Technical Writing Skills

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What are the important technical writing skills? Well, in our search for an answer, let?s consider the phrase ?technical writing skills? for clues.

The first clue is the word technical. A technical writer writes about technical topics. Some examples of possible subject areas are telecommunications, electronics, information technology (IT), medical devices, computer hardware and software, chemistry, the aerospace industry, and robotics. There are many more/

Basic Technical Knowledge Helps

The technical writer needs to have a basic familiarity with technology. Notice that I said basic. I chose that word because the world of technology is huge and not limited to the technologies listed in the previous paragraph.

I suppose there was a time when technical writers stayed with one company or in one industry for their entire careers. However, those times are long gone.

Nowadays, companies are quick to throw people over the side at the first hint of economic uncertainty. Moreover, technical writers are usually among the first to go. That?s unfortunate, but it is a fact of life. If you?re working in aerospace and you lose your position, the chances are slim that other aerospace companies will be hiring. So you need to be able to work with other technologies. You must be adaptable.

That?s not as difficult as you might think. After you get an understanding of what technical writing is all about, you?ll find that it?s easy to work in different technologies.

Why is that? I think it?s because of that second work in the phrase ?technical writing skills.? The word I?m referring to is writing!

Writing Ability Really Helps

Writing ability is perhaps the most important skill of all for a technical writer. I think that?s because of the actual act of writing itself. I know that when I?m puzzled about something, I can gain a better understanding of it if I write about it.

If you want to write about something, you must first arrange your thoughts in a way that makes sense to you and to your readers. Then you have to express those thoughts clearly and plainly. If you can do that, you are a successful writer. If you cannot, then like the sign you see on the Belt Parkway when leaving Brooklyn, FUGGEDABOUTIT!

Do SMEs Make Good Technical Writers?

I?ve known my fair share of technical writers over the years. I?ve had the opportunity to observe a wide range of technical writing skills. I cannot recall many strong technical people who came into writing. Why is that? I think they enjoyed their technical work too much.

I?ve seen some very astute SMEs attempt technical writing. Typically, they?ll do all right when writing to their peers. That?s because they speak and understand the same language.

Nevertheless, they fall flat on their faces when they try to write for a larger audience. I think that?s because they assume too much knowledge on their audience?s part. Therefore, they don?t give the full picture when they write. They take short cuts.

In other words, they don?t really understand what writing is all about and they have no technical writing skills. However, I?ve also known one or two technical types who could write. That?s a very unusual and powerful combination.

Purpose of Technical Writing

After working in the field for over twenty-five years, I have my own opinion about this. I think that the purpose of technical writing is similar to any other type of non-fictional writing. It is to explain or provide insight into a specific topic. Not general information, although that?s part of most technical manuals, but specific information.

Best Technical Writing Style

What?s the best technical writing style? To my mind, it is the same style that you would use for business writing or any writing. That is, a clean, spare style devoid of noise.

Characteristics of Technical Writing

There?s a lot of technical documents out there written by all kinds of technical writers. Some are darn good and others are of little real value. Can we see what differentiates the good from the bad? Here, again in my opinion, are some of the characteristics of technical writing that make a difference to the end user.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 at 11:23 am and is filed under Technical Writing Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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