WHAT IS TECHNICAL WRITING?
 Technological marketing communications: This is writing used in
• Business Writing
• Workplace Writing
• Professional Writing
• Informational Writing
Technical writing is communication in any field whose primary aim is to convey
a particular piece of information for a particular purpose to a particular reader or
group of readers.
The goal of a technical writer is to explain complex technical information clearly,
concisely and in simple language, so the average reader can understand the
information.
THE THREE ESSENTIAL THINGS TO GET STARTED
 Information/Topic/Problem
 Audience
A Procedure for Audience Analysis:
1. Identify the communication’s Uses and Routes
2. Identify all the possible audiences, current or future, for a given
communication (High Tech peers, Low Tech peers, Lay readers)
3. Identify the concerns, goals, values, and needs of each Audience
4. Make your communication accessible ad useful (Be direct to the point)
5. Identify the approaches and arguments that will be most effective with
your audience ad to anticipate any objections that might be raised.
 Purpose
It is the type of everyday writing that surrounds us from the time we wake until
we climb in bed at night.
• Directions on the toothpaste tube
• Nutrition benefits on the cereal box
• Business letters and catalogs that come in the mail
• Written instructions for assembling a new product
• Tax receipts and notices
• Product safety information
“People read literature for pleasure, essays for enlightenment, journalism for
news; People write technical writing to accomplish a job or a task.”
PRINCIPLES OF TECHNICAL WRITING
 Audience (are intelligent but uninformed)
 Purpose (to inform, to instruct, to persuade)
 Language (simple, concrete, and familiar)
 Accuracy (tell the reader what you want to tell him, then tell him, then
tell him what you’ve told him)
 Physique/Format (should be attractive)
ATTRIBUTES OF TECHNICAL WRITING
 Clear/clarity and simple (specific, precise)
 concise and brief (direct to the point)
 coherent and organized
 complete and accurate (no room for many interpretation)
 objective (formal) and impartial (ethical, unbiased)
 Reader-pointedness
 Writer’s Voice (Credible, knowledgeable, qualified, dignified)
How is Technical Writing Different? promotional marketing such as fliers and promotional brochures that
would entice a person to purchase a certain product or service.
 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.
WHY STUDY TECHNICAL WRITING AND PROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION?
 Communication is a means to showcase technical skills wherein of for
many technical professional a written document is the ultimate product
of their work
 Technical professionals work in an organizational setting where
teamwork is essential; good team work is impossible without good
communication.
 It’s a means to share diverse knowledge to diverse people;
 It is a means to solve a problem
Things to remember about PROBLEMS:
- Technical problems are embedded in a kind of organizational
context and are therefore socially conditioned [by the wants and
desires of communities of people/an audience. This means that
good communication to this audience will help give the best
solutions to the problem.
- Technical problems are dynamic. It may change before working,
while working, and after working on them. So it’s best to
document events/ actions that have been undertaken during the
process
 Poor technical communication may lead to legal concerns or
unnecessary dangers
 It is a means to serve and promote science and technology in order to
hasten economic and technological progress in society today.
WHY DO TECHNICAL PROFESSIONALS COMMUNICATE SO
BADLY?
 Poor training
 Complexity of the technical communication and the complexity of the Identify whether the following documents are examples of technical writing:
physical process (“It is easy to make things difficult, but difficult to
make things easy”) 1. Application Letter
 There is an unethical and bias use of information
2. Resume
TYPES OF TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS
3. Sales Letter
 End-user documentation: This type of writing includes documents
where the writer explains a topic to a novice so that they can
4. Memorandum
understand technical terms and apply them in a real-life situation.
 Traditional technical writing: This is writing that is geared to an
audience already at least somewhat familiar with a technical field such 5. R.A 7263
as engineering or politics.
6. Introduction to Quantum Physics
7. Diary/Memoirs 33. Sayings

8. Bible 34. Journalism

9. Noli Me Tangere 35. Ads and Posters

10. Business Proposal 36. Concert Tickets

11. Advertisement 37. Movie Posters

12. Natasha Catalog 38. Price Tag

13. CSU Mission and Vision 39. Google (Search Engines)

14. Student Manual 40. List of Graduates

15. Essay Quiz

16. Test Questionnaire

17. Table of contents

18. ANECO/Water District Bill

19. Validation Form

20. Bio-Data

21. Critical Analysis of the Movie “Hunger Games”

22. News Feature

23. Straight news

24. Psalms

25. Purpose Driven Life

26. National Anthem

27. Road Signs

28. Web Page

29. Face Book Account

30. Note Book

31. Instruction Manual for New Washing Machines

32. Receipts