that new mystery novel orbiography, pick up a classic holiday story such as
A Christmas Carol by Charles DickensPolar Bear Express by Edward PackardYes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus by Francis ChurchGift of the Magi by O. HenryA Christmas Treasury edited by Jack Newcombe
After a busy day shopping and cooking, watch one(or two!) of the following movies:
It’s a Wonderful LifeWhite ChristmasMiracle on 34th StreetA Muppet Christmas CarolThe Grinch Who Stole ChristmasFrosty the SnowmanRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerA Charlie Brown Christmas
Share your favorite holiday movies and books withfriends. Consider hosting a holiday movie review orholiday book club. Take time to not only use yourtechnical and creative skills this month—but to enjoythem. This season of friendship, joy, and surprisewill soon be over with—along with 2003—so be sureto fully experience these next few weeks instead ofrushing through them.
Live each season as it passes; breathe air, drink the drink,taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences ofeach. Let them be your only diet drink and botanicalmedicines. —Henry David Thoreau
Happy Holidays!
4 TechniScribe December 2003
< < < < < President's Message from page 2
Yes, you will notice the dues have increased, andthat might be a hardship. For some, your employermight no longer pay your STC dues. But the weeklycost of STC membership is roughly equal to onedrink at Starbucks. So skip the latté and bank acouple of bucks for STC dues! It’s that easy.
OCSTC and surrounding STC chapters offer anumber of opportunities for you to flourish andprosper. In addition, STC offers opportunities,including but not limited to the annual conference,telephone seminars, and scholarships. In myintroduction at chapter meetings I say, “OCSTCoffers networking, personal and professionaldevelopment, and employment opportunities forthose in technical communication and alliedprofessions.” The key word is opportunity.
The tight job market, as Andrea Ames, De Murr,John Hall, and William Horton said at recent chaptermeetings, offers the opportunity to expand oureducational horizons and also requires us to thinklike consultants. We cannot continue to pursuebusiness as usual. We can either seize theopportunities and expand our educational horizonsor be faced with a tougher job search. For example,on our OCSTC Web site, many jobs go begging formonths, while a job with the standarddocumentation specialist profile from the mid-to-late-90s (5 years experience, know FrameMaker andRoboHELP, write software user documentation…)receives over 600 applicants in less than three days.
For members, in addition to the standard fare, youhave the ability to post your résumé online at theOCSTC Web site. Does it work? Yes. The most recentsuccess story is Victory Crayne’s, who said that anemployer called her and asked her to come in for aninterview because they saw and reviewed herrésumé.
STC is a volunteer organization where thevolunteers provide the lifeblood. Different peoplereceive different benefits from STC. Some receiveinvaluable information from attending chaptermeetings. Others, like myself, have receivedemployment opportunities because of volunteerwork on behalf of STC. Ultimately, the more you putin, the more you win.
Creative MoonlighterWeb Site ReviewBy Mark Gaham, OCSTC MemberThere is a hot new Web site calledwww.creativemoonlighter.com that has beenbringing together talented writers with contract jobopportunities. I stumbled upon this site whilesurfing the Web and being at one with nature(electronic nature?). Anyway, there are many sitesout there, but this one has promise, and I will go outon a limb and say I believe in several years it will bevery well known within the writing community.
So why all the hype about one Web site that I amproclaiming to be a "diamond in the rough" amongmany “scamsites” out there? This site has technicalwriting jobs—real, contract technical writing jobs—aswell as other creative job assignments that pay realmoney.
Before I go into how you can apply and how you getpaid, here is a list of the jobs I found posted on thesite:
Job Description Rate/HourEstimated Total Value
Grant Writer $25–$40Proposal Writer $25–$40Corporate IdentityMaterials $25–$40Manual Writing $15–$24Computer Course TrainingManual $25–$40Corporate Web site $5,000Web site Developer $3,000Book Illustrator $8–$14Marketing Materials $15–$24Graphic Artist $8–$14 $300News Articles $25–$40Brochure Design $15–$24
Are you excited yet? This was just one day ofsearching. So now you’re saying, “How do I getstarted and what is the cost?” Basic membership isfree. You can post your résumé, search for jobs, bidon projects that match your expertise, and receivee-mail alerts when employers invite you to bid.There is a 10 percent project transaction fee chargedby www.creativemoonlighter.com once the job isfinished and you are paid.
