Code:

Subject: TECHNICAL WRITING

Instructor: Glenda G. Geral, LPT, M.Ed.
Category: General Education
Year/Semester: 3rd YEAR, 1st semester

------ PRELIM ------

TOPIC 1. FUNDAMENTALS OF TECHNICAL WRITING

Technical Writing
 An audience-centered means of communication that provides a reader with clear and easy
access to information.
 Technical writing as a course develops students’ competence information literacy strategies
explicitly employed in writing technical reports, business correspondence and beginning
academic research
 Competence in technical writing emphasizes the critical review and synthesis of information
resources which are distinctly relevant and related to technical documents and research.
 Should develop and acquire more complex information literacy skills, more critical reading,
writing and thinking skills which are necessary in completing technical reports and academic
paper.

Principles of Technical writing

It is necessary to begin by determining the nature and purposes of technical communication.
This will help students to distinguish the distinct characteristics of technical writing from literary
writing. The main purpose of technical writing are: to inform, to describe, to explain and to give
instructions.
Employing basic principles of technical writing serves as a guide to analyze authentic texts to
acquire knowledge and familiarity necessary to produce effective technical papers. Generally,
technical writing adheres to the principle of unity, coherence and emphasis (order of time, order by
position, order of importance and spatial order).

Characteristic of technical writing

 Objectivity
 Accuracy
 Clarity
 Concise
 Formality
 Brevity
 Simplicity/economy
 Directness
 Concreteness

Technical style
 Simple English
 Grammaticality correct
 Scientific and technical terms
 Appropriate word choice
 Vocabulary

Technical format
 Three – part format: introduction, body and conclusion
 Mechanical neatness
 Visual illustration
 Tables and graph
 Drawings and diagrams
  Computer – generated visuals and photos

Audience Analysis
Moreover, analyzing a particular audience’s needs and purpose will definitely guide the
students in writing effectively technical reports, business correspondence and research paper. Thus,
identifying a specific user or set of users performing a specific task in a specific way will determine
the main purpose of the paper.
Kinds of audience
 Layman
 Executive
 Expert
 Technician
 Operator

Consider the following tips in analyzing the audience or readers:

 Identify the target audience
 Specify the defined audience
 Determine the audience needs
 Anticipate the audience queries
 Analyze the audience answers

*Watch the Video 1. Technical Writing

ACTIVITY 1:
INSTRUCTION: Indicate your behavior and practices in some written activities you’ve encountered.
Only the number must write and (see additional instruction):
Rating:
Never – 1 Rare – 2 Seldom – 3 Often – 4 Always – 5
1 Organize logically all information obtained
2 Note down important information
3 Highlight relevant details
4 Evaluate relevance of all information sources obtained
5 Analyze critically information sources
6 Read intensively the obtained information sources
7 Accept writing tasks as challenge
8 Consider writing tasks as learning experiences
9 Express ideas clearly
10 Use appropriate bibliography styles

Deadline: September 1, 2020 @2:00pm

TOPIC 2. METHODS AND PATTERNS OF ORGANIZATION OF TECHNICAL PROSE
Methods and Patterns or Organization of Technical Prose
The technique in writing technical reports, business correspondences and research paper are
necessary to produce effective papers. The students should know how to analyze authentic texts
embedding the methods of technical prose so that they can apply these methods in actual writing
activities.
Methods of technical prose
1. Exposition
2. Description
a. Mechanism
b. Process
i. Informative process
ii. Instructive process
3. Definition
a. Formal definition
b. Operational definition
c. Extended definition
4. Narration
5. Argumentation/Persuasion

Likewise, students should examine authentic texts embedding the pattern of organizing a technical
prose employ the patterns in actual writing activities.
Patterns of Organization
 Listing
 Exemplification
 Comparison and contrast
 Cause and effect
 Classification
 Division
 Generalization

Kind of Technical Report

The students should be able to identify the different kinds of technical reports, determine their
specific functions and examine authentic technical reports to be able to write one effectively for a
particular audience’s needs and purpose.
1. Information reports
a. Routine report
b. Annual report
2. Special Information reports
a. Preliminary report
b. Feasibility
c. Progress report
d. Final report
3. Examination reports
a. Engineering
b. Administration
c. Financial
d. Marketing
4. Recommendation reports
a. Operation
b. Construction
c. Proposals
5. Short Informal reports
 a. Memorandum report
b. Letter report
c. Incident report
d. Field report
e. Project completion
f. Inspection report
g. Laboratory report

Kinds of Technical Manuals

Technical manuals serve various purposes. However, communicating contents of manuals
should include simplified technical concepts to convey a particular audience for a particular purpose,
and to perform the tasks accurately and easily.
Kinds of Technical Materials
1. Instruction Manuals
2. Guides
a. Preparation guides
b. Installation guides
c. Troubleshooting guides
d. Business guides
e. User guides
3. Specifications
4. Journals
5. Magazines
6. Brochures
7. Pamphlets

*Watch the Video 2. Technical Report

ACTIVITY 2:
INSTRUCTION: Answer the following questions and (see additional instruction):
1. Make a 3 examples in each of the Definition
a. Formal definition
b. Operational definition
c. Extended definition

Deadline: September 8, 2020 @2:00pm

TOPIC 3. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE:LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS LETTERS

