Technical writers require a wide range of skills. They may therefore be considerably expert in using statistical tools and software to prepare technical illustrations. There is more about this in our page on Presenting Data. Technical writers also have to consider the use of illustrations such as pictures, graphs and tables as a way to convey information. All these facilitate finding information rapidly, which is crucial in a technical document. This includes the layout on the page, and the use of headings, subheadings, bullet points and numbered lists to break up the document.
They also have to consider the design of their document to make it easier to read. Technical writers often have to do more than simply write. They will focus on giving readers the information that they need to complete the task as easily as possible. In technical writing that aims to convey instructions, documents will also be very task-based. It uses a very objective, fact-based approach, because it aims to convey information. Technical writing is not emotive in style. There is more about this in our page Know Your Audience.Īn objective, fact- and task-based approach A document written for experts will be very different from one written for the general public. However, this is perhaps even more true of technical writing, because you need to consider your audience’s subject knowledge, which may vary widely. Ultimately, every piece of writing should be written with its audience in mind. If in doubt, the accuracy of a sentence must be checked with someone with more knowledge. Technical writers therefore need to check everything. Users do not want to be making expensive errors because the documentation was incorrect. There is no room for ambiguity or errors in a technical document. The second characteristic of technical writing is its accuracy. You may also find it helpful to read our page on Using Plain English.
Avoid this by reading your work over carefully, or getting a non-technical colleague to review your writing to check it makes sense to someone with less knowledge. Instead, they are experts in writing.Įven so, as you become familiar with a subject, jargon tends to creep in.
However, many technical writers have the advantage that they are NOT necessarily experts in the technology. Technical writing aims for clarity above all.Īvoiding jargon is difficult if you are an expert in your field. They also use the active voice, rather than passive, and avoid the use of jargon. They try to keep their writing short, and also use short words and sentences to make documents easier to read. You may find this hard to believe if you have ever read a computer manual, but technical writers spend a considerable amount of time and effort keeping things as simple as possible. Like any other form of writing, technical writing has its own particular style. Some people also cite Geoffrey Chaucer’s Treatise on an Astrolabe as an early example of a technical document, and suggest that much of Aristotle’s writing was technical in its nature. It could be argued, for example, that many of Leonardo Da Vinci’s papers are technical writing, since he was discussing and explaining technology. However, its history dates back much further. Technical writing has been recognised as a profession since the 1940s, and it expanded exponentially with the spread of computers during the second half of the twentieth century. Write Emails that Convince, Influence and Persuade.Taking Minutes and the Role of the Secretary.
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