Definition of Technical Writing Communication is part of the life of every creature on this planet.

How that communication is carried out however, is varied, and different types of communication are suitable based upon the type of information that needs to be conveyed. One specific area of communication involves transmitting, understanding and knowledge of a technical subject to others that need to know the basics and details ofthe subject in question. In written form, this communication type of communication is called technical writing. Definition of Technical Writing Technical writing refers to straightforward explanations and/or instructions dealing with a particular technical subject. The subject being written about may be abstract or tangible. Regardless, the writing must be easy to understand and follow. As with any writing project, the audiences understanding level must be considered in the development of the document. When writing about technical information, it is important to be concise and exact about your subject matter. The task assigned may be in the form of a help document for a piece of software or a machine or it may concern a process or way of performing a task. User manuals, assembly instructions, analysis reports or summaries of lengthy reports are all types of technical writing. Technical writing rarely, if ever, is done in a manner that personalizes it. There are never references to the first person. The structure of the text is always done in a detached or third party reference point. The text is geared to teach information; therefore, the tone is that of a teacher instructing a student in the subject. This at times may appear as simply a list of steps to take to achieve the desired goal or may be a short or lengthy explanation of a concept or abstract idea. SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TECHNICAL WRITING

sentence works for most readers). 3. Do not rely solely on complex sentences. Use simple and compound sentences along with complex sentences. 4. Avoid relying on BE verbs. 5. Avoid relying on passive. 6. Avoid "I" in formal reports. Use "I" in progress reports, memos, letters, possibly proposals. 7. Omit needless words (be concise). 8. Use correct punctuation, spelling, grammar, word choices. . . . 9. Consider tone: sound like you know what you're writing about, but be polite. FORMAT: 1. Consider margins, font size, font style. 2. Leave plenty of white space around figures and tables. 3. Use page numbers. Six Principles of Technical Writing by Catherine Hibbard

CONTENT: 1. Meet your readers' needs. Consider their purpose: they need the information you have. What do your readers know? What is their level of expertise? What do your readers need to know? 2. Meet your needs: What do you want your readers to know? What do you want to say? 3. Emphasize / focus on your main results and what they mean 4. Explain and analyze facts, data, figures. (Don't just dump data.) 5. State your main point clearly. Focus on the main point (use analysis) 6. Be accurate and fair. Remember, documents do not make decisions; people read documents to get the information necessary to make decisions.) 7. Use visual aids. Incorporate them in the text by interpreting them. 8. Keep it simple. ORGANIZATION: 1. State your purpose or main point first. 2. Deal with information in blocks. (Don't repeat ideas. Focus on key terms.) 3. Use headings. 4. Consider paragraph length: keep paragraphs relatively short and vary their lengths. 5. Emphasize main ideas (don't bury them in the middle of the text). 6. Use organization to reflect the structure of your results. SENTENCE STYLE: 1. When possible, use simple words. 2. Consider sentence length: vary sentence lengths but keep the average length short (an average of about 18 words per You must decide if the subject is either or levers . If you selected either as the subject and is as the verb, you made the correct choice. A list of indefinite pronouns that are always singular is listed below: Each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, one, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody The following indefinite pronouns are always plural: Both, few, many, several If you take a technical writing workshop, the materials will address numerous areas; some are very specific while others are more general in nature. A good starting point is to look at six principles of technical writing. Reviewing these basics can provide a great platform from which we can launch forays into specific areas of interest and documentation.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Use Good Grammar Write Concisely Use the Active Voice Use Positive Statements Avoid Long Sentences Punctuate Correctly

Principle One: Use Good Grammar Your readers expect technical documents to be written in standard English. Certain grammatical errors can actually cause your reader to misinterpret the information. However, because technical documents must be precise and accurate, readers expect documents to be professional, polished, and flawless. One grammatical rule to adhere to is subject-verb agreement. Note the choice of verbs below: One employee is absent. Two employees are absent. This subject-verb agreement is easy to make because in each sentence, the subject is obvious: employee in the first sentence agrees with is and employees in the second sentence agrees with are . The real challenge is when the subject is not as obvious. In the following sentences, which verb would you select? Either of the levers is clearly marked. Either of the levers are clearly marked?

Just to keep your life interesting, the following pronouns can be either singular or plural. All, more, most, none, some You may wonder how some pronouns can be both singular and plural. Review the following examples: Some of the information is inaccurate. Some of the figures are inaccurate. If grammar is a weak area for you, purchase and use a good reference book. Principle Two: Writing Concisely In technical writing, clarity and brevity is your goal. Why take 32 words to express what could be stated in 14 or 15? The dictates of effective technical writing suggest that the average length for a sentence is 1520 words. How do you achieve clarity and conciseness? One of the best ways is to look for multiword phrases that can be replaced by one or two words. Try replacing the multiword phrases below with a word or two. A large number of ________________ Prior to that time ________________ In the process of tabulating ________________

