Basic Principles & Characteristics of Technical Writing & Styles of Technical Writing Flashcards
3 Stages of Writing Process
Pre-writing
Writing
Rewriting
where the writer writes and composes information pertaining to the purpose of his paper, choice of topic, and gathers information
Pre-writing
the part where the writer writes his first draft and works out on the important details of his work
Writing
also known as the revision stage where the writer revises his work to ensure that the content of his paper is relevant, the ideas are well organized, and grammar and mechanics are clearly observed
Rewriting
Basic Principles of Technical Writing
● Know you readers
● Use simple, concrete & familiar language
● Introduce your report in a well-organized manner
● Have a clear and exact purpose
● Use correct format
● Adopt ethical standards
Qualities of a Technical Writeup
● Accessibility
● Accuracy
● Clarity
● Correctness
● Objectivity
● Thoroughness
○ When you are writing a report or any type of correspondence, always have in mind that there is a specific reader, real or imaginary
○ Consider that they are intelligent but need to be informed
Know your readers
○ Before you start to write, remember to decide on what the exact purpose of your report or write-up is
○ Make sure that every detail — words, sentences, paragraphs make a clear part of that purpose
Have a clear and exact purpose
○ Used so that report is easily understood
○ It will clearly define and visualize your work
○ The use of these will avoid confusion form your readers
Use simple, concrete & familiar language
○ Assist your reader to a complete understanding of your idea through clear description, definition, and explanation
○ The writer must check every part of his report to see whether he has followed the basic principles
Introduce your report in a well-organized manner
○ Using this will attract the attention of the readers
○ Aside from the aesthetic sense, the layout must follow the standard forms of writing
Use correct format
○ As a writer, you only present facts, figures, and statistics that focus only on your subject matter in an impersonal manner
◆ A good technical writer emphasizes only facts and data
◆ His work is free from biases and unfairness
Adopt ethical standards
means capable of being reached, used or seen, understood or appreciated, and easy to deal with
Accessibility
Accessibility’s aim is for
ease of navigation and availability
means that it is definite and precise
Accuracy
Accuracy means that it is?
definite & precise
○ It is essential that you as the writer, know and understand the background of your intended reader so that, when he reads your document, it can be easily understood without any doubt or confusion
○ Your document becomes meaningless if the intended reader does not understand your message
Clarity
○ When writing, avoid unnecessary words that will put your reader in a dilemma
○ Your document must be clear so that the text becomes easy to understand
Clarity
○ Effective technical communications (in writing or verbally) cannot be achieved unless you successfully comply with appropriate grammatical and technical rules
○ Also, you must always ensure that the information (data) you present is accurate and up-to-date
Correctness
Effective technical communications (in writing or verbally) cannot be achieved unless you successfully comply with appropriate _____
grammatical & technical rules
You must always ensure that the _____ you present is _____ and _____
information (data)
accurate
up-to-date
Aspects of technical communications that should be adiusted according to your audience level
◆ the amount of detail
◆ organizational pattern
◆ level of technicality
◆ type of vocabulary
◆ mechanics
◆ appearance
○ The spirit of balance and fairness is important in technical writing
○ Our writing should not be influenced by personal feelings, opinions, prejudice, or interpretation
Objectivity
means that you have examined or reviewed all the details of your written report and sees to it that it is complete and clear
Thoroughness
Thoroughness means that you have _____ or ___________ of your ______ and sees to it that it is ______ and ______
examined
reviewed all the details
written report
complete
clear
Legal & Ethical Considerations when preparing Technical Papers
Copyright Law
Trademark Law
Contract Law
Liability Law
– covers the protection of the rights of the author
– protects original “works of authorship” which covers reproduction, adaptation, distribution, and display
Copyright Law
pertains to federal protection of the writer
Trademark Law
– can be a phrase, symbol, logo, design, or shape
– can be something that has gained reputation in the marketplace like book series, an author’s name or even a signature
Trademark
covers written warranties or the writer’s implied warranties
Contract Law
pertains to responsibilities or obligations of writers especially claims they made on their paper
Liability Law
– a writer’s way of writing
– a manner by which he expresses his thoughts and feelings in language
Style
Effective writing always involves the ______, _______, and __________
choice of words and expressions
the arrangements of words within sentences
variety in the patterns of the sentence
Rules and Guidelines to Achieve Style in Technical Writing
● Keep the Main Idea on Top
● Use Normal Word Order
● Use Active Voice
● Use Parallelism
● Avoid Wordiness
● Avoid Redundancy
● Choose a Tone
● Use Positive Words & Verbs
● Tune to the Audience
the key principle in writing so that your sentences are easy to understand
Keep the Main Idea on Top
– normal word order in English
– this order makes it easier to read as it reveals the topic first and the structures the idea
– this order produces sentences which are clear to the readers and do not cause any confusion
Subject-Verb-Object
– emphasizes performer of the function and not the receiver
– helps the reader follow the meaning quickly as it is sticking to subject-verb-object pattern
Active Voice
When the subject acts, the verb is in the
active voice
When the subject is acted upon, the verb is in the?
passive voice
using of similar structures for similar elements
Use Parallelism
repeating of key words for emphasis so that the reader has better recall
Repeat for Emphasis
○ Generally, concise expressions are more effective than verbosity
○ Eliminate all repetitions, subordinate clauses etc. to make the writing compact and pointed
Avoid Wordiness
words that say the same content
Redundancies
achieved by saying anything only once
Conciseness
can communicate as much as the content of the message
Tone
Tone that implies that the writer is in command and is appropriate when the writer addresses subordinates
Forceful Tone
Tone that is used when the reader has more power than the writer
Passive Tone
Tone that implies that reader and writer are equal
Personal Tone
Tone that is employed when the writer is not important and the situation is neutral
Impersonal Tone
a sure way to involve audience and convince the reader the benefits of your subject matter
Use Positive Words & Verbs
the key for effectiveness of your document with the reader
Tune to the Audience
can either be a noun or a pronoun
Subject
pronouns that can be singular or plural in number or can be both
Indefinite Pronouns
2 ways authors lose their readers
● unfamiliar words
● overly long sentences
useful when the writer does not know or does not want to name the doer in the sentence
Passive Voice
should always be preferred than the passive voice because the verbs are stronger, sentences are shorter, and the reader gets the meaning at once
Active Voice
It is important for the writer to consider that ______ is to ______. Technical writing emphasizes objective reporting with no ________. To achieve this, the writer must have a proper ________, good _______, and clear paragraph organization.
goal of effective technical writing
make information flow easily and clearly
room for different interpretations
choice of words
sentence structure
