technical writing vs essay ppt

Technical Writing vs. Essay Writing: Differences & Similarities

Technical writing and essay writing are critical and valuable skills to have in any career, but they can be very different. If you are a writer who wants to learn more about technical writing and essay writing, then you have come to the right place.

In contrast, an essay is a piece of writing that discusses an issue or topic, including a research paper, a business proposal, a term paper, or a personal essay. Technical writing is different from essay writing, but there are some similarities that you should be aware of before you start.

Also read: How to Create a Strong Brand Identity Through Writing

📖 Table of Contents

What is Technical Writing?

Technical writing includes all forms that require specialized vocabulary and specialized language to convey information. The writer must also understand the subject to write about it.

What is Essay Writing?

Essay writing is a widespread type of writing. It is usually used to describe or explain a particular topic. The main idea of an essay is to discuss a topic and give your opinion. An essay is different from a story because it usually has more than one point. Essays are often used to write about what people believe and why they believe it.

You may think that essay writing is not a hard thing to do, but there are many things you need to know before you start writing your essay. If you are unsure how to start your essay, You can take essay help from online sites, and it is always advised to learn these skills at the earliest possible time. They can help you write an essay that is good and original.

Argumentative: This type of essay is all about convincing your reader. Persuasive: This type of essay is all about persuading your reader. Narrative: This type of essay is all about telling a story. Explanation: This type of essay is all about explaining a concept. Description: This type of essay is all about describing something.

Technical Writing vs Essay Writing: The Differences

In technical writing, you’re writing about a topic or field of study that you are already familiar with. You’re writing about a topic you’ve studied before, and you’re writing about a topic you’ve written about in the past.

Technical Writing vs Essay Writing: The Similarities

Both of them require the same time and effort. Both technical writing and essay writing are time-consuming processes. This is because the skills are based on facts and figures. Hence, the only thing that matters is to write the content correctly.

Both technical writing and essay writing must be presented in different mediums.

Both technical writing and essay writing focus on a particular subject; however, technical writing requires a more in-depth understanding, whereas essay writing requires a more broad understanding. Both these skills require a considerable amount of time and effort.

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Technical Writing vs. Essay Writing

Major variations of writing in both styles, beyond common writing distinctions, key challenges, how is technical writing different from writing an essay.

• Read in 07 mins Published: 14-Nov-2023

When we think of writing, we often connect it with articles, blogs or essays. But do you know there are many different styles and formats to consider while writing content? The two most popular writing types we are going to discuss here are technical writing and essay writing. Both of the styles involve the use of words and language to communicate ideas and information to a specific audience.

However, there are some key differences between the two styles that set them totally apart. Understanding these differences can help identify which approach is best suited for your particular needs. Through this article, we will explore how technical writing is different from writing an essay, their characteristics, as well as tips on how to excel in each style.

Technical writing and essay writing are two interesting styles of writing that have their unique characteristics and purposes for a diverse audience. So, whether you're a student working on an academic paper or a professional looking to communicate complex ideas, read on to discover the right way!

Technical writing focuses on providing clear and straightforward informative content to help readers understand complicated concepts. At the same time, essay writing aims to convince and engage readers with well-developed arguments and analysis. Understanding the difference between the two styles can help you figure out which approach is right for you.

For example , if you were writing a technical manual on how to assemble a computer, you would use technical writing to provide step-by-step instructions with clear diagrams and explanations. On the other hand, if you were writing an essay on the benefits of renewable energy, you would use essay writing to present compelling arguments supported by evidence and expert opinions.

Technical writing is highly objective and focuses on practicality and efficiency, aiming to convey information in a concise and precise manner. It is often used in fields such as engineering, technology, and science. Essay writing is more subjective and allows for the expression of personal opinions and interpretations. It is commonly employed in academic settings and aims to persuade and engage readers through effective rhetoric and logical reasoning.

Understanding the appropriate style for your purpose can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your writing and ensure that your intended message reaches and resonates with your target audience.

Four major variations of writing can be found in both technical and essay writing styles.

