As far as we know only one recent textbook is available in China: The third challenge is the most fundamental: There is a lack of technical communication research focused on the Chinese context. The vast majority of the knowledge about technical communication is based on Western research. These insights may apply to Western cultures and language systems, but we cannot be sure that they are equally valid in the Chinese context. Research has shown that there are cultural differences, but this research suffers from a lack of scope and consistency as well as an imprecision between descriptive practices and assumptions about effectiveness.
Specific research is needed within the Chinese context to develop and validate best practices in technical communication. Peking University PKU is one of the few universities in China that already recognize the potential significance of technical communication. Below, we will describe the context in which technical communication is developing at Peking University.
After that, we will briefly describe courses that have been taught and the double-degree program on Technical Communication and Translation, which is developed in collaboration with the University of Twente in the Netherlands. The initiative for a technical communication program was taken by the department of Language Information Engineering in the School of Software and Microelectronics.
Nowadays, the mission has broadened to cultivating talents for the modern language service industry. Language service comprises technical writing, technical translation, language technology, digital publishing, linguistic education and consulting. Three types of competencies are required: In our view, this context has two big advantages. First, in China, the relationship between technical translation and technical communication is a quite natural one. In the past, when the Chinese technological and creative industry was still in the early stages of development, many user instructions had to be translated.
And Chinese companies that are internationally oriented have to consider technical communication and translation in combination. Second, the department historically focuses on cultivating interdisciplinary talents, combining language and computer competencies. Some are currently heading the technical writing teams of their companies as directors. The increasing requests of companies for qualified students for technical writing positions led to the gradual development of technical communication within the department. To support the development of a technical communication research and education program, we held two Technical Communication Salons seminars in the past two years, which were attended by leading industry and academia players as well as interested graduate students.
These seminars and conferences underline the growing attention to technical communication in China. First, we will describe individual courses. A first course is Technical Documentation Writing. This course has been in the curriculum since The purpose is to familiarize students with technical writing principles.
The course is offered in collaboration with industry partners: Another course is Authoring Technology and Practice. This course, which started this year, aims at equipping students with relevant skills and knowledge regarding the latest authoring technology. Again, the course was offered in close collaboration with several industry partners.
Course evaluations showed that many of the students liked to learn about authoring technology and putting the knowledge into practice. The course comprised four modules:. A third course is Communication Design and Communication Research , which focuses on design methodology and the role of empirical research in product and instructional design processes. The course pays attention to the phasing of design activities and design paradigms, the role of academic and applied research, the role of creativity, the nature of expertise, and the social aspects of design processes.
It is taught in collaboration with the University of Twente. You don't want to seem overbearing and degrading, but you also don't want to come across as unsure of your purpose. The tone of your text conveys an attitude. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, your attitude can be easily determined by the language you use when addressing your reader.
It is extremely important to maintain your own point of view when writing, no matter the tone or purpose. Anderson suggests reading your text aloud to determine if it sounds like something you would say. Writing formally should still sound like it came from you - the mission is not to silence your voice but to enhance it.
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Something to avoid falling into is "Bureaucratese" - a mindless way of 'puffing up' language and text to make it sound more important. Insurance companies and other business have been accused of doing this, making it extremely difficult for the common reader to understand policies. You can avoid this by sticking to plain English context.
Also, avoid any sarcasm within your text. Sarcasm is, essentially, saying one thing but meaning another. It is often extremely useful for making a point, but this will often not come across to your audience, especially in written communication, and can create misunderstandings. Also, consider your role as the author and avoid terms that could offend or upset your reader. Writing in plain English is extremely important to learn because it can be easily translated into other languages. In the business world, a text may have to be translated into multiple languages.
The more concise a piece of writing, the easier it is to translate. Cultural metaphors and terms may not easily cross cultural boundaries: Making your own cultural and geographical position clear, as an author, can also help others to interpret your writing. The country your text will be sent to, if distribution is limited, is an extremely important factor in business writing, and can be important for technical and scientific writing. In the USA, talking about oneself the author may be intended to convey a friendly confidence in the reader; in other countries it may look like an inflated sense of self-importance, or bragging.
