UNIT 1

UNDERSTANDING THE
NATURE OF TECHNICAL
WRITING

PRESENTED BY:

QUIRINO G. PASCUA, PhD

Subject Professor
“All good writing begins with
terrible first efforts, you need to
start somewhere”

-Anne Lamott
WHAT IS TECHNICAL WRITING?
Acclaimed proponents of technical writing Mills
and Walter (1981) gave several definitions to aid us
in understanding the nature of technical writing.
According to them:

 Technical writing is the writing about

scientific subjects and about various technical
subjects associated with the sciences.

 Technical writing is characterized by certain

formal elements, such as its scientific and
technical vocabulary, its use of graphics aids.
And its use of conventional report forms.
WHAT IS TECHNICAL WRITING?

 Technical writing is ideally characterized by

the maintenance of an attitude of impartiality
and objectivity, extreme care to convey
information accurately and concisely, and by the
absence of any attempt to arouse emotion.

 Technical writing is writing in which there is

relatively high concentration of certain complex
and important writing techniques, in particular
description of mechanisms, description of process,
definition, classification, and interpretation.
To students, perhaps, Technical
Writing may just be a
requirement to pass an
assignment, but to professionals,
it may be any of the following
which is required to fulfill a
task.
WHAT ARE THE PRODUCTS OF
TECHNICAL WRITING???
 Business letter is a type of written
communication. It is written using formal
language and follows formal elements of letter
writing. People usually write business letters to
communicate with companies, organizations or
individuals with the purpose of applying for a job,
making requests, seeking appointments, etc.
 Contract is a written agreement between two
people under mutually agreed terms.
 Monograph is a detailed essay or book on a very
specific topic. It is usually written by
professionals or academicians on topics of
interest concerning their specific fields.
 Printed action memo is a ready-format
memorandum that only requires a checkmark on
the appropriate box that contain the message.
This is especially useful for busy people who need
to make quick decisions and act on the
circumstance or situation.
 Graphic aids are drawings, sketches and
illustrations that aid the readers in
understanding the presented data.
 Instructional manuals are written to guide the
readers on how to assemble, maintain and
operate an apparatus, machine or gadget.
 Brochures are pamphlets or flyers that
endorse a product in such a way that
potentials costumer will be convinced that
the product is effective and eventually
avail of the product.
 Proposals are written suggestions on
how to make the company or
organizations require this before an
agreement is reached.
In today’s world, the demand for
accomplishing more written
outputs make a professional who
is skilled in this area all the
more needed.
 Inwhatever field, a skilled technical
writer is needed, thus, taking note of
the FIVE IMPORTANT
PRINCIPLES in GOOD
TECHNICAL WRITING separates
a talented technical writer from
ordinary writer. Bear in the mind
the following:
PRINCIPLE #01
Always have in mind a specific
reader, real or imaginary, when
you are writing a report. Always
assume that he is intelligent, but
uninformed.
PRINCIPLE #02
Before you start to write, always
decide what the exact purpose of
your report is, and make sure that
every paragraph, every sentence,
every word makes a clear
contribution to that purpose.
PRINCIPLE #03
Use language that is simple,
concrete, and familiar.
PRINCIPLE #04
At the beginning and end of every
section of your report, check your
writing according to this principle:
”First you tell the reader what you’re
going to tell him ,then you tell him
what you’ve told him”.
PRINCIPLE #05
Make your report attractive in a
way that it is very
SUBSTANTIAL, RELEVANT,
ACCURATE, FACTUAL and CAN
GIVE AN OUTRIGHT
IMRESSION as to funding
support, policy recommendations
and could help management
decision making.
WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES
OF TECHNICAL WRITING???
The following properties of technical writing
are also known as “considerations” when
writing technical reports.
1.Subject matter.
In writing technical papers, you must ask the
question, “What will I write about?”The
subject matter is an essential element in
technical writing. Some examples of this are
description of a process, writing about theory,
or submitting a policy.
2. Audience.
When thinking about the audience, ask “whom
is a property which pertains to a particular
reader of a technical literature.
3.Expression. This property refers to two basic modes
in which a technical report has to be delivered-writing
it or reading it. Your expression of the content will
depend on your awareness of your audience’s/ reader’s
psychology and your style in writing to be able to reach
your audience’s/readers understanding.
4. Style. This refers to how the material is written. A
technical writer uses clear, specific point of view
objective, impartial, and unemotional style writing.
5.Arrangement of materials. This pertains to how
ideas should be organized in chronological, spatial or
logical order, from general to specific or specific to
general, and use illustrations to present the
information.
 BASIC TYPES OF WRITING
 Technical writing conveys specific
information about a technical subject to a
specific audience for specific purpose.
 Creative writing is fiction-poetry, short
stories, plays and novels-and far different
from technical writing.
 Expressive writing is a subjective
response to a personal experience-journals
and diaries-whereas technical writing
might be objective observations of a work-
related experience or research.
Expository writing “exposes” a topic
analytically and objectively, such as news
reports. Like technical writing the goal of
expository writing is to explain or reveal
knowledge, but expository writing does not
necessarily expect a response or action from
the reader.
Persuasive writing depends on emotional
appeal. Its goal is to change one’s attitudes
or motivate him/her to action.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TECHNICAL
AND CREATIVE WRITING
“In law, a man is guilty when he
violates the rights of others. In ethics,
he is guilty if he only thinks of doing
so”.

