What is Technical Writing?

A technical writer is a person who creates documentation for a technology.

They are responsible for writing text that is accurate, readable, accessible, and helpful to its intended audience.

Technical writing, a subset of technical communication, is used in fields as diverse as chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, consumer electronic products such as VCRs or digital cameras, biotechnology, software, computer hardware, and many others.

Technical Writing Skills

Technical writers often have a degree in English, technical writing, the technical field for which they are writing, or a combination of these.

It is most important that they have enough expertise to understand their audience's background and needs.

For example, writers who develop documentation for software APIs, microcontroller operation, and other technical subjects are often paid more than those who write guides for a nontechnical audience (for example, how to use email), because it is difficult to find good writers with advanced technical knowledge.

Desktop publishing tools

After the documentation is written, using a desktop publishing tool or a help authoring tool, it is normally reviewed for accuracy by one or more "subject matter experts" (SMEs).

Technical Communication

Technical communication is the process of conveying information about technology to an intended audience. A technical communicator is a person whose job involves technical communication. Technical communication jobs include the following:

• Technical writer
• Technical editor
• Information architect
• Usability expert
• User interface designer
• Technical artist
• Technical trainer

The technology can be of any kind, including the sciences, high technology including computers and software, consumer electronics, and so on.

Role of Technical Writing

Technical communications are created and distributed by most employees in service organizations today, especially by professional staff and management.

Writing well is difficult and time-consuming, and writing in a technical way and about technical subjects compounds the difficulties. The entire point of communications is to disseminate useful information. To be useful, information must be understood and acted upon.

Effective communications require quality content, language, format, and more. The entire point of communications is to disseminate information; this is where written content comes in. To present the appropriate content, it is imperative to understand one’s audience and writing purpose.

If a document does not communicate the information that the writer intends and what he or she wants the reader to understand, then the communication is meaningless.

The writer has a self-interest in making the extra effort: Looking credible is as important as being credible and getting results in business. 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.

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

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