LESSON PROPER:

The theory of Jerome Borowick on technical writing has five (5) hallmarks, to wit:
objective, clear, concise, and convincing. He believed that these hallmark must be
accomplished when the style is descriptive and qualitative. Paul M. Zall, in his book
titled “Elements of Technical Report Writing,” discussed the different characteristics of
well-written technical works. He named these properties as the ABC’s of technical
writing.
 
ACCURACY
A technical work is considered accurate when it presents facts that are completely true.
For instance, misplaced decimal point of your grades could make years of labor
worthless; a misstated fact could create misinformation. One error in calculation, one
illogical statement can make the whole report doubtful. That is why every statement
must undergo copy-editing or proofreading to check accuracy of statements, texts,
numbers, and figures. A technical work must also avoid frequent use of expressions for
hedging such as may, perhaps, maybe, seem, apparently, among others.

 
In order to come up with error-free written works, you have to demonstrate a strong
“attention-to-detail” skill. This skill refers to the ability to achieve accuracy and
thoroughness when accomplishing a certain task. For example, during your internship,
your supervisor assigned you to write a report but you submitted your work with a lot of
mistakes. Read and re-read your work before submitting so that your work will
completely devoid of errors. Check mistakes on spelling, grammar and punctuation.
 
BREVITY
In technical communication, technical papers must be short or brief. It also makes use
of concise expressions. A good technical writer should begin with his/her main points
and then show why it is sound. Emphasizing the highlights of your work, cutting out
irrelevant comments as well as immaterializing excursions and meaningless statements
are highly recommended and observed.

 
Brevity is considered as the striking feature of any written communication. This feature
can be achieved by avoiding wordiness and repetition; thus, writing enables you to
arrive quickly of what you want to convey in a clear and understandable manner.
 
 
 
Below listed are the ways on how to achieve brevity in writing.
        a. Using key words to hold attention

This method helps the reader to skim for better information.

Example: My account balance got deducted because of activation Spotify. I did not
request for the subscription. (18 words)
Correct: Unauthorized subscription of Spotify caused balanced deduction in my
account. (11 words)
b. Stating important information first
Readers get convinced when they have the reason first.
Apply this idea in writing:
Bring ‘because’ part to the front; delete because; add ‘so’ to
the last sentence
Example: We need more classrooms because the University’s enrolment is increasing.
Correct: The University’s enrolment is increasing. So, we need more classrooms.
 
c. Delete over-polite phrases
Example: With due regards, we would like to state that the schedule of examination has
been cancelled.
Correct: The schedule of examination has been cancelled.
d. Delete repetitions
We remove repetition through:
1. Using umbrella terms (mobiles, laptops, iPads = electronic devices)
Example: All examinees are instructed to bring their receipt of examination fee and
identification card on the day of board examination. They would not be allowed to enter
the testing rooms if they do not have receipt of examination fee and identification card.
 Correct: All examinees are instructed to bring their receipt of examination fee and
identification card on the day of board examination. They would not be allowed to enter
the testing rooms if they do not have these documents
 
2. Using pronouns to replace nouns
Example: The SHS principal has called a meeting at 2:00 pm. The venue is SHS
principal’s meeting room.
Correct: The SHS principal has called a meeting at 2:00 pm. The venue is
in her meeting room.
 
3. Using abbreviations for technical terms when used twice in statements.
 Example: The Dean of Student Affairs and Services said that the Electronic Voting
Machines were bugged. However, bugging an Electronic Voting Machines is highly
technical and costly.
Correct: The Dean of Student Affairs and Services said that the Electronic Voting
Machines were bugged. However, bugging an EVM is highly technical and costly.
 
e. Cross out Redundancies
Example: Please meet me at 3 pm in the afternoon.
Correct: Please meet me at 3 pm.
 
f. Cut out lengthy phrases
Example: The Office of the Dean of the Student Affairs and Services is in close
proximity to the Good Shepherd Chapel.
Correct: The Office of the Dean of the Student Affairs and Services is near  the Good
Shepherd Chapel.
   List of lengthy phrases and their corrections:

