TECHNICAL WRITING

- form of descriptive writing which expresses or explains complicated concepts or processes in

understandable terms; a method of researching and creating information about technical
processes or products.
- usually its goal is to inform/instruct or persuade/argue
- Technical communication serves both explicit or clear (to provide information, to provide
instructions, to persuade the reader to act upon the information, or to enact or prohibit
something) and implicit or implied purposes (establishing a relationship, creating trust,
establishing credibility, and documenting actions).
- Most technical communications are based on a problem statement which gives your document
a clearly stated objective for your benefit as well as your reader’s.

Two major perspective:

 Educational - form of writing embarked upon by researchers and other professionals;

communicates concept or theory; reports educational research or discusses current trends on a
given field

- such writing should be able to speak to the audience without the writer trying to make verbal
explanations

- it fall under the principle of preliminary literature (to what extent is the writer lnowledgeable about
the topic), aimed at:

* study works of major authors in the relevant field of study

* provides clear understanding to the researcher about major theme relevant to subject area

* helps researcher to identify areas further investigation

 Business - technical writing to communicate about business and industry; focuses on products
and services

- it is the ability of the writer to make the process of installing a product "user-friendly"

Characteristics exhibited of technical writing as viewed by the society for technical communication:

 communicating about technical or specialized topics

 communicating through technology
 provides instructions about how to do something regardless of the task's technical nature
Importance of Technical Writing:

 Technical documentation is essential for the smooth functioning of the company

 Ideas have to be communicated to have any value
 Writing well and clearly communicating will shape a positive first impression of you and the kind
of person you are, and also of your technical competence
 to make a successful career
 for your designs and ideas to be implemented

 Technical writing is mandatory once an activity requires expertise or skill.

Technical Writing and Maritime Profession

Professionals of Maritime industry is expected to develop the following competencies:

 thoughts of writer becomes the desired action of the reader

 remove the misunderstandings of complex and technical language constraints in Maritime
industry
 provide techniques that master effective written communication
 advance skillls and processes in submitting effective and efficient technical reports

In order to achieve these, students are trained to:

 understand communication constraints and demands when writing technical report

 learn to optimize TRW ability
 recognize the keys to successful technical writing and drafting of reports
 apply proven techniques
 identify and manage risks associated with poor writing skills and abilities

Types of Technical Writing:

 Proposal - is a document which describes the purpose of a project, the task it will accomplish,
the methods to be employed, and the cost of the project; starting point of every project
 Technical Report - is a document written by a researcher detailing the results of a project and
submitted to the sponsor of the project; may be published before the corresponding journal
literature;

- classified and export-controlled reports have restricted access, obscure acronyms and codes are
employed
Different Forms of Technical Report:

*Primary Research Report - type of technical report which presents findings and interpretation from
laboratory or field of research

*Recommendation, feasibility, evaluation reports - type of technical report that are used to compare
several options against a set of requirements and recommending the most preferred alternative

*Technical Background Reports - type of technical report that focuses on a technical topic and provide
background for target readers with specific needs who are willing to pay for such service

*Technical guides and handbooks - most common form of documentation in the business environment;
used for instructions and guidelines on technical procedures, corporate policies and for relaying any
other information needed for reference purposes

*Business Plans - type of technical report that deals with the development of a proposal to start a
business

*Technical specifications - type of report that presents descriptive and operational details of a new or
updated product

*Instructions or procedures - documents that enable developers or end-users to operate or configure a

device or program

 Web sites - a virtual location on the world wide web which contains numerous educational and
organizational related webpages and data files accessed through the browser
 Emails, Memoranda and Letters - these forms of technical writing may either relay information
to the receiver or persuade the receiver to carry out a task.

Note: Memoranda for employee (internal customers and Letters for external customers

 White Paper - persuasive, authoritative, in-depth report or a guide on a given topic which
presents a problem and a solution to it; for politicians, a legislative document which explains
and support a particular political solution; for technological group, describes a theory behind a
new piece of technology; in business, the definition may be product-centered or not
 Press Release - a public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted
publications for the purpose of letting the publi knwo of an organization's development
 Specifications - outlines of a design detailing the structure; parts, packaging, and delivery of an
object or process in a concise and comprehensive manner to ensure that audience make sense
of the intended message
 Descriptions - brief explanations of the procedures or processes that enable the reader
understand the fuctionality of something
 Resumes - a self-marketing tool designed with one purpose in mind, to sell the writer's skills,
knowledge and experience to an employer in order to attract an invitation to attend an
interview for a job offer
 Job application - official document often required for job placement, legal issues, data
processing, and employer convenience reasons
Technical Writing in Maritime Profession

