Characteristics of Technical Writing

Technical writing, just as any other form of writing, has certaincharacteristicswhichdistinguish it from
other types of writing. One of the main characteristics of technicalwriting is the fact that it clear and
straight forward. If you are interested in technicalwriting for professional purposes, it is very important
to know that this type of writingrequire that the writer stick to the subject matter and relay information
in a clearandconcisemanner.It is very different from writing opinion pieces, essays, prose, non-fiction
or fiction. Thelanguage used should be very direct and straight to the point. You should avoid
usingwords that people do not understand, and you should also avoid an eloquent
writingstyle.Another characteristic of technical writing is that it is very detailed and informative.
Theperfect example of technical writing is a textbook. The written contents of most textbooksis
geared to providing information by describing the subject matter as fully as possible.Technical writing
is also very structured. This type of writing has a very obviouscomposition that makes it easy for the
reader to follow along. Solid structure is neededwith technical writing as it allows the audience to
easily access the information asneeded.
Difference between literary and technical writing?
Literary writing allows you to be creative and is usually fictional. It is objective and often can be
interpretedin many ways. Technical writing is scientific and usually attempts to explain something in a
very clear,subjective way. It is based on facts
Literary Writing
1. it entertains or it amuses the reader.2. it suggests the writer's message.3. it imparts a lesson.4. it
broadens a person's outlook in life.
Technical Writing
1. it provides useful information.2. it directly informs the writer's ideas or messages.3. it gives
instructions or directions.4. it serves as a basis for decision making.

Technical Writing

1. it provides useful information.

2. it directly informs the writer's ideas or messages.
3. it gives instructions or directions.
4. it serves as a basis for decision making.

What are the characteristics of technical writing?

April 16, 2010 — Aashita Shekhar
23 Votes

The following are the characteristics of technical writing:

Addresses a specific audience, topic and purpose

Audience
Technical writers identify the readers to whom they are writing evaluate what they require of the
documentation and determine why they will use documentation. They classify the readers by three
main characteristics:

Education
Knowledge and experience levels
Expectations and needs
Based on the knowledge level, you can categorize the audience as novice, intermediary or
experienced user. The content of the document will vary depending on the categorization.

Topic

Topic involves the gist of what technical writers are planning to write about. For example, in a
document that explains how the retailer book an order with the wholesaler, the topic will be “Booking
an Order”.

Purpose

Purpose will reflect the activity the audience wants to be able to perform after reading the document.

Your purpose could be:

To inform – to provide the information without expecting any action on the part of the reader.
To instruct – to give information in the form of directions, instructions,
procedures, so that readers will be able to do something.

To propose – to respond to a request for proposals (RFP) or to suggest a plan of action for a specific
problem.
To recommend – to suggest an action or series of actions based on
alternative possibilities that have been evaluated.

To persuade: to convince readers to take action, to change their attitudes or behaviours based on
valid opinions and evidence.
Has structured content
The structure of the document is an important aspect of the documentation development. It would
depict how one section would flow into another and the segregation between chapters and
appendices.

Is objective
Technical writing is rarely about opinion. Technical writing is grounded in fact. While writing facts,
care is needed to ensure that any assumption, conjecture, extrapolation, generalisation, opinion or
possibly mentioned early in the document is not later referred to as if it were a fact. Technical writers
rely on evidence and not authority.

Uses simple and objective language

Technical writers keep sentences as short and simple as is possible and appropriate for the subject
matter and audience. A long and complex sentence can be difficult to comprehend.

Uses Illustrations
Technical writers consider tables and illustrations as part of a document, not as ornament. They
complement the writing. They do not add them at the end as if they were an afterthought. Instead
when planning a composition, they consider how information or ideas can be best conveyed – to the
readers they have in mind- in words, numbers, tables or illustrations.

Is presented consistently
Technical writers are consistent in use of headings, names, terms, abbreviations and symbols; in
spelling and punctuation

What is Technical Writing ?

To put it in simple words “Technical writing is writing with the purpose of making the users understand
the technology”. It is a structured way of writing that helps the readers comprehend the intended
context of the document. It is writing devoid of any ambiguity and emotion. Technical writing informs,
instructs, explains, or persuades a specific audience and employs specific writing strategies that
ensure clear, concise, accurate, and easy to understand information.