Principle Four: Using Positive Statements Technical writers should word instructions as positive statements. Whenever possible, phrase commands in a positive manner. Compare the following: Negative: Do not close the valve. Positive: Leave the valve open. 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). One exception to this rule is when a negative statement is clearer than a positive one. Keep in mind studies show it is almost 50% harder for your readers to understand the meaning when you use negatives. Principle Five: Avoiding 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. Compare the following sentences: Example of a sentence with multiple steps within the sentence: For Forte applications, create an empty workspace, populate it with application source code, and compile the workspace. Example of a sentence with multiple steps set apart:

As shown in table 3 ________________ For Forte applications, perform the following steps: Exhibits the ability ________________ Similarly, when you streamline sentences, your readers don't have to wade through extra verbiage. How would you streamline the sentence below? "To obtain maximum performance from your computer, you should endeavor to follow the maintenance program furnished in the manual accompanying your computer." Experts have found that there are two ways we lose our readers: using words with which they are unfamiliar and overly long sentences. By replacing wordy phrases with shorter ones and by pruning the deadwood from sentences, you are doing your readers a favor. NOTE: Answers: many, before, when tabulating, table 3 shows, can To enhance your computer's performance, follow the manual's maintenance program. Principle Three: Using the Active Voice Imperative sentences, or command sentences, are written in the active voice. The active voice is more natural to people when they speak, but technical writers often turn to the passive voice when writing technical documents. 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. Compare the following sentences: Staff hours are calculated by the manager on the actual work load. The manager calculates staff hours on the actual work load. 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. Note the absence of the "doer" in the following sentence: Documented practical examinations will be given for backhoes of the same type with different operating characteristics. Your reader will probably wonder who will give the practical examinations. If the technical writer had used the active voice, the "doer" would be clear.

Create an empty workspace. Populate it with application source code. Compile the workspace.

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 ." Principle Six: Using Standard Punctuation Your readers expect standard punctuation when they read your documents. Complicated or "creative" punctuation will confuse them. One suggestion is to select syntax that minimizes the need for punctuation. You may wish to divide compound or complex sentences into shorter sentences to avoid excessive or confusing punctuation. One example of this is deciding where to place your commas, periods, colons, and semicolons when using quotation marks. Commas and periods always go inside the closing quotation mark. Examples: We are "struggling young artists," but we hope to become successful. Most corporations adopt the belief, "the customer is always right." On the other hand, semicolons and colons are always placed outside the quotation marks. Examples: These actors can deliver "box office hits": Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp. Look in the manual under "text messaging"; the directions are very clear. Many technical writing workshops focus on advanced topics, expecting participants to already be familiar with the basic tenets of good technical writing. While these six principles are a good starting point, you may be surprised to see how often they are ignored within your own organizationand your industry. Challenge yourself to read and analyze other technical documents and ask yourself: What makes some documents a struggle to read while others are easy to comprehend? As you incorporate these and other sound writing techniques, your readers will benefit.

Characteristics of Technical Writing Technical writing is a profession that involves explaining complex technical ideas in simple terms to the user. Are you planning to make a career in this field? For that, you must know the characteristics of technical writing. Read on to know more. Ads by Google Small business franchise Now, you can win with a small business, franchise - sign in! www.helendoron.com Community Help Experts Better Documentation and Better User Communities syllogist.net The aim of technical writing is to translate scientific and technical information in a way that is clear and easy to understand. The specific information conveyed should be helpful to the reader. Technical writing is a form of writing that is extensively used to prepare manuals, description of new electronic products, instructions on how to operate a particular machine, etc. A technical writer is often asked to create a documentation for a technology. The documentation must clearly explain how to install and use that technology. Technical writing is different from usual essay writing. This profession, as many think, is not about writing a bunch of technical words. Nowadays, technical writing is used in diverse fields including robotics, chemistry, software and others. An educational textbook on subjects like physics or biology is also a form of technical writing. In order to become a successful technical writer, one must know the characteristics of technical writing. They are as follows: Clarity 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. Descriptiveness Electronic products such as digital cameras or VCRs often come with manuals that tell how to operate it. As the customers 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 you use pure jargons, 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. Accuracy Accuracy is an important characteristic of any technical document. A slight mistake can have grave consequences. For instance, if you forget to mention some important features of a new mobile phone, the customers may think that there is nothing special in that phone and will not prefer to buy it. Effective communication requires quality content and language that is accurate and readable. Technical writing does not mean that you translate information unquestioningly. In this profession, one must know for whom the document is being written and whether it is accurate. Correctness The grammatical structure of your 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 helps the reader to find specific information in a short time. For technical articles to be effective, it is essential to implement the aforementioned characteristics of technical writing. If you follow the above guidelines, the users will definitely appreciate your technical manuals. Technical Writing Goals and Purpose In technical writing the purpose would be instruction and assistance; the goal would be to offer customer support of the software application. The audience is to be considered while deciding what to say and how to say it. First step is to start gathering all data together and proceed to write the manual organizing the data to ensure the reader can easily read and access information. Next step is proceeding to rewrite, correcting any mistakes and ensuring that important information, definitions, instructions, step-bystep procedures, graphics, cautions and warnings, and company contact information are included. Clarity

