Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.

Year & Section: BSA 3-1

Technical Writing:
Definition & Characteristics
TOPIC

Week 4

Objectives
At the end of the session the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the definition and characteristics of technical writing;

2. Enumerate the salient characteristics of technical writing; and
3. Demonstrate via writing activities the nature and characteristics of
technical writing.

Introduction
What do you write at home, at work, at school? Writing for a specific purpose,
be it at home, at work, or in school, is indeed a practical way of doing things
systematically. This is the way things work especially in today’s technological
generation. This type of writing actually surrounds us from the time we wake up until
we climb on bed at night. We encounter and experience this in our day-to-day living.
Some of these types of writing include directions on the toothpaste tube, nutrition
benefits on the cereal box, business letters and catalogues that come in the mail,
written instructions for assembling a new product, tax receipts and notices, product
safety information, recipes, and so forth. If you notice, all these are essentially part of
our daily existence that we cannot live without.
In particular, as a student, you need to accomplish various writing materials
specific to your profession. For example, you will be asked to write proposals, action
plans, position papers, reports, process explanations and other similar writing tasks.
Knowing how to write these technical materials are of enormous significance not only to
Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1
earn a grade or pass the subject but to prepare you for the real world. Gerson
(academic.edu/35391096/ATeachers_Guide_to Technical _Writing) stresses that on the
job, an employee will spend 20 percent of his or her time writing. This writing increases
as an employee’s responsibilities become greater. Managers spend up to 50 percent of
their time writing. CEO’s spend between 80-100 percent of their work weekly
communicating. The bottom line is that in your future professional life, technical writing
is pivotal and inevitable. As what Gerson (academic.edu/35391096/A
Teachers_Guide_to Technical _Writing) says, technical writing is the resume that helps
get a job and the web page that promotes a company. To successfully accomplish a
task in your field of study, you need a strong foundation in technical writing.

Definition and Nature and Scope

Technical writing is indeed essential in every aspect of the academic and future
professional life of the students. Alcantara and Espina (2003) defined it as a
communication in any field wherein the main goal is to convey information for a
particular purpose to the target readers or audience. The information is technical
because it entails formal writing from the scientific point of view of the writer. It means
that the presentation of facts is written in an objective, clear, accurate, concise, and
unemotional manner. Alcantara and Espina (2003) further signify that technical writers
usually adopt certain techniques such as definition, description of a mechanism,
description of a process, classification, interpretation, and so forth, in writing any types
of technical materials. Two or more of these techniques can be integrated within a
technical material.
Another definition of technical writing is given by Joshi (2006) that it is a
specialized, structured way of writing where information is presented in a format and
manner that best suits the cognitive and psychological needs of the readers, so they
can respond to a document as its author intended and achieve the purpose related to
that document.
The reader is highlighted as an important entity that drives the purpose of writing
the technical document. Everything else follows, like the content, context, and format of
the presentation of information, when the audience is identified. Writing must be
Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1
formatted in a way that reading it is simple, poignant, unequivocal, and enjoyable. Both
sources (Alcantara and Espina, 2003 and Joshi, 2006) maintain that in writing technical
documents, one must not only consider its technical aspect, but also its practical side as
well that the audience will be able to grasp the information easily and without delay.
This is also true to De Belen and Enriquez (2015) who affirm that aside from its factual
and technical nature, it has to be easily verifiable and understandable to its target
audience. Its readability, objectivity and utility take precedence over its technicality,
formality and style. For instance, a technical document for the general public should be
written in layman’s terms compared to those people who are technically skilled to the
field. The words and graphics of technical writing are meant to be practical to
communicate a body of factual information that will help an audience understand a
subject or carry a task. Because its purpose is to communicate information, it must use
technical terms only when they make writing more accurate, brief and clear. Otherwise,
it must use simple terms for better understanding of the audience. This communication
type is not easy because it takes experience, study, observation, or investigation to
really learn it (Vicente, et.al, 2004). It has three elements at one or more stages of the
process:
1. A problem or subject that is not popular knowledge, rather, it is specialized because
it belongs to art, science, medicine, engineering, architecture, business, and so
forth.
2. To enable the students to get the accurate and precise information about the
problem or subject matter, they need to study, investigate, observe, analyze, or
experiment.
3. The organization and presentation of information are clear and meaningful to the
reader.

