What is Technical Writing?

Technical Writing AKA…

• Business Writing
• Workplace Writing
• Professional Writing
• Informational Writing
• It is the type of everyday writing that surrounds us from the time we
wake until we climb in bed at night.
• Directions on the toothpaste tube
• Nutrition benefits on the cereal box
• Business letters and catalogs that come in the mail
• Written instructions for assembling a new product
• Tax receipts and notices
• Product safety information
• Technical writing introduces you to some of the most important
aspects of writing in the world of science, technology, and business.
• It is a kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer
specialists, government officials, engineers and other people do as
part of their work.
• The term “technical” refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that
is more the territory of experts and specialists.
• Whatever you about your field, you are engaged in technical writing.
• Technical communication can be oral, written or visual.
• Technical writing is composed in and for the workplace.
• Technical writing is the delivery of technical information to the
readers in a manner that is adapted to their needs, level of
understanding, and background.
• It is intended to communicate to a specific audience, for a specific
purpose.
How is technical writing different?
• The information is organized, presented and communicated in a
specific format.
• The writing is concise, clear an accurate.
• The writing takes into account the audiences' needs, biases and prior
understanding.
• The writing presents information to help readers solve a problem or
gain a better understanding of a situation.
• The writing conveys technical, complex, or specialized information in
a way that is easy for a non technical reader to understand.
• Processing basic writing skills means that student need “to communicate
ideas, thoughts, information and messages in writing; and create
documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs and flow
charts”.
• Technical writing is a natural partner to academic writing. It is descriptive,
creative, and expository, but the format is different and the standards are
higher. The kind of writing that we usually do in school is academic writing.
• Technical writing requires 100% accuracy. The skills of academic writing
that are taught in school can be easily applied to technical writing.
• Technical writing stretches the student beyond the competencies required
for academic writing. They must use higher levels of analysis and decision
making. They must determine the needs of the audience and the purpose
of the communication.
• Comparison Between Academic And Technical Writing
• Many people fail to distinguish between the technical and academic
form of writing. The major difference between both of these forms
lies in their style. Technical writing is linked to the processes. It
involves a step by step explanation of a procedure so that anyone can
understand it. From business letters to the product descriptions and
editorial letters, it conveys the technical information such as
engineering and scientific studies in the easiest way possible.
Academic writing is more specific in nature as it is linked to a
particular discipline. It is a complex form of writing which can more
commonly be seen in the form of scholarly articles and textbooks.
Difference between technical and Academic
writing
• There is a huge difference between the technical and academic
writing. A skilled academic writer may not have the proficiency in
technical writing and vice versa. Let us see the major differences
between these two styles of writing.
• Definition
• In academic writing, a person intends to prove a theory or viewpoint
in one way or the other, whereas technical writing is entirely goal-
oriented and it talks about different ways by which the desired goal
can be achieved. An academic writing is used in the form of theses,
essays or book reports.
• Purpose
• Technical writing intends to explain the working of a product or
service in a step-by-step process. While the academic writing revolves
around the results of the academic research. However, sometimes it
is also based on one’s viewpoint on a particular topic.
• Target Audience
• The target audience in both the types of writing is very different. In
academic writing, the target audience is research scholars or
professionals who have an expertise in a specialization. Technical
writing targets any person who needs to know the task followed by a
particular organization.
• Proving vs. Instructing
• Academic writing Is all about proving something in one way or the
other.
• Technical writing on the other hand, is all about instructing how to do
something to achieve a specific goal.
• Knowledge vs. Solution
Academic writing aims at expanding our knowledge of the world.
Technical writing, on the other hand, aims at offering solutions to
specific problems that we are faced within the world.
• Win argument vs. Change behavior
• Academic writing tries to win a rational argument by offering
evidence, precedence, and reference.
• Technical writing, on the other hand, tries to change our behavior by
instructing us the logical step through which we can complete a task
successfully.
• Many students do not understand the actual difference between
technical writing and academic writing. The explanation is very easy.
Academic writing occurs in education, printed media and literature.
Technical writing is more specific and resembles instructions or
