Nature of Technical Writing Introduction Technical-writing introduce you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the world

of science, technology, and businessin other words, the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other such people do as a part of their regular work. To learn how to write effectively for the world of work, you'll study common types of reports, special format items such as lists and headings, simple techniques for putting graphics into reports, and some techniques for producing professionallooking final copy. However, the focus for technical-writing is not necessarily career as a technical writer but an introduction to the kinds of writing skills you need in practically any technically oriented professional job. No matter what sort of professional work you do, you're likely to do lots of writingand much of it technical in nature. The more you know about some basic technicalwriting skills, which are covered in this guide and in technical-writing courses, the better job of writing you're likely to do. And that will be good for the projects you work on, for the organizations you work in, andmost of allgood for you and your career. Characteristics of Technical Writing Technical writing presents and explains a subject matter in a clear, objective, accurate, concise, and unemotional manner. Technical writing uses a relatively high concentration of certain complex and important writing techniques particularly description of a mechanism, description of process, clarification, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, analogy and interpretation. Technical writing highly utilizes technical vocabulary. It utilizes tables, graphs and figures to clarify and support textual discussion. It uses the conventional report forms. Purpose of Technical Writing The following are the primary purposes of technical writing. 1. To inform It is written to make another person understand or to do something. It is designed to fulfill a need to tell and a need to know. 2. To analyze events and their implications It will explain how certain systems failed. This system may include education, socioeconomic, political and the needed change. 3. To persuade and influence decisions It will show how a business or an industry succeeds. Technical writing is ideally characterized by the maintenance of impartiality and objectivity, by extreme care to convey information accurately and concisely and by the absence of any attempt to arouse emotions. Functions of Technical Writing 1. To serve as a basis for management decision 2. To furnish needed information. 3. To give instructions 4. To explain techniques 5. To report achievements 6. To analyze problem areas 7. To determine design and system requirements 8. To serve as a basis for public relation 9. To provide report to stockholders of companies 10. To develop a product 11. To provide service 12. To record business through proposals 13. To procure business through proposals Basic Principles of Good Technical Writing 1. Understanding the reader 2. Knowing the purpose of each article or report 3. Knowing the subject matter 4. Writing objectively 5. Using correct format 6. Adopting ethical standards Understanding the Reader A basic consideration in technical writing is to know the target audience. The technical writer should know how to adapt his writings and terminologies of the type of the intended audience or readers. Difficult technical terms used must be carefully defined so that the reader will easily understand the information being presented. If the reader fails to understand what he reads, the writer fails in his mission. The technical writers should know how important his readers are. The target readers help the writer to know what to write about and how to write it. Knowing the Purpose of Each Technical Report The technical paper must be organized around a central theme. The reader should understand the main purpose after reading the paper. The purpose maybe is to describe a thing, to report on a specific problem or project, or to analyze and solve a problem. Knowing the Subject Matter A technical writer must have a thorough knowledge of the subject he is to write about. If the report is on the result of a technical experiment, the writer who writes the report should explain what the problem is all about, what causes the problem and how the problem is solved. Writing Objectively A good technical writer must emphasize the facts and the data. The impersonal style is basic to an effective technical writer. He represents facts, figures and statistics skillfully woven around the subject matter or central theme and written in an impersonal manner.

