rd
Technical writing and expository writing are both designed to instruct the reader, however technical writing expects the reader to take some sort of action based upon the reading.
In the workplace technical writing seems to be more prevalent in the form of technical manuals and instruction booklets, whereas expository writing has a wider variety of uses. Although technical writing and expository writing are very similar, there are significant differences in the two styles.
1.
Technical accuracy
2.
Usefulness
3.
Conciseness
4.
Completeness
5.
Clarity
6.
Consistency
7.
Correctness in Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
8.
Targeted
9.
Well Organized
10.
Interesting
We would like to discuss the ten suggestions in some detail here.
Accuracy is essential in technical writing. Without complete accuracy, technical writing may become useless at the least and harmful at the most. If, for example, we go back to the days of automotive mechanics when people could still work on their cars themselves, auto manuals often referred to the amount of pressure when tightening engine parts. Such measurements were essential
Technical writing has to be useful. A text has to tell us what we need to know. If we check computer manuals at a nearby bookstore, woeful probably not see many manuals for Mac OS 7.6 or Windows 95. Neither is useful today. We need manuals for Mac OS 10.4 and Windows XP as we write in 2005. Unlike reading for pleasure, useful technical writing is done in a writing style that puts usefulness as the most important objective. Novelists may want well-expressed sentences with fresh, creative prose, but technical writers want to create easy to understand texts. Doing so makes written materials useful.
Technical writing has a specific goal. It is to enable us to do or understand something. Most of us do not read technical writing for pleasure. While pleasure reading can be lengthy and people may be perfectly happy, technical writing is not the same. Such writing needs to be long enough to present the necessary material. This means conciseness is essential. Unnecessary sections require the delete key.
Technical writing needs to be complete. Readers need to know step-by-step details. If one detail is missing or if the word for one part is inconsistent, we may not be successful in our reading of the text. If we are putting a car engine together, and the automotive manual does not tell us where one small part goes, the engine may not run.
Technical writing needs to be clear. Readers are not interested in a philosophical dialogue in which the meaning of each idea needs to be pondered. The writing needs to tell us what goes where and what we need to do. Plus, short sentences are a must. Long sentences become confusing.
Readers need consistency. When you use an abbreviation or acronym for the first time, introduce it.
Correctness in Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar although correctness in spelling, punctuation, and grammar is a universal goal, it is not always easy to achieve. Using a spell check is helpful, but spell checks are not the only option. Having a second reader review the file may be an option. Reading a text backwards may help to uncover spelling errors, but doing so will not help grammar.
Technical writers need to target their writing for a specific audience and write at a level appropriate for that audience. Even if the audience is well educated and knowledgeable in their field, the writing needs to be clear so that non-specialists will be able understand. Sometimes technical writers do not write simply enough for both specialists and non-specialists.
Technical writing requires good organization. Starting at point a, moving to point b, c, d, e, and f, and concluding at point g will help readers to understand. Outlines and headings facilitate reader understanding.
Technical writing can be interesting. If you go to any
English bookstore and look at the wide range of Dummies books, outfall see examples of technical writing with humor and interest. Look at PCs For Dummies or Building a PC For
Dummies. This is a newer style of technical writing that is everything technical writing can be: clear, understandable, and interesting
.
Every document must have a logical, sequential narrative, explaining topic/step A after topic/step
B, and not the other way around.
In the movie world we of course have "non-linear narratives," the kind made famous by Quentin Tarantino's
"Pulp Fiction." But still the screen writer must write the script in such a fashion that, at the very end, all those nonlinear scenes must still make sense linearly when the viewers re-order them in their imagination. The narrative order is there even in "Pulp Fiction" but it's just concealed and broken into many jigsaw puzzle pieces.
.
A screenplay, just like a technical manual, is a highly structured document.
Conceptually, a screenplay is made up of Acts (usually 3), which are divided into Sequences, which are made up of individual Scenes.
And what's more, each scene is structurally constructed out of clearly defined elements. First comes the Scene TITLE, followed by Scene Description, Character Name,
Parenthetical Note, and Dialog. Each "Dialog Set" is repeated for all the characters talking in a scene, interspersed by additional Descriptions, as needed. Then the scene ends with a Transition, if any (like FADE OUT etc.).
Similarly, a technical document (I'm assuming a printed one here) also starts with a Front Cover and ends with a Back
Cover. In between we have the Front Matter, TOC, Lists of
Figures and Tables (if any), followed by individual Chapters each of which is divided into sections, paragraphs and individual sentences. Most technical documents are capped off with an Index in the back.
This chapter provides a brief introduction to writing technical documentation.
1.
User Motivation
2.
New User
3.
Experienced User
4.
Do not offend your Audience
:
1. Comprehensive
2. Conformant
3. Clear
4. Consistent
5. Concise
All of the decisions that you make about the structure and content of a manual follow from an understanding of the audience. You need to think about how the audience accesses the documentation, what sort of information the audience needs, and the experience level of the audience.
Usually, you need to create documentation that is suitable for different audiences. The following sections introduce some of the audience-related topics you need to consider.
Do not waste the time of the user who looks for information in your documentation. Users do not read technical documentation for entertainment. Users usually have specific questions. You need to give clear answers to those questions.
New users to the Desktop are likely to consult online Help for guidance about unfamiliar applications or functionality.
Each Help manual should contain enough introductory information to tell new users how to start using the application .
Experienced users are more likely to use documentation as a reference. The documentation therefore needs to be complete, well-organized, and in the case of printed manuals, well-indexed.
To avoid offending your readers, apply the following guidelines to your documentation:
Insider language includes both undefined jargon and the tendency of the computer community to shorten words. For example, use the term documentation instead of the term
docs.