Characteristics

Generally, technical writing has the following characteristics:

1. It deals with subject matter of various disciplines/professions.
Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1
2. It is characterized by certain elements such as scientific and technical
vocabulary, use of graphics, visual aids, conventional report forms, and other
related materials.
3. It observes impartiality and objectivity.
4. It uses complex techniques.
5. It has practicality over power.
6. It involves people from different disciplines.
7. It is worthwhile because it has a carry-over value beyond the college days.
8. It appeals to both cognitive and psychological needs of the readers.

Purpose of Technical Writing

Technical writing has three primary purposes:

1) gives information,
2) analyses events and their implications, and

3) persuades and influences decisions (Alcantara &Espina, 2003)

First, it gives information that leads to the accomplishment of a task and in the
making of needed decisions. For example, it gives information on what to do during
earthquake, how to use safety devices to avoid fire, or how to operate a new equipment.
Second, it analyses events and their implications, the failure of certain systems as
educational, socio- economic, political, etc. and the changes that needed to be done.
And third, it persuades and influences decisions by showing how a business or industry
succeed because of just and fair treatment of labor, how an agency can improve and
save money, etc.

Subject Matter of Technical Writing

Technical writing contains information about business, science, engineering,

industry, and in all formal aspects of the professions (Alcantara &Espina, 2003).
Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1
Audience
Who are the audience, then? And what are the reasons why they read technical
documents? The technical readers are technical communicators too. These readers
may be specific individuals or general group with common interests. In addition, as
technical communication has been continually expanding to include multimedia
presentations, the
audience has a broader meaning. The audience is not just a reader but also a listener
or an observer (Smith-Worthington & Jefferson, 2011).
Readers may be customers, co-workers, managers, subordinates, or the general
public. Specifically, the following are the types of readers:
1. Lay reader – a general reader without expert knowledge but with an interest in
the subject.
2. Technician -a person skilled in an area who implements the ideas or plans of
the expert.
3. Expert – an authority in a particular field who is highly skilled and professional,
perhaps with an advanced degree.
4. Manager - a person who organizes personnel and is responsible for the daily
activities and long-term planning.
The reader may fall into more than one category. Thinking through the categories
will help you make decisions about how best to communicate with your audience. In
many ways, the readers often know what they are looking for when they read. They
recognize the value of the information. The following are reasons why readers need to
read technical documents (Smith-Worthington & Jefferson, 2011):
1. They need to read the material (maybe because of an assignment, report, and
etc.).
2. They want to read the material (maybe to get informed about an ailment, to
help them reach a decision).
3. They already know something (possibly a great deal about the subject, e.g., the
topic of a lecture that he/she will attend).
4. They read for information, not for pleasure.
 Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1

Activity #1

1. Prepare four (4) clippings of different types of technical writing. You may cut out from
magazines or newspapers or other papers. Make sure to acknowledge the source
of the document.
2. Explain the essential requirements of technical writing and intended audience of each
of the papers.

Paste your cut outs below:

Clipping 1: Refrigerator Instruction Manual Clipping 2: Employee Training Manual

Clipping 3: Business Proposal

Clipping 4: Job Description
Explain the essential requirements of technical writing and intended audience of
each of the papers.
Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1

Clipping 1:
______________________________________________________________________
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Clipping 2:
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Clipping 3:
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Clipping 4:
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

References:
Name: Buban, Charlene Mae M.
Year & Section: BSA 3-1
Clipping 1: https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.682be3aac0c1e1296f2d1e5723a0eb81?
rik=3jSxDc08iPEe9w&riu=http%3a%2f%2fsrv2.umlib.com
%2fc114155e5c8823d8a536a5617264abcf%2f84672_en.pdf-
4.png&ehk=RLQx0Ka9OwzioYmn255z315W1d%2bHO185pW2hz1T7WTY
%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
Clipping 2: https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.DbIZaI1dV6_Rl9TCQgc1dwHaI3?
pid=ImgDet&rs=1
Clipping 3: https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.560036549856ffd56449872e84afb7be?
rik=881hhd8ES3JWnA&riu=http%3a%2f%2ftemplatelab.com%2fwp-content
%2fuploads%2f2015%2f11%2fBusiness-proposal-
11.jpg&ehk=MaSbWz4eBe3re7e8o%2fm26D65P5AFYB0P0rL6aKQ%2bfjI
%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
Clipping 4:
https://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/emp-job-
desc1.jpg