There are many things to consider in technical writing. One of the most important parts is you are not writing to impress, but you are writing to get specific results. Technical writing is unlike creative writing such as novels wherein you can play around with words and describe a single piece of event probably in three sentences. Technical writing is a different ball game. It is about getting your message across in the simplest possible way.
It is also important that you can convince your readers that what you have to say is sensible. Avoid words or terms that will confuse your readers. Also, be specific with what you have to say by not beating around the bush. It is never a good practice to use ‘fancy’ words to sound intelligent. That sounding clever in technical writing will give you the opposite effect that you wanted to achieve. Stick to the idea that you are writing to get an outcome.
To help you come up with that technical write-up that you need, we have created this simple guideline for you:
1. Finalize and write down your objectives. What is your main goal? You have to be clear enough of what you want to happen in the report. This is a crucial stage that one should not leave out. This can immediately give you an idea of the content of your paper.
2. Know your audience. Who are you writing to? Knowing your audience helps you visualize how your paper would sound like. Also, consider that you are writing to inform. Avoid the idea that they already know the information that you are about to present. By knowing your audience, you can structure your sentences better and use words correctly.
3. Make an outline.. You can use your objective as your reference in making the lists. You can use different styles for this. Either you can list the topics in every paragraph or you can simply plot the content of your paper. This way you can go back and see if there is any unnecessary information or if you can interchange paragraphs.
4. Have a dictionary with you. This can help you choose the right words and avoid spelling errors. If there are words from your research that you don’t understand then this will give you a quick access.
5. After writing your paper, have someone who can give you feedback. Another person’s point of view is always advantageous. The person can help you with the structure and style of your write up. This way you will know if your content can be easily understood or not. Use this opportunity to know if you have achieved your goal as this is your first testing stage.
In technical writing, it does not matter if you are new to writing. What matters most is the effectiveness of your writing. Using straightforward language, identifying the purpose and audience, outlining your ideas, and asking for help are the keys to a good technical write up. The process might be lengthy, but its results will be all worth it.
