Technical Writing
A very brief overview
What topics will we cover?
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Establishing an audience and purpose
Designing an effective document
Writing a successful email
Achieving a readable style
Tech Writing vs. Academic Writing
 The major difference?
“On the job, keep in mind that no one wants to
read anything you write. Most of the time they
will not read all of what you write” (Tebeaux
and Dragga 3).
A little more detail?
 Writing at work
 “Requires acute awareness of security and legal
liability” (Tebeaux and Dragga 4).
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Text messages and emails can be subpoenaed
Web history can be monitored or traced
Anything that you write online might live forever
You are responsible for your own writing
Also . . .
 Technical writing
 May be “read by unknown readers, inside and outside
the organization, for an infinite time” (4).
 Emails can be forwarded
 Attachments can be reattached to new emails
 Presentation slides may read out of context, so they should
be able to stand alone
Considering Your Audience
 What do you need to know about your readers?
Planning your Document
 Determine your purpose
 What do you want to achieve with your document?
 Understand your role as writer
 What position do you have in the organization?
 Plan the content
 What ideas should you use to achieve the goals of the message?
 What ideas should you omit?
 How should you arrange your ideas?
 Anticipate the context in which your writing will be received
 How will readers use your writing?
Designing your Document
 Use headings
 Headings should be concrete and specific
 E.g. “The Importance of Sustainability” rather than
“Overview”
 Heading styles should be consistent
 Define the heading styles on your document
 Use size to signal importance
 Use numbers or bullets to present lists
 And use lists whenever possible!
Writing Effective Emails
Achieving a Readable Style
 Tip 1: Use as many strong verbs as possible
 Keep subjects and verbs close together
 Maintain a high verb/word ratio
E.g. John loves Mary because she inherited money. (verb/word
ratio = 2/7)
Mary’s inheritance of money was one of the reasons for John’s
interest in Mary. (verb/word ratio = 1/12)
 Make the actor the subject of the sentence and follow it with
a verb that shows what the actor does.
Achieving a Readable Style
 Tip 2: Use active verbs
 Avoid excessive use of is/are verb forms
 Use active voice for clarity
Revise the Following Examples:
Delegation is a means of lessening the manager’s workload.
The door is to be locked at 6 p.m.
Achieving a Readable Style
 Tip 3: Use short, concise sentences
 Vary sentence length when possible
 Remove unnecessary words
 Speak to convey information, not to impress
Revise the Following Example:
We encourage you to anticipate the amount of
correspondence you accumulate and suggest you
endeavor to answer it promptly.