Powerpoint slideshow about Writing Technical Documentation for the Writing Technical Manuals class at American River College.

1. WRITING TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION
American River College
Shannon Mendez

2. OBJECTIVES
 Describe what technical documentation is.
 Recite some types of technical documentation.
 Describe technical documentation elements.
 Describe a technical reference sheet.

3. OVERVIEW: WHAT IS TECHNICAL
DOCUMENTATION?
 Technical documentation informs and instructs
readers about science and technology. It can
include detailed information about scientific
theories, as well as instructions for using
software and hardware.

4. SOME TYPES OF TECHNICAL
DOCUMENTS
 User’s Guides
 Programmer’s Guides
 Training Materials
 Online Help Systems
 Reference Sheets/Getting Started Guides

5. EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS
 Accurate
 Clear
 Concise
 Coherent
 Appropriate

6. ACCURATE
• Document Accuracy: Choose the proper
document type for the purpose. For example:
Getting Started Guide, Reference Manual,
Tutorial, Online Help System, Website.
• Stylistic Accuracy: Purposeful writing with
legal precision: Paragraph structure, sentence
structure, grammar, tone, and so on.
• Technical Accuracy: Must properly represent
the subject.

7. CLEAR
• Well-organized, effective design: Sections,
graphs and tables, titles, frequent headings,
icons.
• Simple, direct language: Simple sentences,
active voice, plain language.
• Invisible writer: Reveal nothing about yourself
in the writing.

8. CONCISE
• Reader-based: What does the reader need to
know?
• Careful editing: Prune all words that are not
needed.

9. COHERENT
• Consistency: Fonts, organization, words.
• Paragraph Development: Topic sentences,
supporting sentences. Repeat nothing.
• Transitions: Topic and concluding sentences,
Beginning words within paragraphs.

10. APPROPRIATE
• Do not deviate from the document’s purpose
• Write to the level of the audience

11. WRITING TO THE AUDIENCE
 Audience type and expertise levels
 Experts, managers, technicians, layperson/users
 Use of document
 Three main purposes: to acquire information, to help
make decisions, to learn how to do something

12. WRITING A TECHNICAL
REFERENCE SHEET
 Used as a reminder.
 Used as a “quick tip” sheet of the most common
or most important tasks.
 Can be thought of as “the top layer of the onion,”
a job aid

13. REFERENCE SHEET EXAMPLES
(click the pictures
to view the
documents)

14. REVIEW & QUESTIONS
Can you answer the following questions?:
 Describe what technical documentation is.
 Recite some types of technical documentation.
 Describe technical documentation elements.
 Describe a technical reference sheet.