Defining Technical/Professional Writing

For quite some time, technical writing has been a bit of an evasive term, even to professional writers working in the field. For example, in 1989, the Society for Technical Communication specifically stated that creating a more refined definition was one of their objectives in order to determine future goals for the organization. Unfortunately, the board members abandoned this goal when they found they could not reach a conclusion (Allen 68). In the past, many have attempted to define this definition in a variety of insufficient ways. David Dobrin in his piece “What’s Technical about Technical Writing?” defines technical writing as “Writing that accommodates technology to the user”.  Throughout his work Dobrin criticizes other definitions for being overly specific, but what is ironic about this is that Dobrin’s definition is too specific in that it assumes technology must be present in technical writing. It separates technical writing from the humanities. It is for these reasons that we should take into consideration Carolyn Miller’s discussion of the definition of technical writing.

Miller, in “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing,” argues that “If we pretend for a minute that technical writing is objective, we have passed off a particular political ideology as privileged truth”.  By placing technical writing in a purely objective position, we remove the innovation from the discipline. Miller instead asserts that technical writing instead is heavily connected to rhetoric or context. This contextual approach is much more appropriate for the discipline because it is such an all-encompassing term. Moreover, referring to the discipline as “technical writing” may actually cause it a disservice because of the context that is inherently connected with the term “technical”. This is not to imply that there is nothing technical about technical writing—it simply means that technical writing is not exclusive to the sciences.

So, this begs the question, what do technical writers actually do? The answer to this question, however, is no less evasive. From editing, designing documents, and writing grants or proposals to public relations, project management, and instructional design, technical writing is really an umbrella term that covers a wide range of career fields. For this reason, it is imperative that an umbrella definition is used when defining the phrase. This is especially true in the case of my internship. At Pittsburg State University, I have been offered a unique opportunity to help design and prototype a game based on technical (or professional) writing to serve as my internship credit. Many people are perplexed as to how game design relates to technical writing because they are focused solely on the explicit roles a technical writer would have in the game design process: editing content or writing instructions. If we refer to the beginning of this paragraph, we can see that nearly every example I noted is present in this process. We will edit and write instructions, but we will also have to manage our project effectively and design the game itself. We will serve as the creative directors, the instructional designers, and the art directors. The list of roles a technical writer could have in the game design process continues on and in my internship we are being given the opportunity to practice all of these skills. A technical writer is especially appropriate for this type of internship or project because they are some of the few people who are trained in most or all of these skills.
It is because of the humanistic approach taken by my institution that I am able to perform all of the skills required to create this type of project. Teaching technical writing with the humanities allows us to take into consideration the technical and contextual aspects of technical writing. If I were simply trained in how to write an objective document, I would not be able to design the artwork of a game or create a meaningful play experience. This is a unique instance in where we can bridge the gap between the sciences and the humanities in order to aid and enhance the understanding of different audiences. This alone is why technical writing is an absolutely essential part of any English or other humanities department.

Sources

Allen, Jo. “The Case Against Defining Technical Writing.”
Dobrin, David N. “What's Technical About Technical Writing?”
Miller, Carolyn R. “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing”

Defining Technical / Professional Writing

Mr. Franklin,

There are many definitions for what a technical writer does. However, some of those definitions are complex and not very clear about what they actually do. One of the better definitions I have found is by David Dobrin, he says that, “Technical writing is writing about a subject in the pure sciences or the applied science in which the writer informs the reader through an objective presentation of facts.” This specific definition shows that Technical Writers are not like other writers. They write more concrete and structured material with an objective outlook. Technical Writers are known for writing manuals, warning labels/signs, and handouts/pamphlets.

In my specific internship I am taking on more of an editing and administration role. I have been helping go through submissions and selecting ones to be placed into the online publishing forum. This is where the administration side of my internship comes in because I am composing emails to the individuals about their submissions and any revisions that they need to make before publishing. My technical writing role comes into play when I am formatting the submissions because they have to be formatted for an online forum and display properly when loaded.

The benefit to hiring a full time Technical Writer for this job would be the consistency they could bring to the job. The format and consistency with each issue published would be more regular with a full time Technical Writer because it would be the same person each time from start to finish. It would also help with people submitting to the online publication because they could continually communicate with the same person instead of having to communicate with someone new every year.

By hiring someone with a humanities degree you are getting someone that has a great understanding of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Another benefit is their ability to research and review materials given to them while working on an assignment.

A Technical Writer is someone that does one job but wears many hats doing that specific job. They are beneficial to any company or organization.

