ENGLISH 214Composing

TECHNICAL WRITING REVIEW

What can you remember are the key features of good technical writing?

What do you think are the features of poor technical writing?

• The facts are already known (i.e. old technical reports)• The author(s) do(es) not know the facts• The paper is based on personal observation (you are not the

only expert).• The conclusions are not justified by the evidence given.• The material is poorly organised.• The author uses an improper style.• Poor grammar and misspelled words are used.• The major point are not supported throughout the paper• The author assumes the reader shares the same knowledge

of the subjectSo now we know what these features are we can move on and discuss the composing process of technical writing.

There are more neurons in the human brain than stars in the Milky Way

The human brain has 10,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) neurons.Each neuron can talk to as many as 1,000 cells making

10,000,000,000,000,000 (1015) connections.

It is difficult to see how any complex, high-level problem solving process works.

The composing process is a complex, high-level problem-solving process.

TECHNICAL WRITING COMPOSING

For most skilled and experienced writers the composing process can be broken down into 5 parts:

1. Situational AnalysisThis is a time when you bring a thought from nowhere to here. You think about your audience, your topic and your purpose.

2. DiscoveryHere you discover the material you need to satisfy your purpose and your audience.

3. ArrangementYou arrange your material, before writing your draft. You may write a plan or even a complete outline.

4. Drafting & RevisingFor some these are separate steps, for others these happen at the same time.

5. EditingThis is the final stage. you edit your work to satisfy the requirements of standard English and the proper format.

TECHNICAL WRITING SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Analyse your topic and purposeTopics are usually varied but the purposes are usually either to inform or argue something.

You may be informing that this engine is made up of these parts (1, 2, 3.....)You may be arguing that this electric motor is better because...

TECHNICAL WRITING SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Make sure that you have your topic and purpose in hand before your proceed with writing. You could even write it down:

I will define the process of how a star is born that reflects recent research in astrophysics. Further, I will demonstrate that my definition is more complete and accurate than definitions that deal with the birth of stars in terms of astronomical observation.

Q. Will the topic or purpose change as you proceed with the project?

A. Maybe. It depends on the situation. However, usually the situation will call for you to stick to the topic and purpose.

TECHNICAL WRITING SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Think about this...

What is the potential effect of the rising age of Japanese people on the country?

• Increased government spending on healthcare• Less money spent on education• Raise retirement age to pay for pensions

Here you may define your topic well enough to begin your exploration but the precise topic and the purpose may have to wait until you discover more information about your subject.

TECHNICAL WRITING AUDIENCE & PERSONA

Writers make important decisions about content and style based on the consideration of the audience and the persona the writer wants to show.

What is Persona?Persona is the role of the writer. His / Her position and relationship with the audience and the situation.

Example:Think about a bank manager communicating with a loan applicant. Then think about how he communicates with his colleagues to approve/reject the loan.

TECHNICAL WRITING SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT AUDIENCE AND PERSONA

TO THINK ABOUT.

• What is the level of knowledge and experience of your readers?

★ Does your reader understand your professional and technical language?

★ What words do you have to choose?★ What understanding does your reader have of the concepts you

discuss?

• What is the reader’s point of view?★ What are the reader’s purpose and concerns?★ What selection and content are you going to use?

• What is your relationship to the reader?★ Are the readers your bosses, clients subordinates, peers or

students?★ If you are a public employee are you writing to a taxpayer who

provides you with your salary?

TECHNICAL WRITING SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT AUDIENCE AND PERSONA

TO THINK ABOUT.

• What is your reader’s attitude about what you are going to say?

★ Your audience may be suspicious★ They may be apathetic★ If they are friendly they may need less information

• What persona do you want to project?★ Journalistic style?★ Formal style?★ But remember to be clear no matter what persona you

adopt

• What is the influence of international cultures?★ Do not make the mistake of thinking that people

everywhere think the same everywhere.★ You must understand the culture of the audience you are

writing for.

TECHNICAL WRITING DISCOVERY

• What material are you going to use?• What information will you use and modify to meet the

needs of your audience?• Discovery may not just involve your mind but libraries,

the internet and laboratories.• What techniques can we use to help discovery?

