TECHNICAL WRITING ESSENTIALS JON BALZOTTI SECOND EDITION Editor / Production Man ager : Ken t M inson Editor s: Lindsay Tanner, Julian a Avery, Mari M olen, Kevin H aws Special thanks to Kristine H ansen for some of the wonderful examples in Chapter Copyright ©2018 Jon Balzotti and BYU Academic Publishing All rights reserved No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means- graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, web distribution or information storage and retrieval systems- without the written permission of the publisher ISBN: For more information contact: BYU Academic Publishing 3995 WSC, Provo, UT 84602 (801) 422- 6231 academicpublishing@ byu.edu To report ideas or text corrections email us at: textideas@byu.edu For permission to use material from this text or product, contact us by: Tel (801) 422- 6231 • Fax (801) 422- 0070 CONTENTS Preface I ix What Is Technical Writing? The Communication Process and Characteristics ofTechnical Writing Big Picture: Defining the Writing Situation Ethics Suggested Exercises Style 13 20 23 What Is Style? 23 Big Picture: Defining the Writing Situation Plain Style 24 Persuasive Style Conclusion 42 Suggested Exercises 46 26 46 IV CONTENTS Design Thinking and the W 1riting Process 51 Understand: Empathy for the Reader Explore: Divergent Thinking Materialize: Failure Is an Option Collaboration 56 56 58 Document Design 65 What Is Document Design? Understand, Explore, Materialize Principles of Design Color Illustrations Conclusion Suggested exercises 65 66 Resumes, Cover Letters, Interviews What Are Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews? Understand, Explore, Materialize How to Write Your Resume Style Document Design How to Write Your Cover Letter Style Document Design How to Navigate Your Interview Conclusion Activity Reports What Are Activity Reports? Understand, Explore, Materialize How to Write Your Report 53 69 80 83 87 87 89 89 90 91 98 98 99 104 104 104 108 109 109 111 11 CONTENTS Style Design 11 Conclusion Suggested Exercises 11 7 Analytical Reports 11 11 11 What Are Analytical Reports? 120 Understand, Explore, Materialize How to Write Your Report 12 Style Design Conclusion 128 128 129 Suggested Exercises 130 Proposals 122 13 What Is a Proposal? Understand, Explore, Materialize 13 I 132 How to Write Your Proposal Style Document Design 135 Conclusion Suggested Exercises 142 142 Technical Definitions 153 139 140 What Are Technical Definitions? 153 Understand, Explore, Materialize How to Write Your Technical Definition 154 155 Style Design Conclusion 158 158 158 V VI CONTENTS IO Instructions What Are Instructions? Understand, Explore, Materialize 159 Before You Start How to Write Your Instructions User Testing 163 163 17 Style Design 172 Conclusion 174 I I Technical Descriptions 16 172 177 What Are Technical Descriptions? Understand, Explore, Materialize How to Write Your Technical Description 180 182 Style 185 Design 187 Conclusion 187 12 Literature Reviews I 159 177 189 What Are Literature Reviews? Understand, Explore, Materialize 189 190 How to Write Your Literature Review Style Design 192 199 199 Conclusion Suggested Exercises 199 Oral Presentations 20 Why Present? 202 Understand, Explore, Materialize How to Give Your Presentation 203 206 199 CONTENTS Design Resources Suggested Exercises A Appendix A: Punctuation Guide Comma Colon Semicolon Hyphen Em Dash En Dash Apostrophe Quotation Marks Asterisk Parentheses Brackets Ellipsis Period Exclamation Point Question Mark Ampersand Slash B Appendix B: Student Exercises Transitional Words and Phrases Parallelism Active and Passive Voice Verbosity Strong Sentence Structure Imperative Mood Purpose Statements Precise Language 11 13 15 17 18 19 220 22 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 23 232 233 234 235 237 237 239 239 240 242 244 245 245 V II V III CONTENTS Titles and Subject Lines Natural Diction and Tone C Appendix C: Supplementary Examples Resumes and Cover Letters Reports Proposal Instructions Technical Descriptions Literature Review 246 247 249 250 254 258 272 29 292 PREFACE T echnical communication is interactive and adaptive communication (more on this idea in Chapter 1) Adaptive to whom:' Well, technical communication, more than any other rype, is centered on readers This means you're brainstorming, writing, and revising with your readers' needs in mind These needs will affect your writing style, your diction, your choice of visuals, and your overall document design, all of which have important ethical and legal implications for you and the company for which you work Effective technical writers must learn to employ informed and flexible processes for writing and speaking, including finding or creating ideas about which to write, collecting evidence and essential data, planning and drafting, editing and proofreading, and designing or presenting a message meant for specific readers All of this requires technical writers to analyze different aspects of audience, purpose, and context to convey information clearly and efficiencly in written, oral, and visual media Throughout this book, you'll learn the communication strucmres ( or genres) typically used by technical writers in science and engineering and about the processes that produce them, as well as their organizational and stylistic conventions Technical writers have to articulate their ideas logically, provide evidence to support those ideas, and discuss opposing arguments and research objectively This kind of work requires investigation, using library and Internet resources to locate sources of current peer-reviewed research; assessment of the reliability and pertinence of data; and avoidance of plagiarism by following current standards for documentation It's equally important that technical writers learn to IX x PREFACE write in a correct, clear, and direct style that allows readers to comprehend and use technical information Finally, technical writers need to read their own work critically, without ego and always willing to improve This book will aid you in developing the skills and attitude necessary to become a professional technical writer and communicator These are the essentials-let's master them together