Here you will find quick tips and perspectives on a variety of topics related to technical communication. If you have suggestions for additional blog posts, please don’t hesitate to reach out!


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Apply to be an AeroAstro Communication Fellow for Spring 2024

Become an AeroAstro Comm Lab Fellow! The AeroAstro Comm Lab offers writing, speaking, and visual design support for technical communication — papers, presentations, figures, fellowships, faculty application packages, and more. Our Fellows are trained grad students and postdocs from AeroAstro, so they have technical depth as well as honed communication skills. We are seeking new Fellows with… View Article
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Applying to Grad School

Applying for graduate programs can be a daunting task, especially given the variance in what each program requires its applicants to submit. This blog post seeks to guide you through the application process by providing a step-by-step list that summarizes the main components common to most applications.   1. Find programs you’re interested in Before… View Article
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Technical Photography

Want to achieve maximum impact with your technical photographs? This blog post describes how to conceptualize and capture your images.   I sat down in the hard, wooden chair with my laptop on the table angled so that both of us could see the screen. It was the first time I was going to have… View Article
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Insightful maps and connections: tools for effective literature reviews

The purpose of a literature review is to generate a state-of-the-art overview for a particular topic. This requires identifying the most relevant papers to the topic at hand and crafting a story about how the papers are related to one another. This can be a challenging endeavor without some way to strategize and organize the… View Article
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Subtle cues: how to make your writing easier to read

When it comes to technical writing, everyone has their own style, usually crafted during years of previous schooling. Regardless of style, effective technical writing shares a certain charisma which comes off the page. As a reader, this might manifest as a feeling of effortless comprehension, or a feeling that the writer is walking you through… View Article
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Less is more: how to animate PowerPoint effectively

Slide presentations are communication forms that are often overlooked and underestimated in their potential to effectively communicate scientific information. PowerPoint presentations have a huge potential range; they could be extremely informational and captivating, but they could also easily become boring and confusing. The graphic design, text, and layout of your slides is important, but PowerPoint… View Article