Words in Technical Writing

By: Keivan Taban

When it comes to writing, we tend to think highly of words. That in fact is correct and necessary. However, “thinking highly of words” could paint different pictures in different minds. That is why we have to express clearly what our written piece is targeted at. Here, as is evident from the title, our subject is technical writing.

If you are wondering as to what technical writing is, I’m afraid you would have to sustain on the minimum information I will provide about technical writing here in this piece. If you require a more detailed or advanced discussion, please search the web, or wait until I discussed it in a separate piece.

Technical writing is the practice of providing information—normally in written format—to a particular audience regarding technologies, researches, gadgets, services. Simply put, if somebody is out in the market, whatever the market would be, providing his/her current or prospective customers or consumers with a product or service, he/she needs to communicate clearly what they do and provide information on what his/her product(s) do and how they do it. This type of communication is called technical writing and takes on different forms and shapes (e.g. user manuals, quick reference guides, brochures, proposals, white papers, website content, online and print help material).

Now, let’s go back to the “thinking highly of words” statement. Any communicator, involuntarily and unequivocally thinks highly of words. Why is that? Because words are the very tools they need to craft and create. For this reason, a communicator needs to know her tools inside out and think highly of them. But here is the intricacy: thinking highly of words also involves refraining from wasteful, unwise, and irrelevant use of them in contexts to which they do not belong. What do I exactly mean by this? Do not use pompous, inflated, self-congratulatory, importance-signalling words in technical communications.

Technical documents are not read cover-to-cover and are not meant for delight or enjoyment. They are there to solve a pressing issue, or to help set up or run something. Nobody reads a technical document in the comfort of their cozy armchair while sipping their afternoon tea or coffee. Those who read technical documents are in the challenging position of installing or troubleshooting, or trying to mine as much information as possible in the shortest time. So, make your communication as simple as you could possibly do. And, keep this in mind whenever you are developing a technical document.

To achieve the ranks of highly skilled technical writers, do the following in terms of word choice:

• Use words that do not involve second-guessing on the

reader’s part in the reading process.

• Use words that are common and can be easily

understood, even by non-native speakers.

• Avoid jargon when and where applicable .

• Use words consistently across your document.

• Define acronyms where possible.

In short, your goal is not to impress. Your goal is to represent information—in the simplest way possible.

Stay tuned …