Technical Writing Skills Students find it difficult to deal with technical writing. It is not easy to present texts that lack emotions and a personal viewpoint. Technical writing is to be objective because it serves as technical communication that must be exact. When one reads articles about Chemistry, Informatics, Engineering, Medicine, Biology, and Biotechnology, a person will surely find technical writing. It has nothing to do with the creativity and rich imagination of the writer. It demands advanced knowledge, subjectiveness, and laconism.
Advancedwriters.com is a paper writing service that performs numerous orders including technical texts. Professional writers say that it is important to sharpen one’s writing skills daily. Experts share ideas on how to do that effectively.
5 Things to Do to Improve Technical Writing Skills
College tutors often ask their students to present manuals, guides, instructions, proposals, descriptions, official letters, case studies, and other technical papers. Experience helps to do everything without mistakes. To become experienced one should do five things.
#1. Stay Focused
It is important to study the requirements of the assignment to understand what it demands. In other words, a person has to analyze the task and does not make the writing watery. Each word must be to the point. Professionals recommend using active voice instead of passive. Passive constructions often mislead the reader that must not happen to technical writing. Active verbs help to convey the idea precisely and reduce the number of unnecessary lexical units.
NB! Revise the material to avoid mistakes.
#2. Never Make It Personal
It is often hard to be dispassionate both in oral and written speeches. How to write a technical text but avoid subjectiveness?
First of all, the first and second person singular and plural are not compatible with technical writing. One must stop dealing with this style of writing when trying to become an expert in technical writing. Moreover, experts suggest omitting second person pronouns as well.
For example, instead of ‘You need to create a document and set margins and spacing’ write ‘Step 1. Create a document. Step 2, set the required margins and spacing’.
The second variant is not personal and consists of two clear and concise sentences. It also has only active voice constructions that make it simple for understanding and performing.
Secondly, one should not stick to too many details concerning personal information.
For example, ‘Mr. D., like any other representative of ‘The New York Times’, can verify received information or decline the application’.
It is better to say, ‘Representatives of ‘The New York Times’ have the right to verify received information or decline the application.’
Due to that, such data has fewer chances to expire because such a person can stop working in the newspaper and this information will need correction.
#3. Be Brief and Accurate
Writers should better avoid wordy, long, and complex sentences. Professionals often use apps that help to improve the readability of the text. One of such apps is Hemingway editor. It identifies adverbs, sentences hard for reading, and weighty words and word combinations.
Those who read instructions, manuals, and other technical texts must understand every word. That is why it is necessary to be precise in every sentence. Nevertheless, it is to be detailed. Learners should have no questions and be ready to perform the instructions and understand the context.
It is not poetry or fiction. The writing must not be rich in literary devices and vivid adjectives. A person should delete unnecessary words and use SEO analyzers to see the percentage of stop-words and water (the less the better).
#4. Add Visual Materials
Have you ever tried to put details of a table or any other piece of furniture together? Everybody knows that the process will take more time if there is no manual instruction with pictures that show the order and details required for a concrete stage. One should attach or install pictures, diagrams, tables, photos, or any other illustration. Visual aids are more informative than texts but together they clarify everything. The main thing is not to overdo and take care of details that might become outdated.
#5. Never Forget about the Formatting
Each academic writing demands a specific structure and formatting. Excellent structuring with well-composed titles, headings, and bullet lists help readers scan the document to get the idea. Proper margins, spacing, and font improve the readability. Besides, if a person wants to find what he or she needs, poorly structured papers and low-quality formatting will complicate one’s searching. As a result, a learner will have to read the whole text to find something. It is a waste of time.
5 Books That Help to Improve Technical Writing Skills
Sometimes students prefer books to online manuals and websites. They look credible and introduce authors. Customers can check their biography to make sure that they are professionals in a specific scientific field. Amazon offers good books about technical writing a student can use to improve his or her writing skills.
- “The Insider’s Guide to Technical Writing” by Krista Van Laan
- “Technical Writing Skills – Job Market Demand: Report 1” by Curiosity Publishers
- “Technical Writing Skills – Job Market Demand: Report 2” by Curiosity Publishers
- “Technical Writing for Dummies” by Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts
- “Technical Writing Process: The simple, five-step guide that anyone can use to create technical documents such as user guides, manuals, and procedures” by Kieran Morgan
One just needs to click the desired book to order it. One can also find other useful books on Amazon that teach how to write compelling technical works.
All in all, if you are going to improve your technical writing skills in English, don’t hesitate to search for more effective tips and tricks online.
