UNIT TWO: STAGES IN WRITING TR

Preparation
Writing is viewed as a non-linear and recursive
process composed of three main stages:
Stage I: Pre-writing.
Before beginning to write you should consider:
– Audience and Purpose,
– Tone and Style (how you transmit the information),
– Gathering Information (brainstorming, analyzing
sources of information, etc.) and
– Outlining (organization of information).
 2.1 Audience Analysis

Considering audiences requires:

Asking these four questions
• Who is going to read this report?
(Managers / academicians / researchers)
• What do they already know?
• What do they need to know?
• Do any of them have certain
Attitudes (Do they ‘ve : +ve or –ve attitudes)?
Prejudices(Do they ‘ve : +ve or –ve prejudice)?
 2.1 Audience Analysis, cont’d

• “The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is

not the mere presentation of information and thought
but rather its actual communication.
– It does not matter how pleased an author might be
to have converted all the right data into sentences
and paragraphs;
– it matters only whether a large majority of the
reading audience accurately perceives what the
author had in mind.”
George Gopen and Judith Swan
The Science of Scientific Writing
 2.1 Audience Analysis, Cont’d

The most important consideration in technical writing is the

audience.
The intended audience will affect
– Language choice and level of detail,
– The style and form of document.
• The style of an engineering report for a technical review
panel will be different from that of a city council.
• If there are multiple audiences, the writing should be
geared to the level of understanding of the least
knowledgeable audience.
• “You have to simplify points until the last stupid person
understands”.
 2.1 Audience Analysis, cont’d

• In the engineering workplace, readers of TRs include:

– Supervisors assessing progress on specific projects
– Corporate officers evaluating professional recommendations
and proposals to invest in new technologies.
• Usually, readers will have a technical or engineering
background, but it is your responsibility as the report writer to
explain the specifics of the subject of your experiment, process,
or project.
• In classroom task like lab report, your immediate audience is the
professor evaluating your understanding of theoretical concepts.
Other real or imagined audiences include fellow students,
engineering colleagues, or customers seeking engineering
services or products.
 2.2 Purpose for TRW
• Reports are issued for a variety of purposes, like to:
– Communicate results or describe progress of a research
project;
– Provide a list of instructions or procedures for current
practices;
– Determine the feasibility of a technology and recommend
if the research should be continued (and how to evaluate
progress that is made); and
– Detail technical specifications (materials, functions,
features, operation, market potential, etc.).
– Give background information on an emerging or critical
research topic;
 2.2 Purpose for TRW, cont’d

• Giving information about activities, progress, plans

and problems;
• Recording events for future reference in decision
making;
• Recommending specific actions;
• justify and persuade readers about the need for
action in controversial situations, and serve as an
immediate, practical purpose for a particular case.
• Giving answer to the question requested by an
authorized body or an organization or a person in
charge of the company or agency.
 2.3 Collecting Data/Information

• The next step is to collect information needed for

accomplishing the stated purpose.
• Information may be collected through:
– Primary research, where the technical communicator
conducts research first-hand, and
– Secondary research, where work published by another
person is used as an information source.
• The technical communicator must acknowledge all sources
used to produce his or her work.
• To ensure this is done, the technical communicator should
distinguish quotations, paraphrases, and summaries when
taking notes.
 2.4 Organizing & Outlining Data
Before writing the initial draft:
• All the ideas are organized in a way that will make the
document flow nicely.
• A good way of doing this is to write all random thoughts
down on a paper, then
• Circle all main sections,
• Connect the main sections to supporting ideas with
lines, and
• Deletes all irrelevant material.
Once each idea is organized, the writer can then organize
the document as a whole.
 2.4 Organizing & Outlining Data, cont’d
This can be accomplished in various ways:
• Chronological: This is used for documents that involve a
linear process, such as a step-by-step guide describing how
to accomplish something.
• Parts of an object: Used for documents which describe the
parts of an object, such as a graphic showing the parts of a
computer (keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc.)
• Simple to Complex (or vice versa): Starts with the easy-to-
understand ideas, and gradually goes deeper into complex
ideas.
• Specific to General: Starts with main ideas, and then
organizes the ideas into sub-categories.
 2.5 Writing First Draft
The 2nd Stage is Writing the first draft:
Once you have gathered and organized the
information, you can begin writing a first draft.
At this stage, it is important to:
• Consider the main parts of the text,
• Paragraph development and
• Coherence as well as
• Genre conventions.
 2.5 Writing First Draft, cont’d
Writing the first draft involves fleshing out the detailed
outline.
Thus, the writer should:
• Strive to be clear, concise, logical,
• Not repeat herself/himself,
• Have good organization,
• Use common everyday words,
• Be positive, and not be negative or apologetic.
• Never take for granted anything the reader may know.
• Present information that is needed, so the reader does not
have to guess at what you had intended.
 2.5 Writing First Draft, cont’d
It is recommended to have sources of
information and
• Other reference material organized for use
during the writing process.
• Insert citation where needed and
• Prepare the citation list as you write.
• Vary the length of your sentences and pace.
 2.6 Revising

