What is Technical Writing?

Getting started is often the hardest part of writing. But first, what is Technical Writing?

What is Technical Writing?

Technical writing is a direct, concise, and clear writing style aimed at communicating specialized or technical information for various purposes.

Technical writing comprises of:

• Headings to organize information into clear, coherent sections.
• Visual cues (e.g., charts, tables, and diagrams) to enhance readability and retention.
• A clear understanding of who your audience is and the purpose of your shot.

The key to effective technical writing lies in organizing your thoughts and understanding who your audience is and what they are looking for. The latter is important because it helps us to set the right tone and deliverance for our readers. We want to continually ask ourselves, “What do we want our readers to understand/decide/think once they’ve read our content?” throughout the entire process.

The following image gives a good overview of the technical writing process:

What is the purpose of Technical Writing?

Technical specialists, such as software developers and engineers, often discuss technical topics at a level of expertise that not everyone can understand. The purpose of technical writing is to translate a highly technical concept into layman’s terms, that anyone could understand. Good technical writing should make challenging technical information easy to digest for any reader.

Technical writing makes learning technical concepts accessible to anyone. As a technical writer, you are presenting new ideas to your readers and providing them with solutions to their questions. Technical writing can also be many users’ introduction to the technical world. So you, as the technical writer, are actively introducing your readers to a whole new world of information!

What does the Technical Writer need to do?

We can think of the technical writer as the bridge between the technical expert and the audience they are trying to reach. In order to do this successfully, the technical writer must understand the topic themselves entirely. You need to have a good grasp of what you are trying to communicate in order to translate that to a non-technical audience or a beginner technical audience.

The tricky part about technical writing is that it is not just about what you know. It is about how you deliver this information. Begin by thinking about your audience. Who will be reading your technical documentation and using it? The technical writer is actually the first audience since you are the one that needs to anticipate the needs of all other readers. That’s why it is critical to have a strong understanding of the product in order to explain it accurately. You need to predict what the reader will need as they read your documentation.

Provide your reader with everything they need to begin. Think about some of these questions when beginning your technical writing:

• What does the reader need to start?

• Do they need any preliminary information?

  • What tools do they need?
  • Should they be proficient in any specific coding language?
  • Are there resources I can provide them?

• What does the reader want to accomplish with this information?

• Is the reader likely to encounter any problems?

Begin writing by answering these questions. Strong technical writing will anticipate the reader’s needs and questions, regardless of expertise.

Organization

Organize your documentation in a way that flows logically through each concept. For example, don’t discuss a new term that you haven’t yet defined in your documentation. Set your reader up for success by making sure all terms necessary to understand the article are explained. Messy organization will lead to confused readers. Make sure your documentation structure is simple and concise, with plenty of examples.