Using Correct Format The format and style of a report attract the attention of the readers first. Companies require neatly-typed communications, reports and project proposals and feasibility studies. The current trends require that such communication be computerized or typed. Adopting Ethical Standards A technical writer should undertake comprehensive research work; accumulate the required data through interviews, surveys, referrals and related publications. He must have to present facts and figures as gathered and required, using only those that are pertinent to the report. A good technical writer also acknowledges the help he receives from others and cities sources of reference materials. Styles in Technical Writing Style is the writers way of writing, a manner in which he expresses his thoughts and feelings in a language. Below are guidelines for clear technical writing. 1. Be selective, focus on the essential information and the significant details. 2. Develop a clean, direct style; avoid inflated language and scrambling sentences. 3. Use examples and comparisons to clarify descriptions and explanations. 4. Repeat words and phrases for clarify or emphasis or to ease transitions, but avoid needless repetitions. 5. Delete unnecessary words and phrases, but avoid short cuts that sacrifice meaning. Sentence Structure and Length Technical writing should use the natural word order, simple sentence structure and good short sentences. Since technical subject matter requires the use of complex, technical vocabulary and the expression of complex ideas, the use of shorter words and sentences, simple in structures, will help a lot in the readability of difficulty material. Paragraph Structure and Length In technical writing, the topic sentence should come first in the paragraph or at the very latest part after whatever transitional sentences appear. Sometimes the writer does the opposite by giving the details at the beginning and then concludes by stating the main idea. The use of one or more very short paragraphs achieves an especially forceful effect. Scientific Attitude Judicious weighing of evidence is very important in a technical report. The best evidence is one which is the most ample, the most pertinent and the simplest in explaining the facts with the least additional evidence and most in harmony with the rest of the available evidence. The conclusion or recommendation should include all evidences in which the judgement is made. The technical writer must know when he would say enough, and not overwrite. As a writer of his materials, he should know what to present, what to amplify, what to rewrite and what to emphasize. Generalization When the technical writer makes generalizations, he is giving probable conclusions derived from the observation of factors. Since the report is based on generalizations, it is necessary to describe the circumstances surrounding the report. Provide enough evidence, data and samples to enable the reader to evaluate the generalizations for himself. To be certain that you have followed ground rules and not Jumping to conclusions, test the validity of your data and samples. Here is the suggested checklist (Nem Singh and Calixihan 1994) 1. Can I prove its accuracy? 2. Can I show the direct bond between the facts and generalizations? 3. Is it fact and not opinion? 4. Do I have all the facts? 5. Are they up to date? 6. Is the generalization verifiable? Would I get the same result it I do it again? 7. Is it significant? The principles to be observed in organizing the material as cited by Alvarez (1980) are as follows: 1. To organize the material of a subject, first break it down into the component aspects. 2. To organize a report or paper, choose a suitable approach and make an outline that implements it. 3. The basic unit of organization is the paragraph. 4. Use these paragraphs to present related data, graphs to show trends and visual to clarify description. 5. Plan a report or paper thoroughly before starting to write it. 6. Gather the necessary data through basic library research and primary services. 7. Write a first draft. 8. Revise and rewrite as often as necessary 9. Write a final draft 10. Place footnotes to acknowledge references and include a bibliography at the end of a report or paper. Other attributes of good technical report writing are: 1. appropriateness 2. functional 3. informative 4. factual 5. efficient 6. correct The Technical Writer The Role of the Technical Writer A good technical writer possesses insights, perceptiveness, quick to determine probabilities and the ability to adapt to requirements. He can identify developments that may affect his project. The technical writer must understand the nature of his work. He should be able to help his principals attain the target objectives. He must not only possess the technical writing ability and technical expertise, he must also have the capability to grasp, analyze and interpret unexpected events and situations that occurred during the writing of the technical report. The technical writer should have the ability to state facts clearly and accurately to organize a variety of elements into a unified structure, and to describe logical generalizations. Hallmarks of an Effective Technical Writer The hallmarks of an effective technical writer is represented by this acronym REPORTER (Mosura and Tenorio, 1999) R Resourceful E Energetic P Patient O Observant R Responsible T Trustworthy E Evaluative

Responsive