Does the reader really want or need to know you, for the purposes of the text? Considering the reader's cultural background will help you to avoid embarrassing mistakes in cross-cultural technical writing. Learning as much as possible about the common styles used in the country you are writing for will help improve your style and a reader's perceptions of your text.
In a commercial writing environment, it may be difficult to find volunteer readers for your drafts. You may need to find readers in your own company - a captive audience. It can also be very instructive to read the text out loud to yourself, pacing it for example to the imagined pace and sequence of activities for which instruction or technical information is being given.
If you work and write for a large company, it may be possible to organize test-reading groups within the company. If you are an independent technical writer, and confidentiality is not critical, then you can try looking for potential test-readers through the Internet. The Research Cooperative, [3] , for example, is an NPO with a large online community of researchers, writers, and editors involved with many different areas of science and technology. Test-readers can be made more-or-less visible in the eventual text, in various ways, adding another kind of voice to your work - the voice of a group that is familiar with the subject you are writing about, and sympathetic to the experiences of new readers.
Avoid error, cultural insensitivity, libel, and conflict of interest. Acknowledge literary and other media sources. Acknowledge colleagues, editors and other human sources of help. These may be obvious matters, and are covered elsewhere in this book, but taking a recognizable ethical stance can help to give readers confidence in the author and the information provided. In order to create persuasive and effective professional documents, it is important to develop a persuasive style. Almost every document you will write will try to persuade or inform the readers. What is important to take into account is that readers have viewpoints on everything they are looking at so sometimes you want to be more or less obvious in your persuasive style.
It begins with an initial thought and continues to change throughout the time they are looking at your document. It is important to realize that readers goals, concerns, feelings, and responses are likely to change from situation to situation. You may use your persuasive powers to change your readers' attitudes by reversing an attitude that they have, by reinforcing your attitude and by shaping their attitude on a subject which they currently have no opinion.
The following points are centered on being able to successfully communicate with the readers, so your documents can correctly persuade or inform the readers the way they are supposed to. In professional documents you often can see that the main idea and purpose is stated in the first paragraph and usually in the first few sentences. This is unlike papers that you may have written in regular writing classes throughout your time in school. Use headings, topic sentences, and lists to guide your readers towards specific points and information that you would like them to comprehend.
Then later in the document you can go onto explaining why your points make sense. Your first goal should be to give them a reason to read on. If they don't care to listen to you, you won't be able to persuade them of anything. Take away unnecessary or more inter specific wording to make sure that your document can be understood.
Put in action words to effectively make your point. Use low-impact versions to make it easier to read, and so people can read the document faster. This is especially important in business. Managers and executives are extremely busy, all the time. They want to be able to find the information they need right away, so they don't waste time wading through filler. Show how their actions will enable them to achieve their own goals. When deciding on what elements are persuasive, look at arguments that are credible and compelling to insure they believe what you are trying to say.
Before you write a document, understand who is going to be reading your documents and what their current beliefs are. This will allow you to write towards the correct set of people. Then when writing your document, ask readers how they will use the presented information and what they are looking for in the communication. It is believed that if you cannot communicate with your readers, they will not understand the introduced concepts and strategies that are serving as a springboard into your argument. Without having a jumping point into your supportive information, you will not be effectively communicating your document.
You also need to be creating an ethical dimension to your documents that are not going against any of your readers' viewpoints and personal thoughts. It is said that you are supposed to be talking with your readers and not towards them. This is explaining that you are not directing them towards something they are not willing to pursue. Instead, direct them towards something they are considering and offer those ideas and concepts that can pursue them towards a certain idea. Make sure that you listen to the audience's goals, needs, aims, and concerns.
Things you hear can help structure your persuasive document successfully, or it may help improve the action or idea that is being advocated. If you know your reader's goals and values, you can structure your communication in a way that produces favorable thoughts about your action or ideas. Address your reader's concerns and counterarguments to show that you understand their points and values. Use facts, statistics, and expert testimonies as evidence to show actuality of your idea or action. Appealing to reader's emotions is considered inappropriate in scientific research reports, test reports, and many other communications.
For some communications, appealing to emotions can be very successful. Emotional appeals are common among government agencies and private health providers advocating healthy lifestyles. Be sure to think carefully about whether emotional appeal is appropriate for a specific situation. If you are writing to readers in a culture other than your own, you will need to cater your persuasive strategies to their values, beliefs, and norms.
