Introduction to

Technical Writing
Good Style
Building goodwill
Half Truths About Writing
Better Style
11 Ways to Build Better Style
Draft Testing
Organizational Preferences
Recommended Resources

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Contact Information and
Office Hours
Ms. Jessica Ponto
[email protected]
Office: 1706 WEB
Office Hours: T 5-6:30 p
W 11:00-12:30
and by appointment

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Ever feel like writing isn’t your cup
of tea?

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Good Technical Writing Style
 Varies by audience; it considers the
reader and builds goodwill
 Maintains consistent and “good” style
 Is, above almost all, clear

Good technical writing style also

 Attends to visual impact
 Persuades
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Build Goodwill: Use “You-Attitude”
 “You-Attitude” is a style of writing that
 Adopts the audience’s point of view
 Emphasizes what the audience wants to
know
 Protects the audience’s ego (e.g. does not
use “you” to make accusations)

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Build Goodwill: Avoid Bias
 Use nonsexist language that treats both
sexes neutrally.
 Job titles: Chairman vs. Chairperson
 Courtesy titles: Mrs. vs. Ms.
 Pronouns: The nurse and her patients vs. the
nurse and his patients
 Don’t make assumptions about your
audiences’ sexual orientation, gender,
marital status, etc.
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Build Goodwill: Avoid Bias, continued…
 Use nonracist and nonagist language
 Give someone’s race or age only if it is
relevant to your communication.
 Refer to a group by the term it prefers.
 Avoid terms that suggest competent
members of a certain group are unusual.

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Half-Truths about Style

1. Write as you talk

2. Never use “I”
3. Never begin sentence with and or but
4. Never end sentence with preposition
5. Big words impress people

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Write as You Talk: Yes . . . But
 Yes
 Do it for first draft
 Read draft aloud to test
 But
 Expect awkward, repetitive, badly
organized prose
 Plan to revise and edit

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Never Use I: Yes . . . But
 Yes
 I can make writing seem self-centered
 I can make ideas seem tentative
 I should never appear in a resume, but it’s
fine to use it in a cover letter.
 But
 Use I to tell what you did, said, saw—it’s
smoother

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Never Begin Sentence with And or But
 And may make idea seem like afterthought
 And gives effect of natural speech
 But serves as a signpost, signals a shift
 But can make writing smoother

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Never End a Sentence with a
Preposition: Yes . . . But
 Yes
 A preposition may not be worth
emphasizing this way
 Readers expect something to follow a
preposition
 Avoid in job application letters, reports,
formal presentations
 But
 OK now and then
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Big Words Impress People: Yes . . . But
 Yes
 You may want to show formality or technical
expertise
 But
 Big words distance you from readers
 Big words may be
misunderstood
 Misused words
make you look foolish

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Building Better Style
 Write WIRMI: What I Really Mean Is
 Read draft aloud to person three feet
away
 Ask someone to read draft aloud

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Building Better Style, continued…
 Read widely; write a lot
 Study revised sentences
 Polish your style with the 11 techniques
that follow

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Ways to Build Better Style

 Use the following tips as you:

 Draft
 Write and revise
 Draft, revise, and form paragraphs

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1. Use Accurate, Appropriate Words
 Denotation
 literal meanings; dictionary definitions
 Bypassing—two people using same word to
mean different things; causes mix-ups
 Connotation
 emotional association; attitude
- / +
 nosy / curious
 fearful / cautious
 obstinate / firm

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2. Use Familiar Words
 Words most people know
 Words that best convey
your meaning
 Shorter, more common
words
 Specific, concrete words

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2. Use Familiar Words, continued…

Use Short, Simple, Alternatives

 Stuffy Simple
reside live
commence begin
enumerate list
finalize finish, complete
utilize use

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2. Use Familiar Words, continued…
When you use jargon, consider your
audience
 Jargon—special terms of
technical field
 Use in job application
letters
 Use when essential and
known to reader

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3. Use Active Verbs (Usually)
 Active—subject of sentence does
action the verb describes

 Passive—subject is acted upon

 Usually includes form of “to be”
 Change to active if you can
 Direct object becomes subject

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Passive vs. Active Verbs
 P: The program will be implemented by
the agencies.
 A: The agencies will implement the
program.
 P: These benefits are received by you.
 A: You receive these benefits.
 P: A video was ordered.
 A: The customer ordered a video.
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Passive vs. Active Verbs, continued…
 Active verbs are better because—
 Shorter
 Clearer
 More interesting
 Passive verbs are better to—
 Emphasize object receiving action
 Adhere to the standards used in more
conservative technical publications
 Avoid placing blame
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4. Use Verbs to Carry Weight
Replace this phrase with a verb

 make an adjustment = adjust

 make a decision = decide
 perform an examination = examine
 take into consideration = consider

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5. Eliminate Wordiness
 Wordy—idea can be said
in fewer words
 Conciseness; a mark of
good writing that
contributes to clarity
 Omit words that say nothing
 Put the meaning in subject
and verb

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Omit Words that Say Nothing
 Cut words if idea is clear without them
 . . . period of three months
 . . . at the present time
 Replace wordy phrase with one word
 Ideally, it would be best to put the. . . .
 If possible, put the…
 There are three reasons for our success…
 Three reasons explain the…

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Put Meaning of Sentence in Subject
& Verb: Example
 The reason we are recommending the
computerization of this process is because
it will reduce the time required to obtain
data and will give us more accurate data.

 Computerizing the process will give us

more accurate data more quickly.

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6. Vary Sentence Length & Structure
 Varying sentence length and structure
helps keep audience interest
 Use short sentences when subject
matter is complicated
 Use longer sentences to
 Show how ideas link to each other
 Avoid choppy copy
 Reduce repetition

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Vary Sentence Length & Structure, continued…

 Mix sentence structures

 Simple – 1 main clause
 Compound – 2 main clauses
 Complex – 1 main, 1 subordinate clause

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7. Use Parallel Structure: Example
 During the interview, job candidates will
 Take a skills test.
 The supervisor will interview the prospective
employee.
 A meeting with recently hired workers will be held.

 During the interview, job candidates will

 Take a skills test.
 Interview with the supervisor.
 Meet with recently hired workers.
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8. Begin Most Paragraphs with Topic Sentence

 Unity—paragraph discusses one

idea; a mark of good writing
 Topic sentence—states main idea
 Tells what paragraph is about
 Forecasts paragraph’s structure
 Helps readers remember points

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9. Use Thesis Statements
 A thesis is, essentially, a one or two-
sentence version of the analysis or
argument presented in a
communication
 Most reports should contain clear and
concise thesis statements
 Readers almost instinctively look to them
for guidance

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10. Use Transitions to Link Ideas
 Transition—signals the connections
between ideas to the reader
 Tells if next sentence continues or starts
new idea
 Tells if next sentence is more or less
important than previous
 Don’t get stuck in the
“however” rut; there are plenty
of lists of transitions online
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11. Cite, cite, cite
 Always cite your sources, and use the
citation style your audience prefers
 Citations lend credibility and can keep you
out of academic and
legal trouble
 For CH EN 4903, use a
numbered list of
references (option 2 in
comment T34 in Example
Formal Report A)
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Test drafts on actual audiences
 How long does it take
to find information they
need?
 Do they make mistakes
using it?
 Do they think draft is
easy to use?

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Writing Style Preferences

 Good writing varies by organization, and,

of course, from class to class and
instructor to instructor
 Use the style your audience prefers

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Recommended Resources
 Technical
Communication by
Paul Anderson
 Pocket Book of
Technical Writing for
Engineers &
Scientists by Leo
Finkelstein

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