Technical Writer is the most commonly used job title for this occupation. Some other commonly used
titles are:

Technical Communicators
Documentation Specialist
Information Specialist
Information Developer
Information Designer
Technical Editor
Medical Writer
Business Writer
Communications Specialist
Policy and Procedure Writer
Proposal Writer
Publications Specialist
Science Writer
User Advocate
User Communication Expert
Web content writer/editor
Technical Illustrator
It is quite evident from these titles that technical writing is not confined to any one particular genre of
writing or communications. With the help of right skills, knowledge, abilities, and aptitude in the
specific job function; technical writers can thrive and excel in any industry. Most common industries
where technical writers are employed:

Information Technology
Health Care
Pharmaceuticals
Agriculture
Educational institutions
Telecommunications
Aviation
Manufacturing
Let’s explore some other definitions of technical writing and writers:

The STC defines technical communication as “The process of gathering information from experts and
presenting it to an audience in a clear, easily understandable form. “Technical writing and editing is
an umbrella term for any sort of professional communication. It’s the interface between your ideas
and the rest of the world”.
“Technical writing is the presentation of information that helps the reader solve a particular problem.
Technical communicators write, design, and/or edit proposals, manuals, web pages, lab reports,
newsletters, and many other kinds of professional documents.”

Technical Writers design, write, and edit documents for engineering, scientific, industrial, and
governmental organizations. These include technical reports, computer manuals, brochures,
proposals, technical specifications, educational and training materials, and marketing or public
relations releases. (http://ohwoof.com/techwrit.htm)

Technical communicators are professional specialists with strong backgrounds in the technology,
communication, and design skills needed to enter a broad range of information-based fields. The
work that technical writers now do goes well beyond writing documents for print distribution. The
expanding range of options includes positions that involve organizing, managing, communicating, and
facilitating the use of both technical and non-technical information in a range of fields and media.
(http://english.cmu.edu/degrees/bs_tw/bs_tw.html)

Whenever one group of people has specialized knowledge that another group does not share, the
technical writer serves as a go-between. But technical writers are not just translators…they are also
in the business of generating truth, by choosing what gets written, and for whom, with the full
knowledge that later readers will depend on the accuracy of what has been written.
(http://jerz.setonhill.edu/resources/FAQ/TW.htm)

Technical writers compose communication from product developers for users of the products. Users
include consumers as well as scientists, engineers, plant executives, line workers, and production
managers. Technical Writers create product instructions, reference and maintenance manuals,
articles, project proposals, training materials, technical reports, catalogs, brochures, online
documentation and help systems, Web pages, multimedia presentations, parts lists, assembly
instructions, and sales promotion materials.
(http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occguide/TECHWRTR.HTM)

Technical writing is writing that helps users solve problems with technologies and technical subject
matter. (Interview with Jeff Grabill, GSU faculty)

Good technical writers are some of the most versatile of professional writers. Today’s tech writers are
expected to do more than just write text. On any given project, they must be artists, scientists,
craftsmen, technicians, programmers, and marketers. They need writing skills, technical knowledge,
research skills, management skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to think critically about the
projects they work on. (http://www.umsl.edu/~kleinw/TW_Resources.html)

Technical writing conveys specific information about a technical subject to a specific audience for a
specific purpose. The words and graphics of technical writing are meant to be practical: that is, to
communicate a body of factual information that will help an audience understand a subject or carry
out a task. (Michael H. Markel, Director of Technical Communication, Boise State University)

“Technical Writing” is transmitting specialized knowledge from the creator to the user. The goal of the
technical communicator is to do this in a clear and efficient manner, requiring the communicator to
thus consider both the content and the form of the technical message. Technical writing is generally
done for real audiences and purposes, thus the task of the technical writer is often complicated by
any number of outside forces including page limitations, legal guidelines, marketing interests, and
differences among end users. (http://www.english.iup.edu/pagnucci/courses/322/unit1-
technicalwriting/definition.htm)

We live in a world in which many of our everyday actions depend on complex but important technical
information … Household appliances, banking systems, online courses, business negotiations,
government correspondence and affairs, and almost every other aspect of your daily life is affected
by technologies and technical information” (Gurak and Lannon 4)

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What are the Principles of Technical Writing

Well-written and accurate documentation is the part of customer support strategy, and reduces
support costs. Technical writing is much more than technical terminology, and curt instructions. Our
audience is made up of humans , and not just technical personnel. Technical writing requires that the
writer present a main point or thesis, maintain focus, organize and develop ideas, and use the
appropriate style for the audience. The following are the basic principles of technical writing.

• Content
Five basic questions – who, why, what, how and when – are applied in various situations to develop
the content for any kind of a document. For instance, imagine a situation where you have to create a
report based on your balance sheet. Before creating a report, you can plan the content of your report
by applying following key questions to the situation:
o Who would like to read the report?
o Why do you want to/or need to present a report?
o What this report is going to present to the audience?
o How is the report going to be presented?
o When is the report going to be presented?

• The writing situation: Audience and Purpose

Before beginning any writing task, the writer analyzes audience and identifies the purpose for the
document. The writer asks following questions about the audience:
o Who will read the document?
o What are their biases?
o What are technical writer’s ethical responsibilities when communicating this to audience?

