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The podcasts I record for I'd Rather Be Writing cover the latest trends in technical communication. I interview tech writing luminaries around the world as well as record STC presentations and other audio content. You can subscribe to podcast specific feeds using the subscription information below.
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How To Create a Usable Index — Interview with John McGhie
October 20th, 2006 | Posted in Podcasts 6 Comments »
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Duration: 36 min.
John McGhie, technical writer and Microsoft MVP from Sydney, Australia, explains how to create a usable index for your help material.
In this interview, John covers the following topics:
- Deciding whether to create an index
- Skills required to create an index
- Steps in creating an index
- Audience considerations in creating an index
- Time required for creating an index
- Pitfalls writers face when creating an index
- Myths of the concordance file method for creating indexes
- Strategies for entries and subentries
- Methods for updating an index
- Determining whether your index is usable
For additional information, see the following:
- John McGhie’s bio
- John’s helpful article on indexing that I mention in the podcast
- The Word MVP home page
** To contact John, you can e-mail him at john@mcghie.name.
If you are interested in creating indexes, this is an podcast. The few times I tried to create an index have proven how hard creating a good index is. John McGhie has provided many helpful tips about indexing and he really seems to be an expert.
I meant to say that this is an EXCELLENT podcast in my previous comments.
[...] How To Create a Usable Index — Interview with John McGhie [...]
I just listened to the interview about how to create an index and feel better equipped to create one for a little cookbook I have just finished writing.
It was my first podcast and I was delighted with the tone and attitude of both speakers. You are good teachers, very clear and down to earth. I took notes which I will carefully file when I’m done.
Thank you, thank you both for being there when needed. Betsy
It’s amazing for me to know that podcasts recorded years ago still provide valuable information. This one was densely packed with excellent information on indexing. I’m glad you found it useful. Thanks for leaving a comment.
[...] to instructions on how to create an index. i found a particularly good one by a technical writer at how to create a usable index [...]