Technical Writing

What is Technical Writing?

Traditionally, technical writing focused on the documentation of processes, including through instruction manuals. However, the description is now broader.

There is no very precise definition (see box), but the term has come to mean any writing related to technology or technical processes.

Some definitions of technical writing

Technical writing is performed by a technical writer (or technical author) and is the process of writing and sharing technical information in a professional setting [Wikipedia]

Technical writing is simplifying the complex [Techwhirl.com]

Forms of technical writing may include white papers, instruction manuals, handbooks and product descriptions. Some people suggest that technical writing can also include press releases, reports, briefs and business proposals. These may certainly need some technical input. However, they are not usually written by technical writers.

The distinction is probably that these documents mention technology, but their purpose is not to simplify technology per se. For example, a press release may be about a particular piece of technology, and it may need to explain it simply, but its purpose is to ensure that journalists write about the technology.

An illustrious history

Technical writing has been recognised as a profession since the 1940s, and it expanded exponentially with the spread of computers during the second half of the twentieth century.

However, its history dates back much further. It could be argued, for example, that many of Leonardo Da Vinci’s papers are technical writing, since he was discussing and explaining technology. Some people also cite Geoffrey Chaucer’s Treatise on an Astrolabe as an early example of a technical document, and suggest that much of Aristotle’s writing was technical in its nature.

Technical Writing Style

Like any other form of writing, technical writing has its own particular style.

It tends towards:

Simplicity and conciseness

You may find this hard to believe if you have ever read a computer manual, but technical writers spend a considerable amount of time and effort keeping things as simple as possible. They try to keep their writing short, and also use short words and sentences to make documents easier to read. They also use the active voice, rather than passive, and avoid the use of jargon.

Technical writing aims for clarity above all.

A Word About Jargon

Avoiding jargon is difficult if you are an expert in your field.

However, many technical writers have the advantage that they are NOT necessarily experts in the technology. Instead, they are experts in writing.

Even so, as you become familiar with a subject, jargon tends to creep in. Avoid this by reading your work over carefully, or getting a non-technical colleague to review your writing to check it makes sense to someone with less knowledge.

You may also find it helpful to read our page on Using Plain English.
Accuracy

The second characteristic of technical writing is its accuracy. There is no room for ambiguity or errors in a technical document. Users do not want to be making expensive errors because the documentation was incorrect.

Technical writers therefore need to check everything.

If in doubt, the accuracy of a sentence must be checked with someone with more knowledge.
Audience-focused

Ultimately, every piece of writing should be written with its audience in mind. However, this is perhaps even more true of technical writing, because you need to consider your audience’s subject knowledge, which may vary widely. A document written for experts will be very different from one written for the general public.

There is more about this in our page Know Your Audience.
An objective, fact- and task-based approach

Technical writing is not emotive in style. It uses a very objective, fact-based approach, because it aims to convey information.

In technical writing that aims to convey instructions, documents will also be very task-based. They will focus on giving readers the information that they need to complete the task as easily as possible.
Careful consideration of design issues

Technical writers often have to do more than simply write. They also have to consider the design of their document to make it easier to read.

This includes the layout on the page, and the use of headings, subheadings, bullet points and numbered lists to break up the document. All these facilitate finding information rapidly, which is crucial in a technical document.

Technical writers also have to consider the use of illustrations such as pictures, graphs and tables as a way to convey information.

There is more about this in our page on Presenting Data.

They may therefore be considerably expert in using statistical tools and software to prepare technical illustrations.

Technical Writing and AI

Technical writing is an obvious area where artificial intelligence (AI) might be useful to speed up the process. However, in practice, it is not necessarily that helpful (see box).

Not necessarily…

In response to a question on Reddit about how AI has helped people to become better or more productive technical writers:

“How is it going to speed up my work if I have to add ‘teach the AI things’ and ‘proofread the AI output’ to my to-do list?” - Reddit user Ealasaid

“My company recently had us investigate possible uses [of AI for technical writing]. I told them that I would do so, provided I factored in the time direct checking for hallucinations, as well as reformatting it to our very restrictive style guide. It did not prove cost effective.” - Reddit user Kestrel Iolani

The main problem is that the forms of generative AI that are available for this work (large language models or LLMs) are still fairly crude, although improving all the time. They hallucinate—which is a real problem in technical writing, where everything needs to be extremely accurate and specific—and they also draw on what they have seen before.

However, early adopters have suggested that there are some ways in which generative AI and LLMs may be helpful in technical writing, including:

Analysing your notes of conversations with subject matter experts, and identifying key topics for a first draft to be edited by a technical writer;
Removing redundancies from multiple pieces of content sent by subject matter experts to enable easier preparation of a first draft by a technical writer;
Functioning as a super-spellcheck or grammar check, because they work better than the basic versions built into software;
Suggesting possible additional topics or redundancies for a piece of technical writing;
Translating documents into other languages once they have been finalised; and
Reviewing documentation to suggest where links might be created to ‘related topics’.

All these uses will, of course, require careful human checking before any output is deemed suitable for use. However, they may speed up the process of producing and preparing technical documentation.

Skills Required by Technical Writers

Technical writers require a wide range of skills. Many of these are similar to other writers, but there are also some very specific skills needed.

Technical writing skills include:

Extremely good written communication skills, and especially the ability to convey complex information in simple language, and to write very clearly.
An ability to grasp a technical subject quickly. Technical writers are not experts in everything. However, they usually have the ability to pick up and grasp technical subjects rapidly. They need to be able to understand enough to explain the issue simply to others.
A broad knowledge of technology. Technical writers usually have a broad but shallow understanding of a wide range of technology issues. This allows them to knit their knowledge together effectively with new information, and set their work in context.
A recognition of what they don’t know. Technical writers need to be able to consult with experts or do further research when necessary. They therefore need to understand the limitations of their own knowledge.
Knowledge and skill in various computer packages, including statistical software and design/illustration packages.
Good proofreading and editing skills. Finally, technical writers need to be able to read over their own documents and identify typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Technical documents need to be free of these errors, and look professional.

A Growing Area of Writing

Technical writers are needed to bridge the gap between technical experts and the general public, to explain technology in simple terms. As technology becomes even more complex, including through the use of artificial intelligence, this need will only grow.

Developing the skills needed to become a technical writer could well be a good investment in your future.

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Writing for the Internet
Journalistic Writing