Defining Technical/Professional Writing

I remember talking to Dr. Patterson, the chair of the English Department, not too terribly long ago. We talked about the new writing program that had replaced Technical/Professional Writing, specifically the change of the name from Technical/Professional Writing to Professional Writing. I told her that part of what drew me to the major was the name “technical and professional writing”, because that conveyed a sense of important, tedious document analysis. She was very surprised, musing that part of the reason for the name change was that it scared students away! In “What’s Practical About Technical Writing?” Dobrin states that technical writing “accommodates technology to the user”, a writing of the scientific nature, objective, data driven. Although this does encompass part of technical writing, I do not believe that conveys the entire story.

Carolyn Miller, however, states that technical writing encompasses the world of technical rhetoric, stating, “Practical rhetoric therefore seems to concern the instrumental aspect of discourse—its potential for getting things done—and at the same time to invite a how to, or handbook, method of instruction.” I rather like this concept. Technical writing is an art and a science, in my opinion. The language of effective communication is a special one, and one that requires some length of skill-building to achieve. At the same time that there is a formulaic aspect, there is a creative aspect as well. There are ways of developing a specific writing style for engineers, scientists, artists, lawyers, and all sorts of professions, but there is a way of modifying the style to make it all your own. 

The value of technical writing cannot be overstated. When I arrived at college, I knew I wanted to major in English. However, I was unsure about the value of my degree. I was encouraged to write often as it was something I truly loved and felt I excelled at. That being said, I did not know the demand for writers or those who understood grammar and syntax. When I arrived at college, I realized that many people do not known how to write, especially not in a standard format. With my internship at Depco LLC, I was able to act as a software reviewer and editor. I analyzed a program for changes from its previous version, and made changes to the software manual as needed. Part of the challenge of the situation was trying to sort through often vague rules. I really enjoyed the individuals I worked with, but it was somewhat difficult to understand what they wanted. The manual of style they gave me to work with was a few sheets of paper stapled together. It was interesting trying to maneuver the manual for the first time and attempting to understand what was wanted from me.

However, once I met with them the second time, and was able to ask questions, it was much easier. I was able to effectively perform my job. In that way, I think it showed how important communication is in any job. Not only did I need my technical writing skills to copyedit the manual, I also needed it in order to articulate my questions via email. Since I often was given work to do by myself, I needed to be able to ask questions on a regular basis, which I did when situations arose.

Another thing I have realized about my technical writing degree is how well it works with my graphic communications major. When I first began the double major in the programs, people questioned me often, due partially to them being degrees in separate colleges and also in their apparent disconnect. I had simply chosen two things I enjoyed, but now I see how wonderfully effective they are together. Graphic Communications is another form of effective communication, much like technical writing. Whereas technical writing is words on a page, graphic communications is visual storytelling. These two skills combined build excellent communication skills. It was especially valuable to this internship, because CorelDraw X8, the program I was evaluating to update the manuscript, is much like Adobe Illustrator. Having a background and training in both Adobe Illustrator and copyediting gave me the ability to perform my job at a level that someone not trained in those areas could not have performed.

Sources:

Dobrin, David "What's Practical About Technical Writing?"

