Do you have questions on how or why technical writing is so beneficial? Are you tired of being asked what you’re going to do with your English degree? Do you enjoy “making it rain”? If you answered yes to any of these, you are in luck! This website will lead you through the advanced world [...]
Technical Writing Style
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1. Technical Style
Technical writing is directed by a few simple principles that you need to apply in every document. Honesty. Is my document saying things accurately? Is it misleading? Clarity. Does my document have a unifying theme? Am I using jargon? Am I being consistent with language and design throughout my document?Accuracy. Is the information in my [...]
2. Rhetoric, Audience, and Purpose
The five stages of the technical writing process are: Preparation/BrainstormingResearchOrganizationFirst Draft and RevisionReview and Publication Before you approach rhetorical strategies, you must first consider your audience. If you carefully acknowledge your audience, it will direct your document to include a range of elements specific to the user that could have been overlooked. Does your audience [...]
3. Font and Typography
“Good typesetting is the technical skill which enables your reader to take in your material smoothly, [quickly], and efficiently. Bad typesetting is the technical skill which slows down your reader and makes him dizzy after a few pages, wishing he would be doing something else right now.” - Uwe R. Zimmer The college days often [...]
4. Introductions and Document Design
Introductions Almost every document you make should have an introduction of some sort, but make sure to scale the introduction to the length and type of document you are creating. If you choose to include an introduction, it should include Prismnet's key elements: Topic. Put key words you need your audience to know in the [...]
5. Consistency
“The goal in technical writing is to communicate everything the reader needs to know to perform a task with the least possible opportunity for the reader to misunderstand.” - Tom Person Consistent design may seem simple, but when working with a team of researchers or writers, the process becomes more difficult. The lead writer or [...]
6. Style Guides
“A style guide should read like the autobiography of your website project, enabling others to understand, interact with and extend the site.” - Creative Bloq Staff According to Write the Docs, "A style guide is a set of standards for the writing and design of content, defining the style to be used in communication within [...]
7. Word Choice
The goal of technical writing is to share information with precision and support, and accurate word choice is paramount to your success, especially when creating a document for the general public. Your audience may not be native English speakers or may have poor eyesight or may not read all of your explanation, and you must [...]
8. Active Voice
If you want a direct action as a result of your document, use active voice—a clause or sentence where the subject is actively doing the verb. Active voice is standard for almost every technical document unless the situation requires passivity (a reprimand). For directions, instructions, or description, always use active voice. It is sometimes difficult [...]
Bridging the Gap 