technical writing steps

8/9/2019 Technical Writing Steps

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Document Custodian The employee at either the Laboratory-wide or Section level who is

responsible for ensuring the proper formatting, publishing, distribution, and archiving of controlled

documents.documentation will be maintained electronically on the server

5.6 QMS documentation in hardcopy form will be valid for one day after pr

Policies

Policies are clear, simple statements of how your organisation intends to conduct its services,

actions or business. They provide a set of guiding principles to help with decision making.

Policies dont need to be long or complicated a couple of sentences may be all you need for

each policy area.

Procedures

Procedures describe how each policy will be put into action in your organisation. !ach

procedure should outline"

Who will do what

What steps they need to take

Which forms or documents to use.

Procedures might #ust be a few bullet points or instructions. Sometimes they work well as

forms, checklists, instructions or flowcharts.

What is a policy?$ policy is a statement of agreed intent that clearly and une%uivocally sets out an organisation&s views withrespect to a particular matter. 't is a set of principles or rules that provide a definite direction for an organisation.Policies translate the philosophy, mission or purpose of the organisation (and their commitment to volunteerparticipation) into work practices by acting as a guide to decision-making.

Instructions and proceduresare documents that help either developers or

end users operate or congure a device or program.[28]Examples of instructional

documents include user manualsand trouleshooting guides for computer

programs! household products! medical e"uipment! and automoiles.

#ost pro$ects egin with a proposal%a document that descries the purpose of a

pro$ect! the tasks that will e performed in the pro$ect! the methods used to

complete the pro$ect! and nally the cost of the pro$ect.[2&]'roposals cover a wide

range of su$ects.

(pecications ) are design outlines that descrie the structure! parts! packaging!and delivery of an o$ect or process in enough detail that another party canreconstruct it.[**]+or example! a technical writer might diagram and write the
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tracks for their degrees. 1hoose the track that seems more interesting to you, so that

you can learn the style, terminology and best practices of that specific trade.

o 'f you are not enrolled in a technical writing and communication degree,

consider a double ma#or in writing2!nglish and another sub#ect you are

interested in, such as computer science, biology, graphic design, pre-med,

engineering, law or mechanics. This is the technical knowledge needed to work

as a technical writer. 'f this is not an option, go to a library, read, and teach

yourself.

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Enroll in a technical writing course at a local university, community college or at

the Society or !echnical Communication, S!C.org. 0ake sure that the course

provides you with all the skills needed to produce a technical document, a certification

and some kind of speciali3ation.

$ technical writing course2certification should teach the following skills" analy3ing

information2research, interviewing, documentation, basic computer2graphic design,

presentation, testing, editing, publishing and revising

"

#one your computer skills.$lthough you should enroll in the necessary computer

science classes at school, you should make sure you are proficient in 0icrosoft 4ffice

Suite, $dobe rame0aker, $dobe 1reative Suite, 0adcap lare, $uthor-it, 0icrosoft


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5isio, Lotus 6otes and 7T0L coding. These are all used in technical writing

environments and may be prere%uisites for #ob applications.

$

Add an associate%s degree or certiication in a new su&'ect.This will give you

added relevance in the technical writing market, allowing you to e+pand your #ob

search and land a #ob more easily.

#ethod 2 of *3 4ecessary Work56ndustry Experience

Join the Society for Technical Communication (STC).0ead the 76ntercom7

and 7echnical 9ommunication :ournal7 to get a ackground on what is currently

eing pulished in the technical writing eld.

*. (olunteer to do technical writing 'o&s, i you don%t have writing samples.ou will

need samples of professional technical writing to create a portfolio. The following are

ways you can volunteer your time in order to produce these samples"

o 1all or e-mail your local ST1 chapter. $sk if they have volunteer pro#ects

available to help you gain e+perience.

o 1all local businesses and ask them if they need help creating an instructional

manual or technical document. 0ost businesses will #ump at the chance to

have someone with a writing education do a manual for free. 0ake sure to

specify the hours you are willing to work, your time line and what you can

produce.

o /ork on an open source pro#ect. 4pen 4ffice, /ordPress, L8S Tech are all

open source pro#ects that are available for free on the 'nternet. 5olunteer and

track your hours spent improving their instructional or technical te+t.

o Learn new programs or skills and write an instructional manual for them. Take

some initiative to produce a professional looking document, even if you are not


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contracted to do so. 4ffer it for free on a website or blog, so that your work has

an audience.

*. Create your portolio.0ake sure your samples are impeccable. Then, make

attractive, well designed digital and physical versions of your portfolio.

o 'nclude *9 to *: diverse e+amples of technical writing e+perience. or

e+ample, include video tutorials, #ournal articles, %uick user guides, help files,

an e+cerpt from a business manual and anything else that touts your

e+perience. /rite a brief introduction e+plaining the work youve done, its

purpose and any tools you used.

o 1reate a digital portfolio on a website. ou can post your website on a

/ordPress site for free. 0ake sure it is well-designed and easily accessible. 't

should be completely free of grammatical errors.

o 'nclude any relevant educational e+perience at the end of your portfolio.

$lthough this will be in your resume, it is important to highlight any honors,

essay publications and high marks you received while training as a technical

writer.

Create a resume.ormat it to highlight your e+perience, including volunteer

work, and education. 0ake sure it is flawless and well-designed.

o ou should change your resume for every #ob application. 7ighlight the skills

that apply to the #ob posting and industry, rather than producing a general

resume for every #ob.

Consider starting a blog about technical communication.(howing passion

and drive for the industry can set you apart from the competition. 'ost regularly

with an emphasis on your est technical su$ects.

technical writing steps

Documents