-Immanuel Kant.
There are four bodies of that are relevant to
technical communication. Technical writer
must be aware of legal and ethical
considerations when preparing technical
papers.

Copyright law- covers the protection of the rights

of the author.
Trademark law- pertains to federal protection
(different from trademarks)
Contract law- covers written warranties or their
implied warranties.
Liability law- pertains to responsibilities or
obligation of writers especially claims they made on
their paper.
Principles of Ethical Communication

Technical writers are like researchers.

Both take into consideration the bounds
and limitations to things that they write.
They carefully study the information to be
presented and they are aware that
prudence has to be exercised.
Do’s of Technical Communication

Abide by relevant laws.

Abide by the appropriate corporate or
professional code of conduct.
Tell the truth.
Be clear.
Avoid discriminatory language.
Acknowledge assistance from others.
Don’ts of Technical
Communication

False implications- assuming the

outcome of a project or making sweeping
generalizations.
Exaggerations- expressing situations in
extreme proportions
Euphemisms- writing about situations in
seemingly good conditions even though they
are not.
Don’t mislead your readers.
 From the moment we started to learn the
ABCs and become familiar with different
words we learn from books, people or the
internet, we develop the skills not only of
reading books but also of writing. They
say that when a person is good in reading,
he or she can become good in writing. How
is this possible? Reading is an input skill,
therefore wiring is its output.
Let us review some of the things that we know
when it comes to the writing process. There are
three basic stages:

1. Pre-Writing Stage
This is the first stage in the writing process. It is what
the writer does before he writes the first draft. In this
stage, the writer composes or supplies information
pertaining to:
a. Purpose of the paper. This is necessary to
determine the content of the paper to be included, the
organization and the style of the paper.
b. Choice of topic. A writer has to explain or justify
his/her chosen topic.
c. Gathering information. A writer must be able to
find sources of information to enrich his/her topic.
Pre-Writing Techniques
Below are some techniques which will help
you get started in writing:
1.Keep a writer’s journal by recording personal
experiences, perceptions and ideas.
2.Do free writing. Write about whatever comes to
mind.
3.Brainstorm by listing ideas as quickly as they
occur.
4.Cluster by drawing line and circles to show
connections between ideas. It is called webbing or
making connections.
5.Ask questions using the news reporter’s 5Ws and
1H- Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How?
6.Read with focus. This means reading efficiently
to locate and collect specific information.
7.Listen with focus. This means listening efficiently
to locate and collect specific information.
8.Observe by noticing details around you through
the senses.
9.Imagine. Probe your imagination for ideas, often
use a what if approach.
Writing Stage
The writing stage is the part where we begin
to write our first draft. We know that not
everything that we write is perfect at the first
go. Hence, you must remember what to do and
what not to do during this stage.
Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a First Draft
1.Don’t overanalyze your writing.
2.Do feel free to allow the flow of ideas where it is
leading you, even if it is not what you initially
planned.
3. Don’t exaggerate details.
4. Do work on the details as much as
possible to keep the story fresh in your
mind.
5. Don’t worry yet about how good
your writing is.
6. Do have fun!
Re-writing Stage
This stage is known as the revision
stage. We revise to ensure that:
 The content of the paper is relevant.

 There is organization and coherence in the

arrangement of the ideas and
 Grammar and mechanics are clearly
observed.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!

YOU ARE NOW READY TO FACE THE

EVALUATION TODAY……
EVALUATION
LESSON 1 EVALUATION

OBJECTIVE TYPE
TRUE OR FLASE
LESSON 2 EVALUATION
 REINFORCEMENT UNDER LESSON 2

Reflect on the following situations. What will you do if you are

faced with any one of them?

 1. You are the boss of a company. You received a report about

missing milk boxes in the shipment from one of your employees
who made an inventory. Your company ordered 150 boxes but two
boxes were missing.

 2. You are in a hurry to submit the proposal for a very important

meeting. However, your fellow employee who is the main
proponent forgot to sign the proposal. It is 2:50 PM and the paper
has to be submitted by 3:00pm. What will you do?

 3. An attendance sheet is being passed around in the seminar

room. You were asked to write your purpose for attending because
it is about professional development. What will you write?
LESSON 3 EVALUATION
Directions: Write an essay of about 200
words about the three reasons why you
have chosen to enroll in your CHOSEN
COURSE/DEGREE and elaborate by giving
examples. Remember the pointers in each
writing phase. Use the margins of your
paper to mark which pointers you followed
in each phase of the writing stages.