1. due to the fact that – because

2. In accordance with – according to
3. With regard to – regarding
 
COHERENCE
Coherence refers to the logical togetherness of the material. Sentences, paragraphs
and groups of paragraph hold together by means of appropriate transitional devices.
Coherence is an essential quality of a good written technical work. Without cohesion,
the reader will not understand the main points that you are trying to make. It also
hampers readability.
Cohesion necessarily precedes coherence. Cohesion is achieved when sentences are
connected at the sentence level, whereas coherence is achieved when ideas are
connected.
Coherence also means as “clarity of expression.” Using simple transitions such as in
addition, additionally, furthermore, therefore, thus, on the contrary, by the same token,
at the same time, in other words, etc. is one of the strategies in ensuring coherence in
technical writing.
Other strategies are: 1) write sentences that flow by varying the lengths and structures,
the use of correct punctuation, and broadening your word choices; 2) Repeat your
keywords but be careful of excessive repetition; 3) Repeat sentence structures, which is
used as a rhetorical technique rather than cohesion to highlight parallelism between
sentences; and 4) Start every sentence or paragraph with information that hints at the
content of the next sentence
 
 
CONFIDENCE
As a writer or speaker, you have to display a sense of certainty of the things you write
and tell. You must not use “perhaps” and “maybe’s” and other forms of needless
hedging and qualifying since you know more about your subject. If you are hundred
sure, say it; if you are not, then go back and analyze where the problem lies and correct
it.
 
DIGNITY
In technical communication, as a writer or speaker, you need formality with respect to
words and the way words are used. It refers to the quality of being honored, esteemed
and worthy by using straightforward expression as well as with simplified, summarized
and well-organized information.
Grammatical constructions should be complete. Pronouns like “which” and “that” should
be used.
For example: The CHED Commissioner informs students that classes in higher
education institutions will commence on September 15, 2020 and not The CHED
Commissioner informs students classes in higher education institutions will commence
on September 15, 2020. Contractions like don’t, can’t, won’t, didn’t and others be
avoided.
 
EMPHASIS
Stressing major points is major role of a technical writer. You should tell your readers
what is important and lead him from point to point by using a straightforward style,
plenty of guideposts and transitional aids.
 
FACILITY
Facility is making the report easy to read. For facility, report writing should observe
pacing, sequence, arrangement and continuity.
 GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS
 In technical communication, grammatical correctness is a must. As a writer, you need
to make your writing straightforward, logical and clear. Following the basic rules of
grammar is equally important. Below is the technical writing guide of Michigan State
University (2007).
Parallel Structure
Parallel structure means using the same form for words that have the same level
of importance in a sentence or for a list of items that are joined by a coordinating
conjunction, such as “and” or “or.”
 The scientist collected, dried, and weighed the samples.
When preparing bulleted or numbered lists use the same word type (i.e., all
nouns, all verbs) and maintain parallel structure. If the listed items complete the
introduction grammatically, place a period at the end of every line. Capitalize the first
word in a bulleted or numbered list.
 
Subjects and Verbs
It is important for text to flow smoothly. Subject and verb quality and agreement are
essential and allow the reader to move through the text. To ensure the reader
understands the intended meaning, abide by the following subject and verb rules and
use the correct verb tense.
 
Active and Passive Voice
Take responsibility by writing in active voice; use passive voice only when it is
appropriate for emphasis or when you lack information.
 Active voice distinctly identifies the subject and the action taken by the subject. The
passive voice indicates that the subject receives, rather than performs, the action.
The sound’s reverberation struck the walls.
 Passive voice changes the position of the previous subject into an indirect object and
focuses the sentence on what receives the action, the walls: The walls were struck by
the sound's reverberation.
 When the active voice is appropriate, use it to create concise, energetic text. Only use
the passive voice when it is appropriate to say that an action is done to the subject.
The final project was finished by the team. (passive)
The team finished the final project. (active)
 
Cases of Pronouns

1. Nominative Pronouns: Used as a subject in the sentence (I, we, you, he, she, it,
who, and they): Mary and I will attend.
The guard who let us in checked our identification.
 

