What is Technical Writing and what do Technical Writers do?
Wikipedia defines the Technical writer job description as follows – Any written form of technical communication used in a variety of technical and occupational fields, such as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, aeronautics, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology.
What is technical communication is also defined in Wikipedia as follows – The Society for Technical Communication defines technical communication as any form of communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
(1) communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations;
(2) communicating through technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites; or
(3) providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of the task’s technical nature.
These are the characteristics of technical writing and any activity falling under any of the characteristics described above can be called technical writing.
In simple terms a definition of technical writing would be the documentaton of processes, procedures and functions in clear legible and simple language using illustrations and images (and in these days videos) so that they can be referenced later.
Does Technical Writing and Technical Communication refer to the same thing? Yes.
Did that sound complicated? Let’s simplify. Read on….
You have seen Technical Writing before!
Now, do you also recall the User Manual or User Guide that came with your DVD player, Hi-Fi system, Microwave or your Washing machine or even or the tiny instruction booklet that came with the cough syrup that you purchased from your pharmacy? These were also written by a Technical Writer.
Also remember, while you began using a computer and while editing a document using an application as MS Word you suddently didn’t know how to perform a particular task or function? What did you do then? If you said “click F1 or the Help button on the sceen”, you are right. And when you did that remember how a screen popped up with instructions on how to perform the task you were having difficulty with? These contents in the window that popped up were also written by a Technical Writer.
At learntechwritingfast.com you will learn how to become a Technical Writer for the IT (Information Technology) industry.
Ideally there are two types of technical writing when it comes to technical writing for software.
1. End User documentation. This is what most Technical writers in the Software Industry do today. Typical examples are User Guides or User Manuals, Knowledge Bases, FAQ’s and Online help.
2. Software Documentation. Here the Technical Writer’s job involves working with the developers, architects, project managers and testers of the application and documenting things related to the development of the software from its inception till its implementation. Typical examples are UML diagrams, ER diagrams, Database Diagrams and Installation manuals.
But today Technical writers tasks defy the definition of technical writing and seem to be doing anything and everything under the scope of writing. Here are some of them.
* Creating Proposals
* Creating Whitepapers
* Developing web content
* Preparing Resumes
* Writing reviews of products
* Developing Power Point presentations
* Preparing sales copy
* Writing articles of every kind
and also,
* Creating illustrations using Illustrator and Photoshop.
Note 1: There is also a misconception that a Technical Writer is one who writes articles and papers on Technical subjects such as those in Engineering.
Note 2: Unless you are writing for an in-flight magazine who pay like a $1 per word development of Web content is not for everyone.
For a complete list of the deliverable related to End User documentation and software documentation please check the user manual and software documentation page.
Have more questions? I have tried to answer them on the Technical Writing and Technical Communication FAQ page.
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