The following are some documents accomplished by the ratings and officers of the Deck Department:

 Crew List
 Near Misses Data Card
 Marine Note of Protest
 Master’s Review
 Standing Orders to Officers
 Annual Ship to Shore Safety Drill
 Bunkering Record
 Bill of Lading
 Inspection Report on Port State Control
 Port of Call List
 Last Port Clearance
 Cargo Summary
 Ship’s Particulars
 Marine Pollution Control Sheet
 Ballast Water Reporting Form
 Declaration of Security
 MARPOL Ship Control Sheet
 Certificate of Classification
 Certificate of Registry
 SOLAS Certificates
 MARPOL Certificates
 International Anti-Fouling System Certificate
 International Load Line Certificate
 International Tonnage Certificate
 Certificates for Masters, Officers and Ratings
 Maritime Labor Certificates

Basic Principles of Technical Writing

There are six principles to guide technical writing:

1. Remember your purpose (to inform or persuade)

2. Remember your audience (their concerns, background, attitude toward your purpose),

3. Make your content specific to its purpose and audience,

4. Write clearly and precisely (active voice, appropriate language to audience),

5. Make good use of visuals (good page design and graphics), and
6. Be ethical (truthful, full disclosure, no plagiarizing).

Characteristics of Technical Writing

For technical articles to be effective, it is essential to implement the following characteristics of

technical writing.

 Accessibility

A technical report should include headings and subheads, indexes, and table of contents for the
reader to find the information he wants.

 Accuracy

Accuracy in an effective technical report shows it as factual, correct, free from bias. It is an
important characteristic of any technical document. A slight mistake can have grave consequences. For
instance, if one was not able to present enough details it may harm the operation and produce
mistakes. Effective communication requires quality content and language that is accurate and readable.
Technical writing does not mean that translating information unquestioningly. In any profession, one
must know for whom the document is being written and whether it is accurate.

 Clarity

A technical article should be easily understood by the intended audience without ambiguities. It is
essential that the technical writer understands the reader's background and needs. Making the
documentation too technical can confuse the reader. The document is meaningless if the intended
audience does not understand what the writer wants to communicate. Writers who are well aware of
their audiences are in a position to give a solution to their problems. The profession of technical writing
demands simplicity of language and clarity of expression. One must avoid unnecessary words that may
put the readers in a quandary. The written document must be clear and concise so that the text
becomes easier to grasp and understand.

 Conciseness

In order for the consumer to utilize the document, it must be condensed into a manageable size. The
fewer steps the better, and the shorter each step is, the better. The writer must find the proper balance,
making sure it is brief enough to be manageable but still outlines every necessary step or detail.

 Correctness

An effective technical article follows both grammatical and technical conventions. The grammatical
structure of a technical document should be correct and free from any kind of ambiguities. The intended
meaning will not be communicated to the reader if the document has ambiguous sentences. A well-
organized document that makes use of headings and sub-headings is not only pleasing to the eye but
will also help the reader find specific information in a short time.

 Descriptiveness
 Electronic products such as navigational equipment or simulators for training often come with
manuals that tell how to operate it. As readers may come from a non-technical background, care must
be taken that the manual is not difficult to understand. Certain key concepts to operate the product
must be explained as easily as possible for the targeted readers. If one uses pure jargon, the customer
will possibly never know what you want to say. Explaining the product in layman's terms is absolutely
necessary. Good technical writing conveys ideas in the most effective manner. A well-written technical
document always contains answers to anticipated problems in the product or application. This aspect of
technical writing is commonly seen in articles that are related to troubleshooting a particular software or
product.

 Objectivity

Objectivity is defined as not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice. It is based

on facts - unbiased. Details involving personal opinions should be kept to a minimum.

 Thoroughness

Every detail must be outlined and each step clearly described. A missing step, as trivial as it may
seem, could render an otherwise perfect piece of technical writing worthless.

Syle in Technical Writing

- Style points not to the instrument used by the writer to communicate to the reader but to
characteristics of the writing itself.

Six Guidelines or Rules to achieve Style:

 Use good grammar

Singular Indefinite Pronouns:

Each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, one, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, no one,
nobody

Plural Indefinite Pronouns:

Both, few, many, several

Indefinite pronouns that is either singular (if the subject is not countable) or plural (if the subject is
countable).