Formality and Tone

• Technical Writing: The language in this style is straightforward and specific. It resembles a set of instructions for assembling structured content, avoiding unnecessary details, and focusing on clarity.
• Essay Composition: Now consider it as a letter to a friend. It's informal, like a casual chat. The tone can be personal, expressing emotions and opinions freely. An essay weaves a narrative, allowing the writer's voice to shine through.

Use of Jargon

• Technical Writing: It often includes industry-specific terms and jargon. The goal is to communicate efficiently within a particular field, assuming a level of knowledge among the readers.
• Essay Composition: Essays generally avoid excessive jargon, opting for easy and accessible language. The emphasis is on connecting with a broader audience, making the content relatable and engaging.

Structural Framework

• Technical Writing: Technical documents follow a structured and logical format, just like maps. Whether it's a manual or a report, the information is organized systematically, allowing readers to navigate with ease.
• Essay Composition: Essays have a more flexible structure. While they may have an introduction, body, and conclusion, the content flows naturally, allowing for creativity and exploration of ideas.

Audience Considerations

• Technical Writing: Technical writing is tailored to a specific audience with a particular knowledge base. It assumes the readers have a certain level of expertise in the subject matter.
• Essay Composition: Essays adapt to various readerships, considering a broader spectrum of backgrounds and interests. The goal is to engage and resonate with a diverse group of readers.

Technical writing and essay writing both require solid skills in writing along with the ability to communicate information effectively. Let us understand some unexplored distinctions that can help writers tailor their approach and achieve their intended goals.

Intent of Communication

• Technical writing mainly serves a practical purpose. It aims to express information, focusing on delivering instructions or presenting facts. The focus here is on providing guidance or documentation for a specific task or process.
• Essay writing takes a more exploratory route. Essays are a platform for expressing ideas, opinions, and emotions. They invite readers to delve into the writer's thoughts, often without a predetermined practical outcome.

Emotional Engagement

• Technical writing is more objective and factual. The major goal is the transmission of information with minimal emotional engagement or personal biases.
• Essay writing encourages emotional connection. Essays often involve personal reflections, storytelling, or persuasive elements that light up emotions and relate with the reader on a more personal level.

Flexibility in Structure

• Technical writing follows a structured and standardized format. Whether it's a manual or a report, our technical writing services follow a predetermined framework to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Essay writing embraces a more flexible structure. It allows for creativity in the organization, enabling writers to experiment with different formats to suit the content and convey ideas effectively.

Language Complexity

• Technical writing prioritizes clarity over literary flair. The language used is straightforward, avoiding unnecessary complexity. The focus is on delivering information comprehensively to a specific audience.
• Essay writing celebrates the beauty of language. Essays often employ a more varied and expressive vocabulary, allowing writers to craft sentences that convey not only information but also evoke a particular atmosphere or emotion.

Objective & Subjective Evaluation

• Technical writing is subject to objective evaluation. Technical documents are assessed based on accuracy, clarity, and adherence to predefined standards. Success is measured by how effectively it fulfills its intended purpose.
• Essay writing involves subjective evaluation. The assessment of an essay includes factors such as creativity, originality, and the ability to engage the reader emotionally. Success is often measured by the impact on the reader's perspective.

Facing challenges is a natural part of life, and in various aspects, understanding the key challenges helps us find effective solutions. Here are some informative pointers illustrating key challenges to shed light on these hurdles:

Resource Limitations

Limited budgets and resources constrain growth and innovation. These limitations can hinder the ability to implement new ideas and strategies. In order to succeed in writing an impactful essay, it is important to incorporate factors such as creativity, originality, and the ability to engage the reader emotionally. However, one must also navigate technical communication hurdles and find a balance between creativity and coherence in the narrative.

Adapting to Change

Change is constant, but coping with it can be not easy. It requires individuals and organizations to be flexible and open-minded, willing to embrace new ideas and approaches. Adapting to change also involves overcoming resistance and fear of the unknown, as well as continuously learning and evolving to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Market Competition

Staying competitive in a crowded market is a perpetual struggle. Companies must innovate and differentiate themselves to stand out from their competitors regularly. It involves understanding customer needs and preferences, conducting market research, and developing unique value propositions.

