Nature of Technical Writing 11. To provide service.

Technical Writing, according to the book, Technical and 12. To record business through proposals.
Report Writing by Manalo (2008), is a communication
which is written for and addressed to specific entities or 13. To procure business through proposals.
individuals to attain desired objectives. It is a Technical writing is ideally characterized by the
communication in the field of business, industry, trade, maintenance of impartiality and objectivity, by extreme care
science, technology, engineering, and government. to convey information accurately and concisely, and by the
Furthermore, Manalo identified main objective as a means absence of any attempt to arouse emotions.
to convey a specific piece of information for a specific Basic Principles of Effective Technical Writing
purpose to a specific reader or group of readers. It is writing
that requires special knowledge. The specific information is 1. Understanding the reader.
technical, that is, it is the formal aspect of the fields above,
2. Knowing the purpose of teach article or report.
written from a specific point of view.
3. Knowing the subject matter.
Characteristics of Technical Writing
4. Organizing the material.
Technical writing presents and explains a subject matter in a
clear, objective, accurate, concise, and unemotional manner. 5. Writing objectively.
Technical writing uses a relatively high concentration on
certain complex and important writing techniques, 6. Using correct format.
particularly description of a mechanism, description of
7. Adopting ethical standards.
process, classification, cause and effect, comparison and
contrast, analogy, and interpretation. Understanding the Reader
Technical writing highly utilizes technical vocabulary. In Knowing the target audience is one of the basic things to
order to clarify and support textual discussion, technical consider in technical writing. A technical writer must learn
writing makes use of tables, graphs, and figures. to adapt his way of writing and to learn specific
terminologies according to the type of the intended audience
Purpose of Technical Writing
or readers. Technical terms which may be deemed difficult
The following are the primary purposes of technical writing: by the readers must be carefully defined throughout the text,
for the reader to thoroughly and easily understand the
1. To inform. Technical writing is done to make another information being conveyed by the writer. The writer fails in
person understand or do something. It is designed to fulfill his mission to inform if the reader also fails to understand
a need to tell and a need to know. what he’s reading. The writer should be aware of the
reader’s importance. The target audience and readers would
2. To analyze events and their implications. Technical
help the writer to know what to write about and how to go
writing aims to explain how certain systems failed. These
about writing it.
systems may be education, socio-economic, political, and
within the technical article, the recommended change or Knowing the Purpose of Each Technical Report
changes.
A technical paper must focus on a central theme. The reader
3. To persuade and influence decisions. Technical writing should be aware of the main purpose of the text after reading
seeks to show how a business or an industry succeeds. it. The purpose may be to describe a thing, to report on a
specific problem or project or to analyze and solve a
Functions of Technical Writing
problem.
1. To serve as a basis for management decision.
Knowing the Subject Matter
2. To furnish needed information.
A technical writer must have a complete knowledge of the
3. To give instructions. subject that he or she must write about. For example, if the
report is regarding the result of a technical experiment, the
4. To explain techniques. technical writer must explain what the problem is all about,
5. To report achievements. what causes the problem and how the problem is solved.

6. To analyze problem areas. Writing Objectively

7. To determine design and system requirements. A good technical writer emphasizes the facts and the
important data. An effective technical writer practices the
8. To serve as a basis for public relation. impersonal style of writing. He presents the facts, figures,
and statistics supporting the subject matter or the central
9. To provide report to stockholders of companies. theme and writes it in an impersonal manner.
10. To develop a product. Using Correct Format
The readers’ attention is initially on the format and style of a The technical writer must be aware of when not to
report. Most companies require neatly-typed overwrite. As a writer of the materials, he should know what
communication, reports, and project proposals and to present, what to emphasize, what to rewrite and what to
feasibility studies. It is the common and apt trend to require amplify.
a computerized or typed report.
Generalization
Adopting Ethical Standards
When the technical writer makes generalizations, he is
A technical writer must undergo comprehensive research giving probable conclusions derived from the observation of
work to gather the needed data through interviews, surveys, factors. Since the report is based on generalizations, it is
referrals and related publications. He must present the necessary to describe the circumstances surrounding the
required facts and figures gathered and must use only those report. Provide enough evidence, data and samples to
that are relevant to the report. An effective technical writer enable the reader to evaluate the generalizations for himself.
acknowledges the hard work and the help from sources and
cites them as references. To be certain that you have followed ground rules and not
“jumping to conclusions”, test the validity of your data and
Style in Technical Writing samples. Here is the suggested checklist by Nem Singh
and Calixihan (1994).
Style is the writer’s way of writing, a manner in which he
expresses his thoughts and feelings in a language. Below 1. Can I prove its accuracy?
are the guidelines for clear technical writing.
2. Can I show the direct bond between the facts and
1. Be selective, focus on the essential information and generalizations?
significant detail.
3. Is it fact and not opinion?
2. Develop a clean, direct style; avoid inflated language and
scrambling sentences. 4. Do I have all the facts?