With regard to purpose, technical writers ask: what should this document accomplish? What should it
do? Should it:
o Inform
o Request
o Instruct
o Suggest
o Order
o Report
o Reply
o Analyse/ critique
o Compare

• Organization
Writers use an organizational pattern so that it gives consistency to writing. Organizational pattern
provide the document with continuity so that audience can comprehend the ideas. For example,
writers can organize their ideas chronologically, spatially and categorically.

• Style
Writers change their style depending on the audience. A person would not write an e-mail to a close
friend in the same style as a formal memorandum to a manager. Writers adopt either formal or
informal styles, depending on the writing situation.

• Accessibility and Specificity

Accessibility refers to the ease at which the audience can gain the information they need from a
document. Table of contents, headers, footers, page numbers, headings and sub headings help
make the document more accessible for the intended audiences.
• Conventional Grammar and Mechanics
Writers adhere to the rules of conventional grammar and mechanics. Technical writers essentially
proofread and edit the document for detecting and correcting errors in graphics, typography and
layout.

Quality in User Documentation

April 6, 2010 — Aashita Shekhar
1 Votes

Quality in user documentation is not an end in itself but rather a means to an end. I believe that
compromising quality in writing also compromises quality of the product. Quality assurance is an
integral part of the documentation development process. Quality technical documentation is an
investment in client satisfaction. Efforts invested now pay off in the years to come.

Keep in mind the following seven quality parameters:

1. Completeness:

User Documentation should support your users in all of their interactions with the product. User
documentation is considered complete if it:

Provides the necessary information for all the tasks that can be performed with the software and
covers all features without any omission.
Includes all the essential elements that are part of the main text, the front and back matters
2. Accessibility

Information should be easy to find. Information is accessible if readers can quickly get to the details
they are looking for with minimum search effort. Accessibility in user documentation denotes the ease
with which the reader can locate the required information. To provide easily accessible information,
ensure the following:

For printed documents:

Logical organization
Detailed table of contents
Preface including the organization of the manual
Descriptive headings
Numbering of sections and figures
Cross-references
Appropriate section introduction
Index
Header and footer to serve as content pointers
Good page-numbering scheme
For online Help

Logical organization
Detailed table of contents
Index and search facility
Links to related topics
Context-sensitive help from the application services
3. Clarity

The information should be clear. Clarity assures that readers do not have to pause, and re-read
everything to determine the meaning.

Users should be able to understand the information without a magic decoding ring. User
documentation is clear if it conveys information to the users in manner readily understandable to
them. To provide clear information, ensure the following:

Specify the target audience and purpose. Orient the information to enable the audience meet the
purpose.
Group information logically and coherently according to the defined approach.
Include all the information necessary for each topic. Exclude all information that is not necessary for
the specific context.
Use short sentences, simple words, focused paragraphs, active voice, and direct conversational tone
as far as possible. Avoid technical jargon, verbiage, ambiguous and superfluous content.
Use lists, table, and charts for ready understanding. Provide graphics and examples for illustrations.
Define all acronyms, abbreviation, and jargon used.
4. Accuracy

Inaccuracy in writing can confuse, and even annoy the readers.

User documentation is accurate if it:

Provides factually correct conceptual information

Provides screenshots and procedures that reflect the software accurately.
Provides objective and unbiased information.
To ensure accuracy:

Get the documentation reviewed by subject matter experts for conceptual accuracy
Conduct reviews by project personnel for technical and functional accuracy
Test the document against the software for procedural accuracy.
Use a checklist to verify system name, version, modules, and interface elements, such as screen and
field names.

5. User Orientation

Document is user oriented if it:

Focuses on the audience profile and gives information tuned to the requirements of each of the
audience types.
Uses language appropriate for the target audience.
To provide user-oriented information:

Think from user’s viewpoint and give details they would like in completing their tasks. Avoid
background processing and system internal details.
Provide content and level of details appropriate to the knowledge level of the target audience. For
example, provide
Clear explanations and detailed procedures with relevant graphics for beginners
Quick reference and fast paths for experts
Description of new system features and updates for experienced users
Technical and processing details for services technicians and troubleshooting personnel
Use audience oriented language and user’s trade jargon the way they use it. Avoid any other
technical terminology.

6. Consistency

Consistency in user documentation means:

Consistency within the document

Consistency of the documentation with the software
To ensure consistency:

Use guidelines and templates for consistency within the document

Use terminology uniformly

7. Good Presentation
“Most writings are a few good thoughts drifting about in a sea of words,” said Jamie Buckingham.
Good presentation is a product of coherence and consistency. To ensure good presentation:

Plan the page size, margins, text width, font type and size to provide a good balance of white space
and print according to the medium
Design to bring out the hierarchy of headings clearly
Position graphics to promote visual relief