Guide To Effective Technical Writing Guide to Effective Technical Writing For effective technical writing, the ABCs of report writing given by (Zall 1980) can be considered in-depth. Accuracy A report writer must be tactful in the recording of data, statement or calculating mathematical figures. He must check every statement in its final form. An error committed and an illogical statement written can create confusion as well as doubts over the whole text. A writer should always aim to be understood. Brevity Being brief is a courtesy to the reader. The reader should find it easy to group the main idea of the report. In the same manner, accuracy of the statements can easily be maintained. The reader can get the essence of your thinking in a compressed form. Confidence A good report writer must have the quality of self-confidence. He cannot only communicate but he has to be also decisive or sure of what he is writing about. After finishing the last page of his report, he is an authority. Dignity Dignity is courtesy to your readers as professionals. This is an ethical standard. The writer must be certain that all grammatical constructions are correct. In report writing, you need to be formal with words and how these words are used. You should be sure that the ideas or information are well organized, simplified, summarized and expressed in straightforward manner. Facility This refers to the devices used by the writer, to make his report easy to read and understand. In most cases, report writing depends more on pacing, sequence, arrangement and continuity of ideas as well as information. A grammatical correction is important. He should make his writing straightforward, logical and clear. The thought from one part to another should be clearly established, illustrated or stated. Emphasis The writer has to feel what is important to the reader and should never expect how the reader finds it out for himself. He has to lead him from point to point, clearly marking every step, directs the reader to the right way and gives him the reason for stopping at a particular portion. Honesty Honesty is expected in a report. When a writer has borrowed some statements, ideas or quotations, he has to acknowledge them either in footnotes, endnotes or cite the source or author of the borrowed ideas or statements within the running text. Illustration Illustration materials such as charts, graphs, diagram and photos are always helpful. The writer should use them to clarify and support the text. They can be used to show situations or trend or movement. Judgment The writer should qualify the date and information gathered by judicious weighing. This can be done by the following these criteria: 1. Most ample 2. Most pertinent or relevant 3. The simplest in explaining the facts with the least additional evidence 4. Most harmonious with the rest of the data and information. In every case, the evidence used as a basis of judgement (as in conclusions and recommendations) should be included in the report. Knowledge The communication of knowledge is the primary objective of the report, but knowledge is not only a collection of data or information. It involves interpretation and information of conclusions. With out sound interpretation, the data will become useless. Logic Logic is chiefly a process or classification. It is putting things in their proper places. It shows the relations among groups of things and classes of groups. By thinking logically, one can avoid the following trouble areas: 1. Statements must not contradict each other. 2. Words must be used in consistent sense 3. Statements must move in one direction whether space, time or relation. 4. Statements must make sense. 5. Judgments must not be based on few data. 6. Cause and effect should be clearly distinguished from simple sequence. 7. Conclusions should not be inferred if they have no connections with the data. 8. An authority should not be accepted if he is biased or he is not an expert in the particular field. Mechanical Neatness This is the general appearance of the report. It must be neatly encoded or typed, properly margined, free from typographical errors, erasures crossing-outs and smudges. Headings and subheadings and indentions are mechanical devices, which help make the organization of the content clear. Normal Procedure The report is easier to understand if it conforms to the standards practices. The writer must follow the acceptable arrangement of the different parts of a report. If the writer deviates from the normal procedure, he should inform his readers by explaining his reasons for doing it. Objectivity In technical writing, the writer should consider himself as another person, uninterested observer or an innocent bystander. In this instance, the third person point of view is preferred. The writer should treat his subject matter the way he sees or observes it. Technical reports avoid the use of the first person (I, me, my). Planning This is primary in all activities. This gives the purpose and directions to what the technical writer has to write. This involves thinking ahead of what one has to do, when to do it and who is to do it. This will be reflected in a well-organized report. Qualification The technical writer should select only those statements that have direct relationship with the topic being discussed. The writer should evaluate the ideas or statements he will include in the writing of the report. Revision

