Fred Said:

What skills/applications are necessary for Technical Writing?

We Answered:

Understanding of technical things....the ability to analyze and break down technical concepts into components and communicate them clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. Probaby having the ability to create technical drawings and flow diagrams would help too.

Vivian Said:

If you are a programmer, would you answer some questions about the Technical writing you do?

We Answered:

I am a software engineer working on ther .net platform. my techincal writings revolve around the work I do, mainly to do with report writing using our customized tools. What specific information are you looking for?

Marilyn Said:

What kind of job can I get with a major in Professional/Technical Writing and a minor in Journalism?

We Answered:

Technical writing opens you up to working at so many high-tech firms. Major companies like Microsoft employs lots of technical writers to write their online help documentation, printed help material and internal documentation (when a company gets to be so large sharing information within departments and across departments gets harder and harder so they start to rely on more clear concise documentation). You'll find professional writers are used very much the same way. It may not be the most exciting work depending on your preferences, but it's definitely one of the more in-demand jobs for professional and technical writers.

Laurie Said:

Please help me explain well the meaning of this golden rule of Technical Writing?

We Answered:

1. Write for a target audience. Think about what you want your paper to say, and then direct it to the kind of person you want to say it to. If you're writing a persuasive paper, then your audience consists of people you're trying to persuade into agreeing the way you do. If you're writing in favor of something, your target audience would be people who like what you're writing about. If your paper is purely informative, then you're writing to someone who wants to learn what you're writing. Once you have your audience, write to them like they have the ability to understand what you're saying. For instance, if your history teacher is reading a paper about World War II, she already knows everything you'll probably put in that paper. But you want to assume that she does not, so you'll have to give facts and details and you'll want to explain thoroughly. You always want to assume your reader is also intelligent and can understand what you're talking about without you having to talk down to them.

2. Find a theme of your paper and STICK WITH IT. This is a very important rule in writing. If your paper is about World War II, you can make a quick reference to World War !, but show how it relates to World War II and do not spend a significant amount of writing on another topic. Many writers drift throughout their paper and they lose focus of what they're writing about. Everything you write should relate back to your original topic.

3. Be exact when you write, but not complicated. There's no need to use 5 higher vocabulary words in a row just to show your intelligence. You want the reader to relate to what you're saying, and more importantly, to benefit from what you're saying. So when you start a thought, complete it. Be informative as if they have no knowledge prior to the subject you're writing about.
INTRODUCE your paper with what your paper. Give all the information in the BODY of your paper. Then summarize and make final thoughts in the CONCLUSION of your paper.

For example, if my paper is about American home life during the World War II:
Home life on American soil during the second World War was tense and difficult, but people remained patriotic and supportive during this rough time.
[[This is my INTRODUCTION. It lets the reader know that I will probably be talking about how life was tense and difficult during WWII, but I will also explain how and why people were patriotic and supportive. (Note: this is not a complete introduction. There are often 3-5 sentences more to the paragraph, but that is the overall introduction sentence.]]

[[Then I will go over each of the subjects I addressed in my introduction sentence. I will be informative and explain the main points of what I want the reader to know, stick to the overall topic of WWII home life, and give complete thoughts.]]

World War II was a harsh time in the average American household, but families overcame the obstacles of war by supporting the troops, staying positive, and believing in what the United States was fighting for. Families and individuals remained patriotic and kept their heads held high as we fought to victory.
[[^^ This is an example of the CONCLUSION. It repeats what I went over without being boring and using the exact phrases. It is a cardinal rule in writing to never end your papers with "In conclusion....". This is often seen as an immature writing. So, end as though you're reinforcing and summarizing all that you said in the body. The idea is that your reader should be able to read only your intro and conclusion to know what your paper is about. The body will aid in what your intro and conclusion talked about.]]

Roberta Said:

What are the Properties of technical writing?

We Answered:

A technical writer is a person who creates documentation for a technology. They are responsible for writing text that is accurate, readable, accessible, and helpful to its intended audience. Technical writing, a subset of technical communication, is used in fields as diverse as chemistry, the aerospace industry, robotics, consumer electronic products such as VCRs or digital cameras, biotechnology, software, computer hardware, and many others.

At the beginning of a project, the technical writer identifies the audience for the documentation. For example, if documenting a VCR, the writer must determine whether the audience is a nontechnical American of average literacy who needs to know how to set the time and tape television shows, or a technician who must diagnose, repair, or replace internal components.

Technical writers often have a degree in English, technical writing, the technical field for which they are writing, or a combination of these. It is most important that they have enough expertise to understand their audience's background and needs. For example, writers who develop documentation for software APIs, microcontroller operation, and other technical subjects are often paid more than those who write guides for a nontechnical audience (for example, how to use email), because it is difficult to find good writers with advanced technical knowledge.

After the documentation is written, using a desktop publishing tool or a help authoring tool, it is normally reviewed for accuracy by one or more "subject matter experts" (SMEs).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Technical Writing.