The Choice-Preferred membership is only $149.95per year. This allows you instant bidding with a 72-hour bidding advantage over basic members and theproject transaction fee is only 5 percent. You can alsocontact employers directly with this membership
to page 9 >
2003 December TechniScribe 5
2004 OCSTCAdministrative CouncilPositions AvailableBy Mary Ann Howell, OCSTC NominatingCommittee Chair
Here’s your chance to get great job experience, addto your professional credentials, network withmovers and shakers, make good friends—and eatfree pizza!
This is the time of the year when the NominatingCommittee gathers names to consider for next year’sadministrative council elections. Please considergiving back to the OCSTC chapter by serving for thecoming year. The experience you gain is the bigpayback, and an STC position of responsibility looksgreat on your résumé.
The Nominating Committee’s goal is to have at leasttwo candidates (maximum of three) running for eachposition. If you are good at organizing and keepingtrack of wandering details, please consider sendingin your name. Or if you know of someone whowould be a good fit, surprise him or her and send inhis or her name.
You only need to commit to serve for one year andattend monthly administrative council meetings.These meetings are held at a time and place thatworks best for everyone. Your term would begin inJune 2004. The outgoing council members are happyto encourage, train, and advise you. No experience isrequired.
A brief summary of the administrative councilpositions is listed below. For more detaileddescriptions, go to www.ocstc.org/bylaws.asp.
PresidentExecutive administrator; responsible for all chapteroperations.
First Vice President, ProgramsAssumes the duties of the president if the presidentis absent; plans monthly meetings.
Second Vice President, MembershipRecruits and welcomes new members and providesthe council and the STC office with membershipdata.
SecretaryOrganizes monthly administrative council meetings,prepares the agenda, and keeps the minutes. Thesecretary also writes chapter correspondence andmaintains the non-financial records.
TreasurerPays OCSTC bills, takes care of the chapter checkingaccounts, presents monthly statements at theadministrative council meetings, and presents ayearly financial statement to the chapter. Once a yearthe treasurer submits an end-of-year chapterfinancial report to the chapter audit committee andthe STC treasurer.
In addition to the administrative council positionslisted above, there are two Nominating Committeemember openings. In this position, members servefor two years.
Nominating Committee MemberSelects candidates for chapter offices and conductsthe annual membership election.
DeadlinesJanuary 1: Deadline for submitting names forconsideration by the Nominating Committee.Although this date is the deadline, please submitnominations as soon as possible.
February 1: Nominating Committee announcescandidates
March: Online voting
Early April: Election results announced
June: Term begins for all newly electedadministrative council positions (except Treasurer)
July: Treasurer’s term starts
Interested? Contact any Nominating Committeemember:
Bruce Alexander ([email protected])Jean Gabriel ([email protected])Mary Ann Howell ([email protected])Kathey Schuster ([email protected])
6 TechniScribe December 2003
Administrative Council
OCSTCP.O. Box 28751Santa Ana, CA 92799-8751Chapter Fax: 949.830.7585Web site: http://www.ocstc.org
Jeff Randolph, [email protected]
Don Pierstorff, Immediate Past [email protected]
Jack Molisani, 1st VP [email protected]
Adrienne Escoe, 2nd VP [email protected]
Julie Dotson, [email protected]
Suzanne Madison, [email protected]
Carrie Damschroder, TechniScribe [email protected]
Elaine Randolph, Public [email protected]
Bill Darnall, [email protected]
Brian McCaleb, [email protected]
Mary Ann Howell, Nominating [email protected]
Kathey Schuster, Nominating [email protected]
Jean Gabriel, Nominating [email protected]
Bruce Alexander, Nominating [email protected]
Carolyn Romano, [email protected]
Kathey Schuster, [email protected]
Bonni Graham, Region 8 [email protected]
Mary Ann Howell, Employment [email protected]
STC Scholarship Applications AvailableEach year, STC offers scholarships to full-timegraduate and undergraduate students pursing
careers in technical communication.
Four awards of $1,000 each will be granted for theacademic year 2004–2005. Application deadline is
February 16, 2004.