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

Defining Technical/Professional Writing

          A person from almost any field of academia could obtain a degree in professional writing, and finding a definition for a field with this amount of flexibility can prove to be a challenge. Many argue over the semantics and inflection of the term technical writing, with some focusing on the technical aspects while others focus more towards writing. As Jo Allen says, "...We cannot seem to agree on the parameters of the discipline" (70). I would argue that you cannot view these two parts of the term separately, but instead need to analyze them together. If you only analyze a single term, you are losing a great deal of context that makes the field of technical writing so dense for those who jump into it. Yes, you could choose to view the field as a specific and restricted form of writing, or as a technological form of writing, but this blanket statement takes away from the strengths of the field: cooperation.
          The field of technical writing the melding of two separate disciplines, one involving technology and the other involving humans. The technical aspects allows humans to go beyond simple literary and physical analysis, but the technology would be pointless without the human element of writing. As Carolyn Miller said in regards to Aristotle's notions that science is beyond human intentions and emotions: "The most uncomfortable aspect of this non-rhetorical view of science is that it is a form of intellectual coercion: it invites us to prostrate ourselves at the windowpane of language and accept what Science has demonstrated" (18). Science and technology do play large roles in the technical writing field, but classifying technical writing as exclusively technology, as per David Dobrin, is undercutting the limits of human knowledge and understanding. On the reverse, however, simply having humans write would not classify a piece of technical writing. This bare necessity would more than likely just classify as writing, or possibly literature. Technology gives extra tools to those who choose to write technically, and human imagination and emotion gives shape to this cold technology while putting forward information in a context where it can be understood by a mass audience.
          My internship with Integrity Home Care and Hospice provides a unique perspective into this notion of balance between the technical and the biological. To put it bluntly, a computer with the right programs and processing power could do the entirety of my job. I take numbers from one system, combine them with numbers of another system, and then put forward the final results into a sheet that will be sent up the chain to people with more power than myself. However, a computer that would be capable of this feat would not be able to understand what it's doing. I understand that my information is being translated to be interpreted, and as such I can manipulate formatting, add images, and otherwise follow common elements of style in order to present the information to people who can then understand it and spread it. A computer would simply layout the information as cleanly as possible in several rows of 0s and 1s, and a human by themselves wouldn't be able to handle this level of information on such a large scale or on such a short time frame. Beyond moving and presenting data, I also write instructional materials on these processes. These manuals are designed for those with no knowledge of the processes, and are geared for those who will follow me in my position so that I don't have to physically train them. Computers do not have this awareness, and certainly couldn't create a training manual geared towards an audience. It's a weird symbiotic relationship between man and technology that makes technical writing unique, and that is why people from both a technological and a humanities background can succeed as professional and technical writers.

Defining Technical/Professional Writing

          Defining technical/professional writing is not an easy task, as demonstrated by the countless arguments that have resulted in several definitions. From narrow to broad, there is no single term that can pin down what exactly technical/professional writing can mean. Davin Dobrin defines technical writing as “writing that accommodates technology to the user,” but fails to note that not all technical writing requires technology—if it did, we would not have countless historical documents that existed long before modern technology. He also states 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.” However, because my internship deals strictly with the publication of fiction works, it is difficult to apply that definition to it as well. In fact, I believe that while technical/professional writing does include some part of those definitions, it also limits the definition. Rather, I feel that a quote by Carolyn Miller in What’s Practical About Technical Writing provides the field with a definition that provides it the flexibility that it needs. She says, “Technical writing, the rhetoric of the world of work.” I believe this works the best because every profession needs the ability to communicate concisely, objectively, and professionally—a skill necessary to every profession.

          Because technical/professional writers possess a myriad of skills, they are invaluable in the workplace. From manual writing, to copyediting, to grant writing, technical/professional writers can adjust to nearly any work demands and produce results that the business needs. My internship with The Writers’ Slate can serve as an example of this. As assistant editor, I play many roles in the publication of each edition. First and foremost, I work with Professor Franklin on the fall and winter editions to choose works for publication. In this role, I act almost like a publisher to choose works that are best suited for our journal. After this, I shift toward a more secretarial role; I draft acceptance and conditional acceptance letters to send out to students whose work we have chosen. The step where my technical skills come more into play is the actual crafting of the journal. In order to craft it, I have to format, edit, and compile all the documents from students into the page layout software InDesign. While this is a typical skill for professional writers to possess, it is one of the least-involved parts of the internship and perhaps the easiest, because I only work with the technology at that point—there is no need to interact with students in order to ensure all the work is there.

