Middle Tennessee
Chapter Chapter 2009-2010 Competition
Call for Entries
2009-2010 Competition Schedule
October 12 All
Technical Publication and Online entries due
January 2010 Annual Awards Banquet
and Award Presentations
Entry Form
Who is eligible?
What can be entered?
How are the competitions
structured?
What awards are given?
What are the deadline and fees?
Where are the entries sent?
Have you or your company produced technical communication products
that you think are worthy of awards? Would you like your work
to be recognized by your peers? This call for entries is your
invitation to participate in the following Society for Technical
Communication (STC) competitions:
• Online Communication Competition
• Technical Publications Competition
Who is eligible?
Anyone is eligible to submit entries. You do not have to be
a member of STC. You may enter work as an individual or on behalf
of a colleague or subordinate.
What can be entered?
Entries in all categories must contain sufficient technical,
scientific, medical, or similar content to qualify as technical
communication. Entries must have been produced or substantially
revised within 24 months preceding September 1 of the current
year. Entries must have been originally prepared for and accepted
for publication by a client, employer, or publisher.
General
Rules and Categories
How are the competitions structured?
STC's competitions recognize and encourage excellence in online
communication, technical art, and technical publications. STC
offers two levels of competition:
• Local and regional competitions
• The international competitions
Local and regional competitions are the first level of competition.
A local competition is one held by a single chapter. A regional
competition is one held by two or more chapters, usually in
the same STC region.
The international competitions—the international online
communication competition (IOCC), the international technical
art competition (ITAC), and the international technical publications
competition (ITPC)—are the second and final level of competition.
Winners of the Distinguished Technical Communication award in
each category of each local and regional competition are automatically
submitted to the appropriate international competition. After
you enter the local competition, no further action is required.
What awards are given?
At the local and regional level, three levels of recognition
are awarded in each competition category. These awards, in descending
order, are:
• Distinguished Technical Communication (DTC)
• Excellence
• Merit
| Distinguished |
Clearly superior in all areas. The entry contains
no major flaws and few, if any, minor flaws. It applies
the principles of technical communication in an outstanding
way, particularly in the way that it anticipates and fulfills
the needs of its audience.
|
| Excellence |
Consistently meets high standards in all areas. The entry
might contain a single major flaw or a few minor flaws.
The entry clearly (if slightly imperfectly) demonstrates
an exceptional understanding of technical communication
principles.
|
| Merit |
Consistently meets high standards in most areas. The entry
might contain a small number of major or minor flaws but
still applies technical communication principles in a highly
proficient manner. Major flaw Substantially
hinders the user. Examples: illogical organization; incomplete
or missing content; consistently unclear style; no table
of contents, headers, page numbers, or index; inaccurate
page numbers in table of contents or index; procedural
steps buried in text; a consistent pattern of spelling
and grammatical errors; confusing terminology.
Minor flaw Might cause a momentary stumble,
but doesn’t slow the user down much. Examples: a
few instances of spelling and grammatical errors, misplaced
graphics, inconsistent capitalization, or confusing terminology.
For any entry to receive an award, it must be thorough,
accurate, useful, appropriate, and well executed. Note
that the size of an entry might affect whether a flaw
is major or minor; for example, misspelling a client’s
name in a short marketing brochure would be a major flaw.
|
One Best of Show award is presented for each competition. Winners
of the DTC and Best of Show award in each category qualify for
automatic submission to STC's international competitions.
At the international level, the awards structure is the same
as at the local and regional level.
Past awards
• 2008-09
Awards
• 2007-08 Awards
• 2006 Awards
• 2005 Awards
What are the deadlines and fees?
The deadlines for the Middle Tennessee chapter competitions
are as follows:
Online
Communication: October 12, 2009
Technical Publications: October 12, 2009
If a product is entered into more than one competition, the
fee must be paid for each entry.
Where are the entries sent?
Entry Form
Submit 3 originals for each entry
Entries should be mailed to:
Betsy Smith
2328 Londonderry Drive
Murfreesboro TN 37129
615-217-2574
tennsmith@gmail.com
(Updated August 29, 2009)
