How Technical Writing Benefits You
What is Technical Writing?
While some define technical writing as "writing that accommodates technology to the user" (Dorbin 118), that oversimplifies the field. Technical writers have expanded to take on responsibilities dealing with public relations and website management. A simple definition of Technical Writing cannot work because such a definition would exclude any service that doesn't fall into that definition (Allen 74), and the usefulness of a Technical Writing comes from their ability to accomplish a number of diverse and innovative problems.
Specifically in a Learning Center or Student Success Center, a Technical Writer accomplishes a variety of goals: We can department advertising. We can manage webpages. We can oversee company branding. We can run programs used by the department. We can type manuals for those programs. We can perform grant-writing. We can edit speeches and emails that will be heard/read by the public. We provide business and departments with whatever technology and language based needs our superiors need. Rather than being defined by what they can do, Technical Writers should be defined by the value they give their employers.
As you can see, the benefit of a Technical Writer comes from the Technical Writer's ability to make their employer appear more accommodating. While performing these various tasks for businesses, Technical Writers also use their skills to create an image for a business, making an employer's products and services straight-forward while also appearing user-friendly and inviting. With a Technical Writer, an employer receives both practical services and a partner in defining and marketing a company image for the public.
The Benefits of the Humanities
Occasionally, even in groups of Technical Writers, there is a stigma about the portion of a Technical Writing Degree that is made up of humanities courses. The traditional conflict is between the practicality of both business and science and the idealism inherent in the humanities. Since the late 1800's, this uneasiness has existed as individuals have been torn between whether colleges should be training their students for the work force or teaching them cultural awareness ("Practical" 65). But Technical Writing bridges the gap between practical and idealistic fields, using the study of both types to enhance the tasks Technical Writers perform.
I've spoken of how Technical Writers allow an employer to appear more accommodating, and this comes in part from Technical Writing's placement within the humanities at universities. While Technical Writing has a clear connection with the practical use of language - documenting information "clearly, correctly, and economically" (Tebeaux 822) - the humanity requirements of the Technical Writing degree allows Technical Writers to understand the society and communities they are writing to ("Humanistic Rationale" 22). Someone who does the work of a Technical Writer must be able to balance being clear and concise while also understanding the audience that we work in.
While examining the statistics of Missouri Southern State University's Student Success Center, I realized that the Center's services are used by several ESL students. That same semester, I was assigned the task of writing a program manual for the center that would be used by both administration and students alike. Because of my awareness of the audience's demographics, I knew that I had to write in a style that would appeal to the administration while also being clear and accommodating to ESL students who would need to use the manual. My work on the manual was informed by the practical application of ESL friendly "International English," but it was also informed by my knowledge of what the administration and student body both needed and expected from the manual, a task fit only for someone with both practical training and a humanist background.
Allen, Jo. "The Case Against Defining Technical Writing."
Dorbin, David. "What is Technical About Technical Writing?"
Miller, Carolyn. "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing."
---. "What's Practical About Technical Writing?"
Tebeaux, Elizabeth. "Let's Not Ruin Technical Writing, Too: A Comment on the Essays of Carolyn Miller and Elizabeth Harris."
