Technical Writing

Prepared by:
Jimmy J. Sapunto
Richard J. Oclares
 “Technical Writing” is a
writing about scientific
and various technical
subject associated with
science.
Technical writing is
done in the workplace
and centers around
technical topics.
Technical writing
has unique
characteristics and
has specific
audiences.
 Function of Technical
Writing
 Serves as basis for management decisions
and actions;
 Furnishes needed information;
 Gives instructions;
 Records business through proposals;
 Process business through proposals;
 Serves as basis for public relations;
 Provides report to stockholders of
companies.
“Characteristics
of Technical
Writing”

Technical writing is characterized by its scientific point of view

distinguished by an attitude of impartiality and objectively, by
extreme care to convey information with accuracy and precision ,
and by the absence of any attempt to arouse emotion.
Technical writing has certain formal elements such as scientific
and technical vocabulary, graphics aids and conventional report
forms.
Technical writing uses complex and special writing techniques in
particular, definition, classification, description of a mechanism
description of a process and interpretation.
“Kinds of Technical Literature”
 Proposals - are suggestion for action, usually involving
change or performance

Shift records - are equivalent to “time and motion”

records which specify the time and mode of work of
employees in an organization.

Market projection – is a market scheme or plan

predicting profits based on known evidences and
observations.

Shipping orders – this may come in printed forms or

letters.
“Kinds of Technical Literature”
 Design evaluation – it is a technical literature which
assesses the value of design in engineering, aviation, military,
production, business and other related fields.
 Contracts – these are formal agreements between two or
more parties to do something on mutually agreed items.
 Feasibility Report – it is an examination of the advantages
and disadvantages of a proposal.
 Meeting minutes – it is a formal record of the minutes of a
meeting or conference describing what transpired during the
session.
 Conference Report – it is a summary of a business or
professional meeting.
 Survey Report – it is a thorough study of any subject.
 Production order – it is a technical directive on the
manufacture of goods and services with exchange value.
 Letter Report or Memo Report – these are reports in every
respect except that the subject heading substitutes for a title
page.
“Kind of Technical Literature”
Policy – it is a plan of action adopted or pursued by an individual
government, party, business and industry or it may be a
document containing a contract of insurance
Complaint Report – it is a critical assessment of action, policy
procedure, or person.
Progress Report – it is an account of what has been
accomplished on a project over a specific period of time and what
may be expected it the next period of time.
Status report or project report – it is similar to a progress
report but the underlying difference is in the time covered.
Trip Report – it is an account of a business or professional trip.
Laboratory Report – it is a record of procedures and results of
laboratory tests.
Instruction Manuals – these are directions for work procedures
of policies, or for the use of technical equipment or appliances.
 “Kinds of Technical Literature”
 Technical Paper – it is a research paper written for a
professional journal or magazine.
 Printed action memo – it is a prepared form that requires
only a checkmark in an appropriate square to indicate the
massage.
 Summary Rerports – these technical literature highlights
facts and figures.
 Article for technical journal – it includes an abstract,
followed by introduction, discussion, and summarizing
concluding sentence or paragraph.
 Monograph – thorough, textbook treatment requires all
illustration and documentation.
Technical versus Academic
 Knowledge  Knowledge
•You are •You are still
the expert a learner
 Technical versus Academic
 Audience  Audience
• Technical • Wide range
background, of academics
professional and general
s in the field audiences
 Technical versus Academic
 Criteria for  Criteria for
Evaluation
Evaluation
• Clear and
simple •Depth,
organization, logic,
• Visually clarity,
appealing
and easy to unity and
follow. grammar
 Technical versus Academic
 Graphics, Graphics,
charts, and charts, and
numbers numbers are
are used sometimes
used to help
very explain and
frequently demonstrate
to support knowledge
conclusions
 Characteristics of Technical
Writing
 Clear, Concise and simply
organized.
 Repetitive in nature.
 Highly defined
structure/format.
• Examples: Lab reports,
memos, business letters,
technical reports, and
proposals
 Compare These Statements:
 Looking into  The sun set
the azure blue sky in the west.
one could see the
golden orb of sun
slip gently beneath
the western sky.
 The left-side description of
the sun setting is an example
of academic writing and the
right-side description is an
example of technical writing.
Notice that the technical
description is clear,
concise, and coherent.
These three C’s are
trademarks of technical
writing.
 Assignment:
 Find an article out of a Popular
Mechanics magazine. Compare the
first two or three paragraphs of that
article with a passage from one of
your favorite novels using the
following categories:
• Content, Organization, Layout, Intended
Audience, Purpose, Tone.
• You should notice a distinct difference in
each of the categories, leading to how
each is distinct in its clarity, coherence,
and conciseness.
 Style in Technical Writing
 Writers have unique characteristics.
• Sentence structure, word length word
choice, and word order; these are choices
we make without being conscious of it.
These decisions shape the way we
express ourselves