During the revising stage, it is possible to focus the report

to meet various purposes and the intended audiences.
• Ask a colleague to review all or a portion of the
manuscript.
This is a helpful strategy you have always to do.
• Scan each page and ask yourself:
– Are the points-content- relevant?
If not, delete irrelevant ones.
– Are ideas put following some logical development?
If not, interlink between sentences, paragraphs,
sections, etc. where appropriate
 2.6 Revising Tips
Put the report away for a day or two, that is:
• Allow a “Cooling Period” between writing the draft and
• Revision in order to evaluate the draft objectively.
Print out your draft and mark up the paper ‘copy’;
• It is often difficult to revise on-screen.
Read your draft aloud- often,
• Hearing the text will enable you to spot problem areas that
need improvement.
Reading through your draft several times,
• Each time searching for, and
• Correcting a different set of problems.
 2.6 Checklists for Revising
You can use the lists below as checklists for revising:
• Completeness,
• Appropriate introduction and conclusion,
• Accuracy,
• Unity and coherence,
• Consistency,
• Conciseness,
• Awkwardness, and
• Biased language.
Make sure that layout and design, visuals, and language are
consistent.
Do not call the same item by one term on one page and a
different term on another page.
 2.6 Checklists for Revising, cont’d
• Delete or replace: Vague words and unnecessary
intensifiers.
• Check for: Affectation and unclear pronoun references.
• Jargon: If you have any doubt that all your readers
won’t understand any jargon or special terms you have
used, eliminate or define them.
• Clichés: Replace clichés with fresh figures of speech or
direct statements.
• Typographical errors: Problems resulting from the use
of computers or typewriters.
 2.7 Editing
Editing for Style
Good style makes the writing more interesting, appealing, or readable.
In general, the personal writing style of the writer should not be
evident in technical writing.
Some changes are made by choice, not for correctness, and may
include:
• Adding headings, lists, graphics,
• Changing passive-voice sentences to an active voice,
• Defining terminology,
• Rearranging paragraphs,
• Shortening paragraphs, and
• Shortening sentences.
 2.7 Editing, cont’d

Editing for Grammar

To undertake editing for grammar, a report
writer may ask these questions:
• Are the sentences grammatical?
• Are the words correctly spelled?
• Are punctuations and capitalizations properly
used?
• Are appropriate words and expressions used?
 2.7 Editing, cont’d

Edit for Context

Determining the necessary amount of context to
provide is important.
Thus, the technical writer should realize that:
• There needs to be a balance b/n exuberance or
enthusiasm and modesty;
• Exuberance may lead audience take unintended or
additional meaning from the text,
• Terseness or shortness should be avoided:
Terseness may leave the audience to be unable to
interpret meaning because of missing words.
 2.8 Polishing

The process of completing the final article or report

is termed as polishing.
Polishing involves the following tasks:
• Cross checking to make sure there are no
inconsistencies between chapters or sections;
• Making sure the table of contents, list of tables,
and list of figures are up to date and complete;
• References cited in the text have been included in
the reference list; and
• Any necessary acknowledgements had been duly
checked and added.
 2.8 Polishing, cont’d

Finally, proofread the final report one more

time before releasing it using:
• Grammar checkers, and
• Spell checkers
They are important aids to proofreading, but
• They can make writers overconfident.
For example, for the computer:
• ‘sinner’ and ‘senior’ are the same while
• ‘course’ and ‘coarse’, too are the same.
 2.9 Proof Reading Checklists
You are advised to use:
• Appropriate format, as for reports or correspondence,
Consistent style, refers to using similar formats for:
• Headings, terminology, spacing, fonts,
• Correct numbering of figures and tables,
• Specific grammar usage,
• Appropriate punctuation,
• Correct abbreviations and capitalization,
• Spelling US or British, and
• Complete web or e-mail addresses,
 2.9 Proof Reading Checklists, Cont’d
• Use of accurate data in tables and lists,
• Taking care of cut-and-paste errors:
For example, as a result of moved or deleted text
and numbers,
• Making a survey of your overall goals:
For example, checking audience needs and purpose
• Appearance of the document:
For example, for its layout and design,
• Having a review by a trusted colleague,
For example, especially for crucial documents.
 End of Unit

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