STC Washington DC Chapter Technical Publications Competition

Society for Technical Communication

Washington, DC Chapter

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Details about the 2008-2009 competitions will be completed by mid August

For more information, contact the Competitions Manager, Lina Scorza, by e-mail at

Deadline: 7 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday, 20 October 2008

Technical Publications Competition

• What's New This Year?
• How Do I Enter the Technical Publications Competition?
• How Will Technical Publications Entries Be Judged?
• What Are the Technical Publications Categories?

The Technical Publications competition accepts only physical media (hardcopy) entries. Generally, entries that depend on a computer or other electronic media for delivery cannot be submitted to this competition. These entries may be submitted to the Online Communication or Technical Art competitions. The exception is Adobe® Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF) files. See below.

What's New This Year?

To be announced, if any.

PDF Documents

Adobe® Acrobat® (PDF) files are accepted only in the Technical Publications and Technical Art competitions (not the Online Communication and Online Technical Art competitions). If an entry is submitted as a publication or artwork that is distributed in Adobe® Acrobat® (PDF) format, it should NOT be submitted in electronic format—it will not be accepted.

Four printed and bound copies of the publication or artwork are required. If bound, the binding should be simple, but sturdy, such as a three-ring binder or report folder. If the entry includes color that impacts how it is used, then color copies should be submitted so that the judges can evaluate it appropriately.

How Do I Enter the Technical Publications Competition?

For each entry that you want to submit:

Read the Entry rules and select the category for your entry from What are the Technical Publications categories?
Download the entry forms.
Note: The 2008-2009 STC International Competitions' forms are used for both the chapter-level and international-level competitions.

[These files are being updated for the upcoming competitions.]
- Competition Entry forms (52.7K zipped .rtf file )
- Additional Contributors form (10K zipped .rtf file )
Complete the entry forms using the instructions in the Entry Forms & Instructions page.
Make 4 copies of your entry, the Competition Entry form, and the Competition Entry Description form. (One copy is for your records.)
Write a check or make a secure payment using PayPal for the fees. See Fees and Payment.
Assemble your entry package using the Competitions Checklist.
Mail the entry package with your check or printed PayPal payment acknowledgement. See Deadlines and Delivery Instructions.

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How Will Technical Publications Entries Be Judged?

Entries will be judged by a panel of judges, usually two to three technical communication professionals. Judges have the right to question the category of an entry and confer with the Entries Manager/Competition Manager about recategorizing the entry. For details, see the Entry Rules.

Technical publications are rated on four factors: writing, graphics, copyediting, and overall integration. All factors are judged in the context of the purpose, content, and organization of the document.

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What Are the Technical Publications Categories?

To categorize an entry, determine the purpose of the document and compare the purpose to the category descriptions.

The Technical Publications competition has 18 categories:

Promotional Materials
Publications that market a technical product, service, or organization. Includes advertisements, flyers, catalogs, and other presale literature.
Informational Materials
Publications that provide information to the general public or a particular audience about a technical or scientific subject, product, service, or organization.
Quick Reference Guides
Brief guides that provide ready and concise reference to essential features during the use of hardware, software, or noncomputer equipment. Includes graphical devices and other job aids.
Software Guides
Guides that provide instructions for using a software product, provide accessible reference information on its features and functions, or include both reference information and instructions. May be one or more volumes.
Hardware/Software Combination Guides
Guides that provide instructions for using equipment or a hardware product, as well as modifying or programming its firmware or software. Includes manuals for laboratory test equipment, scanners, printers, facsimile machines, modems, watches, cameras, and calculators.
Computer Hardware Guides
Guides for computer hardware, including reference information, descriptions of features and functions, and instructions for installation, use, and repair.
Noncomputer Equipment Guides
Guides for noncomputer equipment, including reference information, descriptions of features and functions, and instructions for installation, use, and repair. The guides may cover audiovisual, medical, laboratory, test, telecommunications, photographic, and recreational equipment and vehicles, tools, and appliances.
Organizational Manuals
Publications that provide guidance to employees or customers of an organization. Includes policies and procedures manuals, style and identity guides, and benefits guides.
Training Materials
Publications developed for use in a training or classroom environment by either the trainer or student participant. Includes manuals, tutorials, workbooks, and instructor guides.
Annual Reports
Publications that summarize the activities or financial position of a corporation, governmental agency, or nonprofit community organization. Includes reports that comply with the regulations of government agencies, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as reports of unregulated, nonprofit organizations.
Magazines
Regularly scheduled publications in magazine format with a feature treatment, including use of photographs and art, as well as news, feature, and interpretive writing; and that contain news and information about an organization, technology, industry, or scientific field. May be intended for an internal or external audience, a special-interest audience, or the general public. (Submit three consecutive issues as a single entry.)
Newsletters
Regularly scheduled publications with brief writings and a flexible format. Generally lower budget and fewer pages than a magazine in a simple, type-oriented format that may or may not have photographs and illustrations. May be intended for an internal or external audience. (Submit three consecutive issues as a single entry.)
Technical Reports
Reports on scientific or technical efforts, usually aimed at the professional community or a contracting agency.
Trade/News Articles
Single articles appearing in trade journals or general interest periodicals, not as an original contribution to knowledge. (Submit only three tear sheets or reprints, not photocopies, indicating the publication title, volume and issue number, and date of publication.)
Scholarly/Professional Articles
Single articles appearing in academic or professional journals or scholarly books as an original contribution to knowledge. (Submit only tear sheets or reprints, not photocopies, indicating the publication title, volume and issue number, and date of publication.)
Scholarly/Professional Journals
Regularly scheduled publications in magazine format whose primary content consists of bylined, peer-reviewed articles reporting scholarly, scientific, or technical work, performed by the authors, to a specialized external audience. Articles are original contributions to knowledge; review or tutorial articles may appear as occasional exceptions but do not dominate the publication. (Submit three consecutive issues as a single entry.)
Books
Lengthy documents on one subject, usually intended for sale to the public.
Documentation Sets
A set of publications that are intended to be used as a unit, and are typically packaged together. Examples include, but are not limited to, software documentation sets; multivolume reference materials; and a combination of quick reference, user, and technical reference materials that are provided as a single unit.

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