THE ALPHABET OF TECHNICAL WRITING

A: Accuracy. ​This can be attained by guarding against careless thinking, expressions and
calculations.

B: Brevity ​is conciseness of expression, checking the development of your own ideas and
accuracy of expression.

C: Confidence. ​If you believe in what you are saying is right and wise, write it. Have trust
in yourself.

D: Dignity. ​Particular attention should be given to diction. Avoid using contractions like won’t,
shouldn’t, can’t, don’t. Use straightforward expression with summarized, simplified and
well-organized information.

E: Emphasis. ​Make your report forceful.

F: Facility. ​Report Writing depends more on pacing, sequence, arrangement and

connections to achieve smooth flowing, easy to read continuity.

G: Grammatical Correctness. ​Acceptable grammatical practice is important for sensible as

well as social reasons.

H: Honesty. ​Proper documentation must be used. A technical writer must acknowledge his
sources.

I: Illustrations. ​The use of graphic materials is very useful in technical writing.

J: Judgment. ​Judicious weighing of evidence is important in a report. The best evidence is

that which is (1) most ample (2) most pertinent (3) most simple (4) most in harmony
with the rest of available evidence.

K: Knowledge. ​The communication of knowledge is one of the chief functions of the report. It
is more than a collection of data for it involves interpretations and formulation of conclusions.
Without intelligent interpretation, data will remain useless.

L: Logic ​The process of showing the relations among groups of things and classes of
group is logic. It is a process of classification, putting things in their proper places.

M: Mechanical Neatness. ​A report should be neatly typed and well margined so that it will be
easier to read. Headings, subheadings and indention are mechanical devices which
help to make the organization of the content clear. Your report must then be clean, free
from typographical errors and erasures.

N: Normal Procedure. ​Conformity to standard practices makes report easier to

understand.

O: Objectivity ​can be achieved if you avoid the use of first person in order to give the
impression that the work being reported is a team effort or a company activity.

P: Planning. ​You need to have a clear idea of where you are going to end before you
begin writing.
Q: Qualification. ​Qualify what you write by describing what factors are constant and what
factors are viable as you work.
R: Revision. ​It is the most important phase of technical reporting aside from planning,
designing, rough drafting.

S: Straight Sentences​, In a good report, each paragraph begins with a straight forward
statement of its subject.

T: Thoroughness. ​You can be thorough by (1) preparing a checklist or requirements in the

planning phase (2) marking off each requirement as it is fulfilled (3) using the
checklist again in the revision phase for a final check.

U: Unity. ​A unified report is one in which everything is clearly relevant to main point
under discussion.

V: Viewpoint. ​Point of view, e.g. as a reporter, researcher or employee, should maintain

consistently throughout the report.
W: Word Choice. ​Avoid pompous, vague and ornate words. Be precise as you can. ​X​:
‘Xtra ​effort brings success.
Y: You. ​A report is written for an audience and you should think in terms of pacing and
timing. Thus your information can be presented in segments appropriate to your
reader’s knowledge and needs.
Z​: ​Zest. ​Write only when you have something worth saying and write as though you were
performing a service that only you can perform.

Source:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/102731262/The-Alphabet-of-Technical-Writing