The best way to do this is to do your homework. You won't be able to completely adapt to your reader by listening to them alone. You will have to do some research to get some background when dealing with other cultures. You never want to mislead or manipulate your readers. This does not only deprive your readers of their rights, but if they come to find out about false statements you could be negatively affected. When most adults make up their minds, that idea is set in their heads and becomes very difficult to change.
It is important to keep this in mind. If you know that your reader is set in their ideas, trying to completely change their mind is going to be extremely difficult. Instead, try to get your reader to consider your view. If you can accomplish this, then you never know what might happen. If the reader has time to think on the idea, they might start to agree with you in time. Though you may already know a great deal about effective communication within an academic environment, technical communication is not limited to this area. You must know how to communicate effectively in many other settings such as a professional environment.
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Many different types of documents are created and used every day by professionals. The most common and well known of these documents are memos and emails, which are used in every type of business. In addition to this, technical communicators also create instructions, product guides and documentation, graphs, charts, images, videos, and other forms of content. No matter what medium a technical communicator chooses to use, the main goal is always to be informative and clear.
Technical communication is employed in real world settings for practical purposes. Whether to instruct, inform, or to persuade, technical communication is used for a myriad of purposes beyond the sort of straightforward informative writing typical of educational or certain social settings. Beyond being inspiring or entertaining, technical writing must be useful to an audience trying to perform a task. Academic papers are often addressed to a single individual or a small group of peers with very similar experiences and expectations.
Technical writing, because of its practical and collaborative nature, must often be geared toward a complex audience. Technical communicators must be careful to be conscious of intended and unintended audiences, foreign and domestic readers, and individuals with vastly differing responsibilities, experiences, and expectations of a given document.
The context in which a document is read will differ with each reader and it is important to keep documents concise and free of bias and excessive or unclear language to ensure that they are understood. Technical communication documents will often require input or additional work from several co-authors, depending on the complexity of the document and the nature of the task with which it is dealing. Paul Anderson's Technical Communication textbook relates an anecdote regarding the proposal to build the International Space Station which contained text and drawings from more than engineers.
This may be an extreme example, but even when writing a technical document alone, collaboration and consultation with coworkers or other members of the intended audience may form a part of an author's writing process. Much as with academic writing, organizational conventions as well as culture will shape the style used in technical documents. Organizations may conceive of themselves and formal and conservative or informal and innovative, and reflect this self-conception in their communication style.
This reflection often extends to social dimensions within the workplace or the culture of the society in which the organization operates. A technical communicator's style will change depending on the social and organizational contexts that they are working within. Technical Communication is a complex discipline because it can occur in so many contexts. It can be encountered in nearly any professional setting from a construction yard to a courtroom. It is present when you consult a user manual for your car, microwave, computer, or un-assembled bookshelf.
Adaptivity to ever changing audiences as well as legal and ethical issues and a variety of social factors is one of the most important traits of a successful technical communicator. In business, image is everything. Public opinion of a company affects a consumer's views on that company's products. This, in turn, affects the company's public profit, and essentially its standing. When a company is involved in a lawsuit or a recall, the company has to consider the consequences that these issues will have on their business and needs to consider the costs of repairing the company's reputation.
These are among the reasons certain documents are carefully reviewed before being sent to their intended readers. To write ethically, you must also identify another group of people: Collectively, these people are called stakeholders because they have a stake in what you are writing. Only by learning who these stakeholders are can you assure that you are treating them in accordance with your own ethical values. When crafting your communication think about who will be affected by what you say and how you say it.
You have to be sensitive to the following language in a professional document:. Under the law, most documents written by employees represent the position and commitments of the organization itself. There are always legal issues to consider when writing a professional document and they reflect in writing style. Professional documents can serve as evidence in disputes over contracts and in product liability lawsuits. A lawsuit is a civil action brought in court. Today, the average company is involved in lawsuits at any given time.
