Why technical people needn't fear writing

Question 1

Technical writing is important because

Answer 1

you can’t remember everything you have done and it keeps a record of what you have done for others to read

Question 2

What percentage do technical professionals spend their workplace time in writing?

Answer 2

20-40% of their time depending on industry and position

Question 3

5 aspects of good technical writing

Answer 3

clarity, completeness, conciseness, accessibility, correctness

Question 4

clarity

Answer 4

must be understood the first time it is read

Question 5

completeness

Answer 5

contains all info necessary for the audience to understand and follow up on a situation

Question 6

conciseness

Answer 6

must convey info clearly and completely in few words

Question 7

accessibility

Answer 7

must be organized and structured with headings, bullets, etc. to make info easy to find

Question 8

correctness

Answer 8

must be free of factual errors

Question 9

7 steps of the writing process

Answer 9

1. Determine Purpose
2. Consider the audience
3. Brainstorm
4. Organize
5. Determine appropriate writing style
6. Write first draft quickly
7. Revise in stages

Question 10

4 types of audiences

Answer 10

decision makers, experts, agents, general readers

Question 11

Decision Makers

Answer 11

require managerial info such as costs, outcomes, general procedures

Question 12

Experts

Answer 12

require technical details and clear process description

Question 13

Agents

Answer 13

implement ideas in a document. require clean instructions formatted for easy reference

Question 14

General readers

Answer 14

Non-technical and outside organization. require definitions of terms and clean descriptions

Question 15

What does brainstorming involve?

Answer 15

knowing audience and purpose, set down info they will need in order to understand

Question 16

what does organization of content involve?

Answer 16

reorganize info for effective sequencing and proper flow

Question 17

Typical structure of content organization

Answer 17

1. Summary (key message)
2. Context
3. Details
4. Next Steps

Question 18

Summary

Answer 18

What do you want? How can I help you? The main points

Question 19

Context

Answer 19

Why are you telling me this? Tells how this came to be written

Question 20

Details

Answer 20

What happened/what do you need. All relevant facts, findings and specifics of situation.

Question 21

Next Steps

Answer 21

What have you done or need me to do? Need the reader to do

Question 22

Thing to remember when determining style

Answer 22

Consider how you would talk to them in person

Question 23

3 stages of adjustment

Answer 23

1. Adjust and reorganize content if necessary
2. Edit for clarity, completeness, conciseness, and style
3. Edit for grammar and punctuation, mechanics