          My overarching point is that it is important not to discount a humanities degree because all of these roles come together and function because of my experience in the humanities department. Most importantly, having this degree in the English department is important because I have to maintain an understanding of the English language—from grammar to punctuation rules—in order to effectively do my job. I also am familiar with research as an English major and have been able to research more effective tactics for implementing technology into the journal. Although other disciplines might be familiar with research as well, it provides professional writers a distinct advantage when coupled with an intimate knowledge of the language. Most importantly, being in the humanities department has been extremely advantageous for me as a Writers’ Slate intern because I have been able to more effectively choose good submissions from students, which has afforded me the opportunity to discuss and debate with Professor Franklin. Without this, I would not have been able to learn as much as I have from the internship.

Sources:

Dobrin, David "What's Practical About Technical Writing?"

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

Defining Technical/Professional Writing

Dear Internship Supervisor, 

There has been much controversy and confusion when it comes to properly defining technical writing. Many professionals attempt to define this field only with the small success of constricting its discipline. The following below will help indicate a clearer understanding of what technical writing is and by creating a new position for a technical writer will bring benefits to this company in multiple ways.

The best definition to describe technical writing is better shown through the analogy that David Dobrin explains. He describes the simplicity of this particular art form and how it does not cover itself in beautiful writing but rather recognizes this in an objective standpoint. That is where the science aspect comes in. The art lies in by making writing seem simplistic. He goes on further to say that it carries the "care of a scientist, the humility of a saint, and the clarity of the bugle call."

By interning as a technical writer for a small business, it is true to say that technical writing is certainly the unspoken hero. From the smallest manuals to train employees to the well-designed forms they must follow, its effectiveness is shown when workers use a technical writers work without the struggle of understanding their directions or getting lost in the communicative process. For a small business, making sure an advertisement is worded correctly, social media communicates to its audience clearly, or a business website carries a professional look that is appealing to its customers.

A technical writer adds value to any workplace because of their versatility in knowledge and skill that become highly dependable in the end. To create professional brochures and grants, a technical writer can make sure that whatever the company produces in writing, is presented in a professional manner while communicating its message directly to its employees or customers. This position can wear many hats from the management to the marketing department. For a manager, this is beneficial because cutting down costs and increasing profits is the overall goal and a technical writer makes everything more efficient.

A professional writing degree is a field that can expand in any discpline. It is needed everywhere. In this case, it perfectly fits in the business world. As long as business is growing, so technical writing will parallel that growth. By having a technical writer, they are already trained in how to present the company professionally and can learn the skills of other parts of the company such as management and that will decrease the possibility of having to hire another employee. Hiring a technical writer is a smart investment in the long-run with many benefits the our company. 

Sources:

Elizabeth Tebeauz: Let’s Not Ruin Technical Writing, Too: A Comment on the Essays of Carolyn Miller and Elizabeth Harris. College English, 41(7), 822-825. Miller, C.R. (1979). Carolyn Miller responds. Collge English, 41(7), 825-827.

What’s technical about Technical Writing? By David N. Dobrin

Defining Technical and Professional Writing

Technical writing is a very broad term and its definition has been debated for quite some time.  The definitions tend to be imprecise and put limitations on the technical writing field.  However, in general, technical writing is a way to convey information.  Technical writers hope to help readers and users understand and use a product.  Their goal is make complicated information easily understandable.  Technical writers are the ones who create manuals and instructions for a wide variety of things.  They do not always write about technology.  They could write business correspondence, grant proposals, or even cookbooks.  Their writing is meant to be clear and concise.

With my internship with the Southeast Kansas Humane Society of Crawford County, I am writing grant applications.  So, my goal is to gather all of the data and information and present it in a way so that the Humane Society can receive funding for their needs.  I need to be as clear as possible so that the proposal reviewers know exactly what the Humane Society wants to do, why they need the funding, and how the funding will be used.  If I am not successful, then the Humane Society will not receive any funding for all of the projects that they need to be accomplished. 

There is a great potential value in hiring a technical writer.  Technical writers are very efficient because their writing has to be clear and concise.  During their coursework, they learn how to think critically and write professionally.  All of these skills enable them to communicate in professional manner both on paper and in person.  Along with strong writing skills, they also know a thing or two about page layout and design.  They will make any content and information look professional.  They should also have strong computer skills.  Overall, they have a good understanding of communicating in a precise manner. 

