GROUP MEMBERS

MUHAMMAD
HAIDER

JAVED

NISAR

2013-EE-476
2013-EE-

466
MUHAMMAD

UMAIR

2013-EE-452

ADNAN

SARAM

2013-EE-490

SHEIKH

BILAL MEHMOOD

2013-EE-443

TECHNICAL
&
NON-TECHNICAL
WRITING

What is Technical Writing?

TECHNICAL WRITING
is a broad term that
encompasses a wide
variety of documents
in science,
engineering, and the
skilled trades.

What do Tech Writers create?

Users

manuals
System manuals
Step-by-step
procedures
On-line help
Training manuals
Quick-reference
guides
How-to video scripts

Characteristics of technical writing

Information to convey:
An expert must translate formulae, numbers, research and other technical
concepts into a written form that is understandable to guarantee an action or outcome

Purpose of writing:

To inform

To instruct

To propose

To persuade

To recommend

Characteristics
Recognize the audience:
The nature of the audience determines the level of technical detail, the
amount of context/background information you provide, and the
organization of the document.

Brevity:
pare your language down to shortest message you can to get across to your readers.
Make ideas and information clear:
Technical writing is known for its use of
headings and subheadings and for the way information is made easily accessible by grouping
material

Characteristics

Satisfying Document Specifications:

understanding what is expected in an email vs. a

memo, and understanding how to write up the results of an experiment vs. the conclusions.

Organizing Information Logically and Linearly:

introduction : always provide the big picture before jumping into the
detail
Body: this is where information and technical details are given
Conclusion: this is where the main points are reemphasized

technical

Comparison of two types

Creative writing

Technical writing

Structure

Rigid article or essay structure.

Structure
Fairly flexible structures

tone
More personal even
subjective.
less formal

Vocabulary: more phrasal verbs

Simpler and higher-frequency

vocabulary

For example literature review,

experimental design, materials and
procedures; data results, discussion
of results; general discussion

Tone

More impersonal and authoritative;

more formal.

Vocabulary

Lower-frequency vocabulary , more

complex words, with many
multisyllabic words from Latin and
Greek

Comparison of two types

Creative writing

Technical writing

genre

Formal, rigid styles like essay,

lab report, case study, research paper,
thesis, literature review

Writing that is more colloquial or

conversation in style

Vocabulary choice

Words are used with more

common meanings (e.g., theory=
conjecture)

Topic sentences

Topic sentences may be at

the start or end of a paragraph, or
omitted altogether.

Genre:

Vocabulary choice:
Words have more specific,
technical meanings (e.g., theory
=conceptual framework)

Topic sentences:

Paragraphs usually start

with a concise, direct statement of the
main point, followed by supporting
arguments or evidence

Comparison of two types

Creative writing

Technical writing

Vocabulary Usage

Some
redundancy or repetition of words or
ideas

verb forms

More active verbs, get-passive

(e.g., got replaced)

Vocabulary usage:

Highly dense text;

very concise; very precise expression;
minimal repetition.

verb forms

More passive voice (bepassive, e.g., was replaced)

Aspects of technical writing

Deficit model: A mode of thinking held by some scientists that communication with the
public is top-down and one-way

Readability: a statistical measure of the complexity of text. The longer the words and the
sentences in a sample of text, the less readable it will be

Hedging: writing in such a way as to qualify assertions made in a passage of writing

Waffling: padding out passages with unnecessary words

Super-compression: leaving out transitional and contextual material that might otherwise
help to clarify the meaning of a passage

Ambiguity: resulting from sentences with ambiguous or confusing grammatical

constructions

Example of ambiguity
original

Re-write

Human intervention is needed to

reduce the high levels of CH4
concentrated in Lake Kivu to avert a
lethal gas release that will result in
the deaths of many of the 2 million
people living near the shoreline.

Without human intervention to reduce

the concentration of CH4, the 2 million
people along the Lake Kivu shoreline
may suffer a catastrophic gas release.

Aspects of technical writing

Over-citation:
using too many references in support of points, or using too many
references that lack relevance to a point made

Over-long

sentences:

stringing sequences of subordinate phrases together with

prepositions that make the meaning of a sentence unclear

Example of over long sentences

Original
The results of this study support
the
hypothesis that appetite for
protein is
regulated by the synthesis of
ghrelin

Re-write

This studys results support the

hypothesis that ghrelin synthesis
regulates protein appetite.

Introduction to creative writing

Creative writing

requires saying things in words that create illusions or

establish a mood or other desired affect.

It can be just humorous or entertaining like a murder mystery.

A characteristic of this type of writing is the use of expressive and descriptive language.

creative writing

Creative Writing encompasses a broader scope of writing than Technical

fewer limitations.

Creative Writing can be fiction, nonfiction, or a combination of both, and is

entertainment purposes

for example, from fantastical stories of Mickey Mouse to hard-boiled

stories about corrupt policemen

Writing, with
usually for

detective

Creative writing
Audience of creative writing:

In Creative Writing, audiences tend to be divided among age, hobby, taste, or

interest.
The audience that enjoys romance is addressed in Romance novels.

the audience that enjoys space exploration, or futuristic technology, gets

in Science Fiction.

In Creative Writing, the only rule about establishing a voice is that it

serve the subject matter and audience for which it is being written.

addressed
appropriately

Creative writing
Entertainment purpose:

Much writing is intended simply for the entertainment of the reader.

Countless books and magazines have reader entertainment as their primary objective. This
is not technical writing.

Stories and novels may not be factual

examples of technical documents

Instructions and proceduresare documents that help either developers or end

users operate or configure a device or program.Examples includeuser manuals for
household products and medical equipment

Proposalsa document that describes the purpose of a project, the tasks that will be
performed in the project, the methods used to complete the project, and finally the cost
of the project.

Emails, letters, andmemoranda

are aimed at simply communicating

information while others are designed to persuade the recipient to accomplish a certain
task. While letters are usually written to people outside of a company.

Examples of technical writing

Rsums andjob applications

Technical reports

White papers

Web sites.Technical writers of today are often responsible for authoring pages on

They are documents that are used in a

professional setting to inform readers of the authors credentials.
are written to provide readers with information, instructions, and
analysis on tasks. Reports come in many forms.
are documents that are written for experts in a field and typically
describe a solution to a technological or business challenge or problem.
websites like About Us pages.

Examples of technical writing

Press releases

a document that describes the products functions and value to the

public.

Specificationsare design outlines that describe the structure, parts, and delivery of
an object or process in enough detail that another party can reconstruct it.

Descriptionsare shorter explanations of procedures and processes that help readers

understand how something works.

Summary

Subject Treatment
In technical writing, feelings and thoughts of writer mustNOTbe included.

Scope of Document

In technical writing, writer must be aware of the scope of the document he is

writing.

Needs Of Reader

Writer must understand the needs of reader he is writing document for. For example,
Writer must tell the reader, this is our product, you need this product because....... and it
will be very much beneficial to you because of ........ etc.

summary

Organize Document

Technical document must be well organized. ItMUSThave a proper opening, body and
conclusion.

Identification of Audience

it is the most important part of writing a technical document. You must identify the
audience you are talking to.

Concise

A technical document must be concise and comprehensive

summary

No plagiarism:

A good technical document gives proper attribution when the work of others
make a point or provide background information.

is cited to

Acronyms:
One of the most notable and easy ways to ease the understanding of a
technical document is to limit or eliminate the use of acronyms

Understandable Statistics:
Statistics are becoming a more prominent part of corporate life .

A good report should explain statistical terminology in words understandable

intended readers

by the