While most companies win their lawsuits, being caught in a lawsuit has many consequences. Lawsuits cost companies time and money. The money spent on lawyers and the time spent in court takes away resources a company could use for improving business and products. Lawsuits also have ramifications for a company's reputation. Recalls can be another legal problem for companies. A recall is when a product is removed from the market or a correction is made to the product because it is either defective or potentially harmful.
In most cases, a recall results from an unintentional mistake by a company rather than from an intentional disregard for the law. Sometimes a company discovers a problem and recalls a product on its own. Other times a company recalls the product after concerns are made. There are a number of reasons why a company may face a lawsuit or a recall. One of the main reasons a company gets involved in a lawsuit is because the directions to the company's product were not clear to the consumer.
For this reason, the general guideline is that instructions should be understandable, clear and concise at the fourth to sixth grade reading level. Also, when in a lawsuit, a company has to remember that all documents may be subpoenaed. This means that any document from memos and emails to proposals and studies can be subject to revision by a court of law. Another reason a company gets into a lawsuit may be over a recall. An aspect of recalls are those dealing with safety concerns. Many products are recalled for potential safety concerns, even if no one was actually hurt. To avoid safety recalls, companies need to make sure they consider every possible danger involved with a product.
Some dangers may seem to be common knowledge, but companies should be aware of those and label the product accordingly, regardless of assumptions about common knowledge. Constraints are limits for documents set by the company or industry. As you gather the information that will form the basis for the way you craft your communication, you should also learn about any expectations, regulations, or other factors that may constrain what you can say and how you can say it.
In the working world, expectations and regulations can affect any aspect of a communication. Aspects that affect communication are as follows:. It is important to find out about these constraints and take them into account as you create your communication. Some of these constraints come directly from the employer. Your employer and your readers probably have expectations about the way you write a professional document. There are often, unspoken expectations about how the required elements will be prepared.
Establishing technical communication as a professional discipline
You are cultivating a company's desire for a particular corporate image, to protect its legal interests, and to preserve its competitive edge. A toy company like LEGO, would not want to be associated with a technical document that includes slang or words that could damage their reputation. They are legally protecting their business. Since all documents can be used against individuals and companies in court, all written documents with the company name should include only professional content that properly represents the company.
Other times, constraints are set by government regulations that determine how certain reports need to be written. Regulations are laws made by the government that affect what is in a document or how a document is written. Writing constraints can originate from outside the company.
For example, from government regulations that specify how patent applications, environmental impact report, and many other types of documents are to be prepared. Similarly, scientific, technical, or other professional journals have strict rules about many aspects of the articles they publish.
These regulations act as standards for crafting your communication effectively. Constraints may be set by style issues as well. Idioms are words or expressions that are specialized vocabulary used by a group of people also known as jargon. Look at the phrases that you use when you write and see if they make sense when translated literally. If they don't, replace them with language that is clear and direct, and will not be misunderstood.
Don't use "compound" sentences and, or, nor, but, however, yet. Opinions and jokes should also be avoided in business documents. Communicate, argue or persuade your readers through facts and data instead of opinions. Many companies also like to form a "custom" way of writing. Companies like Microsoft want all their documents to be written in the same style and format.
The only way to do this is to teach the writers the "correct" way to write in order to portray Microsoft. What many people may not know is that Microsoft does this to cover themselves in a legal trial. If every single document is written using the same format, they can make sure that the customers understand the entire document and do not run into trouble with inconsistencies. How do you know if you are following the correct constraints?
The easiest way to understand how to write in your specific field is to look at documents written by your company and other companies in the industry within the past few months. This will allow you to see their style and how they make their argument. Some companies even publish style guides for writing. By seeing your company's regulations, you can begin to draft your argument. Make sure to follow your company's guidebook if they have one to be sure that your style is correct with their recommendations. Remember that in professional writing you are trying to persuade the reader using an ethical style.
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This means to avoiding content that will not stand up in court, especially since people file lawsuits for everything these days. Make sure that the documents you write for your company are persuasive while also preserving your company's competitive edge. Today, the majority of workplaces are multicultural. Employees in the workplace are more likely to come from different backgrounds including cultural environments and different parts of the world. The textbook, Technical Communication by Paul V. Anderson, makes a point to emphasize cultural differences.