Regulatory Compliance

Following through complex regulations requires ongoing effort. Businesses must stay updated on changes in regulations, ensure their operations comply, and allocate resources to implement necessary changes. It may involve hiring legal experts or consultants to navigate the complexities of regulatory requirements and mitigate potential risks.

Talent Acquisition and Retention

Attracting and retaining skilled employees is a continuous battle. Businesses must develop effective recruitment strategies, offer competing remuneration packages, and develop a positive work environment to attract top talent. Additionally, implementing employee retention programs and providing opportunities for growth and development can help retain skilled employees and reduce turnover rates.

Technical writing and essays are distinct but equally valuable. In this guide, we have understood how technical writing is different from writing an essay. While technical writing ensures precision in conveying information, essays bring a personal touch, enriching the world of words with creativity.

As technical writing excels at delivering information with precision, essays unfold as a canvas for personal expression and exploration of ideas. Recognizing these differences empowers writers to choose the most suitable form based on their communication objectives and the nature of the content.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary has extensive experience of over 5 years in writing on a wide range of topics, including healthcare, technology, science, and business. She is highly knowledgeable and skilled in researching and crafting accurate, well-structured, and engaging content. Mary is a reliable and professional writer who is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure her clients are satisfied with her work. She is committed to delivering quality content on time and within budget.

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A Guide to Technical Writing (With Examples)

4-minute read

• 5th May 2023

You can find technical writing in lots of places, including in your home, at your job, in many industries, and in businesses of all sizes. If you need help with business writing specifically, check out how we can assist you .

In today’s post, we’ll break down what technical writing is and how to do it effectively. We’ll also provide some handy examples.

What Is Technical Writing?

Technical writing doesn’t always look very technical! It can be anything that describes how to do a task or how to operate a machine or system. Or it can cover a specialized topic. Technical writing includes recipes in your favorite cookbook, board game instructions, operator manuals, health and safety regulations, legal documents, and financial reports.

Instructions for Carrying Out a Task

This type of technical writing can be a recipe for a cake, the instructions for a board game, tips on how to walk your dog to heel, or the script for a social media video on how to cut your own hair.

Operating Manuals for Machinery, Appliances, or Systems

Technical writing can also be the user guide for a dishwasher, for a factory machine that makes cardboard boxes, a “how to” guide for spreadsheets, or instructions for changing the oil in your motorcycle.

Specialized Topics

The list here could be very, very long! Technical writing on specialized topics includes a company’s business reports, a medical consultant’s letter to a patient, health and safety regulations, employment policies, and legal documents.

So How Do I Produce a Great Piece of Technical Writing?

Let’s take it in three stages: Who? What? How?

Who Is It For?

In any type of writing, knowing your audience is important. This is particularly true of technical writing. Here are some examples of who might read technical writing:

·  A renter of an apartment that needs details on their lease

·  An electrical engineer who needs to know how the wiring is laid out in the apartment block

·  The janitor of that same building who needs to know the location of the emergency lights

·  The occupant of apartment 61, who needs to know how to use the oven in their kitchen

They all need information presented to them, but what information do they need?

What Do They Need?

The renter needs a legal document that leaves no room for doubt about their legal rights and obligations and those of their landlord. The document will be very detailed, containing terms that need careful explanation.

The electrical engineer needs accurate, clear information about the wiring, as they could get hurt or cause harm to someone else if the diagram is inaccurate.

The janitor needs clear directions and a map of where the emergency lights are.

The occupant of apartment 61 needs instructions that are written in plain English so they can use their oven safely.

How Should Technical Writing Be Composed?

Follow these steps when writing a technical document:

·  Research and know your subject thoroughly.

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·  Decide on the appropriate writing style. Just because it’s technical, doesn’t mean it has to contain lots of jargon . Be concise, be direct, and be straightforward.

·  Consider whether you need to include diagrams, maps, images, charts, and/or tables.

·  If writing instructions, take it one step at a time, write objectively , and make sure the instructions work!

Examples of Technical Writing

Let’s look at some examples:

The first version contains unnecessary words, but the warnings are not specific enough. The instructions should be concise and clear. In the second version, the danger is stated right away, and the critical warnings are concise and specific.

