DAY TWO
Chapter One Notes/Introduction to Technical Writing
How is technical writing different than other writing?
Content and Purpose
Business and technical documents are produced for a much narrower and more well-defined audience than fiction and other forms of nonfiction.
-in house audiences (co-workers, supervisors, etc.)
-people with specialized knowledge (doctors, nurses, technicians, lawyers, engineers, managers, statisticians)
-people who are reading the document for very particular purposes (to gather information, to make decisions, to learn how to do something)
Your purpose for writing a technical document will usually be to inform, to persuade, or to instruct. Persuasion in technical documents relies heavily on facts. For instance, a proposal on how a company can utilize its web site more effectively must show factual support for the particular conclusions that it presents. Therefore, technical writing also often involves research and interpretation of data.
Characteristics of Technical Writing
| Conveys usable information to inform, persuade, or instruct |
| Considers the needs of its particular audience; strives to be “user-friendly” |
| Conveys information as efficiently as possible (uses plain English, direct sentence structure, and active voice; avoids lengthy phrases and sentences) |
| Is organized to make information easily accessible (main ideas first, easy to skim for particular information) |
| Covers all of the essential information as economically and unambiguously as possible (conciseness) |
| Uses visuals and appendices where necessary to clarify and support content. |
Engl 306 Goals: To produce documents that demonstrate these features.
To unlearn bad habits in order to simplify and clarify your writing.
Three Most Important Factors to Consider
Audience-Who is your audience?
Content-What do they need to know?
Purpose-Why do they need to know it? (What do you want or expect them to be able to do with the information?)
Chapter Eighteen-Memos
Characteristics of Memos:
| Used “in house” to briefly discuss one or two topics (should not exceed one page unless your company uses memo format for short reports) |
| Are user-friendly by using an appropriate tone, anticipating audience questions, and making important information easy to find. |
| Follow the ABC format (an ABSTRACT that gives the purpose of the memo at the beginning, a BODY that gives additional details as needed, and a CONCLUSION that specifically tells the readers what action they should take) |
| Make their main point first in the memo and first in each paragraph (except for “bad news” or in some persuasive situations) |
| Use lists and subheadings as needed |
| Use attachments to convey detailed background or supporting information |
Memos that are used to persuade often use the 3 Cs approach: Capture the reader’s interest, Convince with compelling evidence, and Control the final thought with a strongly stated conclusion.
(Pfeiffer, William S. Technical Writing: A Practical Approach. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1994.)