Technical Writing

JUNEMA A. SAMILING
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

 describe the features of the different types of technical manuals;

 explain the importance of technical manuals;
 evaluate samples of technical manuals;
 When you buy a gadget, an appliance, or anything
that you will use, what is this that you usually
check and read? Why?
Examine these manuals:
Technical Manuals
Think and Discover

 What purposes do these manuals serve for?

 Have you tried using other kinds of manuals? What are they? Why
did you use them?
What is a technical manual?

 is a term for any manual with a technical character. You could think
of a manual (or set of manuals) for a complicated machine like an
airplane. You could also think of technical manuals to run a
complete industrial installation.
 The word “technical” gets a bad rep.
What is a Technical Manual? (Definition)

 According to Business Dictionary, is defined as a document

containing instructions for installation, operation, use, maintenance,
parts list, support, and training requirements for the effective
deployment of equipment, machine, process, or system.
Ten considerations

 Know who you are talking to

 Be aware of all directives
 Follow the guidelines
 Collect all the information that you can
 Write effectively
 Use pictures
 7. Use animations
 8. Translate and …localize
 9. Build your archive
 10. Publish in any (additional) shape or form
5. Write effectively
 How to write a technical manual
effectively?

 There are at least three principles that lead to effective manual

writing: Simplified Technical English (STE), minimalism and topic
based authoring.
 Simplified Technical English

 a specific standard, simplifying the use of the English language in

technical documents by putting a limit on the number of words in a
sentence. Also, the set of words is restricted (‘to do’ is easier to
understand than ‘to carry out’).
 Minimalism

 a way of thinking. This way of thinking is: only provide

information that is really useful.
 Topic based authoring

 writing (technical) manuals comes down to writing building blocks

that can be reused in other or newer technical manuals.