2.1 Technical writing process forms of discourse writing drafts and revising | unit 2 technical writing grammar and editing

Unit - 2

Technical Writing, Grammar and Editing

2.1 Technical writing process, forms of discourse, writing drafts and revising

Technical writing process- Good technical documentation doesn’t just happen. Producing professional content that's both technically accurate and user-friendly is a highly specific skill.

Here are six important steps to take in the process:

 Planning

 Drafting

 Reviewing

 Revising

 Editing

 Publishing/Maintaining

Forms of discourse- The four traditional modes of discourse are narration, description, exposition, and argument.

 Narration is story telling. It involves relating a series of events, usually in a chronological order.

 Description tells what things are like according to the five senses.

 Exposition is the kind of writing that is used to inform.

 Argument-The purpose of argument is to convince through logic

Writing drafts and revising- Drafting means you get ideas onto paper or into a computer file in sentences and paragraphs. In everyday conversation, people use the word writing to talk about drafting, but writing is too broad a term here. The word drafting more accurately describes what you do when you write your first attempt.

Revising-means you look over your first draft, analyze and evaluate it for yourself, and then rewrite it by composing a number of subsequent versions, or drafts, to get closer to what you want to say. Revising involves adding, cutting, moving material, and after that, editing & proofreading.

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2.2 Organization structure, Collaborative writing, creating indexes, technical writing style and language.

Organization structure- The organizational structure of technical writing is:

 Headings and subheadings

 Typographical cues

 Table of contents

 List of figures

 Index

Collaborative writing- Collaborative writing involves two or more persons working together to produce a written document. Also called group writing, it is a significant component of work in the business world, and many forms of business writing and technical writing depend on the efforts of collaborative writing teams.

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Creating indexes- To create index use the following steps:

 Start with your topic headings. Add one or more index entries for each topic heading.

 Consider other words that users might look for to find these topics.

 Look for keywords in each topic.

 Think of synonyms for the keywords.

 Brainstorm other words users might look for.

 Read the completed index.

Technical writing style and language- Technical writing is concise. A no-nonsense approach to writing is needed for technical writing – one that is concise and uses only as many words as are necessary. Since the subject is instructional and often requires focused attention, longer sentences can lead to a higher potential for confusion.

2.3 Basics of grammar, study of advanced grammar, editing strategies to achieve appropr1ate technical style.

Basics of grammar- is the system and structure of a language. The rules of grammar help us decide the order we put words in and which form of a word to use.

When you're talking about grammar, it's useful to know some basic terms. The following are called parts of speech and they each have their own function.

 Verbs

Verbs are often known as 'doing words'. They can also show 'having' or 'being'.

For example:

The horse jumped the fence.

 Nouns

Nouns are the names of people, places, things and ideas. There are four kinds of noun.

For example:

Common nouns - dog, computer, river, biscuit

Collective nouns (names of a group of something)

 Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns.

For example:

She wore a blue dress.

 Adverbs

Adverbs give us extra information about how, where or when a verb happens.

For example:

He drove slowly.

 Pronouns

Pronouns are usually small words which stand in place of a noun, often to avoid repeating the noun. They include words such as I, you, he, we, hers, they, it.

 Prepositions

Prepositions come before nouns or pronouns and usually show a connection.

For example:

Your pen is on the desk.

 Articles

There are two kinds of article: definite and indefinite.

The definite article is 'the'. It is used to identify a specific thing.

The indefinite article is 'a' and 'an'. It is used to refer to something in general.

For example:

The cat sat on the mat. (We know which cat and which mat.)

Study of advanced grammar-

Editing strategies to achieve appropriate technical style-

Technical Editors determine whether the writer has used the abbreviations, acronyms, and stylistic conventions specified in corporate or client guidelines.

 Spell out acronyms when they appear in the document for the first time.

 Eliminate jargon.

 Verify that figures and table captions are in the corporate style.

 Verify that font family, font size, and color palette is correct.

 Verify that the language is free of gender bias.

2.4 Introduction to advanced technical communication, Usability, Human factors, Managing technical communication projects, time estimation, Single sourcing, Localization.

Introduction to advanced technical communication- Advanced Technical communicators generally tailor information to a specific audience, which may be subject matter experts, consumers, end users, etc. Technical communicators often work collaboratively to create deliverables that include online help, user manuals, classroom training guides, computer-based training, white papers, specifications, industrial videos, reference cards, data sheets, journal articles, and patents.

 Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.

 Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites.

 Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that communication.

Usability- is a measure of efficiency and satisfaction with using documentation. And the main goal of technical writers is to create technical documentation that will help users to interact with the product effectively. Technical communicators are uniquely positioned to add their usability-related expertise through the product design, development and testing cycles.

Human factors- Human factors is the science of understanding the human body, mind, and cognitive processes that relate to how users use products and information. While tied to the concepts of user-centered design and user research and analysis, human factors are unique because it extends to the physical and physiological needs that affect a user's ability to use a product effectively.

Managing technical communication projects- Managing a technical communication project is not an easy task at all. People management involves choosing staff to work on projects and coaching them to their highest levels of performance.

Time estimation- Estimating time for a technical writing project is an art or craft that I do not know but surely it is one of the significant and core skills, yet most of the technical communicator find it one of the most daunting tasks because it relies on many conflicting, delicate and external factors.

Pre-Kick-off meeting preparation time is important for manager to take into consideration. You can also consider the time required in preparing of the quote, negotiation time, and preparation of the agreement.

Single sourcing- it is described as: “write once, publish everywhere”. But there are tons of interpretations of this. In the world of technical documentation, if we simplify it heavily, it usually means roughly that you want to write your content in one place (one "single source"), and then be able to achieve two main goals:

 Publish your content to several different output formats - PDF, HTML, Mobile, etc.

 Use the content you’ve authored in multiple contexts - e.g., reuse a piece of text (often called "topics") as building blocks to produce documentation for several products or other variants, instead of having to copy and paste.

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Localization- is the process of adapting a product or service from its source country to the needs and uses of a particular cultural or linguistic market.

An example of localization is converting a document written in European French to Canadian French.

There are two types of localization: general and radical.

 General localization refers to superficial cultural differences, such as language, currency, and date formats. For example, someone translating a document from Spanish to English (or vice versa) would simply translate the words as closely as possible, factor in currency and date formatting changes, and correct other small inconsistencies.

 Radical localization is more in-depth, incorporating cultural differences that affect the way users think, feel, and act. As an example, Nancy Hoft explains that an American document localized for a British audience, “…needs to be adapted so that it uses the British spellings of words, British axioms and expressions, currency amounts in the British pound sterling, and measurements expressed in metrics, to name a few of the changes. A further distinction would involve adapting to the reading and learning styles of the British users.

References:

1. David F. Beer and David McMurrey, Guide to writing as an Engineer, John Willey. New York, 2004

2. Diane Hacker, Pocket Style Manual, Bedford Publication, New York, 2003. (ISBN 0312406843)

3. Shiv Khera, You Can Win, Macmillan Books, New York, 2003.

4. Raman Sharma, Technical Communications, Oxford Publication, London, 2004.

5. Dale Jungk, Applied Writing for Technicians, McGraw Hill, New York, 2004. (ISBN: 07828357-4)

6. Sharma, R. and Mohan, K. Business Correspondence and Report Writing, TMH New Delhi 2002.

7. Xebec, Presentation Book, TMH New Delhi, 2000. (ISBN 0402213)

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