In these examples, the first version is unnecessarily wordy. It provides a lot of detail for minor tasks but gives vague instructions for bigger tasks. The second version is much clearer. The instructions are easier to follow, and they include each necessary step.

Good technical writing needs the following attributes:

1. Relevance

2. Accuracy

4. Accessibility

5. Simplicity

Really good technical writing will include these attributes every time.

Is technical writing difficult?

Technical writing does not have to be difficult if you follow our guide and do your research beforehand.

Are there professional bodies for technical writers?

There are several professional organizations for technical writing. This list from UTA Libraries is very useful.

What can I do if I’m not sure that my technical writing style is appropriate to my subject?

We have experts in many fields who can check your writing and advise on style .

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TECHNICAL WRITING vs. ACADEMIC WRITING

Sep 02, 2014

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TECHNICAL WRITING vs. ACADEMIC WRITING. TYPES of WRITING. PERSONAL ACADEMIC PROFESSIONAL. PERSONAL WRITING. Purpose/Objective : to entertain to inform Evaluation : desired emotional response informed. PERSONAL WRITING. Graphics : emoticons text-messaging lingo Formats : e-mail

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TECHNICAL WRITINGvs.ACADEMIC WRITING

TYPES of WRITING PERSONAL ACADEMIC PROFESSIONAL

PERSONAL WRITING • Purpose/Objective: • to entertain • to inform • Evaluation: • desired emotional response • informed

PERSONAL WRITING • Graphics: • emoticons • text-messaging lingo • Formats: • e-mail • letters • journals • text messages

PERSONAL WRITING • Audience: • equal knowledge • friends • colleagues • Informality

*AUDIENCES* Specific Audiences boss supervisor team committee politicians bank officers general public General Audience generic reader teacher perhaps fellow students TW AW

*AUDIENCES* 1 Document = Many Readers: (Many Readers = Many Needs) “food chain” boss, supervisor team engineers workers politicians bank officers general public 1 Document = 1 Reader: (1 Reader = 1 Need) teacher TW AW

PURPOSES • Purpose = • Writing Situation • Objective • Why was the document written?

PURPOSES Situation-Oriented see a need — address a need internal motivation professional motivation outcome-oriented: to get something accomplished Assignment-Oriented passive (vs. active) given a topic, test given an assignment external motivation scholastic motivation grade-oriented grade, g.p.a., degree TW AW

EVALUATION CRITERIA Success satisfaction of the needs of all readers something was done informed persuaded Success correct answer right information unity, coherence support, detail grammar TW AW

APPLICATIONS Real-World Applications case studies illustrative scenarios operations management for a job for a raise or promotion for a bid practical College Application “academic” writing essays essay exams for academics for grade for degree “show what you know” demonstrative TW AW

DISCIPLINES Across Disciplines “interdisciplinary” computer sciences psychology mixture of: history math science technology Single Discipline “discipline-specific” literary data for an English paper historical information on a history paper psychological ideas on a psychology test rarely a mixture TW AW

*PAGE DESIGN* Paragraphs 6-10 lines vary lengths for visual White Space Columns Headings Lists Graphics Varying Fonts Use of Color Relative Spacing Relative Margins Relative Justification Paragraphs Minimum of 3-5 sentences No maximum length NO White Space Columns Headings Lists Graphics Varying Fonts Use of Color Double Spacing Equal Margins Left Justification TW AW

COMPONENTS Oral, Visual, Written produce documents present documents write to be read write to be seen write to be heard Written infrequent oral and visual components predominant written component write to be read by teacher write to be graded not to be seen or heard TW AW

GRAPHICS tables charts graphs diagrams photographs maps blue prints uncommon photographs TW AW

FORMATS memos e-mails letters cover letters resumes proposals manuals portfolio abstracts reports formal informal essay questions essays based on the rhetorical strategies Description Narration Illustration Process-Analysis Division-Classification Comparison-Contrast Definition Cause-Effect Pro-Con Argument TW AW

