Entrants' Overview
All technical communicators—students, workers, STC members
and non-members—are eligible to enter the annual Online Communication,
Technical Art, and Technical Publications competitions. This is
an opportunity to be recognized for the excellence of your work.
The competition judges provide valuable peer reviews. Winning an
award is not only personally satisfying but provides the thrill
of being able to tell your manager or client that the piece you
produced was recognized by the Society for Technical Communication.
Who is Eligible
You may submit entries if you are a technical communicator or a
student of technical communication. You do not have to be a member
of the STC. You may enter as an individual or on behalf of a group
or subordinate. When you fill out the online entry form, you must
confirm that the owner of the work provides permission for entry
and public display of the work.
Entry Rules
The following rules apply to all competitions:
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Entries must be in English and must contain sufficient technical,
scientific, medical, or similar content to qualify as "technical"
communication.
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Entries must have been produced after February 1, 2006.
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Entries must have been originally prepared for a client, employer,
or publisher (except student entries) and must have been accepted
for publication (print or electronic).
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Entries may not have been entered in any previous STC competition
unless substantial changes have been made since the prior entry.
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Entries must be suitable for public display. Entries that contain
classified or proprietary information or that violate copyright
laws are not acceptable. It is the responsibility of the submitter,
and not of STC, to determine that entries do not contain classified
or proprietary information and that the holder of all copyrights
has granted permission for the entry's submission. Neither the
STC nor anyone associated with the competitions can be held
responsible for loss of or damage to an entry.
Registering Entries
See Entrants'
Registration for details about how to enter the competitions.
Sample Entries
Many prospective entrants have asked to see samples of award-winning entries. We thank the companies that were willing to allow us to share their entries with you. Please remember, though, that each entry is judged on its own merit. Do not try to assess from looking at these samples how your entry might fare. Also, remember that whether or not your entry receives an award, you will get valuable written feedback from the judges.
Award Winners from the Technical Publications Competition
Click the following links to view the sample described:
What About PDFs?
Many of you deliver your work in Adobe's Portable Document Format
(PDF). You can enter PDFs in the competition. Submit your entry
to the Online or the Technical Publications competitions, depending
on how the entry will be used.
If your entry is designed to be used as an online application,
deliver an electronic copy on a computer to the Online Communication
competition. If the file is designed to be printed, deliver three
printed copies to the Technical Publications competition. Your entry
will be judged according to the criteria of the competition you
entered it in; no special considerations are given to PDF files.
PDFs in the Technical Publications Competition
If you enter a PDF in the Technical Publications Competition, how
you print or copy the PDF document can make a difference in how
your entry is judged. To present your PDF entry in the best light,
follow these tips for submitting the entry:
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Print the PDF on the same size paper as designed in the file.
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Print the PDF double-sided.
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If the page size is not 8.5 x 11, avoid scaling the page to
fit on letter size paper. Print it on the exact size paper,
or trim after printing (scaling usually adversely affects the
quality of the output).
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If you use color, print the PDF on a color printer, or make
sure that any color elements look presentable and professional
when printed in grayscale.
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Make sure the printed pages or copies do not have streaks,
spots, smudges, or other artifacts from the printer or copier.
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Bind the document neatly and professionally.
PDF Entries
As of this year, the local competitions and the International level treat PDF entries somewhat differently. Most important, International PDF entries must be treated as paper publication. This means:
- For International, you must print PDFs and submit three copies of the entry.
- International will not consider CD or DVD entries, nor judge electronic, interactive features.
However, the Boston/Northern New England competitions will judge, provide feedback on and determine any awards for PDF entries in either Online or Technical Publications categories. See the guidelines for those categories to help you decide where your PDF entry fits best.
Of course, if your PDF entry wins an Online Distinguished award locally, it could only advance to International as a printed document.
What can you enter in the Online Technical Publications Competition?
Anything that conveys technical information via electronic media within
certain guidelines and exceptions. Here's a rundown:
- PDFs
Most PDFs are essentially electronic versions of printed documents, and as
such do not quality for the Online competition. In fact, the International
Competitions committee has deemed that all PDFs fall into the Technical
Publications category. You can print these documents and enter them there.
However, PDFs that make extensive use of audio, video, or other advanced
features that extend far and above the PDF norm may be considered for
entry into the Boston/NNE Online competition, even though they currently
cannot be entered at the International level. A member of the Online
Competitions committee can help you make this determination.
- Online Help
This is the classic Online Competition entry. MS Windows users can click
on Help from the Start menu to see an example.
- Other Media
Interactive media, videos, and HTML-based content can all qualify for
entry into the Online competition as long as the entry presents technical
information. This does not preclude entries whose primary purpose is to
persuade or sell; however, we will judge the entry only on how well the
technical information is presented and conveyed.
We understand that the lines between persuasive and informative content
can often be quite blurry, and that advances in presentation technology
can make finding the distinction even more challenging. We are striving to
keep up with these changes, and to move and grow our competition with the
times.
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