Technical Writing

Lecture 2 EE-16-B
Date: 21-9-20
 Technical Communication is Responsible

Technical writing is an ethical endeavor.

Key principle is that the writer should take responsibility of

his/her writings.

Readers, employer and society rightfully expect to find

necessary information to achieve their goals in the document

Must act ethically……the facts of the matter are truly

represented by the choice of words.
Meaning of Ethics?

It deals with the question of “what is right thing to do?”

Individual are expected to do the right thing not only for

their personal integrity but also for the well-being of their
communities.
Common threads in relation to communication

Communicators must care for their audience.

They must tell the truth as convincingly as possible.

They must do what is right regardless of outcome.

Must act for the greater good of people and society.

What is ethical situation?

A situation in which a person has to make an ethical

decision. The consequences from such decisions varies
dramatically.

Ex. Situations where employee becomes aware that the

company or organization is doing something illegal which
could cause great harm.

The decision is tough but each person must ask

him/herself what to do in such situations?
 Strategies for Ethical Communication

Ethical considerations are integral part of every project.

Every communicator must find the principles upon which to act ethically.

Five tenants of Society for Technical Communication (STC):

 Use of language and visuals with precision.

 Simple direct expression of ideas.

 Satisfy audience need for information, not the need of author of self-expression.

 Writer is held responsible for how well the audience understand message.

 Acknowledge the contributions of others.

Use Unambiguous Language

The communicator must use unambiguous language.

Ex. If the writer wants to inform the user about the sharp whirling part of a
machine he or she must write in a way which prompts the reader to act carefully.

 “Warning!” Turn off all power before you remove the cover. The blade underneath could slice off
your finger!”

RATHER THAN

 “A hazard exists if contact is made with this part while it is whirling.”

Ex. Writing on a medicine bottle.

 It gives a direct and very clear message to the user that if it is swallowed it can cause harm and even
death.
 The instruction usually begins with a “Warning.”
Design Honestly

The page formatting techniques could either aid or hinder the reader’s
perception of the truth.

 Ex. Use of boldfaced head to call attention to the departments success.

 Widget Line Exceed Goals: Once again we have exceeded production goals, this time by 18%

To downplay a poor performance one might use a more subdued format
without boldface and head with vague phrase:

 Final Comments: This month’s achievements is nearly equal to expectations.

It is a refusal to take one’s responsibility for telling the truth.

Create Helpful Visuals

Include visual aids to help reader in finding the required

information quickly.
Ex. The reader in order to operate machine safely wants
to find the exact location of the emergency stop button.

Imprecise Precise
emergency

stop
Use Direct Simple Expressions

The writer must use simple and direct expression that will
easily be understood by the reader.

A complex indirect expression of instruction can never

deliver the message.
Credit Others

One should always acknowledge others who took part in

the production of a product.

One must present the facts about who conceived the

ideas.

To do otherwise would be to deny co-workers proper

credit of their work.
Globalization and Cultural Awareness

The world is shrinking.

Business is international.

Many different languages, many different

cultures.
Contd…..

Technical communication is global.

Businesses are international and so are writing and communication.

The potential for miscommunication is exponentially greater when

our communication moves are farther from home.

One must give consideration to cultural factors and should be

culturally informed.

To use inappropriate language can have negative consequences.

Contd…..

To commit a cultural faux pas can be interpreted as arrogance or elitism.

It is our responsibility towards our customers, clients or co-workers to

become aware of their customs.

Ex: In China do not compliment anyone for speaking good English.

Chances are, most decision makers had extensive international exposure
abroad. It may also be taken as a sign you cannot find better things to
compliment.

Ex: The Tesco store on Liverpool Street in London during Ramadan in 2015
put an aisle display featuring Smokey Bacon Flavour chips with the
message Ramadan Mubarak.
 Localization

It is a strategy for adapting writing and communication to other

cultures.

It involves translating the content and adapting it to specific cultures

and markets.

Along with content, time and date format, colors, graphics, currency,
symbols and unit of measurement.

It has two kinds:

 Radical Localization
 General Localization
Contd….

Radical localization deals with those areas that affect the

way users think, feel and act.

It includes etiquettes, attitudes, the way people solve

problems.

For radical localization:

 Look at social behaviour from another culture’s point of view,
 Understand the thinking patterns of other cultures,
 The role of individual in other person’s culture
 The cultures view of direct and indirect messages.
Aspects to Consider

Role of
Thinking
Direct and
Another Patterns
of Indirect
Role of Point View
the Individual
Messages
 Another Point of View

For good communication look at things from the

point of view of someone else.

 One would not be considered as cultural biased

 Cultural bias gives the message to the community that recipient is not
the part of sender’s community.
 Or sender does not care.

 This subtext makes communication a lot difficult

Contd….

To eliminate culture bias, the sender must investigate

what is important to the people of other cultures.

 Associations made about words, symbols, objects, ideas made by one

culture may not be same as those made by other culture(s) for the
same item.
 The difference does not indicate superiority of one culture over other.
Contd….