 Style is personal choice, there is no

right or wrong here
 Tone-
Expression of an underlying
attitude that can be:
• Casual • Enthusiastic
• Objective • Serious
• Persuasive • Authoritative
• Friendly

**Always present your material in a positive

light. Never let the negative be presented.
The following tips lend themselves
to better clarity and cohesion in
technical writing.
 Sentence Tips
 Place the main point at the beginning of the
sentence

**Don’t make the

reader work to
find it.
 Sentence Tips
 Use one main clause in each sentence

**more becomes
Confusing.
 Sentence Tips
 Examine your copy to
make sure you vary the
sentence length –but aim
for 15-20 words per
sentence. If you use the
same length sentences, the
text becomes tedious to
read
 Conciseness Tips
 Avoid the repeated use of
pronouns, this confuses the
reader. Only use a pronoun
immediately following the noun
it represents. Try to use specific
nouns such as the person’s
name, or the specific piece of
equipment, etc. In place of
abstract nouns
Abstract Nouns
 Assessment of-

 Classification of-

 Computation of-

 Development of-

 Elimination of-

 Requirement of-
 Conciseness Tips
Focus on
strong verbs!
 Assess  Develop
 Classify  Eliminate

 Compute  Require
 Conciseness Tips
 Shorten wordy phrases
 Replace long words with

short ones
 Leave out clichés

 Cut out extra words that

are redundant
 Language Use Tips
 Distinguish facts from opinions

 Include supportive statements

when necessary

 Choose your words carefully

 Avoid using words like “always”

and “never”—these box the
writer in and create finality
 Active Voice
 Active voice—emphasizes the doer or
the subject
“Joe delivered the pizza within the specified time
frame.”

Active voice uses one verb “delivered” compared to

passive voice which uses a form of the verb “to be”
+ the verb---”was delivered”

Almost all technical writing should be done in the

active voice, except lab reports.
 Active Voice helps:
• Create less wordy sentences

• Places emphasis on the subject

—e.g. company or person’s
name
 Passive Voice
 Passive voice—emphasizes the
recipient of the action
• Verbs with the “to be” form
• Emphasize the receiver of
the action
• Avoid repetitious use of “I”
and names

Is it the roses or the receiver of the

roses that is important to the giver?
Examples of editing
for
conciseness
• “the passage of the levy was
accomplished through long
and hard negotiations, and
door to door canvassing.”

Revised:
• “The levy pass through long
and hard work.”
 “Confirmation of the voting
results occurred yesterday.”

Revised
 “The voting results were

confirmed yesterday.”
 Technical Writing
 Provides clear
communication in the
workplace

 Has unique formats and a

specific style of writing

 Creates clarity, conciseness

and coherency in writing
 Closure
Welcome to a new style of
writing. Hopefully the handouts
that accompany these
Presentations will help you take
your first steps to become a
Technical Writer.