GRAMMAR Grammar-less visual-oriented grammar = less important fragments = permissible active voice descriptive writing concise sentences spelling! proofread! Grammar-full written-oriented grammar = key sentence errors = avoided active voice descriptive writing concise sentences spelling! proofread! TW AW

CONCLUSIONS • Technical Communication: • Practicality in the employment world • Real-World application • Academic Writing: • Demonstration of knowledge • Limited to academia

CONCLUSIONS • Technical Communication: • By an informed writer • Conveying necessary information • Both visually & verbally • To a lesser-informed reader • (writer = teacher) • Academic Writing: • By a student-learner for an expert reader

CONCLUSIONS • Technical Communication: • Read by many, • To satisfy the needs of many • Academic Writing: • Read by one, • To appease the criteria of one

CONCLUSIONS • Technical Communication: • “Information Retrieval” • organization & format = designed • to help readers quickly & easily locate information • Academic Writing: • “Information Retrieval” • little concern beyond a logical organization

CONCLUSIONS • Technical Communication: • Public Speaking component — • formal conference speeches • informal meeting speeches • Academic Writing: • Limited Public Speaking opportunities • conferences or rare class projects • Public Speaking courses

DEFINITION Technical Communication: • Encompasses a wide range • of writing and speaking responsibilities • required to communicate your ideas • on the job.

SIMILARITIES • Grammar: • active voice • descriptive writing • concise sentences • spelling! • proofread!

SIMILARITIES • Writing as a Process: • Planning • Drafting • Revising

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES writing: process & product HEURISTIC: process reader-focused how-to analyze-and-compose process PRESCRIPTIVE: product writer-focused models/forms of writing writing: product Prescriptive/regulatory teach from models Rhetorical/abstract strategies writer-focused TW AW

ACADEMIC WRITING Purpose/Objective: to demonstrate knowledge to “show what you know” Audience: superior knowledge teachers, perhaps peer editors Evaluation: correct information unity, coherence, depth, clarity, grammar Graphics: limited to explain or persuade/convince

ACADEMIC WRITING Formats: Description Narration Illustration Process-Analysis Division-Classification (Rhetorical Strategies or Writing Models) Comparison-Contrast Definition Cause-Effect Pro-Con Argument-Persuasion

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Technical Writing - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Technical Writing

Technical writing definition goals writing process what is technical writing technical writing introduces you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the ... – powerpoint ppt presentation.