3. Use examples and comparisons to clarify descriptions 5. Are they up to date?

and explanations. 6. Is the generalization verifiable? Would I get the same
4. Repeat words and phrases for clarity or emphasis or to result if I do it again?
ease transitions, but avoid needless repetition. 7. Is it significant?
5. Delete unnecessary words and phrases, but avoid short The principles to be observed in organizing the material as
cuts that sacrifice meaning cited by Alvarez (1980) are as follows:
Sentence Structure and Length 1. To organize the material of a subject, first break it down
Technical writing does not require a unique style. Instead, into the component aspects.
technical writing uses the natural word order, simple 2. To organize a report paper, choose a suitable approach
sentence structure and well-written short sentences. and make an outline that implements it.
Although the technical subject matter requires the use of
complex, technical vocabulary and the expression of 3. The basic unit of organization is the paragraph.
complex ideas, it would prove beneficial for the reader and
4. Use these paragraphs to present related data, graphs to
his understanding of the subject matter if the writer uses
show trends and visuals to clarify description.
shorter words and sentences and simple structure.
5. Plan a report or paper thoroughly before starting to write
Paragraph Structure and Length
it.
In technical writing, the topic sentence opens the paragraph
6. Gather the necessary data through basic library research
or closes the report after whatever transitional sentences.
and primary services.
Sometimes, the writer does the opposite by giving the details
at the very beginning and concludes at the end by stating the 7. Write a first draft.
main idea. The use of one or more very short paragraphs
helps in achieving an impact on the readers. 8. Revise and rewrite as often as necessary.

Scientific Attitude 9. Write a final draft.

Judicious weighing of evidence is vital in a technical report. 10. Place footnotes to acknowledge references and include a
The best evidence, according to various authors, is one bibliography at the end
which is the most sufficient, the most relevant and the
of a report or paper.
simplest explanation of facts with the least supplemental
evidence and most in harmony with the rest of the available Other attributes of good technical report writing are:
evidence. At the end, the conclusion or recommendation
should incorporate all the evidences from which the 1. appropriateness
judgment is made.
2. functional same manner, accuracy of the statements can easily be
maintained. The reader can get the essence of your
3. informative thinking in a compressed form.
4. factual Confidence
5. efficient A good report writer must have the quality of self-
6. correct confidence. He cannot only communicate but he has to be
also decisive or sure what he is writing about. After
The Role of the Technical Writer finishing the last page of his report, he is an authority.
A good technical writer possesses insights, perceptiveness, Dignity
is quick to determine probabilities, and has the ability to
adapt to requirements. He must have the ability to identify Dignity is courtesy to your readers as professionals. This
developments that may affect his project. The technical is an ethical standard. The writer must be certain that all
writer must understand the nature of his work. He should grammatical constructions are correct. In report writing,
be able to help his principals attain the target objectives. you need to be formal with words and how these words are
He must not only possess the technical writing ability and used. You should be sure that the ideas or information are
technical expertise, but he must also have the capability to well-organized, simplified, summarized, and expressed in
grasp, to analyze and to interpret unexpected events and straightforward manner.
situations that may occur throughout the writing of the Facility
technical report.
This refers to the devices used by the writer, to make his
The technical writer should have the ability to state facts report easy to read and understand. In most cases, report
clearly and accurately, to organize a variety of elements into writing depends more on pacing, sequence, arrangement,
a unified structure, and to describe logical generalizations. and continuity of ideas as well as information. A
Hallmarks of an Effective Technical Writer grammatical correction is important. He should make his
writing straightforward, logical and clear. The thought
The hallmarks of an effective technical writer is represented from one part to another should be clearly established,
by this acronym illustrated or stated
REPORTER (Mosura and Tenorio, 1999) Emphasis
R - Resourceful The writer has to feel what is important to the reader and
should never expect how the reader finds it out for himself.
E - Energetic
He has to lead him from point to point, clearly making every
P - Patient step, directs the reader to the right way and gives him the
reason for stopping at a particular portion.
O - Observant
Honesty
R - Responsible
Honesty is expected in a report. When a writer has
T - Trustworthy borrowed some statements, ideas or quotations, he has to
acknowledge them either in footnotes, endnotes or cite the
E - Evaluative
source or author of the borrowed ideas or statements within
R - Responsive the running text.