2. Objective Pronouns: Used as objects of verbs or prepositions (me, us, you, him,
whom, and them): He questioned Susan and me about the copyright. Whom did you
ask?
 
3. Possessive Pronouns: Used to show possession or ownership (my, mine, our,
your, his, her, theirs, its, whose, etc.): The Swartz Company may lose its best customer.
 
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement

1. A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in number. Examine the various
constructions of compound antecedents and the proper protocol in the examples below.
The owner is concerned about sales, but they will rebound.
The President or his advisers should devote part of their time to this issue.
 

2. A parenthetical expression that appears between an antecedent and a pronoun

does not influence the form of the pronoun used.
The accountant, rather than any of the other officers, will be asked for his or her
opinion of this purchase.
 

3. If the antecedent is a collective noun that refers to a group as a single unit, a

singular pronoun is needed. Company names are generally considered to be collective
nouns.
Stein & Smith has sold its Chicago properties.
 

4. For clarity, make pronoun usage clear and understandable by avoiding vague
references.
I worked hard on the experiment, and it was difficult.
Does the writer want us to consider the experiment as difficult, the work that was
done as difficult, or that it was difficult to work hard?
 
Compound Words
A compound word conveys a unit that is not as clearly conveyed by separate words.

1. Use a hyphen to connect elements of compound numbers from twenty-one to

ninety-nine and in adjective compounds with a numerical first element. The hyphen not
only unites but also separates the component words.
Example: 7-hour day, 3-inch ruler, eighty-five.
 
2. Use a hyphen after the “e” to designate “electronic”: e-mail, e-commerce, e-
article
 

3. Omit the hyphen when words appear in regular order and the omission of the
hyphen causes no confusion in sound or meaning.
Example: palm oil, eye opener, living costs
 

4. Use a hyphen for clarification when four nouns appear in a row.

Example: A sand-filtered purification system. The end-of-year report
 
Capitalization

1. Capitalize the name of a particular person, place, or thing, as well as an adjective

that refers to a specific name.
Canada/Canadian, Tibetan Alpacas
 

2. Capitalize descriptive names that are substituted frequently for the real proper
names.
the Windy City, Honest Abe 10
 

3. Capitalize brand names and trademarked names.

Palmolive soap, Maxwell House coffee
 

4. Generally capitalize a noun that is followed by a number or letter used to identify

a unit or division.
Lot 14, Tract 833, Volume III, Chapter 8, Policy No. 12345, Catalog No. 214.
 

5. Capitalize the names of courses of study only if they are derived from proper
nouns.
English, shorthand, history, German, Business Mathematics 121
 
6. Unless a comma intervenes, capitalize titles that precede names; generally, do
not capitalize those that follow names.
I have never met Congressman Nelson.
I have never met our congressman, Tim Nelson.
Professor Swartz did the research.
 

7. A name that indicates a family relationship is usually capitalized unless a noun or

a pronoun in the possessive case precedes it.
Uncle Ralph, Mother My aunt Millie, my mother
 

8. The names for the points of the compass and their derivatives are capitalized
when used to name regions, but not when used to indicate directions.
This sweater was made in the East. Turn west on M-20.
 

9. Capitalize the name of a season or the word "nature" only if it is spoken of as if it

were human. Old Man Winter left a foot of snow; our spring suits are on sale.
 

10. All words except articles (a, an, the), conjunctions, and short prepositions are
capitalized in names or titles that consist of more than one word. Do not capitalize "the"
if it precedes the name of an organization but is not actually a part of that organization's
name.
Official Draft of the NBA; the Eastman Kodak Company
 

11. Do not capitalize classes

(freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior), degrees (doctorate, doctor's, master's,
bachelor's, baccalaureate), or seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter), unless they
appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a headline.
 

12. Readability studies have shown that text is more easily read when in lower case
as opposed to all caps. When too many words are capitalized, they lose their
importance. Emphasis is achieved more effectively by using various font styles and
sizes.
 
