a ‘Technical Report Writing, HM 102 Session 8 Analyzing your Audiencé Technical writing is targeted Specific Audience Purpose of audience 1 ifferent kinds of audience )) _ Laymen: + hardest audience: their needs, cay bilities and interests are difficult to pindown - ey a: pais Cenveal of staat ae eee clerk reading about desglination in a newspaper article {A SkD. Blotogist reading an ancl in scientific American entitled * The nature of Metals” T Weare all laymen once outside our own particular fields of specialization. A few Generalizations: 2 They read for interest ‘They read for general information ‘They read as prelude to action. 1) Reason for reading is practical ‘More concerned with what thin theory «Their interest is personal ¢ Many of them are attuned to an effective device when writing Environment 2) Health 3) General Knowledge 15s do than how they work, concemed more in the cost of devices than fiction and television than to scientifie exposition, Narrative style is often for them, Anecdotes, incidents and dramatic dramatic style may serve ‘them better. | What to keep in mind about Laymen |g | Amterests + Cultural background © Walk of life remember afew things whe writing forthe - he wr pet if possible, give ful things a pola of lized ‘words and terms defined. If you force them to go to feionary frequetly. sss ay defntionsbstutes simpler more familiar dition ryt Gata Ie i Caflammation athe ining of stomach; Lanne gg eo wane for 5) Hear is the essence of writin : lized words Or rpeter Just avoid "to bel withthe reader * aude technical terms al |, Explain your ideas in y lain language. level have an interest in human beings and human personalities ‘have an impact on the reader but they have definite impact if itis it ‘Most of us, at any educational I nay ‘Abstract figures (inflation) may not 1 feared to human personalities. 5) tables will make the presentation more interesting and easy to ‘stration Pictures, pictogrephs, charts, ‘understand. Scanned with CamScannerExecutives: ) 2 lege education, but may come from many disciplines. | ner ee with laymen: ‘Much that applies to laymen also applies fo executives. “They too are more interested in what things GO" 4) Writing for them approximate the level in Scientific American. 5) Use plain language. 6) Donot write very long sentences. 7) Avoid mathematics. 8) Use simple illustration, bar graph, pie chars, and pictographs. Differences: 1) The report may influence laymen in ther lives, or their decisions. They seldom have. to ‘act upon it directly. Executives must often make decisions based upon what they read. 2) People and profits figure largely in executive decisions. 3) Cost of new venture, markets, profits 4) Will the old staff suffice or new hands required 5) Social, economic and environmental effects upon the community at large 6) Aesthetics, public health, safety and conservation are key factors which affect their ' ip, etbons. Few executives woul consider report complete ‘unless it dealt with them. js 11, Begeutive nee bg 1) How anew process or equipment can be used? hort 2) What new markets will it open? \ 3) What will it cost? ! 4) How is the cost justified? 3) What are the alternatives? 6) Why did you choose the new equipment over other alternatives? 7) Competition with others Reading habits ofthe executives 1) Pressed fortime 2) Don't reaa ine whvie reper vay pais oft 3) Abstract, summary, conclusions and recommendations are more important for them Tips for report writers: 1) Be honest 2) Remember that if your ideas are bought, they are your ideas. You will be held responsible for their consequences. ‘ 3) Your reputation will stand or fall on their success. 4) facts and their implication. D conclusions and recommendations clearly. (Qualify your statements where necessary Never overstate your case. Scanned with CamScannerfis ng fescinated by facts and figures, studies, ‘appy if you refer them to other sources- books, articles- for further 4) n ! ih iil [by i are concerned with how and why things work. They want to see oretically calculations and results of basic research. 2 They want your observations and facts- What have you seen and measured. ») ‘They are highly critical lot, demand accuracy. 7) They want to be convinced in every way. 8) Experts will suspect any conclusions drawn if they feel the facts are not complete. What to do? i) You may use highly scientific language. 2) You may use highly technical language. 3) Technical terms will not need definitions or further explanations. 4 | Use of tabies and graphs May use short hand methods such as abbreviations, symbols, mathematical ‘equations, chemical formulas; but they should be standard ones. 6) _ Ifyou have used a term in special sense, give a glossary at the front of the report so that there is no doubt about meanings of a term. 7) Your report will be highly valued if it contains a wealth of information. 8) Use appendixes for extra information. 9) Give your own inferences and conclusions. 10) Give bibliography. 11) Scientific and scholarly honesty are required everywhere, but more so in writing s written for experts. 12) _ Inpresenting conclusions be careful that your language shows where you are certain, and where you are in doubt use qualified statements. 