1
TECHNICAL WRITING
vs.
ACADEMIC WRITING
TYPES of WRITING
1. PERSONAL
2. ACADEMIC
3. PROFESSIONAL
3
PERSONAL WRITING
o Purpose/Objective:
 to entertain
 to inform
o Evaluation:
 desired emotional response
 informed
4
PERSONAL WRITING
o Graphics:
 emoticons
 text-messaging lingo
o Formats:




e-mail
letters
journals
text messages
5
PERSONAL WRITING
o Audience:
 equal knowledge
 friends
 colleagues
o Informality
6
TECHNICAL WRITING
vs.
ACADEMIC WRITING
*AUDIENCES*
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Specific Audiences
boss
supervisor
team
committee
politicians
bank officers
general public
TC
General Audience
o generic reader
o teacher
o perhaps fellow
students
AW
*AUDIENCES*
1 Document = Many Readers:
(Many Readers = Many Needs)
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
“food chain”
boss, supervisor
team
engineers
workers
politicians
bank officers
general public
TC
1 Document = 1 Reader:
(1 Reader = 1 Need)
o teacher
AW
PURPOSES
o
o
o
o
Purpose =
Writing Situation
Objective
Why was the document written?
PURPOSES
o
o
o
o
o
Situation-Oriented
see a need —
address a need
internal motivation
professional
motivation
outcome-oriented:
 to get something
accomplished
Assignment-Oriented
o passive (vs. active)
o given a topic, test
o given an assignment
o external motivation
o scholastic
motivation
o grade-oriented
 grade, g.p.a., degree
TC
AW
EVALUATION CRITERIA
o
o
o
o
Success
satisfaction of the
needs of all readers
something was done
informed
persuaded
TC
o
o
o
o
o
Success
correct answer
right information
unity, coherence
support, detail
grammar
AW
APPLICATIONS
Real-World Applications
o case studies
o illustrative
scenarios
o operations
management
o for a job
o for a raise or
promotion
o for a bid
 practical
TC
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
College Application
“academic” writing
essays
essay exams
for academics
for grade
for degree
“show what you
know”
 demonstrative
AW
DISCIPLINES
o
o
o
o
Across Disciplines
“interdisciplinary”
computer sciences
psychology
mixture of:




history
math
science
technology
Single Discipline
o “discipline-specific”
 literary data for an
English paper
 historical information
on a history paper
 psychological ideas
on a psychology test
o rarely a mixture
TC
AW
*PAGE DESIGN*
o
Paragraphs
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
White Space
Columns
Headings
Lists
Graphics
Varying Fonts
Use of Color
Relative Spacing
Relative Margins
Relative Justification
 6-10 lines
 vary lengths for visual
o
Paragraphs
o
NO
o
o
o
TC
 Minimum of 3-5
sentences
 No maximum length







White Space
Columns
Headings
Lists
Graphics
Varying Fonts
Use of Color
Double Spacing
Equal Margins
Left Justification
AW
COMPONENTS
Oral, Visual, Written
o produce documents
o present documents
o write to be read
o write to be seen
o write to be heard
Written
o infrequent oral and
visual components
o predominant written
component
o write to be read
 by teacher
o write to be graded
o not to be seen or
heard
TC
AW
GRAPHICS
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
tables
charts
graphs
diagrams
photographs
maps
blue prints
o uncommon
o photographs
TC
AW
FORMATS
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o essay questions
o essays based on the
rhetorical strategies
memos
e-mails
letters
cover letters
resumes
proposals
manuals
portfolio
abstracts
reports









 formal
 informal
TC
Description
Narration
Illustration
Process-Analysis
Division-Classification
Comparison-Contrast
Definition
Cause-Effect
Pro-Con Argument
AW
GRAMMAR
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Grammar-less
visual-oriented
grammar = less
important
fragments =
permissible
active voice
descriptive writing
concise sentences
spelling!
proofread!
TC
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Grammar-full
written-oriented
grammar = key
sentence errors =
avoided
active voice
descriptive writing
concise sentences
spelling!
proofread!
AW
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CONCLUSIONS
o Technical Communication:
 Practicality in the employment world
 Real-World application
o Academic Writing:
 Demonstration of knowledge
 Limited to academia
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CONCLUSIONS
o Technical Communication:




By an informed writer
Conveying necessary information
Both visually & verbally
To a lesser-informed reader
 (writer = teacher)
o Academic Writing:
 By a student-learner for an expert reader
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CONCLUSIONS
o Technical Communication:
 Read by many,
 To satisfy the needs of many
o Academic Writing:
 Read by one,
 To appease the criteria of one
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CONCLUSIONS
o Technical Communication:
 “Information Retrieval”
 organization & format = designed
 to help readers quickly & easily locate
information
o Academic Writing:
 “Information Retrieval”
 little concern beyond a logical organization
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CONCLUSIONS
o Technical Communication:
 Public Speaking component —
 formal conference speeches
 informal meeting speeches
o Academic Writing:
 Limited Public Speaking opportunities
 conferences or rare class projects
 Public Speaking courses
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DEFINITION
Technical Communication:
o
o
o
o
Encompasses a wide range
of writing and speaking responsibilities
required to communicate your ideas
on the job.
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SIMILARITIES
o Grammar:





active voice
descriptive writing
concise sentences
spelling!
proofread!
27
SIMILARITIES
o Writing as a Process:
 Planning
 Drafting
 Revising
EDUCATIONAL
PHILOSOPHIES
writing: process &
product
o HEURISTIC:




process
reader-focused
how-to
analyze-andcompose process
o
o
o
o
writing: product
prescriptive
teach from models
rhetorical strategies
writer-focused
o PRESCRIPTIVE:
 product
 writer-focused
 models/forms of
TC
writing
AW
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ACADEMIC WRITING
o Purpose/Objective:
 to demonstrate
knowledge
 to “show what you
know”
o Audience:
 superior knowledge
 teachers, perhaps
peer editors
o Evaluation:
 correct information
 unity, coherence,
 depth, clarity,
grammar
o Graphics:
 limited
 to explain or
persuade
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ACADEMIC WRITING
o Formats:





Description
Narration
Illustration
Process-Analysis
DivisionClassification
(Rhetorical Strategies or
Writing Models)





Comparison-Contrast
Definition
Cause-Effect
Pro-Con
ArgumentPersuasion
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TECHNICAL WRITING
o Purpose/Objective:
 to entertain
 to inform
o Audience:
 equal knowledge
 friends, colleagues
o Evaluation:
 desired emotional
response
 informed
o Graphics:
 emoticons
 text-messaging lingo
o Formats:




e-mail
letters
journals
text messages