Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
June/July 2010

April 2010 -- Technical Communication Competitions
Presented by Richard Mateosian and Patrick Lufkin and reviewed by Marc Smircich

On April 21, 2010, Richard Mateosian and Patrick Lufkin talked about the Touchstone competition for technical communication, discussing its history, reason for existence, how it works, what's in it for judges and entrants, and what makes for a winning entry.

What is Touchstone?

Touchstone, formerly known as the Northern California Technical Communication Competition (NCTCC), is an annual competition for technical communication sponsored jointly by the Bay Area chapters of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Most entries come from Northern California, but sometimes people from other regions enter the competition. Every entry gets comments from the judges, and many of the entries receive an award. Thus, the Touchstone competition advances the profession of technical communication and promotes STC.

History of Touchstone

The Touchstone competition is closely tied with the Kenneth M. Gordon Memorial Scholarship. Gordon was a technical editor at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory who organized STC activities in the Bay Area, starting in the 1960s. After he died in the 1980s, the Gordon Scholarship was established in 1992. The Touchstone competition funds the scholarship's awards of $1,000 to $1,500 a year for students in technical communication programs.

The competition has had its ups and downs. The 1990s were the boom years. The competition was getting 300 to 400 entries per year, and the post-conference awards ceremonies were lavish affairs held in hotels. By 2000 and 2001, the number of entries was less than 200, and 2002 was even lower. The competition went on hiatus from 2003 to 2004. It resumed in 2005 with 24 entries, built up to 60 entries in 2007 and 2008, and settled back to 36 entries for 2009.

Richard and Patrick have been involved in Touchstone for many years. Since 1992, Patrick has been in involved in almost every aspect of the competition, from judging, to training judges, to handling publicity, to participating in the awards ceremony. Richard first judged for Touchstone in 1995, directed the competition in 1996, and has been involved in many different roles ever since then including hosting meetings, managing judging, and handling most of the logistics needed to keep the competition alive. Richard and Patrick are currently competition managers at large.

How it Works

The following is a brief outline of how the competition works:

The competition sends out a call for entries and a call for judges.
The competition organizers receive the entries, sort them, and prepare them for distribution to judges.
The judges meet for a training session where they receive their entries.
From October through Thanksgiving, judges spend about 40 hours judging their entries, writing comments, and making recommendations for award levels.
All judges meet to turn in their comments and recommendations for award levels (from lowest to highest): Merit, Excellence, and Distinguished.
By mid-January, the Distinguished entries (and some Excellence entries) go to the society-level competition. Because Touchstone standards are so high, these entries invariably do well at the society level.
Touchstone returns comments to judges.
The award recipients are publically recognized at an awards ceremony. The competition organizers can also make a presentation of awards to individual winners at their work places.

What's in it for Entrants?

In 2009, STC members paid $125 to submit an entry, and non-members paid $200. Why do they do it? They receive peer reviews from a team of judges (usually two people and sometimes three). For entries that win an award, the entrants get external recognition of their good work. The entries that go on to the society-level competition can get additional awards.

What's in it for Judges?

Judges make a commitment to spend 40 hours over a couple of months. Why do they do it? And why do many return year after year? The initial training session provides a chance to hone skill in critical analysis. The competition provides judges a chance to critique some of the best technical communication in the Bay Area and gain insights into how to improve their own work. Also, the judging meetings are a lot of fun and a good chance to network.

What Makes a Winner?

The core issue is usability. Does the document serve the needs of the audience informationally, physically, and situationally? Each entrant provides a description of the audience and purpose for the entry. The judges evaluate how well each entry serves its audience.

To evaluate entries, judges take on a couple of roles:

While judging, judges take on the role of the audience. If I were using this software, what do I need to know? Is the information that I need available? Can I find answers to my questions using the TOC, Index, and other navigational tools?
While writing comments, judges take on the role of the entrant. If I were entering this document, what kind of comments would help me to learn what I'm doing well and point out where I can improve?

Well-written and well-organized content is the sine qua non for every entry. But the presentation can also matter. A description of how to get the most from Social Security benefits may have all the information, but may not be useful if it's printed in 6-point type. Likewise, the physical format of documentation is important for equipment that will be used in an auto shop or a hospital operating room.

The 2010 competition begins in September. When the call for entries and judges goes out, consider submitting an entry or volunteering as a judge. The Web site is stc-touchstone.org.