It is important to take into account who a document will be read by. The following characteristics show differences between cultures and should be considered by effective writers:. It is often difficult to determine who will be reading your documents. It is important to distinguish your audience before writing. When writing to a wide variety of people, knowing their cultural biases, assumptions, and customs are essential. There are a variety of resources online that provide cultural information about countries around the world. Understanding differences reduces the amount of miscommunication when doing global business.
Knowing this can reduce the confusion of when things are sent, due, and timelines. Learning information about other nationalities helps you relate to your readers as well as prepare you for the future. Readers will appreciate your knowledge about their customs. The study was one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted about cultures around the world.
The information gives insights into different cultures, allowing intercultural writing to be more effective. Cyborlink provides information about international business etiquette and manners. Cyborlink is organized by country, allowing writers to quickly find their target audience. Cyborlink's information draws heavily on the studies performed by Professor Hofstede. Each country page provides information about appearances clothing and gestures , behavior dining, gift-giving, meetings, customs, and negotiations , and communication greetings, introductions, and conversation guidelines as well as country facts, additional resources, and analysis from Professor Hofstede.
The site is broken into several categories. The Resource Desk collects thousands of resources organized by topics in international business. It provides research, news, and reference material as well as glossary of terms used in international business. The Country Insights section provides data on different countries.
It includes statistics, economic and political conditions, and a brief country history. The culture section is useful for people writing to a multicultural audience; it provides information on business etiquette for each of the countries. Coworkers are a great source of intercultural information. People familiar with you and the company provide the best information about the expectations of your audience.
If coworkers have previously written to your audience, they may be able to offer insight as to how your writing will be interpreted. Previous communications kept by your company can also be a useful tool for determining how to write to another culture. If the writing was well received, you will able to look for clues as to how to structure your writing.
Writing that resulted in a new partnership or a completed sale may be the best indicator of how to structure your writing. It is not always possible to know who your reading audience may be. Many emails or memos written to your intended audience may go through numerous people. Although you may be targeting one type of audience, it is important to not forget about the "phantom," "future," and "complex" readers. Phantom readers - Real but unnamed readers are phantom readers.
They are "behind the scenes" and their presence is usually unknown to a writer. Phantom readers are included in communications that require a decision. A clue to phantom readers presence is that the person written to is not high enough in organizational hierarchy to make a decision. It is important to meet the needs of the phantom readers because they may be the most important reader. Future Readers - Written communications may still be used weeks, months or even years after being written.
Every company document is considered a legal document, so lawyers and judges could be future readers. Future readers can also be employees who retrieve old communications for information or ideas. Writing communications with future readers in mind will save time and give documents an appeal that will please a wide range of readers. Complex Audiences - Addressing a group of people who will be reading from many perspectives is a complex audience.
Focusing on writing to complex audiences will allow you to relate to people from many different backgrounds. It is important to relate to each reader while not taking away from your overall communication. Writing style means many things. On one end of the spectrum are the features that make the author's type of writing unique. On the other end of same spectrum, there is a legal or scientific style of writing, referring to writing characteristics shared by certain groups of professionals, like lawyers or scientists.
Style can also mean a communication's readability, if it is written in a clear, muddy, or inspiring manner. At work, you observe the stylistic convention of your profession and your employer's organization, while simultaneously expressing your individuality, make reading easy for your audience and impacting them while they are reading.
Consider your options in light of the way they will affect your readers' view of your communication's usability and persuasiveness. Based on what readers see, they draw conclusions about you and your attitudes that can enhance or distract from the persuasiveness of your communications.
Your ability to craft and control your voice is essential to your success at writing. An effective voice is one that matches your reader's sense of what is appropriate. However, you have the option to choose who your audience is by topic, word choice, and formality. You have to have a tone and style that is pertinent to your readers. The voice needs to be clear as to who it is directed towards. When you choose the voice with which you will address your readers, you define a role for yourself.
As a manager of a department, you could adopt the voice of a stern taskmaster or an open-minded leader. The voice you choose also implies a role for your readers. Their response to the role given to them can significantly influence your communication's overall effectiveness. If you choose the voice of a leader who respects your readers, they will probably accept their role as a valued colleague.
