1.2 Characteristics of Good Technical Writing
What makes good technical writing?
Good technical writing shares similar characteristics:
- Audience-focused: Does the document reflect the demographics (e.g., age, reading level, geographic location) of the intended audience? Does the document address a problem or question that the audience has? An understanding of the reader or user of a technical document is important. Since technical communication presents ideas to a myriad of audiences, many of whom are not subject matter experts, we have an ethical responsibility to make information and knowledge accessible and understandable.
- Professionalism: Does the document appear as though it was produced by a trained technical writer or graphic designer? If not, is there some reason why a less professional look is appropriate for the intended audience? Technical communication reflects the values, goals, and culture of the organization and as such, creates and maintains the public image of the organization.
- Honesty: Are there places where the document deliberately tries to deceive or mislead the reader? To ensure honesty, technical writers must use sound research practices to provide correct information. Technical writers must follow ethical standards that include liability laws, copyright laws, contract laws, and trademark laws.
- Accuracy: Is the information in this document correct? Do your homework and make sure you have your facts right. There is no excuse for presenting incorrect information. There is a difference between being dishonest and being inaccurate. Someone can provide honest information but present it in a way that is not accurate. When a technical document is accurate, the reader gets all the information they need to accomplish their goal without having to rely on additional outside sources.
- Accessibility: Is the writing clear so that your reader can get the intended information? Strive to express exactly what you mean and leave no room for incorrect interpretations. How easy is it to find individual pieces of information without reading the whole document from top to bottom? Is the information clearly marked and organized so that a reader can quickly get to the information they need? Is the document inclusive, taking into consideration the needs of the reader (e.g., Does the document include close captions? Is it accessible by a screen reader?)
- Comprehensiveness: Did the document include everything the audience needs to know to complete the task or make a decision? Are you addressing all the audience’s potential comments, concerns, and access needs?
- Conciseness: Did the document contain anything it didn’t need (either individual words and phrases or sections of content)? The challenge of technical writing is to communicate the essential information without any filler. Unlike traditional college-level papers that have an assigned number of pages, technical writing should only contain the number of words the readers need to do a task or make a decision.
- Correctness: Does the document contain any grammar or spelling errors? The document should be well-written and conform to standard writing conventions. Depending on the context, a single grammatical or spelling error can cause your reader to dismiss you as not professional, as not caring enough to edit carefully.
- Design-centered: Technical communication uses elements of document design such as visuals, graphics, typography, color, and spacing to make a document interesting, attractive, usable, and comprehensible. While some documents may be solely in print, many more use images such as charts, photographs, and illustrations to enhance readability and understanding and simplify complex information.
Student Activity #1
What does technical communication or workplace writing look like? For an example, check out this page from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about climate change. As you look over this document, consider the following questions.
- Who is the target audience?
- What information does this document provide?
- What task or goal will it help to accomplish?
- What elements of this document do you think make it useful?
- Does it solve a problem?
- What about the style of writing in this government document?
- Is it concise and accurate?
- Notice the annotations in the margins of the document. Based on these notes and your answers to the questions above, would you say that this is an effective document?
Student Activity #2
Look back at your college or university’s website. One of the primary audiences for the website is people like you–students. Considering the characteristics of good technical writing described in this chapter, how well does the website meet your needs as a current student? Why or why not? What specific changes would you suggest to the school’s webmaster?
Student Activity #3
Technical communication is all about helping the reader or user of a document solve a problem or compel others to act. For example, the syllabus of your technical writing class informs you what is expected of you. How useful is this document to you? What parts do you focus on most? What feedback would you give your instructor to make the syllabus more effective? Consider the characteristics of successful technical writing described in this chapter to answer.
CHAPTER ADAPTED FROM:
Huntsman, Sherena. “What is Technical Communication.” An Introduction to Technical Writing. [CC BY 4.0]