Technical Writing
After reading through all of that, you might be wondering what the specific differences between technical and business writing are. Many people consider technical and business writing to be the same thing. While it’s true that there’s quite a bit of overlap with these two styles, like the need for proofreading, there are also a few key variations that make these two styles distinct.
The Audience
A big difference between technical and business writing is the audience. Business and technical writing are reader-focused, but business writing deals more with interpersonal information than technical writing.
Businesses will use technical writing when they need to convey more technical information. An email from HR introducing a new hire doesn’t fall under the technical writing category. However, a report from a field geologist would qualify as technical writing, even if the geologist sends it to the company for which they work.
Changing the Tone
Keep in mind that, as people write for different audiences, the tone will change. Business writing is more focused on an audience of people from internal or external businesses. It’s diverse, but it’s always important to make the content easy to understand.
“Who” a business writer is writing for will vary the tone quite a bit. For example, a writer might need to use a more persuasive voice to emphasize certain aspects of a special offer. On the other hand, a writer might decide to use a more direct or formal tone for an internal memo. An email to a new client might require using a more warm and friendly tone.
All of the examples show a situation that needs clear and accessible writing, but the audience alters the tone a writer needs to use. However, technical writing doesn’t often change tone. That’s because the goal of technical writing is to explain something clearly. There’s much less interpersonal communication occurring with technical writing.
Technical writers try to explain specific topics that most people generally don’t understand or need to know for most situations. Examples of this could include the instruction manual for an oven or instructions on new medications. These kinds of writing include specific instructions for specific situations.
Another way to tell the difference is to look at the language of the text. With technical writing, it should be impersonal, and the language a writer uses should effectively communicate the correct information to the right audience.
Even though the intended audience of a piece doesn’t impact the tone of professional writing, it can impact how the writer writes. For example, if you’re writing for an expert audience, you’ll need to use different words and phrases than if you were writing for the general public.
You may need to explain concepts differently or cover things in a broader sense for the general public. Good writers will be able to explain each concept so that most people can understand it.
8. ATTY. NOEMI B. ALCALA GARCIA
Chancellor II
Customs Institute
Welcome Message
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9. DR. FERDINAND L. LA PUEBLA
Chief Education Program Specialist
Learning and Development Division
Training Overview and LNA Results
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10. Overview
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• Basic level course
• Brief review of basic grammar and writing skills
Subject-verb Agreement
Prepositions
Diction & Punctuation
Conciseness in Writing
Overview of Business Writing
Writing Meeting Minutes
• Overview of business correspondence and writing sessions
11. Objective
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This training course on Business and Technical
Writing is designed for learners to enhance their
communication skills and improve clarity in written
communication by learning and practicing effective
writing techniques such as using clear and concise
language, structuring information logically, and
organizing ideas in a coherent manner.
16. LNA RESULTS: Other Comments/Suggestions
To come up with more written exercises for
practical learning
More topics on professional development
Hope we all learn on the Training!
Access to materials
