What is Technical Documentation?

Technical communication is the process of conveying information about technology to an intended audience.

A technical document is a writing that contains information.

Traditionally, the medium of a document was paper and the information was applied to it as ink either by hand (to make a hand-written document) or by a mechanical process (such as a printing press or a laser printer).

Understanding Technical Documentation?

Through time, documents have also been written with ink on papyrus (starting in ancient Egypt) or parchment, scratched as runes on stone using a sharp apparatus, stamped or cut into clay and baked to make clay tablets (i.e. in Sumerian and Mesopotamic civilisations).

Paper, papyrus or parchment might be rolled up as scrolls or cut into sheets and bound into books. Stacks of clay tablets might also be thought of as books. Small documents might also be stapled.

Definitions of Technical Documentation?

Today, electronic means for storing and displaying documents are also popular; a variety of computers and displays can be used, for example:

• a desktop computer with a monitor
• a laptop
• a Personal Digital Assistant
• refreshable electronic paper

Documents in all forms are frequently found to be material evidence in criminal and civil proceedings. The forensic analysis of such a document falls under the scope of questioned document examination.

Respect and credibility of the writer/speaker are integral to effective communications. Readers will not trust the information from an author if they do not believe that author is a valuable source of information or the purveyor of worthwhile ideas. Furthermore, being respected is essential to being persuasive, a key ingredient in business.

"Technical writing is the presentation of information that helps the reader solve a particular problem. Technical communicators write, design, and/or edit proposals, manuals, web pages, lab reports, newsletters, and many other kinds of professional documents.¡±

It is interesting to note that outside the U.S. the definition of technical writing tends to stay very consistent. A [U.K.-based firm] persists that ¡°technical writing is the presentation of information on any scientific, engineering, or technological topic in the form most suited to its user.¡±

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Technical Writing.

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