All, more, most, none, some

 Write concisely
- Effective technical writing suggest that the average length for a sentence is 15-20 words.
- Experts have found that there are two ways we lose our readers: using words with which they
are unfamiliar and overly long sentences.

 Use the Active voice

- One of the main reasons you should use the active voice rather than the passive in technical
writing is the active voice more closely resembles the way people remember and process
information.
- In the active voice sentence, the subject acts. In the passive voice sentence, something is done
to the subject.
- Another reason to avoid the passive voice sentence is you run the risk of omitting the doer of
the action.

 Use positive statements

- Technical writers should word instructions as positive statements. Whenever possible, phrase
commands in a positive manner.
- Telling your readers what NOT to do is a negative statement. It is also abstract rather than
concrete. Your readers have to take time to think about what is true (positive) so they can
determine what is NOT true (negative).

 Avoid long sentences

- Short sentences are easier to understand than long sentences. For this reason, it is best to write
your technical documents in short sentences. If you are asking your readers to perform several
actions, begin the step with an active verb. This highlights the action itself.
- Another tip when separating steps into distinct bullet points is to make sure that the action
verbs in each bulleted item are in the same tense. For example, if the first step was worded,
"Creating an empty workspace ," then the next bullet would be, "Populating it with application
source code ," and the third bullet point would be, "Compiling the workspace ."

 Punctuate correctly
- Commas and periods always go inside the closing quotation mark. On the other hand,
semicolons and colons are always placed outside the quotation marks.
Basic Technical Techniques In Technical Writing
Description of a Process

Writing a Process Description

- The description of a process is designed to convey to the reader how a change takes place
through a series of stages. The process description examines an event over time. Use a process
description when your intended reader wants to learn about the action in question.
- Process Description explains the arrangement of a sequence in chronological order. In
organization, it is similar to mechanism description, except that the "part-by-part" becomes step
by step:

• What is it?

• What is its function?

• Where and when does it take place?

• Who or what performs it?

• How does it work?

• What are its principal steps?

Process description includes sequence, instructions, and procedure.

Classification

As with describing, narrating, defining, and comparing, classifying is a component of all writing genres.
Just as writers pause to describe ideas and events or define new concepts in most documents, they
routinely classify information–that is, show or tell readers how information can be grouped into
categories.

 Occasionally, an entire document focuses on explaining a taxonomy–that is, a scheme of classification.

 Why Classify Information?

 To make knowledge, we routinely categorize information. A seafarer may refer to ships. A biologist
might refer to the periodic table. A musician might speak about country music, new age music, jazz, or
techno. A movie critic might talk about suspense, thriller, drama, or comedic movies. A religious studies
professor might discuss Christian religions, Muslim sects, and Buddhist practices. As a college student,
you might talk about specific colleges’ sports teams according to the divisions their teams play in.
Universities often subdivide areas of specialty according to the following categories:

1. Natural sciences

Agriculture, Geology, Biology, Zoology

2. Social sciences

Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Social work

3.  Applied science

Biomedicine, Mathematics, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics

4. Humanities

 English literature, American studies, History, Interdisciplinary studies, Modern languages, Architecture,
Art history

5. Fine arts

 Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Theater

The process of classification involves grouping things together (on the basis of similarities) and dividing
them (according to differences). Some points to remember in classifying:

1.                Choose and use a single principle of classification. Your principle will determine the classes to
be discussed. Example; engines may be classified according to make, to use, to speed, to number of
cylinders- but only one at a time.
2.                Make your classification reasonably complete.

3.                Introduce subclass as needed.

How to Identify Classes and the Principle of Classification

Once you know what you are going to divide into classes, your next step is to identify the classes and the
principle of classification.

The principle of classification then is the method you use to sort the items into classes. If you sorted
ships into tanker, carrier, and passenger, you'd be using cargo as the principle of classification. You must
be careful to use only one principle of classification at a time. 

Here are some additional examples of classifications and their principles:

Topic Classes Principle of classification

Electrical circuits Series Pathway of electrical current
Parallel
Series-parallel
Anemias Blood-loss anemia Main cause of the anemia
Iron-deficiency anemia
Pernicious anemia
Hurricane track Total climatology and Combination of hurricane
prediction persistence methods characteristics
methods Particular climatology
and persistence method
Circulation and climatology
method
Dynamic model method
Wind machines Lift machines Interaction between the wind and
Drag machines propeller blade