This consists of more than merely correcting the spelling, punctuations, spacing and margin errors. The writer must also check every statement for sense and relevance and be sure that he has said all that must be said. An effective report is all that is require to perfection. The secret of good writing is rewriting. Straight Sentences Sentences carry the full weight of the meaning in a report. The sentence to be employed must be limited to only one idea or to closely related ideas. To avoid monotony, vary your sentence structure and employ appropriate transitional devices. By employing such devices, there will be a smooth transition from sentence to sentence. They will show the readers the writers thoughts leading him to what the writer wants to communicate. Thoroughness The writer should treat well his subject matter. The writer should check the thoroughness of his report from initial thinking to final submission. The writer is obliged to go over the subject, analyze and investigate it, organize and interpret the results and draw conclusions whether it is positive or negative. Unity A report is unified when everything is clearly relevant to the main point under discussion. Nothing should be left hanging. No question should be left unanswered. After all, the main objective of a unified report is to let the readers feel that they have read everything essential to the subject undertaken. Viewpoint A report is written from a certain viewpoint: that of a reporter, proponent, researcher or an author. The viewpoint is established in the first sentence and should be maintained consistently throughout the report. Voice unity should also be observed. Word Choice The writer should choose the words that are fit to the readers understanding. Avoid words which are difficult to understand. Zest Write only about things that are worth writing and which are invigorating. Write as though you were performing a service that only you can perform. Writing should not be regarded as something difficult but something that is enjoyable and pleasurable. The Important End Products of Technical Writing 1.) Technical Report This provides useful information about a complete program of work, for reference and permanent record. 2.) Contract This is a formal agreement between two or more persons; organization or parties to do something on mutually agreed terms. 3.) Feasibility Report This represents facts and information intended to make the reader realize that the proposed project or plan is financially, economically, and technically, significant as well as beneficial. 4.) Business Letter This is written communication or message used to transact business which cannot be conveniently conducted orally. 5.) Brochure This is pamphlet or printed information material given to a customer in order to convince or persuade him to take action on the companys services, ideas or products offered. 6.) Abstract This is a summarized form of resume of a long piece of writing. 7.) Instructional Manual This contains directions for work procedure or policies, or for the use of technical equipment or appliances. Instruction relies on clear, specific, complete directions presented in sequential order. Directions of complicated step-by-step procedures should be accompanied by graphic illustration. 8.) Proposal This contains suggestions for actions, usually involving change or performance. It may be solve a problem, suggest a new project site, revise a policy or initiate a researcher report project or terminate a project. 9.) Progress Report This contains an account of what has been accomplished on a project over a specific period of time and what may be expected in the next period. 10.) Policy A plan of action adopted or preserved by an individual, government, party business and industry or it may be a document containing a contract of insurance. 11.) Articles for a Technical Journal

A technical paper which will be published in a journal. It contains an abstract , an introduction, discussion and summarizing, concluding sentence or paragraph. 12.) Monograph This is a thorough textbook treatment which requires full illustration and documentation. 13.) Memorandum This is an important form of written communication circulated within the company and its branches which is used to disseminate a message or information. 14.) Graphic Aids This refers to all pictures , graphs, diagrams and other materials used in illustrating important details in a report. 15.) Specification This contains detailed information about performance courses, materials for construction, theory of operations, sample calculations, table and operating data and information. 16.) Printed Action Memo This prepared form requires only a check mark in an appropriate square to indicate its message. 17.) Survey Report This is a thorough study of any subject. Some subjects of surveys are potential markets fro products, labor policies, market punctuation, public opinions and community resources. Examples are poll surveys on the study of a possible site for a new plant. 18. Trip Report An account of a business or professional trip. It records specific and significant places, events, conversations and people met. It attempts to answer where, when , what ,why and how also. It may have recommendation section. 19.) Laboratory Report A record of procedures and results of laboratory test. It describes the scope of a project, the equipment utilized, the procedures used, the results of test and the conclusion and recommendation. 20.) Technical Paper A research paper written for a professional journal or magazine. Technical papers usually describe a theory or new development. They assemble technical reports in the most respects. The main difference lies on the fact that the audience for a technical paper is wider and more diverse.