Technical Writing, a form of technical communication, is a style of formal writing and business communication, used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. Good technical writing clarifies technical jargon; that is, it presents useful information that is clear and easy to understand for the intended audience.
#20246
The Death of the Technical Author?
Technical Authors do not have high prominence in the workplace, and they don't have the best of images (as can be seen by the movie 'The Technical Writer'). Today, there are a number of Technical Authors struggling to find new employment in the current IT sector, and one can find messages on Internet newsgroups questioning the future employment prospects for Technical Authors in North America and Europe. Some wonder whether the role of the Technical Author will disappear, like other careers have in the past. In this article we look at the problems faced by Technical Authors in defining their role, and make some recommendations for the future.
Birn, William. Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>Writing>Professionalism>Technical Writing
#28790
Debbie Kennedy on Modular Writing and Reusability
Kennedy's presentation on modular writing and reusability was attended by about 200 people. In her presentation, Debbie explained how to chunk content by first looking at different content types: procedures, processes, facts, principles, and so forth. She also mentions a tool called Content Mapper that writers can use to chunk and reuse information through Microsoft Word.
Kennedy, Debbie. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Writing>Content Management>Podcasts
#25553
Weblogs are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore for those of us who spend much time reading the Web. Also known by the inscrutable nickname 'blogs', weblogs are something of a hard nut to crack. Compounding the difficulty is the fact that a great deal of weblog content today is about weblogs and weblog technology. What are weblogs? What's the big deal? Why should we pay attention? We attempt to answer these questions in the essay that follows.
Grumet, Andrew. Grumet.net (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#23316
Definitions of Technical Writing and Technical Writers 
Technical Communicators: People who create, locate, analyze, and distribute information. Whenever you prepare a document that will serve as a basis for action, you work as a technical communicator.
Georgia State University. Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Glossary
#13455
The levels of edit concept can be a valuable editorial tool, especially to clarify for staff what editors do with documents. However focusing on degrees of edit (light, medium, and heavy) can simplify decisions about editorial work on a document. Dividing heavy edits into macro edits and micro edits can clarify what editors do in editing a document thoroughly. This presentation simplifies the editorial process by examining the three different degrees of edit and establishing the aims and procedures for macro and micro editing.
Samson, Donald C., Jr. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Editing
#19777
Deke, an abbreviation of decoy, is Canadian hockey slang meaning to deceive (usually a defensive player) with a fake shot or movement. The term is frequently used outside of the hockey context.
Goldberger, Dalya. Writer's Block. Articles>Language>Writing
#15110
Delivering Clear Messages in a Technical Environment 
Argues that effective titles and slogans can help members of a documentation team keep their focus while working on a project.
Kocak, Paul J. Intercom (2001). Articles>Writing>TC
#26844
Demand for Writers is High, 'Technically'
Today, the demand for technical writers in India is rapidly rising.
Times of India (2003). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>India
#14592
Linked to this page are 6 high-school-level exercises that teach (through worked and scaffolded examples) how to write good technical descriptions. Also included is a set of description-writing guidelines on which these exercises depend. The summary table below links to two versions of each exercise: * A plain version suitable for classroom use as is, and * An annotated version that: * spells out the goal of each exercise and the writing issues that it addresses, * compares the exercise with others in this set, * suggests effective, relevant teaching strategies, as well as extended activities, and * notes the specific 1998 California English-Language Arts content standard(s) that the exercise most strongly supports.
Girill, T.R. STC East Bay (1999). Academic>Course Materials>Writing
#23007
Design, Results, and Analysis Assessment Components Nine-Course Program 
The case for assessment of college writing programs no longer needs to be made. Although none of us would have chosen the words, we all have come to accept the truth of Roger Debreceny’s words: the 'free ride' for America’s colleges and universities is indeed over (1). All writing programs face difficulties in selecting the means for the most effective evaluations for their individual programs. Key concerns include how appropriately, practically, and cost effectively various assessment tools address this problem.
Carson, J. Stanton, Patricia G. Wojahn, John R. Hayes and Thomas A. Marshall. LLAD (2003). Articles>Education>Writing>Assessment
#27653
Designing and Writing to Reduce User Errors
A vast majority of documents (I consider print and online as documentation) often works to define the optimized error-free method of performing a task and provides a user with a straightforward solution. However, the user expects documentation to help solve problems and address errors. Thus, attention must be paid to potential problems users can have and how to correct them. Errors have different causes; the information designer should understand the potential types of errors since properly addressing each type requires a different approach in the design and documentation.
Albers, Michael J. WritersUA (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Usability
#23642
Designing and Writing to Reduce User Errors
A vast majority of documents (I consider print and online as documentation) often works to define the optimized error-free method of performing a task and provides a user with a straightforward solution. However, the user expects documentation to help solve problems and address errors. Thus, attention must be paid to potential problems users can have and how to correct them. Errors have different causes; the information designer should understand the potential types of errors since properly addressing each type requires a different approach in the design and documentation.
Albers, Michael J. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#15112
Explains how to produce documents with good structure, which is essential to the use of structural markup.