USA China
Red Red

Stop, Danger,
Revolution, Joy and
Financial Festivity
losses
Contd…

• Janitor
• Maintains building and is associated with

USA cleaning and sweeping.

• The term caretaker is used for the works

of janitor.

Australia • Whereas, in USA the term caretaker is

associated with someone who maintains
health of other people.
Contd…..

Levels of personal acquaintance differ in business

relationships in other cultures.

In USA business is
conducted with people
whom they hardly In other countries people
know prefer to build personal
relationship before entering
into business arrangements
 Thinking Patterns

Different societies and culture follow different thinking

patterns.

These patterns are so strong that they are unconsciously

inculcated in everything.

For example, USA follows cause-effect patterns and

problem solving. While, in China web thinking thought
pattern are common.
Contd….

The cause-effect and problem solving patterns focus on

identifying the causes of perceived effects and suggests
methods to alter the causes.

According to web thinking patterns nothing exists in

isolation but rather in a relationship with other things.

Every item is seen as a part of an ever-larger web. Both

web and individual fact are equally important.
Contd….

These thinking patterns become part of the way people

structure sentences.

In American English “ I go to lunch every day.”

In Chinese “Every day to lunch I go.”

The first sentence emphasizes the individual.

The second sentence emphasizes the web or context.

 Role of Individual

Thinking patterns affect how individuals are perceived.

Web thinking affect the tone and form of communication.

• Influenced by individualism

USA • If one can get his/her message through to the right person,
action will follow.

China • In web-thinking, the representatives of a group do not

expect the same personal autonomy.
 Role of Direct and Indirect Messages

USA
• Direct method is best.

• State the main point and support it with facts.

China (Web-Culture)
• Establish a context.

• Main point comes at the end.

 General Localization

General localization deals with daily life items that

change from country to country e.g. currency, date format,
unit of measurement.

 Cultural specific references

 style
Culture Specific References

Culture-specific items are those which are used everyday

to orient oneself.

They are so ingrained that they are invisible to the people

in a culture.

Just the way things are done.

 Contd….

• Countries configure the calendar • Most cultures uses • Express money in

date differently.
kilometers for distance country’s currency.
• Month/Day/Year and grams and liters for
• Day/Month/Year measurement • Currency exchange
values
• Be careful to use appropriate • Hot and cold is measures
configuration
in Celsius • Dollar vs. Yen
Weights and
Time Format Currency
Measurements
 Contd…

• In different cultures the
placement of decimal and
commas punctuate the numbers
differently.
• In some countries, like USA,
telephone numbers are grouped
in threes and fours
• In other countries numbers are
grouped by twos.
• Documents are designed
according to the page size.
• The difference in size can cause
difficulties in copying material.

• The format of addresses varies

from country to country.
Telephone
Number
numbers and Page Size
Formatting
Addresses
Style

The goals of managing style are to make language easier

to understand and to make it easier to translate.

Style tips are simply calls for good clear unambiguous

writing.
Contd…

Avoid using Avoid puns,

Avoid using
slangs, idioms metaphors
humour
and jargons and similies

Include
Use Do not omit
relative
glossaries little words
pronouns
Do not use
Avoid using
long noun
homophones
phrases

Use clear
modifier of S+V+O
strings
 To Do List

 Keep sentences short and to the point.

 Use simple S+V+O sentence structure.

 Avoid use of embedded or dependent clause.

 Use short paragraphs to allow for easier paragraph-by-paragraph

interpretation.

 Avoid regional idioms or turns of phrase.

Contd….

Define technical terms as directly as possible, avoid elaborating

metaphors.

Define terms that you think your reader does not have any
knowledge about.

Accompany all graphical buttons with a verb-based identifier.

 Ex. Left pointing arrow with “Go Back.”

Avoid any visual, textual or interactive metaphors based on specific

national or social context.
 Ex. Mailbox and envelops (send mail or blue box)
 Activity 1

Write a paragraph that persuades a specific audience to

act. Give two reasons to
 Enroll in certain class
 To purchase a certain object
 To use a certain method to solve a problem
 To accept your solution to a problem
 Activity 2

Write a paragraph that give information on parking at

your university.
 Activity 3

Analyze a website to determine how to fill the

characteristics of technical communication. You can use
any website e.g. major corporation, research and
development sites, professional society.
 Activity 4

Analyze the following paragraph to decide who is the

audience and what is their need. Rewrite it as a set of
instructions.
 “The fixing solution removes any unwanted particles that may still be
in the paper. This process is what clears the print and makes the image
more crisp. The photographer slips the print into the fixing solution,
making sure it is entirely submerged. He/she will agitate the print
occasionally while it is in the fixer. After 2 minutes he/she may turn
the rooms light on and examine the print. The total fixing time should
be no less than 2 minutes and no more than 30 minutes. After the
fixing process is over, the print then needs to be washed.”