Technical writing is a form of
written communication that simplifies different types of information for
readers. It can be found in several different fields such as computer hardware
and software, engineering, chemistry, finance, or any other subject that requires
simple, direct information to communicate a complicated topic. Its main purpose
is to communicate in a way that is easy to understand for most people.
According to Wikipedia.org, good technical writing is “concise, focused, easy
to understand, and free of errors. Technical writers focus on making their
documents as clear as possible, avoiding overly technical phrases and stylistic
choices like passive voice and nominalizations.” It appears that technical
writing uses many of the same elements as plain language.
Plain language generally has a
higher reading ease and lower average reading levels. It uses active voice,
quick sentence openings, and short, less complex sentences. It avoids
euphemisms and jargon, and often has lower levels of formality. While analyzing
different technical writing pieces including “how to” instructions, iPod help
pieces, and manuals, I found that technical writing uses several of these
elements along with other elements that contribute to the clarity of the piece
including bold, italics, underlining, color change, additional pictures or
videos, demonstrate, and uses the words “you” and “your.”
Using active voice and short, noncomplex sentences seem
to make directions easier to understand and interpret for a wide audience
within “how-to” manuals. One example I found was a step by step guide on “How
to jumpstart your car.” Step number one reads: “Take out your jumper
cables." “Take out your” is an example of active voice—it’s using action
verbs at the beginning of the sentence and is directly addressing the audience.
By doing this, the writer is making the task at hand as clear as possible. It
doesn’t leave anything up to the interpretation of the reader, it is short and
direct, and leaves no questions to be had. There is no simpler way to say “take
out your jumper cables,” which makes it easy to understand and clear to all who
read it.
Underneath this first step there is additional
information that reads, “It’s a good idea to buy jumper cables and keep them in
the trunk compartment. If you don’t have
jumper cables you have to find a good Samaritan who not only is willing to
assist you, but who has jumper cables as well.” This additional information
also uses aspects of plain language. It addresses the reader as “you” making it
clear who should be doing what. It also is colloquial: it is informal and
simple, again making the information clear and easy to understand. One thing
that appears to be different in this section is that before the action verbs,
the writer leads into the sentence or uses conditional statements (“if…”)
before getting to the active verb. This is another pattern I found among
technical writing texts. Additional information that is not vital to the
step-by-step process, but may be helpful (for example, if you didn’t have
jumper cables in your car), is less “plain” than the actual steps. It requires
a bit more language, though simplifies the information so it’s still easy to
understand. I believe this serves to cover all aspects someone might encounter if
they have a dead battery. It is possible the person does not even have jumper
cables in which case the document advises that they should always have some in
the trunk, and also suggests a way to acquire them (a good Samaritan).
I found similar patterns in directions on “How to reset
an ipod.” It gives both very direct, active instructions but also gives
slightly less direct, conditional statements in colloquial language. For
example, “Connect the device to your computer.” It has the active verb at the beginning
of the sentence, addresses the reader in “you” form, and is short and simple. In
another step it says, “If your device isn’t visible in the upper right corner
of the screen, choose library.” While this sentence has a longer introduction
before the active verb, that part of the sentence is vital to the next step and
gives very specific direction (“upper right corner”). Without the introductory
part of the sentence, it would make the statement less clear and confusing.
Another pattern I found within “how to” manuals is that
they use prepositional phrases to simplify and clarify directions. For example,
“shut of the ignition in both cars,”
and “attach one of the red clips to the positive terminal of your battery.”
Within the ipod manual context, some examples include, “If your ipod is
connected to a computer…” and, “Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and Volume
Down button simultaneously for at least
eight seconds.” All of these prepositional phrases are vital to understanding
directions and increasing clarity within “how to” manuals. In the case of
jumpstarting your car, the prepositional phrases are vital to the safety of the
read as well.
After
analyzing several examples of technical writing, I found many similarities to
plain language. I also discovered patterns used within technical writing to
create a clear, simple, and easy-to-understand directions. These include using
active verbs in main steps and directly addressing the reader; using longer
sentence introductions before active verbs in additional information; and using
prepositional phrases to clarify vital information.
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