A degree in technical and professional writing from the humanities department adds to the value of a technical writer.  Along with the technical writing classes, they are taught to think critically and logically, which helps with the precise writing.  Throughout their coursework, they will learn how to work with others, which is also an important skill to have.  By studying literature, they will learn how to interpret text, which is important when writing clear content.  Most importantly, through the humanities department, they will learn how to write in an organized and clear way.  Technical writers from the humanities department have a broadened skillset and knowledge, which makes them vital to any workplace that produces any type of documents. 

Olivia Hansen

Extricating “Technical” from Technical and Professional Writing

February 8th, 2016 

By: Jordyn Bollinger

The term “technical” has weighed down the field of Technical and Professional Writing for some time now—the reason, it often leaves a sour and rigid taste in people’s mouths. Some think technical writing has to do with writing about technology, where the professional is confined to writing manual after manual. Professionals in the field agree that technical doesn’t give the field a clear and accurate representation of what a person working in the field does. Technical writing to the people in the field is more than writing about technology. For the following hiring position, it’s important to justify and clarify what the field of technical and professional writing has to offer. I will give existential advice from my own experience as well as reference other professional voices that speak to this issue. By the end of this post, I hope to extricate any negative connotations attached to the term. In moving from Technical and Professional Writing to just Professional Writing, the average Joe will have an easier time accepting the profession as a competitive and valuable service.

            When I first heard about the field, I had no inclination of what it meant. Some said, “Oh, it’s just a lot of grant and formal writing.” They were right; however, within those pieces of writing comes skills in formatting, style, and content. According to David Dobrin, a trained Technical Writer, clarifies the definition of technical in technical writing. He proposes the argument that the term is too precise, and therefore limits people’s interpretation of it. While technical writing may be about ‘a subject in the pure sciences, in which the writer informs the reader through an objective presentation of facts,’ it is also about the art and rhetoric of such presentation (3). Technical writers know that writing both for generic audiences and specific audiences is required—therefore, the style and format of the content of their piece must be both clear and persuasive to the audience being addressed. Take Aristotle’s Five Cannon’s of Rhetoric for example. A technical writer must be able to provide invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery in their pieces. Professionals like Carolyn Miller agree:

Being practical suggests a certain attitude or mode of learning that relies on rules proved through use rather than on theory, history, experience, or general appreciation. Practical rhetoric therefore seems to concern the instrumental aspect of discourse—its potential for getting things done…[The Greeks] emphasized that rhetoric was an art (1)

 While Aristotle’s system was designed for public speaking (general audiences), that does not limit specific audiences either. I’ll give an example. In a recent class at Pittsburg State University, I had to construct a letter from Toyota (the company I hypothetically worked for) to a manufacturing company in Japan. The letter needed to persuade the Japanese CEO that they could trust our business. The opening lines were “It is bright and sunny here in Utah. The weather is beautiful and the flowers are blossoming nicely.” To several business persons in the U.S., this sort of opening line would seem frivolous and a waste of time. However, in cultures like Japan, this kind of talk is considered prudent to the beginning stages of the business deal. With this knowledge, I was able to persuade them as a technical writer with style, format, and correct content.

            The movement to extricate and potentially free technical from Technical and Professional Writing stems from the harsh misconceptions it has received over the years. The title Professional Writing will encompass everything it means to be a writer—yes, we write manuals about specific content, and yes, our “presentation of facts” are objective. However, Professional Writing is an art that encompasses rhetoric at its core.  Whatever content, subject, or audience we write for, we do so with intricate precision and acknowledgement of rhetoric. Without such, we wouldn’t be Professional Writers.

References

Dobrin, David N. "What's Technical about Technical Writing?" New Essays in Technical and Scientific Communication: Research, Theory, Practice (1983): 107-23. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2016.

