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Re: Re: What is "technical" writing? (Was: RE: What to do?)
Subject:Re: Re: What is "technical" writing? (Was: RE: What to do?) From:Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 29 Oct 2003 08:00:06 -0800 (PST)
> When an engineer learns to write about engineering
> topics, he or she does
> not study "engineering." He or she studies
> "writing." The skills that allow
> an engineer to write about technical subjects are
> writing skills.
>
> Technical writing is *taught* in engineering
> programs (such as Northeastern
> University), but that doesn't mean that writing is
> an engineering discipline.
In no way should the act of writing enter this
equation. This is all about core communication skills.
The "engineering" aspect (IOW, "technical") is
required for anything concerning a technical concept.
The "writing" aspect (IOW, "communication") is
required for anything being conveyed from one person
to another.
So what is "technical writing"?
It's the clear communication of technical information
and concepts to another person or party.
Whether an engineer learns to write or a writer learns
in-depth technical concetps is moot. The fact is that
someone needs BOTH to succeed in communicating
information about technical "stuff" to ANYONE else
(techie and luddite alike).
You gain NO advantage from ignorance when approaching
the task of communicating technical information. The
argument of "being on par with your audience" is pure
and utter crap. You need to know your stuff.
If you're writing about a UI that traps user input and
saves it to a database for later queries, you really
should know the ins and outs of how that entire system
works. That way you can clearly communicate the facts
to the audience at hand.
True, data entry people don't need to know about SSL,
encryption, why some things get hashed and others
don't, and so on. But, YOU knowing why is important so
you can make an intelligent call as to what to
communicate, to whom, how, when, and why.
A technical writer doesn't need to be the person who
developed the tool being documented, but that writer
should know all there is to know about that tool so
they have the knowledge and expertise to know what
info is important for whom, and how best to
communicate it.
THAT is technical writing.
=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)
"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
-- Geoff Hart
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