Technical Report Writing
Text Book:
Technical Writing
Process and Product
Third Edition
Sharon J.Gerson
Steven M. Gerson
Grading Criteria
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Final Exam
40%
Mid Semester Exam 20%
Lab Sessions
20%
Sessionals
20%
Introduction
• What is technical communication?
• Conveying technical stuff to technical or
non technical people.
• What is technical Writing?
• Is a style of formal writing used in fields as
diverse as computer hardware& software ,
chemistry, aerospace and robotics etc.
Other types of writings
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Fiction
Expressive
Expository
Persuasive
Fiction
Writing
• Its any type of writing that is not factual
• It most oftenly takes the form of a story
meaning to convey an authors point of
view or simply to entertain.
• Short story,novel, screenplay or drama
• Elements of fiction:
character,setting,plot(background),theme
Expressive Writing
• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-expressivewriting.htm
• Expressive writing is personal writing. It
expresses and explores the personal feelings of
the writer. The piece may attempt to answer a
question, state an opinion or recount the writer's
personal experiences. Many times, expressive
writing does all of these. Unlike most forms of
writing, this type of written communication isn't
focused on proper spelling, punctuation and
grammar.
Expressive Writing
• Not Formal
• Not Objective
• This highly personal form of writing needs
to be informative or educational as long as
it is expressive.
Expressive Writing …contd.
• The main expectation of expressive writing is to
express feelings and observations personally.
The first person is used such as "I remember the
day my grandma taught me to make apple pie. I
was so excited, but then I cried when I couldn't
roll out the crust." The writing must be directly
about the writer. It's often reflective of lifeshaping experiences. The topic can be anything
as long as the writing expresses personal
thoughts and feelings.
Expressive Writing
• http://writing.umn.edu/docs/publications/Foulk_H
oover.pdf
• Expressive writing is writing in which the writer is
her/his own audience. It need be evaluated by
no one other than the writer. Transactional
writing, in comparison, is the communication of
previous learning performed for others.
Expressive writing is not creative writing; it is the
thought process made visible. When one
commits thought to visible, written form, the
learning process is enhanced.
Expressive Writing
• http://ezinearticles.com/?Expressive-Writing&id=3897578
• Expressive writing is both personal and informal, usually created as
a form of reflection on the writer's part. Rather than a medium
intended for reading by audiences, it's employed as a means for
comprehension, a valuable activity that can aid you when you're still
in the process of gathering your thoughts.
• Not For Others
• Most expressive writing is meant for the writer's eyes, rather than for
other people. Unlike news stories, magazine articles or class
essays, its main purpose is not to communicate an idea to readers.
Instead, it's a purely self-serving endeavor, either for the purposes of
elucidation (such as when writing a rough draft of your arguments)
or recreation (such as a diary or a journal).
Expository Writing
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expository_writing
• Expository writing is a type of writing, the purpose of
which is to inform, explain, describe, or define the
author's subject to the reader. Expository text is meant to
deposit information and is the most frequently used type
of writing by students in colleges and universities. A wellwritten exposition remains focused on its topic and lists
events in chronological order. Examples of this type of
writing are cooking instructions,installation manuals,
driving directions and instructions on performing a task.
Key words such as first, after, next, then and last usually
signal sequential writing.
Persuasive writing
• Persuasive writing, also known as an
argument, is used to convince the reader
of a writer’s argument(s) relating to a
debatable issue. Persuasive writing
involves convincing the reader to perform
an action, or it may simply consist of an
argument(s) convincing the reader of the
writer’s point of view.
• Difference between Technical Writing and
other forms of writing….
•
Action oriented
•
direct interaction
Purpose of Writing
• A piece of writing is only useful when it is easily understandable by
the average reasonable person. This is the purpose of technical
writing - to make written material about otherwise complex fields
such as science and technology more accessible and easier to
understand.
• Its purpose is to convey a particular piece of technical information to
a particular audience
• the purpose is to communicate specific ideas, and everything about
the document should contribute to this goal. If any part of the
document does not do so, then delete or change that part of the
document. This rule also indicates that you should know exactly
what points your document intends to make; if you don't know the
purpose, you cannot effectively achieve it.
• Audience determines the specific purpose of writing.
• Purpose + Audience=Tone
Why learn technical writing?
• Technical Writing conducts business
• Technical Writing takes time
- 20%
• Technical writing costs money
paper usage
well written proposals
• Extension of interpersonal skills