Miller, Carolyn R. "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing." College English 40.6 (1979): 610. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. "What's Practical about Technical Writing" p. 61-70

Defining T/P Writing

A Technical Writer is someone who has the ability to fulfill the many needs of a company through a single person entity. David Dobrin says it best 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.” Technical writers are objective in their writing styles and use a more concrete structured way of presenting the material.  Some materials that technical writers are known for writing, formatting and editing are manuals, warning labels/signs, and handouts/pamphlets.

During my internship with The Writers’ Slate I will be asked to contribute in the editing and administrative side of the writing process. Some of the administrative items I am helping with is the selection of the submission that will be published in the upcoming issues. I also am the one that emails the writers that we will be publishing. The emails are a congratulations letter but some of them are also ideas for revisions that might bring their writing to the next level. My technical writing class experience helps me with some of this administrative work because we learn how to properly format emails, cover letters, and memos. It helps to give a professional consistency to any correspondence between the writers and the Writers’ Slate staff.

One benefit to having a full time technical writer on The Writers’ Slate staff would be the consistency that the individual could bring to the job. Right now for every three issues there is a new person working on the formatting and editing. There are templets that are supposed to be followed and an overall concept to stick with, however by having one person do the job there would be no consistency errors unless there was a purposeful change made. Another benefit of hiring someone full time would help with the communication of writers to editors. There are times when a writer from a previous issue finds an error and would like it fixed. This is not something difficult to do but it can be time consuming if the person fixing the error is not the original editor of the issue itself. By having a full time technical writer they would be able to recognize the person with the error and hopefully locate it quickly to change.

Some companies shy away from hiring someone with a humanities degree, however they should look into the benefits if they did hire someone with a humanities degree. An individual in this degree background would have the understanding of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure that might be a huge benefit towards their job. Another skill they have is the ability to research and review materials given to them while working on an assignment. These difference abilities set a person with a technical writing degree apart from all the rest.  

David Dobrin, “What’s Technical about Technical Writing?”

Defining Technical and Professional Writing

Technical and professional writing is an important field of study to incorporate into a lot of different work contexts. The writer can help multiple departments of people, creating a specialist to work with different kinds of writings. A technical and professional writer could be beneficial for the CEA Forum by reviewing its website, editing workflow documents, and doing any other upkeep tasks for the website, its upcoming issue, and its public Facebook page. Technical writers add more insight than other possible candidates might, because they have knowledge of writing, editing, design, and other helpful elements, making them well-rounded candidates to help a company.

A degree in Technical and Professional Writing is similar to having multiple degrees in different fields, because technical writing has many elements to it. A technical writing employee can manage both internal and external documents. Allen explains in “The Case against Defining Technical Writing” that defining technical writing itself can be harmful to people’s understanding of it, because when it is done it always puts the field in a box too small, focusing too much on one aspect of a wide variety of talents a technical writer has. In the case of working with the College English Association Forum, a technical writer can assist in the creation of new issues of the journal, interaction with readers, and upkeep of the website itself. The College English Association and the Forum both use Facebook as a social interaction tool to interact with people, so the technical writer can be involved in the public relations aspects that would usually need an entire other position. The technical writer can perform the actions of multiple employees, saving a company money that they would have to spend on multiple hires.

A technical and professional graduate, and, in particular, one from a humanities department, would be nothing but beneficial to a modern company. Degrees in the humanities are often overlooked in technical and scientific fields, but these candidates Bachelors of Arts Degrees are the exact things giving them a linguistic leg up on the competition. A technical degree in a humanities department gives a graduate knowledge of both sides of the spectrum. They will know how to articulate eloquently, and also when to slash a document with a red pen, editing down to only what is needed. Well-written emails, wide-audience memos, and technical documents like instructions are all within this candidates reach. A technical writer has their handle on rhetoric, and also understands how to get to the point and describe procedures that a scientist can execute but maybe not articulate in a more universally understandable way.

 Jo Allen, “The Case against Defining Technical Writing”

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?"