Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
—Michael H. Markel
Director of Technical Communication
Boise State University
Examples of Technical Writing:
Writing can be grouped into five basic types: technical, creative, expressive,
expository, and persuasive. To help understand technical writing, it may help to
compare it to the other types.
Panadol = Paracetamol
4 Important Questions
Keep in mind:
1. Who is my audience?
2. How many people will make up my audience?
3. How well does my audience understand English?
4. How much does my audience know about the writing topic?
5. What is my audience’s reason for reading my work?
6. What are my audience’s expectations about my written work?
7. What is my audience’s attitude toward me and my work?
8. What do I want my audience to do after reading my work?
How much information you The key points you think readers
* give readers about the key need to know to perform their job.
details.
Keep in mind:
• For technical audience - supply a complete report with every detail noted
in an appendix.
• For other readers - give a short discussion or summary yet complete and
helpful.
*Note: Technical language and symbols can only be used if the potential readers
are specialists in your field.
Tone
ACTIVITY 1
In your own words, write the definition of ‘Technical Writing’ in the space
provided.
ACTIVITY 2
List down the differences between ‘technical writing’ and ‘creative writing’.
ACTIVITY 3
What are the general and specific characteristics of a target audience?