If you choose the voice of a superior, unerring authority, they may resent their implied role as error-prone inferiors and resist the substance of your message. By using the appropriate voice in your communication you can increase your ability to elicit the attitudes and actions you want to inspire. In addition to communicating attitudes about yourself and your readers, your voice communicates an attitude toward your subject.
If you write about your subject enthusiastically, your readers may catch and exhibit your enthusiasm. If you seem indifferent, they may adopt the same attitude. Make sure you believe what you say or pretend like you believe it. If you talk down to people or belittle them, you will lose their loyalty and willingness to follow your lead.
If you use a pretentious voice when writing to superiors you will probably make them angry because they may feel that you are undermining their authority. E-mail presents a special temptation to be careless about voice because it encourages spontaneity. Your risk of regretting an e-mail you've written is increased by the ease with which e-mails can be forwarded or sent to readers you didn't intend to see the message. Never include anything in an e-mail that you wouldn't want a large audience to view, like a court room.
E-mails and text messages can be the basis of a trial or lawsuit. Check carefully for statements that your readers might interpret as having a different tone than the one you intended. Never talk badly about someone in an E-mail, and make sure to keep this mail in a file for future reference. Keeping the e-mail in a file will help protect yourself as a writer from lost or altered material. As long as you keep personal problems and biases out of office emails you should be just fine. No matter what style of voice you choose, be sure to retain your own thoughts in your writing.
This can be achieved even in formal writing. When you are using a formal style, the objective is not to silence your own voice; it's to let your style sound like you , writing in a formal situation. To check whether you are using your own voice, try reading your drafts aloud. Where the phrasing seems awkward or the words are difficult for you to speak, you may have adopted someone else's voice-or slipped into bureaucratese, which reflects no one's voice. Reading your drafts aloud will also help you spot other problems with voice, such as sarcasm or condescension. Although it will sometime be appropriate for you to suppress your own voice.
Like when a report is written by multiple people in a group, you should strive to achieve a unified voice so the paper is cohesive and all parts of the paper fit together well. An example of when you should suppress your own voice is when writing something like a policy statement which is written in the employer's style, not the individual writer's style. From one culture to another, general expectations about the voice vary considerably.
Understanding the differences between the expectations of your culture and those of your readers can be especially important because the voice you use tells your readers about the relationship you believe you have with them. In the United States and Europe, employees often use an informal voice and address their readers by their first names. In Japan, writers commonly use a formal style and address their readers by their titles and last names.
On the other hand, Japanese writers may seem distant and difficult to relate to if they use the formality that is common in their own cultures when writing to U. In either case, if the readers judge that the writer hasn't taken the trouble to learn about or doesn't care about their culture they may be offended.
Directness is another aspect of voice. When writing to people in other cultures, try to learn and use the voice that is customary there. You can also learn about the voice used in your reader's culture by studying communications they have written. If possible, ask for advice from people who are from your reader's culture or who are knowledgeable about it. What do stereotypes have to do with voice and ethics?
Stereotypes are very deeply embedded in many cultures. Most of us are prone to use them occasionally especially when conversing informally. As a result, when we use more colloquial and conversational language to develop our distinctive voice for our workplace writing, we may inadvertently employ stereotypes. Unfortunately, even inadvertent uses of stereotypes have serious consequences for individuals and groups.
People who are viewed in terms of stereotypes lose their ability to be treated as individual human beings. If they belong to a group that is unfavorably stereotyped, they may find it nearly impossible to get others to take their talents, ideas and feelings seriously. The range of groups disadvantaged by stereotyping is quite extensive. People can be stereotyped because of their race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, weight, physical handicap, occupation and ethnicity.
In some workplaces, manual laborers, union members, clerical workers, and others are the victims of stereotyping by people in white-collar positions. There is absolutely no tolerance for stereotypes in professional writing. Anything you write will be worthless to most audiences if you include any type of stereotypes. Using stereotypes, even accidentally, will seriously damage your reputation with your readers and may even cause your professional relationship to end.
So be very aware of any stereotypes that may exist especially when writing cross-culturally. Researchers who have studied the ways our minds process information have provided us with many valuable insights about ways to write reader-centered sentences. Based primarily on these research findings, the following six guidelines explain ways to construct highly usable, highly persuasive sentences. The easiest way to increase usability is to simplify your sentences. Psychologists say that much of the work is done by short-term memory. It must figure out how the words in each sentence fit together to create a specific meaning.
