Technical writing is an important part of the workplace that can take up 31% of the workweek. It is written for business and focuses on products and services. Effective technical writing involves defining the purpose, audience, and level of detail. It also requires organizing information, meeting deadlines, and employing ethical writing principles. Proper style and usage includes using active voice, simple sentences, and avoiding wasted words. Technical documents like reports, memos, and correspondence must be clearly structured and logically presented to effectively convey information to readers. Good communication and teamwork are essential for successful technical writing.

1. Technical Writing
s1220104
Naoki Yasuta
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2. Getting started
• Define the purpose of the document and
the key information it needs to convey
• Define the audience and their level of
technical understanding
• Determine the level of detail necessary
for the document
• Organize the data
• Work with a team of authors
• Meet deadlines
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3. Getting started
• The key to creating a meaningful
document
• The required level of detail becomes clear
• Develop an outline of what the document
should include
• For complex documents with multiple
contributors
• Includes topic outlines, deadlines, and
individual responsibilities for each section
of the document.
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4. Getting started
• Manage task that requires having clear
expectations, commitments, and
ongoing communication.
• Plan for each step, and leave time for
editing and production.
• In all cases, test the final document
against the original purpose and the
requirements of the identified audience.
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5. Role as a writer
• Employ ethical principles
• Avoid language that attempts to evade
responsibility
• Avoid language that could possibly
mislead readers
• Do not de-emphasize or suppress
important information
• Do not emphasize misleading or
incorrect information
• Treat others fairly and respectfully
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6. Role as a writer
• Give credit where due
• Complete and consistent
documentation can:
• Help our readers locate the information
and do follow-up research
• Help us support our position,
recommendations, or conclusions
• Help us avoid plagiarism
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7. Role as a writer
• For all technical writing, professional conduct
and high ethical standards are important of
maintaining credibility
• Although it is sometimes difficult, your
responsibility as a writer is to stay neutral and
objective whenever possible
• Stay within the scope of the project and avoid
stating personal opinions or making biased
statements in company or public documents
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8. Style and Usage
• Elements of style
• Present tense, active voice
• Simple sentences
• Gender neutrality
• Abbreviations and acronyms
• Lists
• Sidebars
• Figures and tables
• Cross-references
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Redundancy
• Final edit
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9. Style and Usage
• Wasted words and phrases to avoid
• After you write a sentence, look it over
and ask whether there are any words
you can cut without affecting the
meaning.
• If so, start cutting, because the
shorter version is usually better.
• Avoid words and phrases that don’t
add meaning to a sentence.
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10. Style and Usage
• Good writing is a combination of
orderly ideas presented simply and
the appropriate use of words, phrases,
and conventions.
• These include the use of lists,
references, figures and tables, and
abbreviations.
• Overall, text should be in active voice,
present tense, and use short,
declarative sentences
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11. Correspondence and memoranda
• Correspondence
• Keep Comments within the Scope of the
Organization’s Responsibility
• Eliminate Personal Opinions
• Use Proper Format
• Email
• State the Subject Clearly
• Write Short, Readable Communications
• Employ Email Etiquette
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12. Correspondence and memoranda
• Meeting agendas and meeting minutes
• Meeting agendas
• Meeting minutes
• Memoranda
• Technical memos
• Documenting memos
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13. Reports and studies
• Report guidelines
• Executive summary – a stand-alone chapter
• Summary paragraphs
• Main body of the report
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Appendices
• Headings
• Reference information
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14. Reports and studies
• A clear and logical presentation of
information is key to transferring
knowledge to the reader
• Outliming the points in a logical
sequence should be the first step in
preparing a report
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15. Conclusion
• Technical communication is written for and about business
and industry and focuses on products and services
• Technical communication is an important part of your
everyday work life. It can consume as much as 31 percent
of a typical workweek
• Technical communication costs a company both time and
money, so employees must write effectively
• The top skills employers want include communication skills,
honesty, interpersonalskills, a strong work ethic, and
teamwork
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16. Conclusion
• Avoid “silo building,” isolating
yourself on the job
• Working in teams allows you to see
issues from several points of view
• Human Performance Improvement
(HPI) solves problems—“gaps”—
inherent in teamwork
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17. technical writing is important for computer science major
• Problems teams face include varied
knowledge levels, differing motives,
and insufficient resources
• Conflict resolution strategies are
essential to a team’s success.
• To resolve conflicts in a team, you
should set guidelines, encourage all to
participate, and avoid taking sides
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