Benefits of Technical / Professional Writing

Jo Allen in "The Case Against Defining Technical Writing," believes that, "It strikes many as ironic - if not downright embarrassing - that a discipline that so frequently constructs definitions cannot muster one for its own enterprise." A technical writer just brings so many skills to the table that it is difficult to pin down a precise definition. Technical writers are trained in editing, writing, rhetoric, and various writing styles, most of which they have acquired from humanities classes. Although I have taken classes in advanced composition, I have learned just as much about style and clarity, if not more, from my technical writing classes.Technical writers also bring technology with them that cannot be overlooked such as the ability to operate a database, set up a website, or run a company blog.

In working in this office I have seen many instances where a technical writer from a humanities department could benefit the city. Already the transferring of the city code book into a word document has saved the city a minimum of $2500.00 for each reprint of the city code. The city could benefit greatly by having a technical writer on staff in many other ways as well. A technical writer could set up a webpage, maintain a blog in which council meeting minutes could be posted, forms could be revised for individuals in town with disabilities, and handouts could be made available for citizens to pick up instead of having to wait for copies to be made.The advantages of having a technical writer from a humanities program would be great.

Carolyn Miller in "What's Practical About Technical Writing?" says, "If technical writing is the rhetoric of 'the world of work,' it is the rhetoric of contemporary praxis." Rhetoric has been used in political documents from the beginning of the United States. The Declaration of Independence used rhetoric as a means to appeal to the colonists through ethical, logical, and emotional appeals, as well as with syllogisms. Although documents from the city would not be designed to throw off the yoke of a tyrant, the same appeals can be used to get citizens to conserve water, recycle, take pride in their town, and other numerous ways.

The city could benefit greatly from a technical writer's ability to get information out to the community by using technology and writing. Making city business more readily accessible to the citizens it serves would reduce misinformation and disgruntled citizens.

Sources

Allen, Jo. "The Case Against Defining Technical Writing." Writing in the Workplace. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. Print.

Dorbin, David. "What is Technical About Technical Writing?" Print.
Millar, Carolyn. "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing." Print.

Tebeaux, Elizabeth. "Let's Not Ruin Technical Writing, Too: A Comment on the Essays of Carolyn Miller and Elizabeth Harris."

---. "What's Practical About Technical Writing?" Print.