Effective Technical Writing

Take Efforts to:

What You Will Cover:

• The basics of good technical writing
• Understand the needs of your audience
• Plan and organize the project
• Overcome writer’s block
• Select the appropriate format for your audience
• Prepare manuals, proposals and documentation
• Understand sentence structure and powerful word usage
• The essentials of electronic writing
• Simplify complex information
• Use graphs, charts and tables
• Edit and revise

Technical Writing Defined

• Understand the Pitfalls, Style, and Characteristics of Technical Writing
• Review Samples of Technical Writing
• Prepare a Writing Sample in Technical Style

Understanding the Technical Reader’s Needs

• Determine Various Readers' Needs
• Convey Technical Information Clearly to Nontechnical Readers

Patterns of Technical Writing

• Become Familiar with the Various Patterns of Technical Writing
• Learn to Write: - Definitions - Narration - Process Description - Physical Description - Instructions

Organizing Technical Writing

• Learn How to Organize and Evaluate Technical Data
• Understand the Various Patterns of Technical Writing
• Structure the Physical Format to Enhance Presentations of Ideas
• Use Linking Words and Phrases in Sentences and Paragraphs

Writing the First Draft

• Understand the Writing Process
• Understand the Importance of Determining and Focusing on Your Purpose and Goals
• Become Familiar with Techniques for Overcoming Writer’s Block

Achieving Sentence Clarity and Precision

• Review Proven Techniques for Ensuring Clarity and Precision
• Avoid Wordiness and Confusing Sentence Constructions

Technical Report Elements

• Distinguish between Informal and Formal Reports
• Become Familiar with the Elements of Technical Reports

Writing Abstracts

• Understand the Function, Format, Characteristics, and Guidelines for Preparing Descriptive and Informative Abstracts

Using Illustrations

• Review the Use and Nature of the Kinds of Illustrations Appropriate to Technical Writing

Technical Report Formats

• Understand the Nature of Technical Report Formats

Preparing Technical Manuals and Proposals

• Become Familiar with the Content, Structure, and Style of Technical Manuals and Proposals

Editing Techniques

• Review Guidelines for Editing and Polishing Technical Writing
• Understand How to Write for Another Person’s Review and Critical Commentary