Royce Parker

Writers’ Slate Intern

Defining Technical/Professional Writing

Technical writing brings to mind objectivity, conciseness, easy to understand by many readers, manuals, and instructions. Technical writing is much more than this. Technical writing is a term that has evaded being defined although many technical writers have tried to do so. The problem many have faced with putting a definition to the term is that it limits the scope of what a technical writer does. David Dobrin, in What is Technical about Technical Writing, quotes one definition by Patrick Kelly and Roger Masse that is “Technical writing is writing about a subject in pure sciences and applied sciences in which the writer informs the reader through and objective presentation of facts .” Another definition quoted from John Harris is “Technical Writing is the rhetoric of the scientific method.”  Dobrin does not like these definitions because they make technical writing no easier to understand. Dobrin offers up his own definition of “writing that accommodates technology to the user.” These three definitions are all different from each other and there are many more varied definition people have presented. One definition that I feel is good for Technical Writing comes from Carolyn Miller in What’s Practical About Technical Writing, “Technical writing, the rhetoric of the world of work. “ I like this definition because it is broad enough to encompass what technical writing is without limiting it and hints and the more contextual side.  

Because technical writers can do so many varied tasks they can be of assistance in any workplace. They can manage websites and blogs, design brochures or forms, edit documents, write grants or proposal, create meaningful play experiences, and much more. In my internship I am creating a meaningful play experience or game that is about the many different jobs technical writers can get. For the game I will not only be laying out several of the card designs, I will also have to write and edit cards. I am doing my internship at Pittsburg State University (PSU) and my non-typical internship is one of the many reasons why technical writing is an important position to have and teach. PSU is all about helping their students to be prepared for holding a career. Having technical writing as an option for students is a very effective way to help students be prepared. Almost all jobs require some form of writing and most students do not get to write in such a manner. Students are mainly taught how to write academic papers and do research in the required English programs. While this helps to teach and reinforce some aspects for writing as well as to understand the context of a particular project, jobs require a different kind of writing.

The benefit of having a Technical Writing program being taught from a humanities department, especially an English department, is understanding the complexities of the English language. Technical writing has to be more than being concise, because most people do not write in such a manner. A technical writer has to understand the meaning the original author meant and keep that meaning when they go to edit or output in another format. A technical writer also needs to understand what audience they are creating for. The value of this is that it is hard to define what is technical and non-technical, as Carolyn Miller says in an A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing, “no one is prepared to say which subjects are “technical” … Reality doesn’t come in packages clearly marked “non-technical” and “technical”.” If technical writing was taught outside of a humanities program, a learner may not learn the skills to understand context and be able to decide what is “technical” and what is not.

Sources

Dobrin, David N. "What's Technical About Technical Writing?"

Miller, Carolyn R. "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing,"

Miller, Carolyn R. “What's Practical About Technical Writing?"

Defining Technical Writing

Dear Mrs. Smith,

 

Defining technical writing is difficult even for those of us in the field. Finding a definition that encompasses the diverse activities that a technical writer is qualified to do is an arduous task. I prefer David Dobrin’s definition in “What’s Technical about Technical Writing”. Dobrin says that “technical writing is writing that accommodates technology to the user”. I prefer this definition because it calls specific focus to the technological processes that the tech writer is writing about and not simply the act of writing “technically”. Some aspects of technical writing is that it has a specific format, whether that be a manual, Quick Reference Card, or warning labels on a device, each has its own format. Technical writing also has an objective style. Technical writing is very different from creative writing. Technical writers have the goal of clarity and this is done through writing in concrete, clear, objective writing. Finally, technical writing is primarily technical in content. Technical writers traditionally do not use objective writing to write a creative story. A technical writers’ job is to write about something technical in aspect, such as an instruction manual for a power drill.

In my specific internship experience, a technical writer is useful for editing. Working for a charitable organization involves a lot of persuasion. For instance, a technical writer for a charity will spend a time editing brochures, grant proposals, and press releases so that the organization has its best chance of receiving grants and donations. The technical writer is very important in this because he or she is specifically trained in editing for grammar as well as content and style. The technical writer helps the organization look professional and keeps their writing focused and effective.

The hire of a technical writer adds numerous benefits to a company. As I discussed above, a technical writer works with the company to manage the company’s image and appeal. If a company produces writing filled with grammatical errors or gaps information, they do not look professional and may even lose business or clients. A technical writer is trained to spot those errors and gaps. A technical writer is also qualified to produce their own content. For example, a tech writer can produce an instruction manual outlining the company’s hiring policies that can be provided to all hiring managers to have a standardized policy for hiring employees. The work of the technical writer makes a company more organized and efficient because they are all on the same page.

The value of a tech writer from a humanities department is more than what is usually thought. A humanities degree gives the individual training in the writing aspects like editing, grammar, and syntax that the sciences departments may not train in. A humanities degree also gives the individual research skills that are valuable to the individual educating themselves on the technical aspect they are writing about.

Technical writing may be a difficult concept to define, but it is a valuable skill and would benefit any company.

 

Jessica Parke

Women Helping Women Technical Writing Intern