 Numbers as Words

1. Generally spell out isolated numbers from one to ten.

The discussion lasted for ten minutes.
 

2. Unless emphasizing them, spell out indefinite numbers that may be expressed in
one or two words. Approximately thirty appliances were damaged.
 

3. Spell out a number that introduces a sentence. If the number is long, recast the
sentence to avoid awkwardness. Twenty people attended the lecture.
 

4. Spell out common fractions that are used alone. However, use figures in writing a
mixed number. He refused to accept his one-fourth share. The hike was 10 ½ miles
long.
 

5. When two numbers come together, express one in figures and the other in
words. As a rule, spell the first number unless the second number is a significantly
shorter word; i.e., Sixty $5 bills or 500 four-page booklets.
 

6. When rounding numbers, spell out million or billion to make reading easier. This
tax legislation will increase revenue by $7 million.
 
Numbers – Text or Digits

1. Generally use numerals to express all exact numbers above ten.

The corporate file has been missing for 31 days.
 

2. Use the written form of a number for values 10 and below except to express
market quotations, dimensions, temperature, decimals, street numbers, pages and
divisions of a book, time, weights and measures, and identification numbers.
The experiment had three independent variables staged at 5, 10, and 15 degrees
Kelvin.
3. If several numbers in a sentence perform similar functions, express them
uniformly. If one is written as a figure, write all as figures.
The inventory shows 21 ranges, 9 refrigerators, 37 washers, and 10 dryers. The
32 tables sold in five days. (The numbers do not perform similar functions.)

HONESTY
Honesty in writing acknowledges the use of other’s information or work either in
footnotes or in text. Honestly also involves reporting of your own mistakes and failures
as well as successes in the hope that it will provide a clue for some researcher working
on a similar subject from different angle.
 
ILLUSTRATION
Illustrations (visuals or graphics in books) such as charts, graphs, diagrams and photos
are helpful in technical communication. These are used to clarify or support the text, to
summarize detailed and complex data or to simplify a complicated concept.
It can also be used to show a situation, a trend, or a movement. Illustration aids should
be referred somewhere in the text and should bear a caption referring directly to the
discussion they are supporting.
These illustration aids are used for data visualization. People will understand the report
easily by using then correctly. For example, pie graph is used for distribution and line
graph is used to determine a trend.
 
 JUDGMENT
Evidence in technical communication is the body of facts or data gathered and used by
the writer to develop a report. The best evidence is that which is 1) most ample; 2) most
pertinent; 3) most simple in explaining the facts with least additional evidence; and 4)
most in harmony with the rest of the available evidence. Evidence can be used as a
basis for judgment (as in conclusions and recommendation) should be included in the
report.
 
KNOWLEDGE
The communication of knowledge is one of the chief functions of report writing.
Collection of data involves interpretation and the formulation of conclusions. Without
interpretation, data could remain useless.
 
LOGIC
Logic is thinking straight. It is chiefly a process of classification, putting things in their
proper places. Thus, there are certain trouble spots to avoid: 1) statements must not
contradict each other; 2) words must be used in a consistent sense; 3) statements must
make sense; 5) judgments must not be based on too few data; 6) cause and effect
should be clearly distinguished from simple sequence; 7) conclusions should not be
inferred if they have no connection with the data; 8) an authority should not be accepted
if he is biased and not an in particular field.
 
MECHANICAL NEATNESS
Mechanical Neatness involves putting the report in perfect shape – neatly typed and
well marginalized. Also, the use of frequent headings, subheadings and indentations
helps to make the organization of the content clear. Your report should also be free from
typographical errors, crossings-out, smudges and the like. A clean report shows that
you care enough to send the best.
 
NORMAL PROCEDURE
 
Normal procedure is conformity to standard practices, making the report easier to
understand. Report readers are used to finding information presented in standard
fashion. If you depart from the standard procedure, the reader may find report confusing
and unnerving and may be unsympathetic no matter how good the material is. If you
want to deviate from the standard way, you must re-educate the reader and explain the
change in the introduction, giving sound reasons for doing so.
 
