2. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL
WRITING
A specialized, structured form of
writing that presents technical
information to readers in such a
way that it :
is adapted to their needs and
understanding level
helps to perform a specific task or solve a
specific problem
3. CHARACTERISTICS
Clarity– easily understood by intended audience
Conciseness – clear without excess verbiage
Specific Audience - targeted to particular readers
Specific Purpose- written for a specific purpose
Accuracy – is factual, correct and free from bias
Correctness – follows grammatical and technical
conventions
Comprehensiveness – contains all necessary
information
Accessibility – includes Table of
Content, headings, subheadings, indexes
4. TECHNICAL WRITING VS. CREATIVE WRITING
Factual Fictional and imaginative
Informative, instructional Entertaining, provocative
or persuasive and captivating
Clear, precise and
straightforward Artistic, figurative, symboli
Objective c or even vague
Specialized vocabulary Subjective
Generalized vocabulary
5. WHY TECHNICAL WRITING?
Inprofessional job, 20-40% of your time will be
writing
Career advancement
Expanding knowledge
Improving communication skills
Every job profile requires versatility
6. TECHNICAL WRITING ACTIVITIES
In-House Activities
Letters, memos, e-mail:
To ask or answer queries, to set meeting
agendas
Reports
Project, progress, trip, incident, feasibility
etc.
7. TECHNICAL WRITING ACTIVITIES
In-House Activities (contd.)
Proposals
To manager or another department to
highlight problems, suggest solutions and
recommended action.
8. GETTING STARTED
1. Define the purpose of the document and the key
information it needs to convey (task analysis)
“Convey to the audience what you want them to know or do when
they have finished reading.”
2. Define the audience and their level of technical
understanding (user or needs analysis)
“Present information to the audience’s level of knowledge.”
3. Determine the level of detail necessary for the document
“Determining what to leave out is as important as deciding what
to include”
4. Organize the data
“Only include data that supports the information you want to
present.”
9. YOUR ROLE AS A WRITER
Employ Ethical Principles
1. Avoid language that attempts to
evade responsibility.
2. Avoid language that could possibly
mislead readers.
3. Do not de-emphasize or suppress
important information.
4. Do not emphasize misleading or
incorrect information.
5. Treat others fairly and respectfully.
10. YOUR ROLE AS A WRITER (CONT.)
Give Credit Where Due
Complete and consistent documentation of your
sources of information can:
Help your readers locate the information
and do follow-up research
Help you support your position,
recommendations, or conclusions
Help you avoid plagiarism
11. STYLE & USAGE
Common elements of good writing
Phrases to avoid
A short, alphabetical list of often-misused
words and phrases, and examples of
correct usage
12. A. ELEMENTS OF STYLE
Present Tense, Active Voice
Instead of “The material about the business application
will demonstrate…”
Use “The material about the business application
demonstrates…”
Instead of “After reading this material, the board will
determine appropriate
actions…”
Use “After reading this material, the board can
determine appropriate actions…”
13. In addition, minimize the use of gerunds (verbs
ending in “ing”). These tend to be vague.
Instead of “Advocate requesting State assistance when
available.”
Use “Request State assistance when available.”
Present tense gives the writing energy. In the same
way, active voice is direct and demonstrates who is
responsible for an action.
14. A. ELEMENTS OF STYLE (CONT.)
Simple Sentences
You can improve many complicated sentences by
splitting them into two simpler sentences, each
expressing a clear idea.
Gender Neutrality
- try to rewrite the sentence in the plural to avoid
the issue of gender
- Use gender-neutral nouns and pronouns
15. A. ELEMENTS OF STYLE (CONT.)
Abbreviations and Acronyms
- The first time you use an abbreviation or
acronym in a document, spell it out.
Lists
- Lists can save readers time
- Bulleted lists present a series of like items. -
- Numeric lists denote sequential items or items
ranked in importance.
- too many lists can overwhelm readers
16. A. ELEMENTS OF STYLE (CONT.)
Sidebars
Figures and Tables
Cross-references
Footnotes and Endnotes
17. A. ELEMENTS OF STYLE (CONT.)
Redundancy
Instead of “Other significant features of the
program include expense reporting, detailed
payroll capture, time management modules,
and benefit features.”
Use “Other significant features of the
program include:
• expense reporting
• detailed payroll capture
• time management modules
18. A. ELEMENTS OF STYLE (CONT.)
Final Edit
To ensure a professional submission, leave
time for a final review of your document.
19. B. WASTED WORDS AND
PHRASES TO AVOID
all of (replace with “all”)
as to whether (replace with “whether”)
at the present moment in time (replace with “now”)
being that (replace with “since”)
in order to (replace with “to”)
irregardless (this is not a word; use “regardless” or
“irrespective” instead)
necessitate (replace with “require”)
utilize, utilization (replace with “use”)
Capable – can
The fact that – that
20. C. OFTEN-MISUSED WORDS AND
PHRASES
A or An
Affect versus Effect
Alternate, Alternative
Among versus Between
And/Or
Assure, Ensure, Insure
E.g. versus i.e.
Less versus Fewer
Numbers
Prepositions at the End of Sentence
