To: Karen Meyers

From: Lewis Larson

Date: April 12, 2021
Subject: APLED 121-Chapter 4 Summary

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CHAPTER 4
OBJECTIVES IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Achieving Clarity in Technical Communication

 Provide Specific Detail-Quantify your information instead of using vague

language. For example, you can say 30 minutes ago instead of recently.
 Answer the Reporter’s Questions-Another way to write clearly is to answer the
questions-who, what, when, where, why and how.
 Use Easily Understandable Words-Avoid obscure words, for example:
 Use first instead of initial
 Use try instead of endeavor
 Use later instead of subsequent

Simplifying Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs for Conciseness

 Conciseness Saves Time-Keep it short; people’s time is valuable. Your audience

cannot or should not spend too much time on reading your writing.
 Technology Demands Conciseness-the size of the device may determine the
length of your communication. It should fit in a box.
 Conciseness Improves Readability-not all people are at the same reading level.
 Limit Word Length for Conciseness-long words make a sentence hard to
understand
 Limit Sentence Length-Use active instead of passive voice and delete “be” verbs
 Limit Paragraph Length-In a long paragraph you can lose your readers attention.

Achieving Accuracy in Technical Communications

 Proofreading Tips
 Let someone else read it
 Let it sit
 Print it out
 Use technology
 Read it out loud
Organizing Technical Communication

 Analysis
 Spatial Organization
 Chronology
 Importance
 Compare/Contrast
 Problem/Solution
 Cause and Effect

The Writing Process at Work

 Prewriting-Brainstorming
 Writing-Write your paper
 Rewriting-Proof read and edit