TECHNICAL WRITING DISCOVERY - BRAINSTORMING

Jot down ideas

Do not evaluate materialDo not

arrangematerial

Reveals holes in knowledge

You write down knowledge you never thought

you had

TECHNICAL WRITING BRAINSTORMING ACTIVITY

$$$$

Seating Area

Food & Drink

Authorities

Communication

?Problem: Canteen needs improving

TECHNICAL WRITING ARRANGEMENT PATTERNS FOR DISCOVERY

You can use arrangement patterns to arrange material and help your discovery.

Example:

Describe a procedure to a reader who

wants to perform the procedure

Instructions often list and sometimes

describe tools needed for procedure

Describe steps for the procedure. Normally in

chronological order.

If you know what is required for instructions

you can brainstorm in a

more guided way

TECHNICAL WRITING ARRANGEMENT PATTERNS FOR DISCOVERY

Another example is to begin with an argument:

“Women should get equal pay for equal work”

$$Is there a problem?

If yes, how many times has this happened?

“Ethically, women should get the same as men if they do the

same work”.

“Women need to support their

families just as much as men do.”

“No, a woman’s place is

in the home. Women need to support men in

this way.”

Do I need to do some research into

this?

Do I have all the

information I need?

In today’s world, women have no choice.

they have to work!

Notes on audience, purpose and persona

Notes produced by brainstorming or other discovery techniques

Previous

Reports or

Correspondence

Library

Research,

notebooks or

journals

Ideas for graphs and tables

TECHNICAL WRITING ARRANGEMENT

Arrangement

TECHNICAL WRITING ARRANGEMENT

Procedure

Introduction

Tool list

Description

Argument

Major Opinion(Major thesis)

Sub-arguments(Minor Thesis)

What strength do these have?

Progress reports, proposals, empirical

research

Have

definite

arrangements

Not all arrangements fit

your needs

BE

IMAGINITIVE

AND

CREATIVE

It is not too early to think about where graphs and tables go in your arrangement

TECHNICAL WRITING TYPES OF ARRANGEMENT

• Chronological• Sequential• General to specific• Specific to general• Cause / Effect• Division / Classification

TECHNICAL WRITING DRAFTING

Writing a rough draft is a very personal thing.What do professional writers do?

•Begin writing as soon as possible after the pre-writing stage. Otherwise they may they delay unnecessarily!•Find a quiet place to work without distractions•Don’t necessarily begin writing at the beginning. They may find a

part that is easy to write first.•Don’t worry too much about spelling in their rough drafts.•Get your ideas on paper first and use a dictionary or word

processor.•Don’t write more than 2 hours at one time.•Make their rough drafts very full - It’s easier to delete material

than to add it.•They indicate their references as they go.•They are flexible.

TECHNICAL WRITING REVISING

Some people revise as they are writing.Others revise their work in a separate step.What do I need to think about?

LOGIC STYLE GRAPHICS DOCUMENT DESIGN

ARRANGEMENT & CONTENT

TECHNICAL WRITING EDITING

• Editing is the next to final step before you release the report.

• When you draft and revise, you may have to go back to the beginning.

• Editing means you are satisfied with the report or you OUT OF TIME!

• Here you see if it has been written with standard English or standards set by your university or company.

TECHNICAL WRITING EDITING

• Check mechanics:✓ Check all your spelling✓ Check your subject verb agreement✓ Use your computer to check errors

• Check documentation:✓ Do all notes and numbers match?

• Check graphics✓ Are your graphics in an appropriate place in your report?✓ Do the numbers and your references to graphics match?

• Check Document Design✓ Is your table of contents complete?✓ Is it accurate?✓ Does it match the headings you have used?

• Editing with word processing programs✓ Use your computer’s spellchecker but be careful✓ Use your computers grammar and style checkers - You can get

programs for this. You can use Grammarly.com ($95 per year) gingersoftware.com 333.82SAR

TECHNICAL WRITING EXERCISE

Choose some technical or semitechnical topic you can write about with little research - perhaps a hobby or a school subject you enjoy.

1. Decide on the purpose and audience for writing the topic2. With your purpose, audience and persona in mind, brainstorm your topic.3. Examine and evaluate what you have.4. Reexamine the topic to see if what you thought of during brainstorming has changed.5. Keep your specific topic, purpose, audience and persona in mind, arrange your brainstorming notes into a rough outline.

The End