Clarity is the ultimate goal of technical writing. A writer must state their exact meaning by using specific word usage in order to communicate clearly. When writing, it is important to answer the questions who, what, when and where, why, and how. Use words that readers can understand easily; be careful when using acronyms, abbreviations, and jargon. Conciseness A writer's second major goal is conciseness, providing details with the use of fewer words. Conciseness saves time in writing and takes up less of the reader's time. By being concise, the reader does not feel overwhelmed by the wordiness and can comprehend the information in an easier manner. Technology is constantly being updated and the space for viewing information is getting smaller. Conciseness in writing will ensure the information will fit smaller screens. Accuracy Clarity and conciseness are important objectives of technical writing however, if someone's writing has spelling and grammar errors, the wrong format, or false figures, calculations, amounts, equations, or scientific or medical data, that person's credibility has been destroyed and time wasted. Accuracy requires that a writer proofreads their text. Committing errors in technical writing will make readers come to the conclusion the writer is either stupid or lazy and can have disastrous results. Organization Organization is important in technical writing. Information should be placed on the page logically so the reader is able to follow the writer's train of thought. Essentially, one step or paragraph should lead into the next. If a writer does not use organization, then readers are unable to comprehend what is being read. What are the functions of technical writing?

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Technical writing is a matter of writing documents that explain or accompany products. It's flexible work, but often considered very monotonous and boring. Not every writer can be a technical writer, just as not every writer can be a novelist. The goal of technical writing is always clarity. Technical writers want to write so there is the least possible chance of misunderstanding. Technical writers may also be responsible for designing graphic aids (diagrams, illustrations, charts, graphs and the like) to help explain things. Technical writing rarely has a "style" - or rather, the style is so transparent that readers aren't really aware that the text was "written". Larger companies that produce a number of products (Microsoft, for example) have in-house technical writing teams and style guides. Smaller companies may hire out technical writing to independent contractors.

Technical writing is the art of being able to explain/describe complex ideas to both technical and nontechnical audiences usually in the form of a Manual. This could range from describing a complex procedure to maintain a specific type of military apparatus to explaining how to assemble a baby's playpen to a consumer. In all cases, technical writing must be succinct, accurate, comprehensive and easy to understand and follow. Personalization such as humor should not be included in technical writing. The Technical Writer's Role Useful; Usable; Readable

Manuals, either paper or on-screen, must first be useful, something that is rarely accomplished: According to PC World, May 1996, in the NSI/Techtel Consumer Attitude Technology Survey, 41% of respondents found computer manuals so confusing, they may as well be written in a foreign language.Useful means the manual must be complete and accurate, and above all, the writing must be clear. Even a useful manual may not be usable. The accurate, complete, and clear manual must be organized so that useful material can be located. Short and descriptive headings, small sections, and adequate referencing also add to usability. Use typefaces, boldface, italics, and colored fonts uniformly and for a definite purpose. And the writing in usable manuals must be a step up from clear...it must be quality writing. Finally, computer manuals must be readable. A good writer can produce a useful and usable manual, but if the typeface isn't clear and easy-to-read, with correct line lengths and leading, readers might

never find out if the manual is either useful or usable. To make it optimally readable, white space, illustrations and examples, numbering, bullets, and tables must be used appropriately.

Use a serif font for printed documentation and a sans-serif for on-screen documentation; for printed documentation, Bookman or Book Antiqua is better than Times Roman; never use AvantGuard or Palatino; when you get to rule 75 on fonts, you start on the rules about leading and line length and kerning. Use dark text on a light background for both printed and onscreen docs; never use a medium blue background with either black or white text; no yellow on orange; no blue and yellow; no red on black; colors are endless, so color rules are almost endless. The less text you put in an on-screen element, the better; bullets, links, numbers, headings, and hooray for sentence fragments Optimally Organized

Organization, a major component of usable manuals, can be simple. A writer has only to find the correct organization in either the software or the user. Major Rule: All on-line systems are either screen-driven or command-driven. Both screen-driven and command-driven systems can be designed using menu selection or function key control. With a command-driven system, the function keys may be the commands, but with a screendriven system, the function keys are just used for ancillary control. Screen-driven systems give the user a screen full of blanks that must be filled inso that data can be passed to a predefined database or file.

Most business-function systems are screen-driven (inventory, general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc.). For these, the organization is in the software. The writer's task is to find it. Command-driven systems are used to perform or control an activity, such as word processing, programming, or data control. For a command-driven system, the manual organization is more difficult because the way the readers will use the software must be consultedusually in a crystal ball. Plus, there are more places to hide complexity in a command-driven system than in a screen-driven system. Basic Rules

Several basic rules apply to producing a useful, usable, and readable manual. 1. 2. The sentences should be as simple and short as possible; graphics should be clear; central concepts must be wellillustrated. Short manual sections give the harried reader an assurance that this won't take too much valuable time...it can be skimmed easily. Most users don't look for information about problems under the cause, they look under the results. But they can look for instructions under causeand under results. Diagrams, indices, cross references, and other information locators are vital. The hardest part of the writing task is being able to use very few words, keeping it as interesting and light as possible without being cute and soppy, and of course, covering the subject completely.

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