Technical Writing Reviewer PDF

Definition/ Nature of Technical Writing --------------------------------------- Ex.to easily recognize grammar and associated abbreviations and acronyms Importance of technical Writing ------------------------------- - Customer-client relations - Completion of work as per schedule - Regul...

Definition/ Nature of Technical Writing --------------------------------------- Ex.to easily recognize grammar and associated abbreviations and acronyms Importance of technical Writing ------------------------------- - Customer-client relations - Completion of work as per schedule - Regular maintenance of machineries - Total quality management **[Technical writing]{.smallcaps}** is a crucial aspect of communication in various fields and industries. It involves the creation of clear, concise, and precise documentation that effectively conveys complex information to a specific audience. 🞂​ Customer-client relations ============================ Building a working relationship with customers is key to the long-term success of a business. 🞂​ Completion of work as per schedule ===================================== Completion Schedule means the schedule for completion of the Work contained in a Work Order or another writing signed by the parties 🞂​ Regular maintenance of machineries ===================================== 🞂​ Total quality management =========================== process of detecting and reducing or eliminating errors in manufacturing. ========================================================================= The 3 C's of good technical writing ----------------------------------- Components involved in technical writing ---------------------------------------- Presentation of a good technical writing ---------------------------------------- End-user documentation ====================== - ex. User manuals for computer hardware, software, televisions, cellular phones and other consumer electronics. 2. Traditional technical writing ============================= - materials produced mostly for technical audience -ex. Appliance repair manuals, programmer guides, medical research papers, engineering specifications, and white papers (white papers are authoritative guides written for a business or political audience) 3. Technological marketing communications ====================================== - tied to advertising, product promotion, and marketing - ex. Promotional brochures, press releases, advertisements, catalogs, CD-ROM and web. [Other examples of technical writing ]{.smallcaps} ================================================== 1. Instructions and procedures 2. Proposals 3. E-mails, letters, and memoranda 4. Press releases 5. Specifications 6. Descriptions 7. Resumes and job applications 8. Technical reports 9. White papers 10. Web sites 11. Employment documents 12. Questionnaires 13. Abstracts 14. Executive summaries [Difference between Creative and Technical writing ]{.smallcaps} ================================================================ [Basic principles of good technical writing ]{.smallcaps} ========================================================= 1. Always have in mind a specific reader, real or imaginary, when you are writing a report; and always assume that 2. Before you start to write, always decide what the exact purpose of your report is; and make sure that every paragraph, every sentence, every word, makes a clear contribution to that purpose, and makes it at the right time. 3. Use language that is simple, concrete, and familiar. 4. Facilitate complete understanding of your message through clear description, definition, and explanation. 5. Make your work attractive (aesthetic). [Characteristics of technical writing ]{.smallcaps} =================================================== 1. **Clarity** -- Clear communication conveys information simply and effectively so that the reader understands its message. 2. **Conciseness**- Your information should be arranged in a smallest possible space. To achieve conciseness, you need to; identify the message, focus on the message, avoid false starts, and stay simple. 3. **Consistency**- Mechanical rules of technical writing 4. **Correctness**- adhering to appropriate grammatical 5. **Accuracy**- unclear writing can cause many problems and even inaccuracy in the report. 6. **Comprehensiveness**- all the information should be provided 7. **Accessibility**- It means the ease with which the readers can locate the information they seek. - Keep the main idea on top - Use normal word order - Use active voice - Use parallelism - Repeat for emphasis 3. personal- it implies that the reader and writer are equal 4. impersonal- it is employed when the situation is neutral Examples **Positive words-** advantage, benefit, effective, satisfied, favorable, success, asset, profitable, value, etc. Positive verbs- accomplish, prepare, organize, achieve, produce, exceed, implement, promote, plan, etc. Some examples 1. came to the conclusion - concluded 2. utilization of - use 3. make revisions - revise 4. make an amendment to -- amend Example: ======== **Original** : Some people believe in capital punishment , while other people are against it; there are many opinions on this subject. Redundancies are words that say the same content. Redundant correct ================= 1. Advance forward advance 2. Attach together attach 3. Blue in color blue 4. Cheaper in cost cheaper 5. Circle around circle 6. Combine together combine 1. forceful -- it implies that the writer is in command ex. Superior to subordinate 2. passive -- when the reader has more power than the writer Tuning to the audience is the key for effectiveness of your document with the reader. 1. provide meanings of acronym and abbreviations 2. needs glossaries 3. provide extended definitions 4. multiple audience- choose carefully the amount of technical content in your document 5. benefit of your document Examples of contractions 1. it's- it is 2. can't- can not 3. doesn't- does not 4. don't -- do not 5. can't -- can not A **cliché** is an expression that has been overused, it sounds stale and dull. Avoid cliché so that your work will be more appealing, clear, less wordy and specific. Some examples of cliches Avoid slang =========== **Slang** is a language that has a private and often short- lived meaning. Slang can be very powerful, but it is often in exact and usually understood by a selected group of people. Ex. **Jargon**: After ***booting up*** the computer and activating the printer, Arnie made hard copies of his business correspondence. Avoid Colloquialisms ==================== Ex. **Colloquial**: I found the missing folder lying back of the file cabinet. **Formal:** I found the missing folder lying behind the file cabinet. Ace-describe something excellent Hard to swallow- difficult to believe [Basic Techniques in Technical Writing ]{.smallcaps} ==================================================== A. **Definition** -uses words to fix meaning of a thing---to make it definite. Three types of definition ========================= A. **Informal definition-** it comes in the form of a word or a phrase oftentimes called a synonym. (Ex. Compensation- remuneration) B. **Formal or sentence definition**-it comes in the - The **species** is the term to be defined - The **genus** is the class or kind to which the term belong - The **differentia or the differentiae** are the C. **Extended definitions** start with a formal sentence definition then move on to Mechanism description ===================== - explains the arrangement and shape of an object in space. 1. What is it? 2. What is its function? 3. What does it look like? 4. How does it work? 5. What are its principal parts? Process Description =================== 1. What is it? 2. What is its function? 3. Where and when does it take place? 4. Who or what performs it? 5. How does it work? 6. What are its principal steps? Classification ============== **-**involves grouping things together (on the basis of similarities) and dividing them (according to differences). Example: Classification of the Types of Ships According to manner of operation a. liners b. tramps According to cargo carried a. general cargo b. passenger c. Roll-on/Roll-off d. Tanker e. Bulk Carrier - Partitionis the act of dividing things into their component parts. It could be **spatial** (how each part looks) or **functional** ( how each part works) Example ======= A hammer with a handle and a head.