CHAPTER #2

Objectives in Technical
Writing
 Outline
• Clarity
• Conciseness
• Accuracy
• Organization
• Ethics
• Audience
• Multiculturalism
• Sexiest language
 1) CLARITY
1) Provide specific detail
– supply specific, quantified information
– avoid vague adjectives / adverb: some, recent,
about
2) Answer the reporter’s questions
– Why, where, who, when, what, how
3) Use easily understandable words
– Avoid obscure words
– Define acronyms, abbreviation and jargons
– Use active voice
 Provide specific details
• Our latest attempts at molding pre-form
protectors led to improvement.
• During the week of 10/4/05, attempts at
molding pre-form protectors led to
improvement.
• We spent several hours in Dept. 15 trying
different machine settings.
• We spent 12 hours in Dept. 15 trying
different machine settings.
Answer the reporter’s questions

DATE: November 11, 2008

TO: Mary Jane
FROM: Don Goldenbaum
SUBJECT: TECHNICIAN MEETING

Please be prepared to plan a presentation on month end

reports. Please be sure that your explanations are very
detailed. Thanks
 Use easily understandable words

Avoid obscure words Obscure Alternative

– Write to express, not Aforementioned Already discussed
impress; write to In lieu of Instead of
communicate, not to
Accede Agree
confuse.
As per your
As you requested
request
Issuance Send
Cognizant Know
Disclose Show
Ascertain Find out
 Active Voice over Passive Voice

• Passive Constructions are unclear and wordy.

• For example:
• Overtime is favored by hourly workers
– Hourly workers favor overtime.
 2) CONCISENESS
1) Limit paragraph length
2) Limit words and sentence length
– Use Fog Index
– Use meat cleaver method
– Avoid ‘shun’ words
– Omit redundancies
– Avoid camouflaged words
– Avoid expletive pattern
– Avoid wordy phrases
3) Technology demands conciseness
 Avoid Shun Words

Shun Words Concise Versions

Came to the conclusion Concluded
Make revisions Revise
Investigation of the Investigate
Utilization of use
 Avoid camouflaged words

Camouflaged words Concise Versions

Make an adjustment of Adjust

Have a meeting Meet

At a later moment later

 Avoid expletive pattern

• There are three people who will work for

Acme
• Three people will work for Acme.

• It has been decided that ten engineers will be

hired.
• Ten engineers will be hired.
 Omit Redundancies
• During the year of 2005

• In the month of December

• We collaborated together ……

• The other alternative is to …….

• This is a new innovation.

 Avoid Wordiness

Wordy Phrases Concise Revisions

In order to purchase To buy

At a rapid rate fast

Is of the opinion that Thinks

Due to the fact that because

 3) ACCURACY
• One way...proofread!
– Read one line at a time
– Use spelling and grammar checkers
– Check figures, equations and abbreviations
– Read it aloud once
– Try scatter shot proof reading
– Use a dictionary
 4) ORGANIZATION
1) Spatial
2) Chronological
3) Importance
4) Problem / Solution
5) Comparison / Contrast
 Methods of Organizing

• Spatial
– Description of Machine parts, ground plots etc

• Chronological
– Documenting time and steps in an instruction

• Importance
– Arrange text according to its importance

• Comparison/Contrast
– To surpass competition e.g in sale brochures

• Problem/ Solution
– Emphasize on problem first, then give a solution in a proposal
 5) ETHICS
1) Legalities
2) Practicalities
3) Ethicalities
 6) AUDIENCE
1) Knowledge on subject matter
– High-tec, low-tech, lay, multiple
2) Writing for future audience
3) Define terms for audience
4) Audience diversity
– Age, gender, family issues, race, religion, physical
and mental, class/status
5) Audience personality traits
 7) MULTICULTURALISM
1) Effective communication
– Distinguish Between Nouns and Verbs
– Be Careful when using Slash Marks
– Watch for Cultural Biases/Expectations
– Avoid Humour and Puns
– Avoid Figurative Language
– Translations May Take More or Less Space
– Be Careful with Numbers, Measurement, Dates , and
Times
– Use Stylized Graphics to Represent People
2) Avoid Biased language
 8) SEXIST LANGUAGE
1) Ignoring Women or Treating Them as
Secondary
2) Stereotyping
3) Pronouns
4) Gender-Tagged Name