When
you read instruction booklets, medical reports, operating manuals, or
appendices, you are reading examples of technical writing. Articles for
marketing purposes such as press releases and promotional terms and conditions,
or for specialized projects such as grant proposals or business reports, are
also examples of technical writing.
Who
are the people who write these documents? What kind of educational background
is required to take on such a job? Is it a lucrative profession?
Technical
writing is a job handled by a professional writer who is well-versed in the
field he is assigned to write for or about. He does not need to hold a specific
type of degree, but is expected to have excellent English writing skills. He
must also have the ability to understand technical jargon and communicate every
report in a clear, consistent manner.
Is
technical writing a lucrative profession? Like any job, it really depends on
the situation. Some writers work as freelancers and take on a mix of writing
jobs from several clients at a time. Others hold full time jobs and do extra
writing work on the side. And yes, there are also companies who look for full
time technical writers to write their manuals, brochures, and other types of
collateral.
What
you should remember is, technical writing is just one among many forms of
writing a professional writer can be great at. Being trained in technical
writing can help you widen your writing portfolio, thereby making you more
attractive to a wider range of employers.
If
you want to add technical writing as a skill in your portfolio, you can sign up
for a technical writing workshop at TalkShop so that you can learn the basics
and intricacies behind the subject.
The
course first gives you an outline of the importance of technical writing,
setting expectations of your output, and how to differentiate technical writing
from business writing. It will then progress into grammar review covering
common areas of confusion, as well as rules and exceptions. This is something
even seasoned writers like to do from time to time, as language and style
constantly evolves.
Moving
further, the course will give you examples to demonstrate why technical writing
isn’t exactly technical—that
oftentimes, the writing is needed to translate technical reports into layman’s
terms.
When
it comes to composition, however, we will get technical with you by guiding you
through logical sequencing of your ideas, non-technical considerations, and
giving you exercises on different formats of technical writing: free-writing,
essay writing, and speech writing.
Part
of what makes a writer truly skilled is also his ability to proofread and
self-evaluate his own compositions, and this course will also cover this by
showing you how to avoid redundancies and superfluity, avoid commonly confusing words,
implement simplified versions of words and sentence construction, and use proper presentation
formats.
The
course ends with activities that put together everything you learned from the
workshop, followed by an evaluation, which allows your coach to give
recommendations on how you can continue to improve on your newly acquired
technical writing skills.
By
becoming better in technical writing, you will discover that your communication standards will
be at a higher level and that your writing style will develop more
sophistication and versatility. Further, you will be equipped with increased
confidence and productivity when handling and composing business
correspondence. It will also take you less effort to proofread and revise technical
compositions, whether they be your own or that of junior writers who look up to
you for their own development.
