1. Ethical acknowledgment of your sources. All published material is protected by copyright, so you have a professional and ethical obligation to cite your sources. Not citing your sources would constitute plagiarism (see Chapter 5). 2. Establishment of authority and credibility. Thorough documentation backs up your scholarship by citing the authorities and adds to the credibility of your original ideas developed in your document. 3. Efficiency for further study. Documentation allows your readers to locate your sources and learn more about a subject.
It is important to understand the concept of technical writing to understand the use of technical writing. Simply put, technical writing is the process of simplifying complex concepts. It can take the shape of user guides, infographics, and tutorial videos. Technical writing is mainly used in documenting products, especially in the IT industry. Product documentation includes configuration guides, administration guides, troubleshooting guides, and procedural guides. Remember the user manuals you get with electronic products like mobile phones, washing machines, and microwave ovens? These manuals are built by technical writers. In other industries such as Oil and Gas (OnG), technical writing is used to produce specification-related documentation called Detailed Design Specification and Functional Design Specification, among others. There are also instructional manuals used by engineers, project managers, and other operators in an OnG site. This is a gist of the use of technical writing.
A technical writer is a professional writer who primarily engages in technical writing, and produced technical documentation. Some examples of technical writing can include user guides, online help and design specifications.
The two main branches of technical writing are traditional technical writing and digital technical writing. Traditional technical writing focuses on printed materials such as manuals, reports, and documentation, emphasizing clarity and precision in conveying complex information. Digital technical writing, on the other hand, encompasses online content, including web documentation, help files, and user guides, often integrating multimedia elements for enhanced user experience. Both branches aim to make technical information accessible and understandable to specific audiences.
To offload some of the mountain of documentation writing work from the engineers.
Vocabulary definitions are critical in technical writing, so that everyone involved understand exactly which technology aspect, feature or process is being described. Not only are the definitions important in a single language, they become critical in translating the technical material into international languages.
It's the technical writer that would confirm proofread internal documentation of programs for software.
Brevity is very important in technical writing. Technical writing exists for one main purpose: to relate specific information and instructions.
Colleen E McKenna has written: 'Software documentation at SPSS Inc' -- subject(s): Technical writing, Electronic data processing documentation, Communication of technical information
Technical writing is the process of creating clear, concise, and structured content that explains complex information for specific audiences. It is factual, objective, accurate, and focused on usability, using simple language, logical flow, and precise details.
Examples of definition techniques in technical writing include classification, the process of dividing materials into classes. There are also partition, mechanism, and process.
Technical writing is primarily used by professionals in fields such as engineering, information technology, healthcare, and finance, where precise documentation is essential. It is utilized by technical writers, engineers, software developers, and researchers to create manuals, user guides, reports, and documentation that clearly convey complex information. Additionally, companies often rely on technical writing to ensure compliance and effective communication with stakeholders.
A partition in technical writing is the process of dividing the various chapters into their components parts. This method is similar to classification.