Technical Writing
Definition -
Technical writing is writing which aims at presenting information on topics relating to science and technology - presenting and explaining concepts so as to enable the readers to understand them, providing supporting evidence and data to convince the readers of the correctness of the conclusions drawn and the theses and theories framed.
Purpose -
Technical writing can have different objectives some of which are listed below:
1. Most of the time, the purpose of technical writing is to document the results of new research and to share them with others. The writer wants to inform the world at large and the technical fraternity in particular of the new ideas he has discovered so that they may be able to benefit from them. He summarizes his findings, states his theses or theories, presents the supporting data, confirms speculations, rejects previous approaches and warns of the risks and inaccuracies of other approaches.
2. The purpose of the writer, especially a young one, may also be to benefit from the review process. When his paper is published, it is critically reviewed by the readers, its shortcomings are pointed out, and improvements are suggested. All this enables the writer to have new insight into the issue. He ponders over the views expressed by the others, accepts or rejects them. The whole exercise gives him an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the topic and thus to improve his perception.
3. On certain occasions, the purpose of the writer is not to offer any new information but to share the existing information with those who may be ignorant of it. He writes not for the technical circle but for the common people who can benefit from the ideas so presented.
In all these cases, the purpose of technical writing is not only to present scientific concepts and information, along with supporting evidence and data but also to present it in such a way that the reader is able to get a clear idea of the issues and feels convinced that the conclusions drawn and the theories and theses propounded are correct and acceptable.
In order to achieve these ends, the writer himself must have a clear understanding of the concepts and information he is presenting. If he is himself confused, he cannot make them clear to the readers. But in addition to that, he has to follow certain principles of writing to make his writing as clear as possible so that the reader may easily be able to follow his line of argument instead of getting lost in the rigmarole os scientific and technical jargon.
(Principles of Scientific and
Technical Writing)
Scientific and technical writing is different from general or
literary writing. Its purpose is to share the results of scientific and
technical research or to explain scientific or technical concepts and
procedures. The requirement here is not to please by the beauty of the language
by making copious use of figures of speech like alliteration, similes,
metaphors, symbolism, imagery, hyperbole, hypobole etc. The aim here is not to
delight and entertain by making use of a variety of linguistic devices for the
ornamentation of language and by the flights of fancy. It is rather to inform
and clarify, to make things clear by using simple, clear, unambiguous and easy
to understand language.. Science and
technology are looked upon as difficult subjects. But a skilled writer can make
them easy to understand even for the layman by following some principles
concerning the organisation of the contents and the choice of language and
style.
Scientific and technical writing should keep the following
things in mind:
1. Recognising and keeping apart the different elements:
Any scientific writing should be
divided into the following parts:
i.
Title and author – It should be given a brief but
informative title which tells the reader what he should expect from it. The
title should be followed by the name(s) of the author(s) along with their
affiliation. The whole information should be centred.
ii.
Abstract – The abstract contains a brief
summary of the findings of the research. It also tells why the writer undertook
the research.
iii.
Introduction – The introduction gives information
regarding the background of the issue by referring to the previous studies and
their results as well as the purpose, scope and limitations of the present
study.
iv.
Materials and Methods – In this section, the author gives
information about the materials he has used in his research and the methods and
techniques he has employed.
v.
Results – This section includes the
information or the data obtained from the experiments. The data should be
classified, organised and presented in a way that is easily understandable. It
is better to use tables, figures, charts and graphs for presenting the data and
give them clear headings.
vi.
Discussion – This section interprets the
results, analyses them and tries to arrive at some conclusions after the
discussion.
vii.
Acknowledgements – In this part, the author thanks all
the people and agencies that have been helpful to him in any way in conducting
the study and presenting its results.
viii.
Literature cited – Here, the author gives information
about the literature on the issue which he has referred to in his paper.
Citations in the text give the name of the author and the year of publication
of the book or the paper. In the references section at the end, the name of the
author(s), year of publication, title, name of the journal, and page number(s)
are given in that order.
ix.
Appendix/Appendices – Full text of the documents
referred to in the paper which some readers might like to read is given in this
section.
x.
Glossary – Here, the writer explains the
technical terminology used by him with which the readers might need help.
xi.
Figures and Tables – If there is a large number of
figures and tables etc., they should be given at the end. They should have
clear headings and other information to enable the readers to understand and
interpret them.
2. Procedure to be adopted:
i.
Writing
a scientific or technical paper involves several tasks like brainstorming for
ideas, classification of the data, organisation of the data, explanation,
drawing conclusions etc.. You should do one thing at a time.
ii.
Write
the body of the paper first. Then write the conclusions, the introduction and
the abstract in that order.
iii.
Prepare
a rough draft first and revise and refine it after you have completed the
paper.
3. Language and style:
i.
Do
not try to use an ornate style. Your prime consideration should be to present
the information in clear and easily understandable manner.
ii.
Do
not use an overdose of jargon. Avoid fancy words, slang and offensive
expressions. Keep a balance between formality and informality.
iii.
Try
to use the active voice and use the passive only when necessary.
iv.
Define
all symbols, specialised terms and abbreviations.
v.
Do
not pad your paper by including matter which is not necessary. Give only the
information which is necessary to prove your points.
vi.
Discuss
and explain the tables, figures charts etc. that you present. Without a suitable
explanation, they carry little meaning.
vii.
Always
keep your focus on the main theme of your paper. It is necessary to justify and
support every point you make in your paper.
viii.
Be
specific instead of generalising things.
ix.
Be
careful about grammatical correctness, spelling and punctuation. Mistakes of
grammar, spelling and punctuation can make your paper difficult to understand
and even misguide or confuse the reader.