 
OBJECTIVITY
Objectivity is the writer’s assuming a detached, impartial point of view. It involves writing
in the manner of a disinterested (not uninterested) second party. Reports must avoid the
use of person (I, me and my) except in short informal reports. By doing so, this indicates
that the work is team or company rather than individual activity.
 
QUALIFICATION
Qualification is explaining the circumstances surrounding your work because they might
have affected the results you are reporting. Modern scientific thinking  is based on the
concept of change – what is true at a given time may no longer be true when that time
has passed. As you report your results, you are saying “This is true under the given
condition.” The scientific reader wants to know what these conditions were because he
would like to decide for himself whether your work is valid or not. You should also
describe what factors were constant and what factors were variable as you worked.
 
STRAIGHT SENTENCES
Sentences carry the full weight of meaning in report. Each paragraph begins with a
statement of its subject (topic sentence). The succeeding sentences have direct bearing
on the first one. All sentences proceed straight ahead, the subject coming first followed
by the verb. It is a good idea to limit a sentence to one idea or two closely related ideas.
Transitional aids from sentence to sentence will enable the reader to follow your thought
and also provide straightforward movement leading him where you want him to go. The
chief thing to strive for is movement so that sentences  move straight ahead.
 
THOROUGHNESS
Thoroughness is treating your subject fully for your report to have lasting value. It
extends throughout the report writing project from initial thinking to final submittal You
can achieve thoroughness by: 1) preparing a checklist of requirements in the planning
stage, 2) marking off each requirement as it is fulfilled, and 3) using the checklist again
in the revision stage for a final check.
 
UNITY
Unity implies that all details and facts in the report are clearly relevant to the main point
under discussion. One way to check unity is to read critically read as you go along,
asking “What has this to do with the subject?” Another mechanical check is to draw a
line from the subject of a paragraph to the subject of the next and succeeding
paragraphs. A third check is to prepare headings for each paragraph and then list them
in outline form. A unified report satisfies the reader.
 
VERACITY
Veracity means truthfulness. Truth is the soul of science. This, good technical writing
never misleads or mispresents. It sticks to facts. It does not indulge in evasion,
equivocation, or shifting the issue. It is chiefly concerned with reporting the facts, no
more, no less.
 
VIEWPOINT
A report is written from a certain viewpoint – that of reporter, teacher, researcher, or the
like. The viewpoint is established with the first sentence and should be maintained
throughout the report. Thus, if you begin talking like a professor, stick with that voice to
the end.
 
WORD CHOICE
You are the report writer, an expert or specialist. But your reader is not always a
specialist like you; he may be a non-specialist or a layman. It is safe to assume;
however, that he is a semi-specialist who has sense to grasp the meaning of
specialized words from the context or he will look them up in technical dictionary.
Technical words, therefore, may be used in technical report. But you must avoid
pompous, ornate words, and specially vague words. Be precise as you can; if you mean
24 samples say “24 samples” and not “a couple of dozen.” If you mean the part could
not be used because it rusted, say “The part was rusted beyond use,” rather than “The
part was not used due to rust.”
 
YOU-POINT
Technical writing is writing exclusively for an intended reader. You should have an
accurate knowledge of the reader’s comprehension level, experience, needs and
training and think of pacing and timing. Present your information in segments
appropriate to the reader’s knowledge and needs. Get into the habit  of going from the
simple to complex, from the known to the unknown, the familiar to the unfamiliar, the
nontechnical to technical. Do not smother the reader with details, but show him main
ideas occasionally. Above all, avoid overwriting.
 
ZEST
Report writing involves thinking and working, which may not be easy to do but have to
be done. The activity need not to be painful if you write as though you were performing
a service that only you can perform and feel that you are writing something worth saying
and that you enjoy doing it. The report writing activity indeed should be characterized by
zest or hearty enjoyment. If you get tired or bored, take a break, go for a walk, read a
book, or get some sleep. Then, resume working with a fresh mind that could help bring
out the best result.