The Wholistic Guide to Technical Writing Illustration

For effective technical writing, the ABC’s of report writing Illustration materials such as charts, graphs, diagrams, and
was provided by Zall (1980) to identify if the way of writing photos are always helpful. The writer should use them to
can be considered in-depth. clarify and support the text. They can be used to show
situations or trend or movement.
Accuracy
Judgment
A report writer must be tactful in the recording of data,
statement or calculating mathematical figures. He must The writer should qualify the data and information gathered
check every statement in its final form. An error by judicious weighing. This can be done by following these
committed and illogical statement written can create criteria: (1) Most ample (2) Most pertinent or relevant (3)
confusion as well as doubts over the whole text. A writer The simplest in explaining the facts with the least additional
should always aim to be understood. evidence (4) Most harmonious with the rest of the data and
information. In every case, the evidence used as a basis of
Brevity judgment (as in conclusions and recommendations) should
be included in the report.
Being brief is a courtesy to the reader. The reader should
find it easy to group the main idea of the report. In the Knowledge
The communication of knowledge is the primary objective This consists of more than merely correcting the spelling,
of the report, but knowledge is not only a collection of data punctuation, spacing, and margin errors. The writer must
or information. It involves interpretation and formulation of also check every statement for sense and relevance and be
conclusions. Without sound interpretation, the data will sure that he has said all that must be said. An effective
become useless report is all that is required to perfection. The secret of
good writing is rewriting.
Logic
Straight Sentences
Logic is chiefly a process of classification. It is putting
things in their proper places. It shows the relations among Sentences carry the full weight of the meaning in a report.
groups of things and classes of groups. By thinking The sentence to be employed must be limited to only one
logically, one can avoid the following trouble areas: (1) idea or to closely related ideas. To avoid monotony, vary
Statements must not contradict each other (2) Words must be your sentence structure and employ appropriate transitional
used in consistent sense (3) Statements must move in one devices. By employing such devices, there will be a
direction whether space, time or relation (4) Statements smooth transition from sentence to sentence. They will
must make sense (5) Judgments must not be based on few show the readers the writer’s thoughts leading him to what
data. (6) Cause and effect should be clearly distinguished the writer wants to communicate
from simple sentence (7) Conclusions should not be inferred
if they have no connection with the data (8) An authority Thoroughness
should not be accepted if he is biased or he is not an expert The writer should treat well his subject matter. The writer
in the particular field. should check the thoroughness of his report from initial
Mechanical Neatness thinking to final submission. The writer is obliged to go over
the subject, analyze and investigate it, organize and interpret
This is the general appearance of the report. It must be the results and draw conclusions whether it is positive or
neatly encoded or typed, properly margined, free from negative.
typographical errors, erasures, crossing-outs and smudges.
Unity
Headings and subheadings and indentions are mechanical
devices, which help make the organization of the content A report is unified when everything is clearly relevant to the
clear main point under discussion. Nothing should be left
hanging. No question should be left unanswered. After
Normal procedure all, the main objective of a unified report is to let the readers
feel that they have read everything essential to the subject
The report is easier to understand if it conforms to the undertaken.
standard practices. The writer must follow the acceptable
arrangement of the different parts of a report. If the writer Viewpoint
deviates from the normal procedure, he should inform his
readers by explaining his reasons for doing it. A report is written from a certain viewpoint: that of a
reporter, proponent, researcher or an author. The viewpoint
Objectivity is established in the first sentence and should be maintained
consistently throughout the report. Voice unity should also
In technical writing, the writer should consider himself as be observed.
another person, uninterested observer or an innocent
bystander. In this instance, the third person point of view Word Choice
is preferred. The writer should treat his subject matter the
way he sees or observes it. Technical reports avoid the use The writer should choose the words that are fit to the
of the first person (I, me, my). reader’s undertaking. Avoid words that are difficult to
understand.
Planning
Zest
This is primary in all activities. This gives the purpose and
direction to what the technical writer has to write. This Write only about things that are worth writing and which are
involves thinking ahead of what one has to do, when to do it invigorating. Write as though you were performing a
and who is to do it. This will be reflected in a well-organized service that only you can perform.
report. Writing should not be regarded as something difficult but
Qualification something that is enjoyable and pleasurable.

