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Book Review: Microsoft Word for Medical and Technical Writers
By Janet Seaborg
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By Cherie Fairburn
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Dr. Peter Aitken and Dr. Maxine Okazaki are highly qualified professionals, with an impressive combined 50+ years of working and writing in the fields of science, medicine, and technology. I was delighted when granted the opportunity to read and review their new book, Microsoft Word for Medical and Technical Writers. I am happy to report that it was a valuable experience for me. The authors have successfully documented how to manage the difficulties and not-so-obvious strengths of Microsoft Word 2003 (the book is also relevant to XP users). So well, in fact, that I feel the book is not just for medical and technical writers.
All versions of Microsoft Word have proved challenging throughout the years for anyone who has used it. We have all heard (or said) at one time or another, "Why did [insert name of feature] change? I liked it the way it was!"
The truth is that MS Word is just another software product that is a constant work-in-progress. Also true, this book makes Word 2003 less of an enigma.
The things I love about the book, both in layout and content:
After I skimmed the table of contents, read several chapters thoroughly, and flipped through the index to locate my pet annoyances, I decided that reading the Introduction would have been a smart first move. I was right and I suggest you start there.
After that, treat yourself to the last chapter (Chapter 9: Techniques - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) for a snapshot of the authors’ lessons learned. Then go right to the Index to browse for the topics that irritate you the most. Trust me, you’ll find several that have plucked your last nerve - perhaps more than once.
I believe Microsoft Word for Medical and Technical Writers was not meant to be a textbook, but the authors have employed an instructional quality in their writing that is comfortable and friendly. They include especially helpful Recommendations for how to work around various Word features that they have found to be obstacles. The Recommendations are contained in the same style text box throughout the book for easy recognition.
Attention-grabbing Time Saver Tips are illustrated in another style of text box, so as not to confuse them with the Recommendations. Other important concepts appear in shaded text boxes and are identified by a bold heading that describes the type of help offered within. The authors also offer plenty of screen-shot examples, graphic illustrations of how things should work or look, and step-by-step numbered or bulleted lists to aid users in their quest to get the job done efficiently.
The authors also invite readers to visit their web site (www.tech-word.com) for updates to the book, corrections of errors found, to place an order for the book, or to order additional copies. Even after you buy the book, the good stuff still keeps coming! I highly recommend the book to anyone who has ever wrestled with understanding page breaks, document sections, and headers/footers; tried to use cross-references, templates, fields, or auto-numbering; worked with tables or tables of contents. I’ve learned a lot already and plan to keep the book handy as a daily reference.
Janet Pearson Seaborg is a Technical Writer with ViPS, Inc., a software developer for the healthcare industry. She writes and edits user documentation for claims-processing software for the mainframe and maintains web help sites for internal and external customers. Janet can be reached at jseaborg@vips.com.
Microsoft Word for Medical and Technical Writers, U$39.95
Publisher: PMW-Piedmont Medical Writers, LLC, ISBN 978-1-60402-445-6