Technical Communication
Technical communication is the process of conveying information about technology to an intended audience. A technical communicator is a person whose job involves technical communication. Technical communication jobs include the following:

Technical writer
Technical editor
Information architect
Usability expert
User interface designer
Technical artist
Technical trainer
The technology can be of any kind, including the sciences, high technology including computers and software, consumer electronics, and so on.

Technical Writing
Technical communications are created and distributed by most employees in service organizations today, especially by professional staff and management. Writing well is difficult and time-consuming, and writing in a technical way and about technical subjects compounds the difficulties. The entire point of communications is to disseminate useful information. To be useful, information must be understood and acted upon. Fortunately, tools and techniques are available to make writing more accessible and easy to understand.

Effective communications require quality content, language, format, and more. The entire point of communications is to disseminate information; this is where written content comes in. To present the appropriate content, it is imperative to understand one’s audience and writing purpose. If a document does not communicate the information that the writer intends and what he or she wants the reader to understand, then the communication is meaningless.

The writer has a self-interest in making the extra effort: Looking credible is as important as being credible and getting results in business. Respect and credibility of the writer/speaker are integral to effective communications. Readers will not trust the information from an author if they do not believe that author is a valuable source of information or the purveyor of worthwhile ideas. Furthermore, being respected is essential to being persuasive, a key ingredient in business.



Technical Document
A document is a writing that contains information.

Traditionally, the medium of a document was paper and the information was applied to it as ink either by hand (to make a hand-written document) or by a mechanical process (such as a printing press or a laser printer).

Through time, documents have also been written with ink on papyrus (starting in ancient Egypt) or parchment, scratched as runes on stone using a sharp apparatus, stamped or cut into clay and baked to make clay tablets (i.e. in Sumerian and Mesopotamic civilisations). Paper, papyrus or parchment might be rolled up as scrolls or cut into sheets and bound into books. Stacks of clay tablets might also be thought of as books. Small documents might also be stapled.

Today, electronic means for storing and displaying documents are also popular; a variety of computers and displays can be used, for example:

a desktop computer with a monitor
a laptop
a Personal Digital Assistant
refreshable electronic paper
Documents in all forms are frequently found to be material evidence in criminal and civil proceedings. The forensic analysis of such a document falls under the scope of questioned document examination.



A “Technical” Approach to Writing
HOW one writes is as important as WHAT one writes. So, language itself is important to enable readers to understand and believe the written text. Language impacts a reader’s ability to comprehend and assimilate what a writer is presenting.

Furthermore, people can, and do, judge things by outward appearances all the time, it is essential to make good impressions when communicating in a business setting. When one communicates (whether writing, giving a speech, or talking on the phone) information must be presented effectively and to a large degree, attractively.

These elements strongly affect perceived writer and organizational credibility and professionalism -- highly sought after commodities for individual and organizational success.

Format, organization, and style are important in that they make information available, accessible, and readable. Format and the like are the “how” of a written presentation. Format choices can give a document the highly sought after technical or business “look” organizations hope for. In essence, this is part of “corporate identity” promotion.

Definitions
There are many definitions of technical writing. It is seen as its own species of business writing.

Technical writing is a specialized, structured WAY of writing, where information is PRESENTED in a format and manner that best suits the cognitive and psychological needs of the readers, so they can respond to a document as its author intended and achieve the purpose related to that document.

Thus, it is writing formatted and shaped to make reading as simple, poignant, unequivocal, and enjoyable as possible (i.e., “user friendly”). It so happens that most technical writing positions are still primarily offered to those who can write effective end-user manuals, system design documents, Web sites, and the like for engineering and IT firms.

A good technical writer can write about a complicated technical subject or task in ways that almost anyone can understand.

Precision in technical writing tends to be critical because if anything is described incorrectly, readers may act improperly on what is said, causing mistakes and problems at work.

The Society for Technical Communication is probably the premier technical writing association. STC defines technical communication as “The process of gathering information from experts and presenting it to an audience in a clear, easily understandable form.” I think this is a good, all-purpose definition. “Technical writing and editing is an umbrella term for any sort of professional communication. It’s the interface between your ideas and the rest of the world”.

“Technical writing is the presentation of information that helps the reader solve a particular problem. Technical communicators write, design, and/or edit proposals, manuals, web pages, lab reports, newsletters, and many other kinds of professional documents.”

Walter Said:

What is the difference between technical writing and a non technical writing?

We Answered:

A Technical Writer usually follows a standard set by the client/company. Also, for some cases, they follow a writing style based on Chicago Manual of Style. Which dictates how they should write the numbers (say, 5 or five), the proper abbreviation of nouns, and other things.

Technical Writing requires you to be of course, err.. Technical. Definitely, the things that you write about should not contain emotions and other flowery words. (if that makes sense.) Visual aids can be really different and similar with non-technical writing styles.

It's really hard to be specific with what you are asking because Technical Writing really varies according to the demand of the project.

Hope this helps.