official documents. Obviously, students have to get to know how to
prepare both types of documents if they want to build successful
career. It does not worth mentioning that every student has to
prepare a lot of academic assignments which require academic style
of writing. While at the workplace one will have to master technical
writing in order to inform officials about the performance of his firm.
• The Place of Application
Doubtless, academic writing can be met in every educational institution.
When a student writes an essay, a term paper or a research paper, he
applies academic style of writing. Then, academic writing is a common
style of writing among scholars, journalists and writers. When a scholar
wants to share his smart ideas about the definite topic of his research, he
uses academic style of writing. This format is understandable to other
scholars and men of thought. When you read scientific periodicals, articles
or movie and book reviews, you recognize academic writing. Technical
writing occurs in business, official organizations and industry. When a
company manufactures a product, it should provide this item with
instructions. These instructions explain how to use this item in a step-by-
step form. Finally, every document related with accounting, management,
marketing, governance, etc. is written in a technical style.
• The Main Purposes of Writing
Every piece of writing has its definite purpose and function. When we
speak about academic writing, we should say that its main purpose is to
inform readers about something. When a scholar writes his dissertation, he
wants to deliver his point of view to the wide audience. Moreover,
academic writing helps one persuade others in something. Such papers can
have other functions. For example, one can debate, argue, inform,
describe, compare and criticize different things in a common academic
paper. Technical papers do not have such functions. To begin with, a typical
technical document is personal. The author of a technical paper addresses
the definite reader. Then, a technical paper should teach a client how to
use the definite product. Finally, a technical paper describes all procedures
that occur in a firm or official organization.
• The Main Features of Writing
Every written paper has its definite style of writing. Every style of writing has its
own characteristic features that help readers recognize it among other similar
styles. It is quite easy to recognize academic writing. When you read an essay or a
dissertation, you will notice learned words, a great number of terms and stylistic
devices. Authors try to write in a fluent way trying to observe their problem from
all possible sides. They can suggest several approaches towards research and
analysis of their issue. Academic papers are always big-in-volume and occupy
many pages of scientific text. Such papers possess logical structure. They should
have an introduction, the main body and conclusion. Every academic paper is a
composition about a specific topic. Technical papers a more or less short. A
typical technical paper is a set of brief and precise instructions or guidelines. The
language is poor and dry. You will never find any stylistic devices or learned
vocabulary. The main duty of a technical paper is to teach someone in the
simplest way. No wonder, the language is poor, neutral, unemotional and
understandable to everyone.
Similarities Between Academic & Technical
Writing
• Certainly, academic and technical writings are two different forms of writing but they do share some
common attributes too. Let us see the parameters on the basis of which both the writing styles can be
considered similar.
• Organized Structure
• At the beginning of an academic research, a writer needs to mention the reason for which he undertook the
research and then talk about different methodologies. This is a general structure which explains the entire
process to the reader in a well-organized form. Similarly, in a technical writing, the writer includes the points
such as goals, strategies, benefits etc. Hence, both the forms of writing exhibit a well-organized pattern.
• The Format
• Both academic, as well as technical writing, comes under the category of formal writing. This implies that
they follow a specific set of guidelines and the tone of writing remains serious. Hence, you can’t use slang
terms or jargons in technical or academic writing.
• Though both the styles have some striking similarities, a writer needs to adapt to a lot many changes when
he shifts from an academic writing style to the technical writing. In order to have a proficiency in both the
forms of writing, one needs to do a thorough practice in different writing styles.
Examples of Technical Writing:

• Action Plans
• Advertisement
• Agenda (a list of items to be discussed at a formal meeting)
• Audit Report ( a written opinion of an auditor regarding an entity’s
financial statements)
• Brochure (a small book or magazine containing pictures and information
about a product or service)
• Budget
• Business Letter
• Business Plan
• Catalog (a complete list of items, typically one in alphabetical or other
systematic order, in particular)
• Contract
• Diagram, Chart, or Graph
• Editorial
• Email
• Field Test Report
• Incident Report
• Informational Form
• Instructions
• Interview Questions
• Job Application
• Job Description
• Lesson Plan
• Letter of Inquiry
• Letter of Recommendation
• Magazine/Newspaper Article
• Marketing Plan
• Memo