Exploring different genres of Technical
Writing and its allied fields
Presentation by:
1. Rahul Prabhakar (Technical Writer, Oracle India
Private Limited)
2. Saravanan Manoharan (Technical Documentation
Engineer, think3 Designs)
Objectives
After completing this presentation, you should be able to do
the following:
• Analyze the role of Technical Writers in varied domains,
organizations, and sectors
• Understand the relevance of each role to a Technical
Writer
• Develop some of the strategies for obtaining the position
• Determine the factors/ questions disturbing our
community
• Identify the job outlook for Technical Communication
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Fact Files
OJ Simpson Trial
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OJ Simpson Trial
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During police testimony, it was discovered that the
evidence-gathering manual produced by Los
Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) hadn’t
always been followed by officers in the chain of
evidence.
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Tainted evidence became one of the defense
team’s major concerns.
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LAPD revised the evidence-gathering material and
updated the training class.
Fact Files
Persian Gulf War
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Persian Gulf War
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TWs prepared a surrender leaflet that was
dropped into enemy lines. It was revised based on
information from captured prisoners.
Highlights
• Removed color red (sign of danger in Iraq)
• Inserted picture of a bearded soldier in place of
clean-shaven Allied soldier (a bearded man in Iraq
is more trusted)
• Added Bananas to the bowl of fruit picture
(delicacy in Iraq)
• Almost 87,000 enemy soldiers defected without
firing a shot
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Education - Academic Background
2002 Survey of STC members showed the seven
academic backgrounds most common among
technical communicators:
• English: 32%
• Technical Communication: 22%
• Business Administration: 10%
• Computer Science: 9%
• Science: 9%
• Engineering: 8%
• Journalism: 7%
• Others: 28%
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Questions disturbing our community
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Where are we going?
Will we disappear?
Should we re-invent ourselves to face
requirements?
What do we need to do differently?
What we need to be thinking about to survive?
The Bottom Line
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The TC change is a fact of life
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The products evolve
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The documents that we work on changes
constantly or so it seems
Genres of Technical Writing
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Computer Software
Engineering and Manufacturing
Marketing Writing
Technical Marketing Literature
Medical Writing
Courseware or Training materials
Government and Military Writing
Education
Science
Journalism
Computer Hardware
What are the prerequisites?
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College degree in any field that promotes
analytical thinking and clear communication
Strong problem-solving, writing, and
communication skills
Basic computer skills, especially word processing
at the intermediate level
Ability to conduct research and learn technical
information quickly
Dedication to providing quality documentation to
customers
What are the prerequisites?
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Willingness to be proactive in seeking information
Ability to learn and use sophisticated publishing
tools
Ability to plan milestones and meet deadlines
Ability to work as part of a team and
independently
Computer Software
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Development documents, which include business
requirements or specifications, usability features,
process flows, high-level and low-level design
documents, API manuals, and programmers guide.
User documents (to help the users understand
and use the software), which include user
manuals, quick reference guides, and training
guides.
Online help, online user support tools, such as
wizards for troubleshooting.
Software documentation (books), online and hard
copy.
Engineering/ Manufacturing
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Process flows
Work instructions
Maintenance procedures
Non-computer equipment guides
Technical reports
Marketing Writing
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Ad copy and layout (design)
Presentations
Sales force materials
Packaging design
Promotional materials
Information materials
Annual reports
Trade or news articles
Technical Marketing Literature
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White papers
Technical proposals
Online demonstrations
Technical reports
Trade or news articles
Medical Writing
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Newspapers
Magazines
Public relations (press releases)
Scientific writing within organizations
Professional journals
Pharmaceutical writing
Reference material
Technical reports
Annual reports
Courseware or Training Materials
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Online tutorials and training (Instructor Led
Training and eClass material)
Quick reference guides
Trade or news articles
Government and Military Writing
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Internal policies and procedures
Internal engineering documents
Reference material
Organizational material
Annual reports
Technical reports
Trade or news articles
Education
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Textbooks, online, and hard copy
Scholarly journals
Online tutorials and training
Reference material
Science
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Scholarly journals
Professional journals
Magazines
Proposals
Reference material
Technical reports
Trade or news articles
Journalism
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Newspapers
Magazines
Promotional materials
Trade or news articles
Computer Hardware
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Maintenance and service guides, which involve
procedures, graphics, and some software
documentation
User support tools, such as help panels on
printers
Books, online, and hard copy
Reference material
Quick reference guides
Strategies for obtaining the position
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Determine what fields interest you
Take a class in a related topic
Become familiar with publishing software
Join a professional body like the Society for
Technical Communication (STC)
Prepare for interviews
– Research the company
– Anticipate questions and come up with answers
before the interview
– Put together a portfolio
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How the job outlook is
Did you know that
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The average monthly salary for technical writers is
25,833 Rupees (STC India’s 2003 technical
communicator salary survey).
