Qualities of good technical writing along with comparison between technical and non-technical writing
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The document discusses the qualities of good technical writing. It identifies planning, clarity, brevity, simplicity, word choice, active voice, and writing as a process as key qualities. It provides examples of more technical versus more expressive writing and emphasizes defining unfamiliar terms, using active voice, and avoiding unnecessary words or details. Technical writing aims to efficiently convey technical information to a specific audience.
Qualities of good technical writing along with comparison between technical and non-technical writing
- 2. Qualities Of Good Technical Writing
- 3. What is Good Technical Writing? Technical writing is the process of conveying technical information through writing to a specific audience. If the intended audience can perform an action or make a decision based on that information then that writing can be considered as Good Technical Writing .
- 4. Qualities of Good Technical Writing Planning Clarity Brevity Simplicity Word Choice Active Voice Committing to writing as a process
- 5. Planning: Before You Begin Identify your audience and their expectations Know your purpose Know your material Understand the writing task at hand Organize your thoughts and materials Budget adequate time to write, review, revise and edit.
- 6. Clarity: Avoid Jargon Jargon: a vocabulary particular to a place of work (abbreviations, slang) Audience familiarity with the topic determines appropriate use of jargon
- 7. Clarity: Define the Unfamiliar If you must abbreviate, define the term in its first occurrence, and put abbreviations in parentheses. Italicize first occurrence of unfamiliar terms and define them right away.
- 8. Brevity: Use Words Efficiently. Less Is More. Most Important First. Remove Redundancy.
- 9. Simplicity: Use Details Wisely Specific details are desirable, but be careful to balance detail with audience needs for clarity —significance is more important. Many engineers want to provide as much specific detail as possible, but this can come at the expense of readers understanding and their main point.
- 10. Word Choice:
- 11. Word Choice: Avoid too many “to be” verbs “ is” “was” “were” “has been” “have been”. Avoid excess words , which slow comprehension of the main point.
- 12. Active Voice: Technical writers want to communicate as efficiently as possible, and active voice is more straight forward and is stronger than passive voice. When in doubt, read passages out loud to determine the natural sound.
- 13. Writing Is a Process Good writing doesn’t happen overnight; it requires planning, drafting, rereading, revising, and editing. Learning and improvement requires self-review, peer-review, subject-matter expert feedback, and practice .
- 14. Examples
- 15. Non-Technical
- 16. Poem: Suicide An underlying sense of counting down: Rhythmic, deep enteric thuds - Each another year to fret and frown About, wading in the claggy mud That constitutes a blackened life.
- 17. Poem: Suicide A glint of blade had caught a baggy eye To spark a thought to jump the fence. Could I grasp the handle – was I shy Of what I had to do and hence remain Enshrined in overwhelming strife?
- 18. Poem: Suicide The metal glimmered once again To beg the possibility Of halting once and all the pain To relish an eternity Of rested shoulders, Peace of mind, So here, my wrist; Now quick and kind.
- 19. Technical Writing & Good Technical Writing
- 20. Comparison Good Technical A student of JINNAH UNIVERSITY allegedly committed suicide on Monday in his hostel room over poor results. The police said the young man hanged himself. Technical A student of Jinnah University allegedly committed suicide on Monday in his hostel room over poor results. The police said the young man hanged himself.
- 21. Comparison Good Technical Ali of Faisalabad was doing graduation with CALCULUS as major subject at the Jinnah University. He, in the last year of his education, could not achieve passing numbers in the last term examinations and failed to maintain the grade. According to the university officials, the university administration separated him from his courses due to which he was disheartened for the last five days. Technical Ali of Faisalabad was doing graduation with calculus as major subject at the Jinnah University. He, in the last year of his education, could not achieve passing numbers in the last three term examinations and failed to maintain the grade. According to the university officials, the university administration separated him from his courses due to which he was disheartened for the last five days.
- 22. Comparison Good Technical O n Monday, Ali’s mother called him on his cell phone but he did not attend the call after which she rang up her younger son Ahmed, a third year student at the same university. Ahmed reached his brother’s room and on finding no response broke opened the door and found Ali hanging with the ceiling fan. “ FORMAL LANUAGE ” Technical On Monday, Ali’s mother called him on his cell phone but he did not attend the call after which she rang up her younger son Ahmed, a third year student at the same university. Ahmed reached his brother’s room and on finding no response broke opened the door and found Ali hanged with the ceiling fan.
- 23. Comparison Good Technical The police, after being informed, reached the scene and started investigating the matter. According to another student, Ali seemed normal during the breakfast; however he was not present in the campus that day. “ NO CHOPPY SENTENCES ” Technical The police, after being informed, reached the scene and started investigating the matter. According to another student Ali seemed normal during the breakfast; however he was not present in the campus that day.
- 24. Comparison Good Technical Initial investigation revealed that Ali was disturbed over his continuous failure in the exams and finally got dejected after his parents received a letter from the university administration about his poor performance. A report from a newspaper says “ About 200 disciples (students) commit suicide every year because of increasing tensions regarding studies.” “ FACTS ” Technical Initial investigation revealed that Ali was disturbed over his continuous failure in the exams and finally got dejected after his parents received a letter from the university administration about his poor performance.
- 25. Conclusion Plan your project before you begin drafting. Understand basic qualities of good technical writing ; use the examples presented to guide you in your writing and revising process. Good writing is a habit that takes time to develop ; practice makes perfect.
- 26. Thank you very much….!! Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to those who have none.