• Writing Process
• Technical writing introduces you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the world of science, technology, and business the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other people do as a part of their regular work.
• The term technical refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that is more the territory of experts and specialists.
• Whatever your major is, you are developing an expertise, and whenever you try to write anything about your field, you are engaged in technical writing.
• Technical communication can be written, oral, or visual.
• Technical writing is composed in and for the workplace.
• Technical writing is a significant factor in work experience for a variety of reasons.
• Technical writing serves valuable purposes in the workplace and often involves teamwork.
• Business and industry have expectations about the results of teamwork.
• Business management philosophies depend upon teamwork.
• Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma (continuous improvement) programs encourage efficient teamwork.
• Strategies for successful collaboration can improve outcomes.
• Technical writing is the delivery of technical information to readers in a manner that is adapted to their needs, level of understanding, and background.
• Technical writing is intended to communicate to a specific audience, for a specific purpose.
• The audience element is so important that it is one of the cornerstones of technical writing.
• You are challenged to write about highly technical subjects but in a way that a beginnera non-specialistcould understand.
• In a world of rapid technological development, people are constantly falling behind and becoming technological illiterates.
• As a technical writer, you need to write about the area of specialization you know and plan to write about in such a way that even Granddad can understand.
• Conciseness
• Organization
• Methods for developing ideas precisely
• An expressive essay can clarify the writers intent through emotional, impressionistic, connotative words (soon, many, several, etc.).
• An impressionistic word such as near will mean different things to different people which is okay in in an essay where the goal may be to convey a feeling.
• The ultimate goal of effective technical writing is to say the same thing to every reader.
• Lets say I write instructional manuals for company manufacturing space heaters. If I write,
• Place the space heater near an open window,
• what will this mean to thousands of customers who purchase the machine?
• One person may place the heater 6 feet from the window.
• Another reader will place the heater 6 inches from the window.
• As the writer, I have failed to communicate clearly.
• Provide specific detail
• Avoid vague words (some, recently)
• Answer reporters questions (who, what, where, when, why, how)
• Avoid obscure words
• Use easily understood words
• Write to express, not to impress
• Write to communicate, not to confuse
• Write the way you speak
• aforementioned already discussed
• in lieu of instead of
• Limit and/or define your use of abbreviations , acronyms, and jargon.
• Define your terms parenthetically
• CIA (Cash in Advance)
• Supply a separate glossary
• Alphabetized list of terms, followed by their definitions
• Use the active versus the passive voice.
• Passive voice
• It was decided all employees will take a ten percent cut in pay.
• Unclear Who decided?
• Active The Board of Directors decided that all employees . . .
• Overtime is favored by hourly workers.
• Active Hourly workers favor overtime.
• Limit paragraph, word, and sentence length.
• A paragraph in a memo, letter, or short report should consist of
• No more than four to six typed lines or
• No more than fifty words.
• Fog index (sixth to eighth grade level)
• Strive for an average of 15 words per sentence
• No more than 5 multisyllabic words per 100 words
• Count up to 100 words in successive sentences
• Divide words by number of sentences average number of words per sentence
• Count number of long words (three or more syllables) within sentences
• Dont count proper names (Christopher Columbus), long words created by combining shorter words (chairperson), or three syllable words created by ed or es endings (united).
• Use the meat cleaver theory of revision
• Cut the sentence in half or thirds
• Avoid shun words
• Avoid words ending in tion or sion
• Came to the conclusion concluded
• Avoid camouflaged words
• Make an amendment to amend
• Avoid the expletive pattern
• There is, are, was, were, will be
• There are three people who will work for Acme.
• Three people will work for Acme.
• Omit redundancies
• During the year of 1996
• During 1996
• Avoid wordy phrases
• In order to purchase to purchase
• Proofread for accuracy
• Consider ethics
• The importance of correct grammar and mechanics
• Grammatical or mechanical errors make writers look unprofessional and incompetent.
• Grammar is so important in technical writing that in a one page assignment
• 4 major grammatical errors F
• 3 major grammatical errors D
• 2 major grammatical errors C
• 1 major grammatical error B
• A means excellent which is defined as without flaw
• Methods for organizing
• General to Specific
• Chronological
• Mechanism Description
• Process Description
• Classification
• Comparison/Contrast
• More Important to Less Important
• Situation-Problem-Solution-Evaluation
• Cause-Effect
• Ethics methods encouraging moral standards in technical writing
• General categories of ethics in communication
• Behavior towards colleagues, subordinates and others (plagiarism, harassment, malicious actions)
• Dealing with experimental subjects, interviewees, etc. (informed consent)
• Telling the truth (falsify data, misrepresent facts)
• Rhetoricchoosing your words (loaded words, discriminatory language, logical fallacies)
• The writing process is effective . . . and easy.
• All that you need to do is three things
• Prewrite (about 25 percent of your time)
• Write (about 25 percent of your time)
• Rewrite (about 50 percent of your time)
• Reporters questions
• Mind mapping
• Brainstorming/listing
• Flowcharting
• Storyboarding
• Is important to success in business
• Lets you conduct business
• Costs the company
• Reflects your interpersonal communication skills
• Often involves teamwork
• Society for Technical Communication
• Technical Writing - A Dalton Organizing
• Online Technical Writing Information Infrastructures Comparison
• Online Technical Writing

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Ch 1 Technical Writing Basics

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Communication is important not only in an organization but also in our daily life. When we use communication pertaining to technical, industrial or business matters belong to the category of technical or business communication''. Scientific and technical writing, a form of technical communication, is a style of writing used in fields of diverse as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, the aerospace, industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics and biotechnology. Technical writing teams or departments are often referred to as Information development, User Assistance, Technical Documentation, or Technical Publications. Technical writers themselves may be called API writers, information developers, documentation specialists, documentation engineers, or technical content developers. Specific areas to be elaborated on the full paper. " Nature of scientific and technical documentation-basics of scientific and technical documentation-organization in technical and scientific documentation-style in technical and scientific documentation-ABC of good technical and scientific documentation-history of technical and scientific documentation'. Broadly speaking, technical documentation can be categorized into three types, depending on the style of writing, the level of knowledge transferred and the target audience. End user assistance: These information products help a user understand how ton use a technical software or hardware product. Traditional technical documentation: here the objective of the writer is to communicate with a specific audience.