STUDYING BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
1. Advantage to Student
a. Peter Drucker, one of the most respected management consultants, writers, speakers
and educators of our time, was asked what is taught in College to help a person prepare
for future employment and then he answered: “they teach one thing that is perhaps the
most valuable for the future employee to know. But very few students bother to learn it.
b. “This one basic skill is the ability to organize and express ideas in writing and in
speaking. The letter, the report or memorandum, the ten-minute ‘presentation’ to a
committee are basic tolls of the employee”
c. The poor communication skills of students especially in composing business letters and
the importance of communication in business explain why they should work to improve
their communication skills.
d. Whatever position a person has in business, his/her performance will be judged largely
by his/her ability to communicate. The higher he/she is in the ladder of success the
 more he/she will need effective communication ability. Therefore, improving one’s
communication skills increases chances of success in the industry.
2. Advantage to Business
a. To realize how important communication is to business, one should note how much
communication is required.
b. Anyone can enhance his/her business career by possessing effective communication
skills that are increasingly needed for business and business people to succeed.
Learning these skills ensures one’s chances of getting employed in the future.

Writing for Business Audiences

Basics of Business Writing
In communicating with others in the workplace, business writing needs to be:
1. Audience oriented
a. One of the basics in business communication is audience awareness. The audience
understands an effective message readily. A message is inadequate when it is
interpreted in more than one way.
b. The message must be written to suit the audience in the same way a pair of glasses is
customized to suit the person. The audience must be anticipated before the writing
begins.
c. The first question: “Whom am I writing this for? Another is: What to do I know about
them? These questions are easy to answer. The problem is that few people take time to
ask them.
d. Here are the questions that need to be asked:
i. How will the reader benefit from reading one’s message?
ii. What is the reader’s technical knowledge?
iii. What is the reader’s role or area of responsibility?
iv. How much information about the situation does the reader already know?
v. Who else might read it?
2. Purposeful
a. All writing has a purpose. Communication is effective when something happens as a
result of the sender’s purpose. For example, one faxed a letter to a customer asking
him/her to pay his/her bill immediately and payment is made two days later, then
communication is effective.
b. All business messages have a general purpose: to inform, to persuade or to elaborate.
Before writing, one needs to consider the following questions:
i. What does one want to inform his/her readers about?
ii. What does one want to persuade or convince them of?
iii. What does one want to happen after reading this document?
iv. What should one’s reader do or think after getting this message?

3. Economical
a. Conciseness is what count in business writing. Longer is not better all the time. Well-
organized messages are efficient because they satisfy audience’s need for
convenience. Effective organization is the foundation of brevity.
b. Messages should contain only relevant information presented in a logical manner. The
audience can follow the thought pattern without a struggle. Because the organization of
the letter is clear and concise, the readers can save time by looking for just the
information they need instead of reading everything.
c. To achieve good organization, one should consider this two-step processes:
i. Define and group ideas
ii. Establish sequence with organizational patterns
d. The most basic problem that any business communicator has is deciding what to say.
One solution is to construct an outline. Whether a writer uses the outlining features of a
word-processor or simply writing down three or four points on a piece of paper, making
a plan and following it through will help cover the important points.
Stages of Business Communication
1. Pre-writing
a. The first step in writing a business message should involve planning. This plan involves
analyzing the audience, adapting to that audience and purpose of the message.
b. Your audiences in this case are franchise owners; some are well-educated, while others
have little knowledge.
c. Your objective is to persuade that a change of policy would improve customer service.
d. Since you cannot be certain of how the reader will react, you try to come up with
appropriate words and the right tone that will win their approval.
2. Gathering and Collecting the Facts
a. The next step is to get all the information you will need.
b. In doing research of this letter, you would probably investigate other kinds of businesses
that use single lines for customers like Wendy’s and Jollibee, calling other franchise if
they have problems with chaotic lines, consulting with employee, in fact doing whatever
is necessary to inform yourself fully of the situations.
3. Analyzing and Organizing Information
a. This plan is commonly called the direct plan wherein the beginning of your letter you
present the objective right away.
b. If your message will likely produce a negative reaction, the indirect order is most
appropriate to use. This is simply the opposite of the direct order.
c. This is where you prepare the reader to receive your objective by slowly working up to
it, describing the problem, presenting your evidence and then ending with the solution.
4. Writing the Message
a. You should write in a clear and effective manner, applying grammatical conventions,
using words that are accurate, appropriate and familiar, eliminating business jargon,
using active and strong verbs, eliminating words that say nothing, varying sentence
length and structure and putting your readers in your sentences.
b. The product of this effort is a first draft. The process does not end here.
5. Rewriting Your Work
a. The last process of the writing stage involves revising, proofreading and evaluating your
letter.
b. After completing your first draft, you should review it carefully for clarity, conciseness,
tone and readability. Then take, the necessary changes after you have conducted a
thorough and critical review of your work to improve it, next, you’ll spend time
proofreading carefully looking for errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and format.
c. Evaluating your work decides whether it accomplishes your goal is the final stage in the
writing process.
d. Input from others can also help you refine your writing. It is often difficult to find errors or
weakness in your own work.
e. Receive criticism with an open mind, objectively evaluating them and using that which
meets your needs.
f. After this, determine the formation that is appropriate in presenting your message.

*Watch the Video 3. Business Communication: Business Letters

ACTIVITY 3:
INSTRUCTION: Answer the following questions and (see additional instruction):
1. Who do you think will benefit from reading the article?
2. How does the article persuade or dissuade you about the topic?
3. Does the article provide sufficient details?
4. Name two reason for studying business communication.

Deadline: September 15, 2020 @2:00pm