Lecture 1

Introduction to
Technical Writing
(Technical Writing CS212)

Abdisalam Issa-Salwe

Taibah University
College of Computer Science & Engineering
Computer Science Department

Outline
1. About Technical Writing
2. Technical vs. academic writing
3. Essential Skills of a Technical Writer
4. Technical Writing Myths
5. Audience Analysis

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About Technical Writing

Communication is part of the life of every
creature on this planet.

How that communication is carried out however,
is varied, and different types of communication
are suitable based upon the type of information
that needs to be conveyed.

One specific area of communication involves
transmitting, understanding and knowledge of a
technical subject to others that need to know the
basics and details of the subject in question.

In written form, this communication type of
communication is called technical writing.

About Technical Writing (cont…)

What is Technical Writing?

 Taking complicated subject
matter and transforming it into
easy-to-understand information
for the reader.

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About Technical Writing (cont…)

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.

While technical writers need to have good computer
skills, they do not necessarily have to write about
computers all their lives.

"Technical" comes from the Greek techne, which simply
means "skill".

Every profession has its own special specialized forms of
writing.

About Technical Writing (cont…)

Technical writers represent those who write

technical and software manuals, handbooks,
technical guides and provide online help;
anyone who writes about technology for other
people is typically referred to as a technical
writer.

Most professionals require some technical
writing skills.

In the information technology realm, project
managers and analysts write a large number of
technical documents that must be clear and
concise.
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About Technical Writing (cont…)

When technical writers approach a new piece of

technology, they are inwardly observing their own lack of
knowledge.

As they interact with and learn the software, they identify
the information needs of the software users.

They must be able to communicate well with
programmers and customers, and extract information
from them in a professional and personable manner.

A technical writer's primary tool is the language.

Technical writers communicate ideas; they design
information, participate in the product development
process, and manage complex documentation projects.

How is Technical Writing Different?

The information is organized, presented and
communicated in a specific format.

The writing is concise, clear and accurate.

The writing takes into account the audience’s needs,
biases and prior understanding.

The writing presents information to help readers
solve a problem or gain a better understanding of a
situation.

The writing conveys technical, complex, or
specialized information in a way that is easy for a
non-technical reader to understand.

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How is Technical Writing Different? (cont…)

Technical writing is
 objective
 direct
 clearly defined
 precise

What Technical Writing is Not

Subjective

Metaphorical

Technical writing avoids figures of speech
such as metaphors and similes, symbolic
language, and abstraction to restrict
readers’ freedom of interpretation.

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How is Technical Writing Different?

Technical writing achieves precision with:

definitions and descriptions photographs
and drawings numerical data and
mathematical equations

tables and charts

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Why should you care about writing?

You must communicate your work to the world

If people don’t know about it, they won’t use it

Increase probability of adoption

Clear writing requires clear thinking; muddled
writing is a sign of muddled thought

Be kind to your readers good writing can be a
joy; bad writing is agony

These skills transfer to other endeavors

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Essential Skills of a Technical Writer

Technical writing is a natural partner to

academic writing.
It is descriptive, creative, and expository, but the
format is different and the standards are higher.
Technical writing requires 100% accuracy.
Technical writing is effective when:
the writer communicates precisely his/her
intended meaning to his/her reader.
the writing fulfils its goal or intended
purpose.

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Essential Skills of a Technical Writer

There are five important skills or characteristics which
are "musts" for the technical writer:
1. Facility with technology: You must have the potential
to grasp intended technology.
2. Ability to write clearly: The essential skill of any
technical communicator is to disambiguate.
3. Talent in showing ideas graphically: People
understand better when you can communicate your
ideas visually. These images go a long way toward
making your writing clear.
4. Patience in problem-solving/troubleshooting: Unless
you have patience, you’ll never make it
5. Ability to interact with Subject Matter Experts (SME):
Interacting with SMEs is one of the most overlooked
skills in technical writing.
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Academic Writing Technical Writing

Descriptive Writing Job Description, Incident Report,

Résumé, Process Explanation

Narrative Writing Observation Report, Progress

Report
Analysis Performance Evaluation,
Feasibility Report
Cause and Effect Analytical Report, Product Field
Test Report
Compare-Contrast Product Comparison, Feasibility
Report
Persuasive Writing Proposal, Action Plan
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Examples of Technical Writing:

• Action Plans • Description
• Advertisement • Diagram, Chart, or Graph
• Agenda • Editorial
• Audit Report • Email
• Book Review • Feasibility Report
• Brochure • Field Test Report
• Budget • Incident Report
• Business Letter • Informational Form
• Business Plan • Informational Poster
• Catalog • Informative Summary
• Contract • Instructions
• Critique • Interview Questions
• Data Book or Display • Itinerary

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What do Tech Writers create?

User’s manuals

System manuals

Step-by-step
procedures

On-line help

Training manuals

Quick-reference guides

How-to video scripts

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Identify the audience

Potential audience includes:

 Experts in your area; people outside your
area
 Expert professors; advanced undergrads
 Industry practitioners
 Researchers now; researchers 10 years from
now

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References
- The Essence of Computing Projects: A Student’s Guide,
by Christian W. Dawson, Prentice Hall.
- Mohammad Alsuraihi, Technical Writing, CS212 Course
notes, Taibah University, Madinah, KSA
- Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, Taibah University, Madinah,
Saudi Arabia.
- Technical writing overview,
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Technical_writing_overview

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