Tyson, Paul H. Intercom (2002). Design>Information Design>Writing
#10378
Developing a Resource for Multinational Writing at Xerox Corporation 
Documentation and training developers at Xerox Corporation have been creating materials for worldwide distribution for many years. MC&SE - the Multinational Customer and Service Education organization - has included a translation department since 1978. A system of writing for both machine and manual translation had been in place since then. The supporting materials for this writing system had become scattered and, in some cases, obsolete. When MC&SE created an Employee Development System, two skills that pertain to global communication were identified: 'Writing for Translatability' and 'Global Design'. Many of the resources that had been used in support of multinational document creation were pertinent to the development of these skills. The article describes the development of an updated set of training aids to assist authors in developing their global communication competency.
Adams, Ann H., Gail W. Austin and Melissa Taylor. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Writing>International
#27500
Developing a Web-Based Tutorial in RoboHelp
The very first thing you should do in developing a tutorial is to be familiar enough with the subject matter that you can write the content.
School for Champions (2005). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#12932
Developing an Article from the Ground Up
Whether it's at the request of your company's powers-that-be or out of your own personal desire to spread your wings, you may be thinking about writing an article. It'll be easy enough. You're a writer, after all. You already know how to research topics, develop information, and create a coherent document. You've written tomes on the most arcane topics known to humankind. Surely one little 1000-word feature story is no big deal, right? That all depends. Article writing--for a specialized audience or for the general public--requires knowledge of a new process that many technical writers may not be familiar with. Fortunately, though, any professional writer can learn to transfer his or her existing skills to this new format, and you just might find the different method provides a mini vacation from your day-to-day work projects.
Chroust Ehmann, Lain. TECHWR-L (2001). Articles>Writing>Planning
#10765
An outline is: a logical, general description; aschematic summary; an organizational pattern; a visual and conceptual design of your writing. An outline reflects logical thinking and clear classification.
Purdue University (1997). Academic>Writing
#21896
Developing And Writing Grant Proposals
A successful grant proposal is one that is well-prepared, thoughtfully planned, and concisely packaged. The potential applicant should become familiar with all of the pertinent program criteria related to the Catalog program from which assistance is sought. Refer to the information contact person listed in the Catalog program description before developing a proposal to obtain information such as whether funding is available, when applicable deadlines occur, and the process used by the grantor agency for accepting applications. Applicants should remember that the basic requirements, application forms, information and procedures vary with the Federal agency making the grant award.
#22767
Developing Evaluation Criteria
We encourage you to adapt criteria to your specific communication assignments. You might specify, for example, the technical or scientific content for which your students are responsible. You might also specify how students will address communication concerns such as audience, purpose, context, organization, support, design, and expression.
#31098
As a technical writer, you'll typically have to create indexes for the print books and for online helps you develop. The type of index we mean here is the classic back-of-book index that shows page numbers on which topics and subtopics occur within the book. An online index is much the same except that you supply hypertext links rather than page numbers.
McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2004). Articles>Editing>Indexing>Technical Writing
#14027
Developing Industrial Cases For Technical Writing on Campus
At the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the World's Engineering Congress met and included special section, 'Division E, Engineering Education.' This division was the seed for The Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, and one paper delivered in the section was 'Training of Students in Technical Literary Work,' evidencing early concern about engineers' education in technical writing. But concern alone did not solve the problem. Two decades later Edward D. Sabine, a terminal engineer, complained that most college graduated engineers could not even write a decent letter. And in the same year F. W. Springer, a professor of electrical engineering, spoke of the need for teaching 'engineering-English.' Fifty years ago Hale Sutherland, a professor of Civil Engineering, described how Case School of Applied Science had instituted a two-course, technical writing requirement to overcome 'the engineer's ancient weakness, his inability to speak and write effectively.' One approach to solving this problem has been cooperation. Seventy years ago C. W. Park wrote an article about the cooperative program at the University of Cincinnati, in which members of the Engineering and English Departments worked together to promote better writing; obviously the idea of teaming up is hardly new. Thirty years ago The Journal of Engineering Education published another description of a cooperative effort and just five years ago devoted an entire issue to technical writing. The need for teaching engineers to write and the difficulties in accomplishing the objective even cooperatively have been recognized for almost a century; we are still grappling with the problem.
Mair, David and John Radovich. JAC (1985). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#31799
Developing Knowledge Base Articles
A short article that offers some tips on writing articles for a knowledge base, whether internal or client facing.
DMN Communications (2008). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing
#22051
Developing the Specification for a Document
Between 25-30 percent of the overall writing time is typically devoted to developing the document specification, meaning how the document will be formatted and actually present the information. This is true even when the organization has a style guide with a prescribed format, but no “standard” for documentation overall. Although this may seem an inordinate amount of time and effort on the front end, before getting any information onto the paper, it is far more cost-effective than spending unplanned time rewriting and reformatting the document late in the production process.
Tech-Writer. Articles>Writing>Project Management>Technical Writing
#19987
Diagnosing and Curing Writer's Block Paralysis in the Workplace
At one time or another, all writers--veterans or novices, technical or creative--struggle with writer's block. Advice on treating creative writer's block abounds, but very little information exists for technical writers who frequently must write even when they feel blocked. Fortunately, solutions used by creative writers to overcome blocks are often appropriate for technical writers in workplace situations. By understanding the symptoms, causes, and treatment of the problem, anyone can overcome and even prevent writer's block.
Ketelaar, Carolee C. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing
#27334
Dig for the Concrete and Specific
The good writer uses telling details, not only to inform but to persuade. Dig for the concrete and specific.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Journalism
