Technical Writing Basics
Writing that prioritizes the reader’s needs over the writer’s preferences.
What is reader-centered writing?
The people who will read or be affected by your document.
What is the audience?
Headings, spacing, alignment, and layout belong to this.
What is document design?
Writing that explains how something works.
What is informative/explanatory writing?
Numbered steps telling a user how to complete a task.
What are step-by-step instructions?
This type of writing focuses on factual, unbiased information.
What is objective writing?
Identifies the readers’ knowledge, needs, and expectations.
What is an audience analysis?
A design feature that guides the reader’s eye through information.
What is visual hierarchy?
The primary reason for creating a document.
What is purpose?
Detailed explanation of an object, mechanism, or process.
What is a technical description?
These are the main goals of effective technical writing: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, courteous.
What are the 7 C's of technical writing?
An audience that already understands technical terminology.
What is an expert audience?
An analysis of fonts, spacing, layout, visuals, and accessibility.
What is design analysis?
Writing that teaches a task with clear, step-by-step guidance.
What is instructional writing?
A document that recommends a solution and requests approval.
What is a proposal?
This principle of technical writing requires focusing only on information that directly supports the document’s purpose.
What is relevance?
People indirectly affected by a document, even if they don’t read it.
What is a secondary audience?
Principle where related items are grouped together.
What is proximity?
Writing that urges a reader to take action or agree with a point.
What is persuasive writing?
A long, detailed document presenting research and recommendations.
What is a formal report?
Inform, instruct, persuade.
What are the three purposes of technical writing?
This occurs when a document must address multiple audience types with different needs at the same time.
What is writing for a mixed audience?
How easily a reader can navigate and extract information.
What is readability?
Typos, misspellings, and punctuation mistakes.
What are mechanical errors?
A required, standardized procedure for consistency and safety.
What is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)?