Application forms and instructions are availablefrom the STC office:
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904Arlington, CA 22203-1822
703.522.4114www.stc.org
Chapter Contacts
By Kathey Schuster, OCSTC Scholarship Chair
OCSTC awards up to $500 to the winner or winners ofits annual student competition. The contest is open toboth Los Angeles and Orange County area collegestudents who are enrolled Fall 2003 and/or Spring 2004in a degree or certificate program to prepare for a careerin technical communication.
BenefitsSome of the benefits of entering the contest are Money Award for portfolio/résumé Visibility among area employers Critique by professionals Recognition and dinner at the OCSTC Awards
Banquet
How to ApplySubmit the scholarship application form, a sample ofyour work, and other information according to thecompetition rules. Request the entry form and submittalrules from the Scholarship Committee chair, KatheySchuster, by e-mail at [email protected].
Submit applications by March 23, 2004.
Spring 2004 OCSTCScholarship—Apply Now!
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8 TechniScribe December 2003
By Adrienne Escoe, OCSTC 2nd VP Membership
Orange Juice:Membership News
OCSTC Members: 364STC Members: 19,879We probably won’t see a lot of OCSTC new memberMichael Harnish for a while. A student at OrangeCoast College, Mike is taking 30 units of credit andworking full time as a machinist. After he completeshis AA degree this year, he plans to transfer next fallto CSULB to major in English, specializing incomposition and literacy, and to earn the Technicaland Professional Writing certificate. Mike commutesfrom his home in Costa Mesa.
You could say that Mike got ‘close’ to writingworking on the presses at the Los Angeles Times,where he was inspired to go back to school. He says,“School is wonderful. I can’t think of one class thathas bored me.” Mike is another student who haslaunched a writing career studying under OCSTCmember Don Piersdorff.
Shannon Clark, a consultant for translation andlocalization, recently joined OCSTC. Shannon knowsthat although she has no experience in technicalwriting, for favorable translation quality, speed,ease, and cost, she needs to put herself on the samelevel as content developers and understand theirprocesses, methods, and tools.
Shannon works for Boston-based ArchiText, Inc.where she attended Boston Chapter STC meetingswhile she lived in the area. She also participated in afew International Technical Communication SIGmeetings.
Receiving a master’s degree in Translation (French toEnglish) from the Monterey Institute of InternationalStudies and a bachelor’s degree in French from theUniversite de Lyon in Lyon, Shannon also studied inParis at the L’Institut Superieur de Traduction etd’Interpretation.
She collects cookbooks—what else?! She has over200 cookbooks in English and French. But you canask Shannon anything about football, basketball, orbaseball. She is a self-proclaimed sports fanatic. Andwhen you greet Shannon at an OCSTC dinnermeeting, first say, “Allo,” and then “What’s for lediner?”
GreetersThank you Mary Ann Howell and Teresita del Sol forgreeting members and guests at the October OCSTCdinner meeting. Greeting is a fun way to networkand meet new people. Please contact me to volunteerfor a 2004 meeting. Call Adrienne Escoe at714.505.0248 or send an e-mail message [email protected].
We know that there is money available to supporteducation initiatives like ours. The key to success ismatching our needs and expected results to theinstitutional objectives of grantors. Fortunately, a lotof the information we need is publicly available, sowe don’t all need to be detectives to accomplish ourgoals.
A Homework Assignment for YouA successful effort also depends on knowing whatwe have to offer a grantor and having a compelling,persuasive argument that makes us the best choicefor funding. Research is important here, too. Whatvalue does our profession provide to society? Howdoes Orange County, or California, or even theworld benefit from having more and better-educatedtechnical communicators in the marketplace? Whyare we important in the grand scheme of things?These may sound like rhetorical questions or topicsfor debate, but to succeed in grant writing, our teammust make a convincing case that what we do asindividuals and what we do as a profession reallymatters. We will answer these questions and more inthe coming weeks. In the meantime, if you wish toweigh in on these value assessments with loftyphilosophy or gritty realism, we would like to hearfrom you.
Your homework assignment, if you choose to acceptit, is this: describe the value proposition of theprofession and the STC. What social need do wefulfill? Who benefits, in what ways, and by howmuch? How would the world be different if we didnot do what we do every day?
Bill ([email protected]) and Brian([email protected]) await your response.