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In the last ten months, more than 1,000 jobs have
been advertised on the Technical Writers of India
mailing list.
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This is just 10 per cent of the actual demand; there
are opportunities for at least 10,000 technical
writers today (Hindu – April 19th 2004).
Driving Factors
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Global competition and translation requirements
Customized products and niche marketing
Convergence of software and documentation
Shrinking cycle time and budgets
Value-added documentation to assist the end
users in decision making support
Where can I go from here
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Trainer
Customer Service Engineer
Consultant/Contractor
Product Manager
Product Marketing Analyst
Publications Analyst
Publications Department Supervisor
Marketing Communication Engineer
Owner of a publications shop managing several
consultants
Where can I go from here (Contd.)
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Project Manager
Systems Engineer
QA Engineer
Technology Analyst
Programmer
Systems Analyst
Information Architect
Project Leader
Usability Specialist
What every writer has to know
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The types of work that you do well
Which of that work makes you feel the best
How those map into what needs to be done in the
business world
Remember:
Your background is nowhere near as important as
your skills.
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Transition to Technical Writing from other
professions
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From Journalism
From Teaching
From Academia
From Marketing
From Law
From Software Development
From Quality Assurance
Sources
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Technical Communication - Journal of the society
for Technical Communication August 2004,
Volume 51, Number 3
Solitary Scrivener - Newslet-ter of the Lone Writer
SIG,Volume 3, No. 1
http://www.inwords.co.za
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Si
mpson/Simpsonaccount.htm
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos089.htm
http://www.writing-world.com/tech/tech1.shtml
Sources (Contd.)
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http://listserv.okstate.edu/CGI/WA.EXE?A2=ind990
1C&L=techwr-l&P=R4672
http://listserv.okstate.edu/CGI/WA.EXE?A2=ind990
1C&L=techwr-l&P=R5560
http://listserv.okstate.edu/CGI/WA.EXE?A2=ind990
1C&L=techwr-l&P=R6118
http://listserv.okstate.edu/CGI/WA.EXE?A2=ind990
1C&L=techwr-l&P=R6879
http://listserv.okstate.edu/CGI/WA.EXE?A2=ind990
1C&L=techwr-l&P=R16998
Sources (Contd.)
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technical_writers_i
ndia/
http://www.computerbits.com/archive/1996/0100/te
chwrit.html
http://www.stc.org/interestedTC.asp
http://tc.eserver.org/14138.html
http://www.techwrl.com/techwhirl/pdfs/gettingstartedadvice.pdf
http://www.klariti.com/business-writing/CareerOutlook-Technical-Writer.shtml
Summary
In this presentation, you should have learned how to:
• Analyze the role of Technical Writers in varied
domains, organizations, and sectors
• Understand the relevance of each role to a
Technical Writer
• Develop some of the strategies for obtaining the
position
• Determine the factors/ questions disturbing our
community
• Identify the job outlook for Technical
Communication in India
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Q&A Session
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Thanks
Rahul Prabhakar: rahulpr_2002@yahoo.com
Saravanan Manoharan: sara_techwrit@yahoo.com
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