Technical writing is primarily concerned with communicating scientific, technical, and business information so that readers can understand and use it. It is different than writing fiction or magazine articles, where a mood may be set or--in some cases--where space must be filled and is definitely not the same as creative writing where use of action verbs and colorful adjectives and imagistic metaphors are encouraged.
Put simply, technical writing is the presentation of information on any scientific, engineering or technological topic in the form most suited to its user. Therefore the first rule of technical writing is "know your audience. Too often technical writing is vapid, vacuous, and verbose. In the vast majority of circumstances, technical writing is best done by company personnel who are already well-versed in the products and technology.
This short article outlines what technical writing is, as well as describing some of the things you should do when working on documentation. Technical writing is becoming increasingly dependent on having a specialized business, scientific, or engineering knowledge. Just being an English major or an accurate typist is no longer an option.
Technical writing involves the designing, writing, and organizing documents to deliver clear and consistent technical information and is in high demand especially in industries where competition is fierce and differentiation is the name of the game. It involves a complex combination of skills and the writer must always keep in mind that his or her main purpose in writing at all is to make things --Ëœuser friendly'.
When writing documents, this means interviewing or talking to designers, programmers and users. You need to know what the potential user wants to know, and just as importantly, what they don't want to know.
Every bit of software and hardware needs the support of technical writing in the form of help files and user manuals. Specialist authors of online help systems and software user guides need to understand the users' needs, where they want to find the information and how they are going to use it.
Many excellent books exist about technical writing and most assume that you can write. But they do tell you how to develop different parts of technical information, such as headings, lists, tables, and indexes.
Writing technical documentation involves a step-by-step procedure of organizing information. Aside from writing ethically, the main goal of technical writing is to convey information precisely and clearly. Researching a topic is essential before you write an article, report, or other material, and technical writing is no different. Therefore, effective technical writing is clear, accurate, and correct. It is a no-ambiguity zone.
That's what technical writing is all about. Technical writing is more than just "fold tab A, insert in slot B. It has to explain what, why and how to do something without insulting the reader.
Beyond all these basic characteristics, good technical documentation must be free from typographical errors, grammatical slips, and misspelled words. In this global marketplace the documentation you produce must be understood my readers of all standards and suitable for accurate translation.
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About the Author
Dave Odell has been a technical writer for over 20 years writng technical manuals, white papers and articles. He has written documentation on many subjects, including software, hardware, bakers ovens, and flight simulators.
www.techauthors.co.uk
