Technical Writing: Purposes and Properties PDF

**MODULE 2** **WEEK 2 -- Purposes and Properties of** **Technical Writing** **Technical Writing vs Creative Writing** **OBJECTIVES:** At the end of the period, the students must be able to: Distinguish the purposes and properties of technical writing; and Compare technical writing with creativ...

**MODULE 2** **WEEK 2 -- Purposes and Properties of** **Technical Writing** **Technical Writing vs Creative Writing** **OBJECTIVES:** At the end of the period, the students must be able to: Distinguish the purposes and properties of technical writing; and Compare technical writing with creative writing. **Purpose of Technical Writing** The main **purpose of technical writing** is to provide complex information to readers in a way that they can understand and apply, even if they don\'t have prior knowledge of the topic. **Technical writing** explains how a particular object works or how to complete a task or project. Purposes include the following: **to inform, to instruct, to refer and to persuade.** **Properties of Technical Writing** One of the essential characteristics of technical writing is maintaining accuracy. If you are writing a review of a newly launched i-Phone mobile phone and you miss on one important detail, this will convey the customers that there is nothing special about this product and they would buy another mobile phone instead. Technical writing requires that the information you provide is based on **accuracy and quality content**. Write the technical document in a layman's tone so that the customers who are not really techie fans are also able to understand what the product is all about. Try **cutting down on the use of jargons** because again, this is going to confuse the customers. Keep your language and expression **simple and meaningful**. Use of complicated words may put the readers in a quandary. Be as descriptive in distinguishing the technical product as you can. More than half of the customers come from a non-technical background and they need to have sufficient details otherwise they will not be able to picture the product correctly. If you are creating a manual for an electronic product which explains how to operate it, make sure you cover every aspect of its functioning. Technical writing requires that you use **correct grammar and sentence structure**. Write down the key features in the form of headings, sub headings or bullet points as this will make the manual easy for the customers to read. **What separates technical communication from other forms of writing?** Technical communication has a **specific audience and is purposeful**, usually intended to **solve a problem** for that audience. One area that really sets technical communication apart is that it is quite often collaborative. Technical communication is also focused on readability issues, not only the use of clear writing, but also **page design and graphics**. The excellence of technical writing is judged by **clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, and correctness.** **Seven principles to guide technical writing**: 1\. remember your **purpose** (to inform or persuade), 2\. remember your **audience** (their concerns, background, attitude toward your purpose), 3. make your **content specific to its purpose and audience**, 4\. write **clearly and** **5. precisely** (active voice, appropriate language to audience), 6\. **make good use of visuals** (good page design and graphics), and 7\. be **ethical** (truthful, full disclosure, no plagiarizing). Technical communication serves both **explicit, or clear, and implicit**, or **implied, purposes**. Explicit purposes include to provide information, to provide instructions, to persuade the reader to act upon the information, or to enact or prohibit something. Implicit purposes include establishing a relationship, creating trust, establishing credibility, and documenting actions. Most technical communications are based on a problem statement which gives your document a clearly stated objective for your benefit as well as your reader's. The **problem statement defines the problem,** by doing more than simply stating your topic, it goes on to explain what about that topic is at issue. For example, if your topic is career guidance then your problem could be the fact that many adults need help identifying a career that suits their strengths and abilities and the solution that your document will present is to create a comprehensive clearing house that helps people identify career paths through military, vocational training, and higher education. The **elements of technical writing** are: 1. product, 2. developers, 3. audience, 4. tasks, 5. deliverables, 6. environment, and 7. schedule. Together, they comprise everything important that a **technical writer** needs to be concerned about. **Uses of Technical Writing** Technical writing is commonly used to create brochures, newsletters, instruction manuals on how to use a specific electronic/chemical product, product descriptions and various marketing and promotional materials Hence it broadly falls into the category and advertising and marketing copywriting. **Types of Technical Writing** Technical writing can be broadly divided into the following kinds: **Academic Writing versus Technical Writing** The **definite purpose, strict format and use of appropriate language in technical writing** define the differences between technical writing and academic writing. The academic writer purpose may be **to write an assignment, a story, a letter, etc**.. These works may or may not have a reader. However, **technical writing always has a definite purpose and will always have a reader.** Regardless of the number of the intended readers of a document who may or may not read the document, the document will be read by the primary reader. The subject and purpose in Technical Writing and Creative Writing differ in that **Technical Writing** is always nonfiction, with the **purpose of educating or instructing**, while **Creative Writing** can be **fiction, nonfiction**, or a combination of both, and can serve any purpose. Technical writing is totally different from essay and creative writing. It is a misconception that technical writing is too stiff and mechanical. However, there are a few basic characteristics of technical writing, which you must understand before making your mind to create technical write ups.