< < < < < EduNotes from B&B from page 1
2003 December TechniScribe 9
November Meeting ReviewBy Clive Soden, OCSTC Member
level. They also have a Choice-Premiummembership for $249.95 per year. This provides youwith two unique profiles, 16 guaranteed projectleads and a 5 percent project transaction fee.
A little history about the company. It was launchedin August of 2000 with the mission of connecting topfreelance and contract talent both locally andglobally. The company is based in Pittsburgh, PA.They have over 280,000 professional writers signedup on their site and they have over 20,000employers. Some of these employers are nothing tolaugh at either: Del Taco, Delta Education, Fujitsu,McGraw Hill, and others.
The site is self-explanatory. You post your profile bystepping through a series of questions on your skillsand talents. You then select your membership level.Then just search for jobs and bid on those projectsthat match your skills. You’ll also receive e-mailalerts when employers invite you to bid on projects.If you are selected to do the job and you perform thejob, you will get paid through the site’s SafePaysystem and you will receive feedback on your work.
The company will even keep track of your 1099 workand send you a total of money earned through thesite every January for tax purposes. They will askyou to fill out, sign, and fax back a W-9 form onetime for their records, but once that is done you arenot involved in the payment transaction. Theemployer will pay through SafePay either by checkor credit card.
Mark lives in Los Angeles and works for DawsonCompany in Altadena as an Outside Sales Engineer. He iscurrently finishing the spec screenplay, “Cadet.” Markhas been a member of OCSTC for almost one year and haswritten two previous articles for the TechniScribe.
< < < < < Creative Moonlighter Web Site Review from page 4
Dr. Harold Stolovitch gave the OCSTC anentertaining presentation at November’s meeting.The subject was Telling Ain’t Training. It was notwhat you would call your normal, everydaypresentation. He led members in exercisesthroughout the presentation, and at the end gave theaudience a final exam.
As the title of the presentation suggests, people learnmore from experience rather than what others tellthem. This phenomenon is because learning is thecapacity to adapt to changing conditions. “Tellingdoes not work,” Dr. Stolovitch said. Telling is a one-way means for transmitting information. Butinformation that is “told” is meaningless until theperson receiving it uses it. On the other hand,training organizes the information and the personwho receives it to produce the change that results inlearning.
Dr. Stolovitch said that learning is difficult if a topicis presented in a way that is abstract, novel, orcomplex. Therefore, we must change
Abstract items into something concrete
Novelty items into something familiar
Complex items into something simple
According to Dr Stolovitch, there are six principlesfor transforming telling to training: The more learners do—that is meaningful to
them—the more they learn and the better theyfeel about it.
If you feel competent and confident aboutsomething you learned, you’ll most likely use it.
Focus on the performance and don’t dwell on thedetails. Provide learners with the essentialinformation and include details in referencedocumentation.
The main job of the trainer is to organizeinformation for the learner. You don’t have totransmit a lot of information to learners; it ismore important to organize information for easystorage, perception, and recall.
Challenge increases motivation and thusperformance; however, too much challenge cancreate anxiety and reduce performance.
Link new learning to prior knowledge. Useanalogies, mnemonics, and familiar examples.
You can visit Dr. Stolovitch’s Web site atwww.hsa-lps.com. You can contact Clive [email protected].
10 TechniScribe December 2003
Society Pages
STC Mission StatementCreating and supporting a forum for communitiesof practice in the profession of technicalcommunication.
Positioning StatementSTC helps you design effective communication fora technical world through information sharing andindustry leadership.
The Society for Technical Communication (STC) isthe world’s largest organization for technicalcommunicators. Its more than 20,000 membersinclude writers, editors, illustrators, printers,publishers, photographers, educators, and stu-dents.
Dues are $140 per year. Membership is open toanyone engaged in some phase of technical com-munication, interested in the arts and sciences oftechnical communication, and in allied arts andsciences.
Society for Technical Communication901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904Arlington, VA 22203-1822703.522.4114 (voice); http://www.stc.org
TechniScribe Copyright and TrademarkStatement
OCSTC invites writers to submit articles that theywish to be considered for publication. By submittingan article, you implicitly grant a license to print thearticle in this newsletter, and for other STC publica-tions to reprint the article without expresspermission. Copyright is held by the writer. In yourcover letter, please let the editor know if this articlehas been published elsewhere and if it has beensubmitted for consideration to other publications.
Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for all newsletterarticles belong to the author. The design and layoutof this newsletter are copyrighted as © STC, 2003.
Some articles might refer to companies or productswhose names are covered by a trademark or regis-tered trademark. All trademarks are the property oftheir respective owners. Reference to a specificproduct does not constitute an endorsement of theproduct by OCSTC or by STC.
2003 December TechniScribe 11
Society Pages
OCSTC Employment Information
Our job listing is entirely online at the OCSTC Website, and the pages are updated as jobs are submit-ted.
Staff Jobswww.ocstc.org/employme.asp
Contract Jobswww.ocstc.org/contractme.asp
If you have an inquiry or a job to post, e-mail MaryAnn Howell at [email protected].
A limited number of printed copies of the OCSTCWeb site listings are available at monthly chaptermeetings.
Society Level Job ListingsSTC maintains job listings on the Internet. You candownload the listings from the STC Web site atwww.stc.org/jobsdatabase.asp
If you do not already receive e-mail announcementsof upcoming meetings, visit http://lists.stc.org/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=stcocc-L and click Join. This list isnot spam and will only send out monthly meetingand other STC-related announcements.
Grammar Tip: Dangling Modifiers
Dangling modifiers are primarily verbal phrasesthat do not modify any particular words orphrases in the sentence. Although any misplacedword, phrase, or clause can be said to dangle,words in the sentence can be rearranged, or wordscan be added, to make the meaning clear.
Dangling Participial Phrases Should be RevisedDangling: Tuning the television to CNN, the State ofthe Union speech reached millions of voters. [noclear word for Tuning the television to refer to]
Revised: Tuning the television to CNN, millions ofvoters listened to the State of the Union speech.[referent supplied—millions]
Placed after the main independent clause, theparticipial phrase in the revision below refers tothe subject.
Dangling: The afternoon passed very pleasantly,lounging in the shade and reminiscing about ourchildhood. [An afternoon cannot lounge orreminisce.]
Revised: We passed the afternoon very pleasantly,lounging in the shade and reminiscing about ourchildhood. [subject supplied]
Excerpt from Hodges' Harbrace Handbook, 14thEdition, p. 325.
ColophonThe TechniScribe was producedusing Adobe PageMaker 7.0for PC. Modern and Palatinowere used for text andheading fonts.
The PDF on the OCSTC Website was distilled from an EPSusing Adobe Acrobat Distiller5.0.5.
OCSTC Mailing AddressP.O. Box 28751Santa Ana, CA 92799-8751
Address Service Requested
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Postage Due Trust Acct. No. 999231Santa Ana P&DC, CA 92799-9702
Calendar of EventsDecember 2 OCSTC Administrative Council Meeting, 6:00 P.M., ProSpring Inc.
December 9 LASTC Meeting, 6:00 P.M., Ramada Plaza Hotel, Culver City
December 10 STC Telephone Seminar, "Adding Panache to Your Procedures," 10–11:30 A.M.
December 10 San Diego STC Meeting, 5:30 P.M., Red Lion Hanalei, Mission Valley
December 16 OCSTC Chapter Meeting, 6:00 P.M., Wyndham Garden Hotel, Costa Mesa
December 18 Inland Empire STC Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Marriott Inn, Riverside
OCSTC December Meeting Topic: You Are The Expert, Act Like It!Have you ever wondered why you don’t get recognized for your efforts? Or why youare always looked at as “overhead” instead of a vital part of the process? We will focuson ways you can start your new year off right with a new attitude.
This session focuses on the technical communicator—a how-to on becoming theauthority and expert to clients and employers.
The presentation will cover how to make a great first impression, speak andcommunicate with authority, use effective body language, dress to impress, act inmeetings, gain recognition, move up the corporate ladder, and become known as the
expert. It includes self-tests and demonstrations to show how you can become the authority and expertyou need to be.
Lance Gelein, STC Past President, is an international speaker who has been a technical communicator forover 20 years. He is currently involved in technical and marketing communication, usability testing, Website development, project management, and change management. His list of clients is a who’s who inindustry including Medtronic, McKesson, Abgenix, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Palm Inc., KaiserPermanente, Apple Computer, and Pacific Bell.