Technical Writing
Technical writing involves writing complex technical information in easy to understand language. The technical information can be on or related to any technical and occupational field, such as engineering, medicine, information technology, consumer electronics, robotics, aeronautics, finance, and administration. Technical writing is an important part of modern organizations. We offer technical writing services and have a team of writers who are extensively knowledgeable in a variety of technical fields.
What is the purpose of technical writing?
The purpose of technical writing is to produce accurate, useful and relevant information on any chosen topic to enable target users to achieve a defined goal. The goal may be something as basic as how to use a cell phone to something as complex as how to fly the latest supersonic aircraft. Technical writing is essential in all fields or activities that require skill or expertise to perform a certain task.
Who are the users of technical information?
Many businesses and organizations use technical writing services. While every electronic product comes with technical information, only a small percentage of technical writing is geared towards the consumers. A vast amount of technical information is written for internal consumption, such as to explain internal procedures, define policies, implement procedures, design and manufacture products, and sell goods and services.
What are the different categories of technical writing?
Due to the need for high volumes of written communication, technical writing has evolved to cover every segment of modern organizations. The different categories technical writing include are the following:
- User manuals
- Training course material
- Demonstrations
- Instructions
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Design documents
- Product catalogues
- Product packaging
- Requirement specifications
- Proposals
- Policy papers
- Project documents
- Process flows
- Reference guides
- Release notes
- Warning labels
- White papers
- Knowledge based articles
Although technical writers can write in all categories, they usually specialize in a few categories.
What is the technical writing life cycle?
Technical writing is often a major undertaking and has a life cycle similar to that of product development. A writer or company that offers technical writing services doesn’t just sit down to write using his imagination and toss the finished product to the users. They have to work through all the necessary phases of the technical writing life cycle.
- Identification of needs, scope, and audience
- Planning
- Research and content development
- Testing, review, and revisions
- Production and delivery
- Feedback
- Revisions, archiving or destruction
Depending on the magnitude and complexity of the project, one or more technical writers may be involved in the technical writing lifecycle. When two or more writers are involved, they usually divide the responsibilities among themselves.
What are technical writers expected to do?
Technical writing is a full-time job that requires a lot of hard work and meticulous attention to detail. A technical writer is not just supposed to write the technical information provided to him. He is expected to determine the need of the target audience, organize the structure of the document, write information that meets the needs of the users, using easy to understand language.Edit and proofread the information he has written to eliminate typos and grammatical errors.
What are the elements of technical writing?
To be effective, technical writing needs to be clear, precise, to the point and easy to understand. The chief elements of our technical writing services are:
Accuracy: The information presented in the document must be accurate. If it is found to be inaccurate, the readers will question the credibility of not only the document but also the organization. There should be a clear distinction between fact and opinion. References must be cited wherever required.
Brevity: Users of technical documents are usually very busy themselves; therefore, the information should be presented as briefly as possible. It doesn’t mean that facts should be left out, but the language must be such that no unnecessary words, phrases, and sentences are used. Supplementary information should be provided using an appendix or a link to a website.
Clarity: Clarity is essential in technical writing. If the information is presented in a confusing manner, it will become useless. Words and phrases must have a clear meaning. Sentences and paragraphs should have a logical flow. Headings, subheadings, tables, lists, graphs, and illustrations should be used as much as possible.
Sentences: Long sentences can be confusing and take a lot of time to digest, especially when the concepts presented are new and complex. Therefore, they should be broken into two or more sentences using words like ‘but, ‘however’ and ‘while.’
Paragraphs: There is an age-old rule which states that each paragraph should discuss only one topic. Therefore, while it is all right to have two or more paragraphs for one topic, each paragraph should discuss only one topic for logical flow and clarity.
User-centric: A technical document is written for the benefit of the users. If the users cannot understand it or don’t find it valuable, it will be a waste of the organization’s time and resources. Therefore, every technical document should be written with the user in mind.
How can technical writing boost revenue?
Good technical writing results in documents that contain useful, relevant, accurate and easily comprehensible information that the target users can use to achieve their goals. With the use of well written technical information, employees will have a clear understanding of procedures and processes, milestones and goals will be made on or even before schedule, costs will be reduced, and productivity will increase. On the marketing and sales side, easy-to-understand brochures, presentations, instructions and user manuals will attract customers and increase customer confidence. Thus, technical writing plays a major role in boosting revenue.
How can we help you?
We have a team of technical writers who have many years of experience writing technical documents for corporate and non-corporate clients. Our technical writing services include high-quality professional user documents, installation guides, quick start guides, computer hardware and software manuals, writing proposals, quick reference guides, FAQs, annual and quarterly reports, newsletters, training materials, marketing documents, user manuals, white papers, simulations, websites, online help and other types of technical documents.