Eng 153: Technical Writing

What is Technical Writing?

“Technical writing conveys specifc inormation about a technical subject to a specifcaudience or a specifc purpose…The words and graphics o technical writing are meant tobe practical: that is, to communicate a body o actual inormation that will help an audienceunderstand a subject or carry out a tas!"

# Michael H. Markel Director of Technical Communication, Boise tate !ni"ersit#

T#$es of Technical %e$orts&Communication

$nnual %eport&oos'omputer (ardware )uides*aga+inesewsletters-rgani+ational *anuals.cholarly $rticles/0ournals.otware )uides Technical %eports

Characteristics of Technical Writing

• 1t is clear and straight orward! 1 you are interested in technical writing or

proessional purposes, it is very important to now that this type o writing re2uires thatthe writer stic to the subject matter and relay inormation in a clear and concisemanner!

•  The language is very direct and straight to the point! The writing will avoid words that

people do not understand and will avoid an elo2uent writing style!

• 1t is very detailed and inormative! The perect e3ample o technical writing is a

te3tboo! The written content o most te3tboos is geared to providing inormation bydescribing the subject matter as ully as possible!

• 1t is very structured! This type o writing has a very obvious composition that maes it

easy or the reader to ollow along! .olid structure is needed with technical writing as itallows the audience to easily access the inormation as needed!

The four C's:Clarit# ## it is easily understood by your intended audienceCom$rehensi"eness ## all o the necessary inormation is presentConciseness ## it is clear without e3cess verbiageCorrectness ## it is grammatical and ollows conventions

!ses of Technical Writing

With understanding the characteristics o technical writing, you can better comprehend howthis type o writing is used! Technical writing is ound everywhere! There are a variety odi4erent types o writing which use a technical style!

5or e3ample, instructions o all sorts are a perect e3ample o technical writing!

• When you open up an instruction manual, as the reader, the goal is to be inormed

about the product so that you can use it as e6ciently as possible!

• 7ab reports are another e3ample o technical writing! The main purpose o a lab

report is to e3plain the occurrences in a lab so that others will be able to gaininormation!

• 8riving directions can be considered a type o technical writing as the goal is to

clearly and e6ciently provide instructions on how to go rom point $ to point &!

-verall, technical (riting is a very useul orm o writing that is encountered by everyonealmost every day!

)lanning *efore #ou *egin

9! 1dentiy your audience and their e3pectations

! ;now your purpose

<! ;now your material

=! >nderstand the writing tas at hand

 

! -rgani+e your thoughts and materials

@! &udget ade2uate time to write, review, revise and edit

+actors to consier

'larity: $void 0argon#0argon: a vocabulary particular to a place o wor (abbreviations, slang)# Audience familiarity with the topic determines appropriate use o jargon

'larity: 8efne the >namiliar#1 you must abbreviate, defne the term in its frst occurrence, and  put abbreviations in

 parentheses-Italicize frst occurrenceo unamiliar terms and defne them right away

&revity: >se Words A6ciently#Never use two words when one word will do !

Bre"it#: -ess s More#Pare your language down to the essential message you want to get across to yourreaders:

Bre"it#: Most m$ortant +irstBClace key inormation in the main clause

Bre"it#: %emo"e %eunanc##Combine overlapping sentences when possible

im$licit#: !se Details Wisel##.pecifc details are desirable, but be careul to balance detail with audience needs orclarity Dsignifcance is more important!

-anguage:

eedless 'omple3ity#>se simple words

/*straction# Avoid too many abstract nouns

/m*iguit##'hoose words whose meanings are clear -Order the words in your sentences careully-Do not overuse pronouns—particularly it! and this!—because it is oten di6cult toidentiy the antecedent

Weak "s. trong# Avoid too many “to be”verbs  “is" “was" “were" “has been" “have been"# Avoid excess words, which slow comprehension o the main point

A3ample:

 

/cti"e 0oice: trong 0er*s

BTechnical writers want to communicate as e6ciently as possible, and active voice ismore straightorward and is stronger than passive voice

5or Ang 9<: <&.$9/5ri 99:<E#:<E

ote:

9! Clease study the above notes! )et ready or the discussion on the ne3t

meeting, 0uly 9!! We will have two topics on 0uly 9: 1ntroduction to Technical Writing and

 Technical Writing Crocess!<! $nswer the attached activities here! 7eader, please collect and submit on

*onday, 0une F!=! Clease create our 5aceboo group account, add me *iss)len 'orte+ano!

 Than you and see you on the ne3t meetingG

Crepared by:

*iss )len 'orte+ano