Jack Fishstrom

Background

About Jack Fishstrom

Jack Fishstrom has been teaching technical communication to engineering students at the University of Michigan since 1993, and he is the author of a comprehensive writing textbook, Technical Communication for College and Career: How to Write in Academia, Business, Engineering, Research, Science, and Technology. Organized into five major parts, the book covers these essentials: delivering just the right document, writing elegant prose, fulfilling your communication purpose, persuading your reader, and mastering important genres. In addition, five appendices cover equally valuable topics: common composition mistakes; resumes job cover letters, and thank-you notes; formatting essentials; conference posters; and oral presentations and projection slides. Using diverse examples of classic technical documents Jack explains—in a cheerful and sometimes cheeky style—how to write technical documents and design visual elements. The book, available in paperback and e-book, is ideal for college students and aspiring professionals honing their non-fiction writing skills. Jack has a background in video and film production as well, and he wrote and directed a feature film, Voices. In addition to four fictional screenplays and several educational video scripts, his writing portfolio includes hundreds of non-fiction items, such as proposals, environmental impact statements, public outreach materials, remedial designs, style guides, legal testimony, newsletters, magazines, software documentation, and several published journal articles. In addition to his university teaching, he is a licensed attorney, small-business owner, and consultant to engineering, legal, and medical organizations. He earned a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, magna cum laude. Also, he holds an MA in Telecommunication Arts from the University of Michigan, and a JD from the University of Toledo, cum laude.