LESSON I

INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING

TOPICS
1. The Significance of Technical Writing
2. Definition of Technical Writing
3. Basic Principle of Good Technical Writing
4. The Purposes and Subject of Technical Writing
5. Qualities of a Good Technical Report
6. The Technical Communication and Communicator
7. Characteristics of a Good Technical Communicator
8. Technical Documentation

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, student should be able to:
 Discuss the significance of technical writing
 Define technical writing
 Identify the basic principles of good technical writing
 Know the two important aspects of technical writing
 Describe the qualities of a good technical report
 Identify the characteristics of a good technical communicator
 Explain the concepts of technical writing.

TOPIC 1: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TECHNICAL WRITING

Technical writing is a skill that must be acquired not only by every criminology student, but also
by those who are already practicing their profession in the criminal justice system. Every
practitioner, either in different law enforcement agencies, or learners in the academe are
confronted with a variety of writing activities. Specifically, law enforcers are required to write
beat patrol reports, fill up routing slips, write traffic accident reports, compose blotter entries,
and submit various kinds of police reports. Likewise, those in the academe are also expected to
hand in researches, proposals, feasibility studies, technical reports, and many other classroom
written outputs.
With all these writing demands, the need for developing technical writing skills is highly
expected. The more that a person is inclined to learn and develop his writing skill, the higher is
the positive result of a good technical output.

The diagram in the next page exemplifies more on the importance and significance of technical
writer's skills and his expertise in relation to achieving a good technical output.

TOPIC 2: DEFINITION OF TECHNICAL WRITING

The word "Technical" comes from the Greek word 'techne' that means "skill". Technical writing
then is a form of technical skills and is used in fields like the military, police, computer industry,
robotics, finance, consumer electronics, biotechnology, and many other fields.

Technical writing according to Vicente, et.al (1997) is also termed as report writing, which is the
giving of an account or description of an aspect of a particular art, science, trade, or profession
learned by experience, study, observation, or investigation. Basing from this definition,
technical writing could also be specifically related in the field of criminology as the said field
involves writing of police reports and other technical output, which are results of careful
investigation. As stated further by Vicente,et.al (1997) technical writing is a process that
involves three elements, namely: the subject matter, the study or the investigation, and the
organization and presentation of the information gathered. In the same manner, these three
elements could be best exemplified when an investigator writes an investigation report, he
then makes a careful investigation, and studies through observation, analysis, experimentation,
and instrumentation. These are done in order to support and present factual information
regarding assigned cases. The investigator then moves into organizing and presenting all the
gathered facts in adherence to the standards required in the uniform reporting of the police
system.

Furthermore,
Alcantara and Espina (2003)
defined technical writing
as a communication in
any field where the
primary aim of which is to
convey a particular piece of
information, for a
particular purpose, to a
particular group or group of
readers. Therefore, the
technical writer is expected
to be objective, clear
and accurate, concise
and unemotional in
the representation of
facts. Refer to the next
page for the specific
illustration of
technical writing in
criminology.
 TOPIC 3: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOOD TECHNICAL WRITING

Basic Principles of Good Technical Writing Good technical writing is not an instant process, it
does not happen overnight, because it requires effort and training on the part of the writer in
order to produce a good output. This is the main reason why Mills and Walter (1988) pointed
out important principles to be considered in technical writing. These principles are enumerated
as follows:
1. The writer of a report must have a specific reader or group of readers in mind.
2. He must decide what the specific purpose of his report is and make sure that every part of his
report contributes to that purpose.
3. He must use specific, single, concrete word and familiar language that will not be
misinterpreted.
4. He must make his report very presentable in format. The layout must conform with the
standard forms of writing.

