BASIC TECHNIQUES OF TECHNICAL WRITING 2.1 Definition Successful writers employ a variety of techniques in their writing. However, the kind of writing dictates the techniques to be employed by the writer. For instance, if one does a brochure, he use description more than any other technique; if he writes a fire incident report, he uses narration more than any other. In technical writing, the techniques basically employed are definition, definition, description, classification, partitioning or analysis,causation (causal analysis), comparison, contrast, and interpretation.
2.2 Formal Definition It focuses special attention on a term. If the writer finds the formal sentence definition, more effective than the informal definition, the technique of formal definition must be employed. Formal Sentences Definition. It has three parts: term, genus, and differentia a.
Term – the concept defined
b.
Genus – the family to which the term belong
c.
Differentia – the specific characteristics of the species which sets it apart from all others of it class Extended Formal Definition
A one-sentence definition sometimes is not in defining a complex or highly specialized term. A reader might be dissatisfied with this explanation, especially if it occurred in a report particularly concerned with the subject . He might very well ask what the term is not, where it is located, what its function is, what its effects are. There are different ways by which we can expand a formal definition. Some of these ways are as follows: 1. giving the uses or the functions of a term Example: One of the organs we cannot live without is the liver, which is the largest organ in our body. It enables the body to function efficiently by filtering toxic substances from the blood. It is
responsible for producing proteins, bile, and immune agents, without which, our body will not be able to combat infection and disease. 2. giving the origin of the term Example: The word placebo comes from a Latin word which means pleasing or acceptable. It refers to the desire of a person who seeks the help of the doctor to be healed. 3. giving its causes and or effects, advantages or disadvantages Example: Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, can cause headaches and intestinal and rinary problems when taken in excess doses. It can also increase iron absorption, a condition which can have adverse effects on people with certain blood disorders. 4. illustrating or describing its appearance Example: An organ is a large complex musical wind instrument with pipes, stops, and a keyboard. 5. explaining what is not Example: A good breakfast cannot be equated with just a cup of coffee and a cookie. Neither that it just consist of one serving of fruit and a glass of water. Nor should it be a bowl of rice and coffee. 6. analyzing its parts Example: The process of writing consists of four stages: getting ideas, getting started, writing drafts, and revising. ( Raimes, 1983) The first require the writer to brainstorm with peers and other persons to generate topics to write on. The second requires him or her to start locating sources and taking down notes. The third is the writing stage itself. The last requires the writer to polish the initially produced manuscript. 7. classifying it Example: Theobromen belongs to a class of alka loid molecules known as methylxanthine found in cocoa beans.
8. stating where it is from Example: Stress is a term which was introduced in 1956 in the American vernacular. 9. giving its collocations Example: Stress has always been associated with changes, worries, pressures, and problems. 10. giving examples Example: Examples of lyric poems are sonnet, song, ode, simple lyric, and the elegy. 2.3 Classification Classification is the orderly, systematic arrangement of related things in accordance with a governing principle or basis. The classifier notes the structural and functional relationships among things that constitute a class. In recording this relationships, the classifier employs certain conventional terms. Acquaintance with these convenient terms will make the rest easy to follow. This term has a loose popular meaning and a more precise technical one. Popularly, classification is almost any act of noting relationships. Technically, classification is the act of locating a specimen of all the different kinds of objects that posses a given characteristic or characteristics. Initially, classification must begin with the recognition that different things posses similar characteristics.
2.4 Partition Partitioning is the act of dividing a unit into its components. The parts do not have necessarily had anything in common beyond the fact that they belong to the same unit. A hammer may be partitioned into head and handle. Hammers may be logically divided according to physical characteristics of their heads as claw, ball peen, and so forth. Classification, or logical division, always deals with several (at least two) units. Partition deals with the parts of only one unit. A hammer is a single unit. A hammer head without a handle is not a hammer. The head and the handle are parts of a single unit. You have probably become familiar with a variety of partitioning in a chemistry course when you determine the components of a chemical compound.
2.5 Description of Mechanism
A mechanism is generally defined as any object or system that has a working part or parts. Most often the term suggests tools, instruments, and machines. But other examples of mechanisms could be the human body and systems like the universe or a city, which is composed of parts that work together like parts of a machine. A technical man constantly works with mechanisms and always needs to understand them; what they do, what they look like, what parts they have, and how these parts work together. There are three fundamental divisions of the description and these are the introduction, the partby-part description, and the conclusion. Because the description of a mechanism seldom constitutes an article or report by itself, the introduction required is usually rather simple
2.6 Description of a Process
Process description is a part of the technical writing genre, during which the author writes about a subject that requires instruction or explanation. According to WritingforCollege.org, the process description does not offer instruction itself, but rather outlines how something works. Therefore, writers do not include commands or writing in the second person. Instead, they write in the present tense with a general subject. Process descriptions get used in proposals, planning documents, progress reports, promotional literature and technical support documents. Such descriptions may also be about natural events, such as how lightning is produced. The process description should include an introduction that gives a broad overview of the topic, including any necessary definitions. The main text should also include enough detail to make the process clear to a non-expert in that field. Process descriptions typically include a summary of the process.
