Introduction

This portfolio is a collection of projects highlighting the technical composition skills I developed throughout my graduate semesters under UALR's Professional/Technical Writing program, and is intended to demonstrate my growth as a professional/technical writer based on the foundations I learned as an undergraduate.

 

During my masters level education, I learned complex skills related to the drafting, editing, and designing of written professional documents, while also working with online systems such as RoboHelp. I also worked with HTML and CSS programming languages to develop digital content of my own.

 

I gained experience with multimedia composition, in which I learned how to embed audio and video components into various documents and presentations (as well as the proper methods of citation/attribution needed to address pertinent copyright issues). Lastly, I learned how to develop a syllabus for a hypothetical composition course, including annotations explaining why I made certain content- and design-related decisions.

 

The guiding philosophies I've developed as a technical writer are that a document's usability is the most important consideration of its content and purpose, that instructional writing requires careful uses of language and detail, and that the design of documents (and presentations) reflects one's ability to help readers navigate information while also keeping their attention. I also believe that technical writing, such as with publishing and marketing, requires significant planning, including research and content outlines to help guide and organize the drafting of professional documents.