Fewer words means less work. In addition, research shows that when we express our message concisely, we make it more forceful, memorable, and persuasive. The physical size of the workroom is too small to accommodate this equipment. By removing unnecessary words, the sentence is just as clear and more emphatic: The workroom is too small for this equipment. Short-term memory relies on word order to indicate meaning. If you don't keep related words together, your sentence may say something different from what you mean. Often, combining two or more short sentences makes reading easier because doing so both reduces the total number of words and helps the reader see the relationships among the points presented.
Water quality in Hawk River declined in March. This decline occurred because of the heavy rainfall that month.
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Water quality in Hawk River declined in March because heavy rainfalls overloaded Tomlin County's water treatment plant. Most sentences are about action. Sales rise, equipment fails, engineers design, managers approve. Yet, many people bury the action in nouns, adjectives, and other parts of speech. Consider the following sentence: Our department accomplished the conversion to the new machinery in two months.
It could be energized by putting the action converting into the verb: Our department converted to the new machinery in two months. It is because the cost of raw materials has soared that the price of finished goods is rising. Because the cost of raw materials has soared, the price of finished goods is rising. There are several factors causing the engineers to question the dam's strength.
Consequently, I recommend that the department hire two additional programmers. Technical communicators often work collaboratively to create deliverables that include online help , user manuals , classroom training guides, computer-based training, white papers , specifications , industrial videos , reference cards , data sheets , journal articles , and patents.
Technical domains can be of any kind, including the soft and hard sciences , high technology including computers and software and consumer electronics. Technical communicators often work with a range of specific Subject-matter experts SMEs on these educational projects. Technical communication jobs include the following: Other jobs available to technical communicators include digital strategist, marketing specialist, and content manager.
In , the European Association for Technical Communication published a competence framework for the professional field of technical communication. Much like technology and the world economy, technical communication as a profession has evolved over the last half-century. Technical communication is a task performed by specialized employees or consultants. For example, a professional writer may work with a company to produce a user manual. Some companies give considerable technical communication responsibility to other technical professionals—such as programmers, engineers, and scientists.
Often, a professional technical writer edits such work to bring it up to modern technical communication standards. To begin the documentation process, technical communicators identify the audience and their information needs. The technical communicator researches and structures the content into a framework that can guide detailed development. As the body of information comes together, the technical communicator ensures that the intended audience can understand the content and retrieve the information they need.
This process, known as the writing process , has been a central focus of writing theory since the s, and some contemporary textbook authors apply it to technical communication. Technical communication is important to most professions, as a way to contain and organize information and maintain accuracy. The technical writing process is based on Cicero's 5 canons of rhetoric , and can be divided into six steps:. All technical communication serves a particular purpose—typically to communicate ideas and concepts to an audience, or instruct an audience in a particular task.
Technical communication professionals use various techniques to understand the audience and, when possible, test content on the target audience. For example, if bank workers don't properly post deposits, a technical communicator would review existing instructional material or lack thereof , interview bank workers to identify conceptual errors, interview subject matter experts to learn the correct procedures, author new material that instructs workers in the correct procedures, and test the new material on the bank workers. Similarly, a sales manager who wonders which of two sites is better for a new store might ask a marketing professional to study the sites and write a report with recommendations.
The marketing professional hands the report off to a technical communicator in this case, a technical editor or technical writer , who edits, formats, and sometimes elaborates the document in order to make the marketing professional's expert assessment usable to the sales manager. The process is not one of knowledge transfer, but the accommodation of knowledge across fields of expertise and contexts of use.
This is the basic definition of technical communication. Audience type affects many aspects of communication, from word selection and graphics use to style and organization.
Most often, to address a particular audience, a technical communicator must consider what qualities make a text useful capable of supporting a meaningful task and usable capable of being used in service of that task. A non-technical audience might misunderstand or not even read a document that is heavy with jargon—while a technical audience might crave detail critical to their work. Busy audiences often don't have time to read entire documents, so content must be organized for ease of searching—for example by frequent headings , white space , and other cues that guide attention.