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Technical writing

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Technical writing, a form of technical communication, is a style of writing used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. Technical writers explain technology and related ideas to technical and nontechnical audiences. This could mean, for example, telling a programmer how to use a software library or telling a consumer how to operate a television remote control.

Technical writers gather information from existing documentation and from subject matter experts. A subject matter expert (SME) is any expert on the topic that the writer is working on. Technical writers are often not SMEs themselves (unless they are writing about creating good technical documentation). Workers at many levels, and in many different fields, have a role in producing technical communications. A good technical writer needs strong language and teaching skills and must understand the many conventions of modern technical communications.

Technical writing teams or departments are often referred to as Information Development, User Assistance, Technical Documentation, or Technical Publications. Technical writers themselves may be called API Writers, information developers, documentation specialists, documentation engineers, or technical content developers. Advanced technical writers often move into specialized areas such as API writing, information architecture or document management.

Example

For technical documents to be useful, readers must understand and act on them without having to decode wordy and ambiguous prose. Good technical writing clarifies technical jargon; that is, it presents useful information that is clear and easy to understand for the intended audience. Poor technical writing may increase confusion by creating unnecessary technical jargon, or failing to explain unavoidable technical terms that reader would not be expected to be familiar with.

Consider a technical writer writing a cake recipe:

  • Audience: Is the audience composed of people in home kitchens or highly trained chefs in professional kitchens?
  • Source: Is there existing documentation—a rough draft? Who is the subject matter expert (SME)?
  • Deliverable: Is the deliverable simple text for inclusion in a book, or formatted to final form? Is the target a paper, a Web page, or something else?

The technical writer determines that the recipe is written down on the back of a napkin but is partially indecipherable, so he must also interview a SME—the chef who created it. He is told that the audience consists of people in their own kitchens, so the writer must adjust the style accordingly and replace or explain words in the source material like "beurre mixer" or "springform pan." The chef reviews a draft of the recipe (a technical edit) and marks in needed technical corrections (bake at 350 degrees, not 325 degrees). The writer prepares a final draft and the document goes into English edit to ensure that all instructions are grammatically correct. The document owner and any other stakeholders perform a final review and approve the recipe before it is sent to the printer. It is also an act of giving instructions.

Communicating with the audience

Technical writing is a communication to convey a particular piece of information to a particular audience for a particular purpose. It is often exposition about scientific subjects and technical subjects associated with sciences.

Technical writing translates complex technical concepts and instructions into simpler language in order to enable users to perform a specific task in a specific way. To present appropriate information, writers must understand the audience and their goals. Audience analysis is a key feature of all technical writing.

History

The origins of technical writing have been variously attributed to Ancient civilizations such as Indian, Greece, the Renaissance, and the mid-19th century. However, a clear trend towards the discipline can be seen from the First World War on, growing out of the need for technology-based documentation in the military, manufacturing, electronics, and aerospace industries. In 1953, two organizations concerned with improving the practice of technical communication were founded on the East Coast[where?]: the Society of Technical Writers, and the Association of Technical Writers and Editors. These organizations merged in 1957 to form the Society of Technical Writers and Editors, a predecessor of the current Society for Technical Communication (STC).

Deliverables

Technical writing is often associated with online help and user manuals. However, technical writers create many other forms of technical content. These include product release notes, product troubleshooting guides, product user guides, tutorials, software installation guides, API programmers' guides, legal disclaimers, policies and procedures, business proposals, and white papers. Technical writing specifically in support of software applications is commonly referred to as user assistance.

Types of Technical Documentations

Broadly technical documentation can be categorized into three types depending on the style of writing, the level of knowledge transferred and the target audience. End User Documentation is the first type, where the writer's goal is to help a novice understand how to use a technical software or hardware. User manuals for computer software, hardware, cellular phones, medical equipments, etc, falls under this type of technical documents. The second type is Traditional technical documentation. Here the objective of the writer is to communicate with a technical audience. Appliance/application repair manuals, engineering specifications, compiling research papers, etc, falls under this category. The third type of documentation Marketing Communication documents. Product catalogs, brochures, advertisements, press releases falls under this category.

Associations

See also

References

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