Fig.3. Principles of Good Technical Writing (Illustrated by MCBN)

TOPIC 4: THE PURPOSE AND SUBJECT OF TECHNICAL WRITING

Writing is a form of communication, it becomes more effective if the technical writer must
consider two important factors-the purpose and the subject matter. Subject matter refers to
the objective information that the writer wants to convey; whereas, purpose refers to the goals
that the writer wants to achieve for himself and his readers after presenting his written output.
The illustration below exemplifies more on these concepts.
 TOPIC 5: QUALITIES OF A GOOD TECHNICAL WRITING
Not only does a technical writer is required to have good writing skills, but also his technical
reports must have good qualities that are appropriate and relevant. Brevity, clarity,
completeness, and accuracy are the essential qualities in order to achieve this. These said
qualities are discussed below:

1. Brevity - this is the quality of writing which is characterized by the shortness or briefness of
the writing material; this is achieved through presentation of ideas in a short but complete
manner. Not all readers have the luxury of time to read and reread a particular text, therefore,
materials that are briefly and completely written may help readers save time.
2. Clarity - this is a condition of writing where ideas are simplified by making it easier for the
readers to understand. This is achieved by providing further examples, illustrations, or diagrams
in order to clarify the text. A conscientious writer considers that not all readers are well-versed
with specific terminologies, therefore it is his responsibility to convey his ideas as clearly as
possible.
3. Completeness - this is a quality of writing where the ideas in the paragraph are entirely and
absolutely free from inconsistencies and errors in any form. A good writer is aware that one of
his objectives is to present information that is entirely complete.
4. Accuracy- this refers to the exactness and correctness of writing, as this is a result from
precision, conformity to grammar, and adherence to writing standards. There are writers who
know how to present their ideas, but they are inaccurate in presenting facts. An effective writer
is someone who is not only good at presenting his ideas but also accurate in conveying all the
complete facts. A well-written report is a product of an accurate writer.

TOPIC 6:THE TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNICATOR

For communication to be effective, it requires quality content, language, and format. The most
important aspect of communication is to disseminate information, and this is where the written
or the oral form of communication comes in. Technical communication is the process of
conveying technical information through writing, speech, and other medium to an intended
audience. Specifically, in law enforcement and its related agencies, law enforcers communicate
with each other using coded messages, they communicate in jargons that they can decipher. In
addition, they write and submit reports using technical terms that are understood within the
realm of a specific field of specialization. The main function of technical communication is to
convey specific messages to specific readers.

THE TECHNICAL COMMUNICATOR

A technical communicator is a person whose job involves technical communication. Technical

communicators are those who design reading materials, edit proposals, write manuals, create
web pages, write lab reports, write newsletters, and submit various kinds of professional
documents. In addition, they are responsible for writing texts that accurate, readable,
acceptable, and helpful to its intended audience. Every profession has its own kind of
specialized form of writing. For example, police officers write specialized reports like beat patrol
reports, traffic accident reports, blotter entries, investigative reports, and many other forms of
reports that the organization requires.
 TOPIC 7:CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TECHNICAL COMMUNICATOR

A good technical communicator is a person who has developed his good writing skills, has
mastered all the conventions of the written language, and has good characteristics. These good
characteristics are enumerated below.
1. Knows his audience well- A technical writer who knows his/her audience well, and is in the
position to suggest and implement solutions to problems that nobody else identifies.
2. Serves as a "go-between"- Whenever one group of people has specialized knowledge that
other groups does not share, the technical writer bridges the gap.
3. A Generator of truth- A Technical writer chooses what will be written, with the full
knowledge that later readers will depend on the accuracy of what has been written.
4. A Good teacher- He excels at explaining difficult concepts for readers who will have no time
to read twice.
5. Has an excellent eye for details- He knows punctuations, syntax, and style, and can explain
the rules governing them.

6. Knows how to coordinate- Though he works on his own much of the time, he also knows
how to coordinate with the collaborative work of graphic artists, programmers, printers, and
various subject matter experts
7. Has enough expertise- He is an expert in understanding the audience's background and
needs.
8. Knows how to gather information- He has a nose for information from existing documents
and from subject matter experts.
9. He is respected and credible- He is a person with credibility, and he is also a valuable and
reliable source of information.
10. Has a strong language skill- He understands the highly evolved conventions of modern
technical communication.

TOPIC 8: TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

Technical communicators often work hand in hand to create written products or deliverables.
These deliverables are technical documents that contain technical information. Examples of
these are police reports, police correspondence and issuances, legal documents, corporate
disclaimers, policies and procedures, business proposals, and procedure manuals. A technical
documentation is useful if the readers can understand and act on them without having to
decode wordy and ambiguous words. Technical documentation services comprise of all
activities, means, and system that provide information to its specialized fields.