13) Stick to scientific method. Technicians i i Nowe ‘Technicians are at the heart of any operation. The bring the scientist’s imaginative research and the engineers’ calculations ard drawings to life. "They build equipment, maintin it and use it. ‘Their opinions deserve consideration. Their educational levels vary from metric to technical schools diploma Engineering or junior Eigineer with B. S. degrees, Vocational schools. Junior Engineers better trained in theory, have less practical experience. Technicians have limitations. (2) May not follow complicated maths. Scanned with CamScanner(b) Grow restive with too mucl applied aspects are important for them, (iMay aot bel very chicienh in, wails lied wetting advanced complicated writing. : ' Unless you are seen that your technicians are college trained, give then 5 1 7 fe ence BU oma You may Ascume a good deal of knowledge on the part of the audience ae much as with the experts. i 10. Usually you ‘will need to. supply some background information and some detinitions. it 11. “Care more about the practical imlicdtions of a theory than about the e0% ary 12. But technicians have a certain level of education and training "2¥ be interested in some theory at least in the background sections but not in-depth eT 13. Butkeep theory explanations simple and fairly non-mathematical, 14. ‘The best thing sould be to put most of the maths needed in graphs Form. 15. Use analogical method (similarity process of reasoning from parallel examples — resemblance of functions). 15, Analogy bridges the gap between a reader’s general information and the particular object or theory you are trying to explain. oe 16, Accuracy and precision in figures and measurements are essential in writing for the echnicians ‘Techaveal manvals, installation manual, workshop and operating instructs kre the most common types of writing for technicians. Their very nature demands that they should be accurate and precise. The combined audience: «Most difficult audience- perhaps composed of executives, experts and technicians. Such audiences are common in industries. © How will you avoid bombarding the manager with detail and et the seme time satisfy the needs of the experts? «The best approach to the problem is to consider how your readers will read the report: a) The executive may use it for making a decision 5) Experts may use it guide the executive in decision meking. c) Both experts and technicians may use it to implement the decision. ‘Major consensus of different audience: a) Executive's concer is whether the new sysiem is practical one. Will it be i enough of improvement over previous systems? Will it justify the cost? 1 yb) Experts need enough detail to understand the new design. They must be looking for holes in your theory. You must present it completely. c) Technicians will be worrying about construction and maintenance. What will you do? How would you justify these varied needs? You must compartmentalize the report. Many technical reports are not meant to be read straight through by one reader. Different segments designed to do different jobs. 7 Executives: Suppose you have designed a new system for the executiv in wi a general appreciation of the new system, follow this with a section ees and conclude with recommendations. etc Technical aspects for experts and technicians: Installation, details of i jori over other existing systems. Even the writers may be ation, details ofits superiority . Scanned with CamScannerAnalysis for New Household Cleaner Advertorial Analysis Understanding SMographics - Interest Environment Needs Customization Expectations PN OOO (1D The target audience ig are looking for a new, family and safe for the men who spend & good amount of time cleaning their houses and way to get the job done. They want something that is safe for their Environment. These women have spent hours scrubbing their floors end bathrooms and are in need of @ powerful yet “green” way to cut their cleaning time in half and Reve Beautiful, sparkling results, They have spent a lot of money on other household cleaner and are ready to find @ goto cleaner that doesn't cost too much casi (2) The audienes is knowledgeable of household cleaners. They have tried everything. They crane their time cleaning and know what's out there. They've ted the “ae seen on TV" Elinmicks as weil es tustec brand names. They know a jot about cleaners but are still waiting for the next big thing {) Our aucienes ie typically women, between the ages of 26 and 45 They are generally Married, stay-at-home moms. The audience is mostly middle class, with ey least ¢ high school diploma, though many have a coliege degree. (4) These women are reading about our product because they are flipping through 2 home Gecoriwomen’s magazine and are drawn to the Idea that a new houschoy Cleaner that can cut Tat Cleaning time in half is out there. They are interested in the fact that ie environmentally friendly and safe fer their families while stil getting the job done They typically do the household shopping and will be interested to see that our product ie or inexpensive option, (6) This advertorial will be seen in home decor magazines, women's magazines, and as inserts in the weekly coupons. (6) As noted earlier, the auclencs isin need of a new way to clean the Girtest, hard to cles places of their house. They need something that will clean Sverything, clean it well, ang et b , e safe. (7) Specific needs and interests that should be addressed in the advertorial j environmental footprint cost, effectiveness, time. Itwil addreee cane effective way to clean their houses. sate foruse ona vatey of eurfaces and cost fective she also peel f how powerful our ingredi t thi i ther cleaners because of Naredients are, yet i S is untiky slornents that they won't be scared to spray on the Surfaces fired Include ural uched b Scanned with CamScanner