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Technical writing introduces you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the world of science, technology, and business – the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer specialists, government government officials, engineers, and other people do as a part of their regular work.
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Technical writing introduces you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the world of science, technology, and business – the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer specialists, government government officials, engineers, and other people do as a part of their regular work.
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The term “technical” refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that is more the territory of experts and specialists.
Whatever your major is, you are developing an expertise, and whenever you try to write anything about your field, you are engaged in technical writing.
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Technical communication can be written, oral, or visual. Technical writing is composed in and for the workplace. Technical writing is a significant factor in work experience for a variety of reasons. Technical writing serves valuable purposes in the workplace and often involves teamwork.
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Business and industry have expectations about the results of teamwork. Business management philosophies depend upon teamwork. Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma (continuous improvement) programs encourage efficient teamwork. Strategies for successful collaboration can improve outcomes.
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Technical writing is the delivery of technical information to readers in a manner that is adapted to their needs, level of understanding, and background. Technical writing is intended to communicate to a specific audience, for a specific purpose.
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The audience element is so important that it is one of the cornerstones of technical writing. You are challenged to write about highly technical subjects but in a way that a beginner—a non-specialist—could understand.
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In a world of rapid technological development, people are constantly falling behind and becoming technological illiterates. As a technical writer, you need to write about the area of specialization you know and plan to write about in such a way that even Granddad can understand.
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Clarity
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Conciseness
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Accuracy
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Organization
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Ethics
Methods for developing ideas precisely –
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An expressive essay can clarify the writer’s intent through emotional, impressionistic, connotative words (soon, many, several , etc.).
An impressionistic word such as “near ” will mean different things to different people which is okay in an essay where the goal may to convey a feeling.
in be
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The ultimate goal of effective technical writing is to say the same thing to every reader. Let’s say I write instructional manuals for company manufacturing space heaters. If I write, “Place the space heater near an open window,”
what will this mean to thousands of customers who purchase the machine?
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One person may place the heater 6 feet from the window. Another reader will place the heater 6 inches from the window. As the writer, I have failed to communicate clearly.
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Specify –
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Provide specific detail Avoid vague words (some, recently ) Answer reporters’ questions (who, what, where, when, why, how )
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Avoid obscure words –
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Use easily understood words Write to express, not to impress Write to communicate, not to confuse Write the way you speak
aforementioned in lieu of
already discussed instead of
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Limit and/or define your use of abbreviations , acronyms, and jargon. Define
your terms parenthetically
CIA (Cash in Advance)
or Supply
a separate glossary
Alphabetized list of terms, followed by their
definitions
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Use the active versus the passive voice. Passive voice: It was decided all employees will take a ten percent cut in pay . Unclear:
Who decided?
Active: The Board of Directors decided that all
employees . . . Overtime is favored by hourly workers. Wordy Active: Hourly workers favor overtime.
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Limit paragraph, word, and sentence length. –
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A paragraph in a memo, letter, or short report should consist of •
No more than four to six typed lines or
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No more than fifty words.
Fog index (sixth to eighth grade level) •
Strive for an average of 15 words per sentence
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No more than 5 multisyllabic words per 100 words
Fog Index •
Count up to 100 words in successive sentences –
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Divide words by number of sentences = average number of words per sentence
Count number of long words (three or more syllables) within sentences –
Don’t count proper names (Christopher Columbus), long words created by combining shorter words (chairperson), or three syllable words created by ed endings (united ).
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Use the meat cleaver theory of revision •
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Cut the sentence in half or thirds
Avoid shun words •
Avoid words ending in – tion or – sion
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Came to the conclusion
concluded
Avoid camouflaged words •
Make an amendment to
amend
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Avoid the expletive pattern –
There is, are, was, were, will be
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It is, was
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There are three people who will work for Acme.
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Three people will work for Acme.
Omit redundancies –
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During the year of 1996 During 1996
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Avoid wordy phrases –
In order to purchase
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Proofread for accuracy
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Consider ethics
to purchase
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The importance of correct grammar and mechanics –
Grammatical or mechanical errors make writers look unprofessional and incompetent.
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Grammar is so important in technical writing that in a one page assignment – –
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4 major grammatical errors = F 3 major grammatical errors = D 2 major grammatical errors = C 1 major grammatical error = B
“A” means “excellent” which is defined as “without flaw”
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Methods for organizing –
Spatial
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General to Specific
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Chronological
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Mechanism Description
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Process Description
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Classification
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Methods for organizing –
Definition
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Comparison/Contrast
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More Important to Less Important
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Situation-Problem-SolutionEvaluation Cause-Effect
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Ethics – methods encouraging moral standards in technical writing –
Practical
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Legal
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Moral
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General categories of ethics in communication –
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Behavior towards colleagues, subordinates and (plagiarism, harassment, malicious actions)
others
Dealing with experimental subjects, interviewees, (informed consent) Telling the “truth” (falsify data, misrepresent facts)
Rhetoric—choosing your words (loaded words, discriminatory language, logical fallacies)
etc.
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The writing process is effective . . . and easy.
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All that you need to do is three things: –
Prewrite (about 25 percent of your time)
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Write
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Rewrite (about 50 percent of your time)
(about 25 percent of your time)
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Reporter’s questions
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Mind mapping
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Brainstorming/listing
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Flowcharting
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Outlining
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Storyboarding