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This paper has focused on technical writing as a skill for engineers. It has sought to define technical writing and throw light on the content and technique of writing the various components of successful technical reports (for example, articles, papers, or research reports, such as theses and dissertations). Then, it has highlighted other special features and principles of effective technical writing. The material in this paper is divided into seven major parts. Part 1 (Technical writing for engineers) stresses that a successful engineering career requires strong writing skills. Part 2 (How to write the major sections or elements of a report) describes the techniques of writing the abstract, introduction, literature review, procedure/methods & materials, results, discussion, conclusion, and recommendations. Part 3 (Special features of technical writing) brings into focus some of the special features of technical writing such as tables & graphs in the text, graphics in instructions, team writing, ethics (plagiarism), document sources, three citation styles and IEEE reference style. Part 4 (Technical usage) deals with writing abbreviations, initialisms and acronyms, numbers, units of measurement, and equations. Part 5 (Technical style) highlights the imperative writing style and other features of technical writing such as the use of active and passive voices, plain vs. complex syntax, avoiding redundant or superfluous expressions, and vague generalities, using words or expressions with visual impact, the past tense to describe experimental work, the present tense to describe hypotheses, principles, theories and truths, and breaking up the text of the report into short sections. Part 6 (Document specifications) emphasizes the technical writer's need to conform to such document specifications as word count, format, font, number of words per line of text imposed. Finally, part 7 (Reader-friendly technical writing) suggests choosing the varied writing modes (- atterns of organization of information) to suit the technical writing task, checking for technical accuracy and following three levels of editing to help increase the readability of a technical text.

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Technical writing can be defined either through its products, that is, the output of technical writing activities, or by the skills required for the activities themselves. The most concrete and obvious products of technical writers are documents (such as catalogues, user-manuals, reports, design specifications). However, not to be ignored are information management tools (such as classification methods, document design protocols, information modelling strategies and formalisms, document quality assessment guides). The skill of a technical writer is to enable, through an appropriate strategy of information design, the quick retrieval of relevant data in a given situation. This needs an optimal match between, on the one hand, the reader's expectations and previous knowledge and, on the other, the document's content and the content's organisation. Because it is based on theoretical knowledge, this skill can be improved and even taught, although the concerned research fields (ergonomics, artificial intelligence, semiotics, linguistics, cognitive science, terminology) are not often familiar to technical writers. Much of the theoretical literature on technical documentation amounts to little more than recipe-like instructions, recommending a crispy style, the avoidance of passives, short sentences and many nouns. More significantly, a correct emphasis on target analysis is often left unexplained, giving the technical writer no tools to set up a useful picture of the extent and nature of the reader's knowledge and of the types of information he might find useful in particular situations. Successful tuning to the target's needs and background knowledge requires the use of devices that are designed to express knowledge and to highlight this knowledge from different points of view and for different uses, in other words devices to express incomplete and biased information. Models of devices and, above all, of the distorted picture of a device that an operator is forced into because his proficiency in performing a familiar and repeated task relies on this very distortion, are, as the Cognitive Science literature has shown over many years, the best (and possibly the only) way to take the readers culture and expectations into account.

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Table of Contents

(1) Proving vs. Instructing

Academic writing is all about proving something in one way or the other.

Technical writing , on the other hand, is all about instructing how to do something to achieve a specific goal.

(2) Knowledge vs. Solution

Academic writing aims at expanding our knowledge of the world.

Technical writing , on the other hand, aims at offering solutions to specific problems that we are faced with in the world.

(3) Win argument vs. Change behavior

Academic writing tries to win a rational argument by offering evidence, precedence, and reference.

Technical writing , on the other hand, tries to change our behavior by instructing us the logical steps through which we can complete a task successfully.

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