The technical writer should select only those statements that Important “End” Products of Technical Writing
have direct relationship with the topic being discussed. 1. Technical Report. This provides useful information about
The writer should evaluate the ideas or statements he will a complete program of work, for reference and permanent
include in the writing of the report. record.
Revision
2. Contract. This is a formal agreement between two or 17. Survey Report. This is a thorough study of any subject.
more persons; organization or parties to do something on Some subjects of surveys are potential markets for products,
mutually agreed terms. labor policies, market punctuation, public opinions and
community resources. Examples are poll surveys on the
3. Feasibility Report. This represents facts and information study of possible site for a new plant.
intended to make the reader realize that the proposed project
or plan is financially, economically, and technically, 18. Trip Report. An account of a business or professional
significant as well as beneficial. trip. It records specific and significant places, events,
conversations and people met. It attempts to answer where,
4. Business Letter. This is a written communication or when, what, why, and how. It may have a recommendation
message used to transact business, which cannot be section.
conveniently conducted orally
19. Laboratory Report. A record of procedures and results
5. Brochure. This is a pamphlet or printed information of laboratory tests. It describes the scope of the project, the
material given to a customer in order to convince or equipment utilized, the procedures used, the results of tests,
persuade him to take action on the company’s services, ideas and a conclusion and recommendation.
or products offered.
20. Technical Paper. A research paper written for a
6. Abstract. This is a summarized form of resume of a long professional journal or magazine. Technical papers usually
piece of writing. describe a theory or new development. They resemble
7. Instructional Manual. This contains directions for work technical reports in most respects. The main difference lies
procedure or policies, or for the use of technical equipment on the fact that the audience for a technical paper is wider
or appliances. Instruction relies on clear, specific, complete and more diverse.
directions presented in sequential order. Directions of Direction of Communication
complicated step-by-step procedures should be accompanied
by graphic illustration. The type of communication that one writes must consider
the direction of a communication which can be upward (to
8. Proposal. This contains suggestions for actions, usually supervisors), lateral (to peers), downward (to subordinates),
involving change or performance. It may be to solve and outward (to customers, public interest groups,
problem, suggest a new project site, revise a policy or stockholders, and government and others). Upward
initiate a researcher report project or terminate a project. communications are usually addressed to the managers and
9. Progress Report. This contains an account of what has supervisors who are often busy. The communication should
been accomplished on a project over a specific period of be concise and direct. They need thorough information. The
time and what may be expected in the next period. definition of technical terms and brief summary of the whole
communication are needed to save reading time. Lateral
10. Policy. A plan of action adopted or preserved by an communication is addressed to peers who may share the
individual, government, party, business, and industry or it writer’s expertise in the field. It may be ideas or projects that
may be a document containing a contract of insurance. effect their own research or jobs. Since one cannot invade a
peer’s territory, the tone should only suggest, not command.
11. Article for a Technical Journal. A technical paper
If the reader shares the writer’s professional background,
which will be published in a journal. It contains an abstract,
then the technical may not need to elaborate the technical
an introduction, discussion and summarizing, concluding
vocabulary, symbols and abbreviations used.
sentence or paragraph.
Downward communication is addressed to employees and
12. Monograph. This is a thorough textbook treatment
technicians who are most concerned with how to increase
which requires full illustration and documentation.
their productivity and their incomes. Since they need to
13. Memorandum. This is an important form of written see how their jobs fit into the overall company operation, the
communication circulated within the company and its writer should explain, as well as give directions.
branches which is used to disseminate a message or
Outward communications go outside the company and
information.
techniques of upward communication are used. This is a
14. Graphic Aids. This refers to all pictures, graphs, group of busy people, so what they need is a form of
diagrams and other materials used in illustrating important communication that is simple, according to the terms
details in a report defined, and a thorough discussion of facts and ideas.
Potential customers want to know the cost, use and
15. Specification. This contains detailed information about durability of the products. The public wants information on
performance courses, materials for construction, theory of how one’s ideas will affect the environment or the economy
operations, sample calculations, table and operating data and while the stockholders want to know whether the
information. organization is conforming to government regulations or if it
is affecting the natural economy.
16. Printed Action Memo. This prepared form requires
only a check mark in an appropriate square to indicate its However, not all communications go in one direction.
message. Sometimes, the readers can be combined. For instance, if
one publishes a technical article in a research journal, the
communication goes outward, as well as upward. To analyze
the readers, one must be sure to know the direction of the
communication.