TECHNIQUES OF WRITING

WRITING SKILLS

• Success depends on writing ability as a professional.• It commensurate with effective techniques of various forms of writing• Business letters, reports, proposals, instructions, notices, handbooks,

manuals etc.• These play a key role in evaluating the progress, performance and

market conditions of an organization.

• Undeniable fact that preparation of these requires some essential writing skills.

• As the aim is at producing desired results, the framing has to be much in consonance with the reader’s education and familiarity with the subject matter.

• Hence it is writer’s duty to bring spontaneity in the document making it readable and understandable so that the reader does not develop lack of interest.

Effective writing technique alone can make a dull piece interesting.Most technical documents are often factual.The writer can make it presentable without disrupting the flow which is possible if he follows a technique that suits his readers.

A GOOD STYLE SHOULD SHOW NO SIGNS OF EFFORTS. WHAT IS WRITTEN SHOULD SEEM TO BE A HAPPY ACCIDENT.

- W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM

Technical writing is communication written for and about business and industry. It focuses on products and services for supervisors, colleagues, subordinates, vendors and customers.Types of technical writing- Memos and electronic mails , Letters, Reports etc.The goal of the writer is to create text that is clear, concise, easy to understand, and easy to navigate.

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL WRITINGTechnical writing - a significant factor in work experience for several reasons:

Business- an occasional endeavour.

Maintain good customer- client relation

Ensure accomplishment of work on time (directive memos or e- mails)Generate income (sale letters, brochures, and fliers)Keep machinery working (user manuals)Ensure that correct equipment is purchased (technical descriptions)Participate in teleconferencing and video conferencing (oral communication)Get a job (resumes)Define terminology (online help screens)Inform the world about your company’s products and services (Internet Web Sites)

THE WRITING PROCESS:

PREWRITING WRITING REWRITING

THE WRITING PROCESS

PREWITING WRITING REWRITING

• Examine purposes• Determine goals• Consider audience• Gather data• Determine how the

content will be provided

• Organise the draft according to some logical sequence that the readers can follow easily

• Format the content to allow for ease of access

• Reviseo Add missing detailso Delete wordinesso Simplify word

usageo Enhance the tone

of communicationo Reformat the text

for ease of accesso Practice the

speech or review the text

• Proofreado Correct errors

PREWRITINGEXAMINE YOUR PURPOSES

• External motivation- if the writer has been asked to write. Ex- memo suggesting solutions etc

• Internal motivation- if the writer has decided to write on his own . Ex- letter of inquiry, e-mail, etc.

DETERMINE YOUR GOALS-

• Communicating to persuade- if the goal is to change others’ opinions or a company’s policies, one needs to be persuasive. Ex- proposal, annual progress report, letter of complaint

Communicating to instructCommunicating to build trust- to build rapportCONSIDER THE AUDIENCE-What you say and how you say it- is greatly determined by your audience.Are you writing up to management, down to subordinates, or laterally to co-workers? GATHER YOUR DATA- PREWRITING TECHNIQUES

• Answering the reporter’s questions- by answering who, what, when, where, why and how, you can create the content

• Mind mapping- means drawing information in diagrams - looking at the topic from multiple perspectives and then clustering the similar ideas(Envision a wheel. At the center is your topic. Radiating from this center, like spokes of the wheel, are different ideas about the topic)

• Brainstorming or listing- generating creative ideas through intensive group discussion

• Outlining – traditional method of gathering and organizing information by breaking the topic into major and minor components.

• Storyboarding- it is a visual planning technique that lets you graphically sketch each page or screen of the text. It allows one to see how the document might look like.

Product Info

• _____________• _____________• _____________

Address ___________________________

Product Name

Contact Info

stamp

logo

• Creating Organization Charts- this graphic allows you to see the overall organization

Home Page

Linked Page Product Info

Linked Page Prices

Linked Page Job

Opportunities

Warranties

Technical Specs

Discounts

Computer

Technicians

SalesReps

Administrative

Assts.

FLOW CHARTING-Flow charting is another visual technique for gathering data. Because flow charting organizes content chronologically, it is especially useful for instructions. For example:

Stop/ Start =

Step =

Decision =

Determine How The Content Will Be Provided

Last stage in pre-writing is to decide how best to convey the message. Will you write a letter, a memo, a report, an e-mail, a website or so on.

Approach- SINGLE SOURCING- A new phrase currently in use

The act of producing documents designed to be recombined and reused across projects and various media. (a single source of text that will generate multiple documents for different media)

WRITING Draft it in such a way that the readers follow your train of thought

readily. And can easily access your data

Writing the draft lets you organize the thoughts in some logical, easy to follow sequence.

Writers usually know where they are heading to but readers don’t. They can only read a line. They only hope that the writer will lead them along logically and not get them lost in back alleys of unnecessary data or dead - end arguments.

ORGANIZATIONHence organizing the data

Options- • Space

• Chronology

• Importance

• Comparison/contrast

• Problem/solution

FORMATTING

Format the text to allow ease of access

Also consider how the text looks on the page

If you give your reader a massive wall of words, they will file your document for future reading and look for the nearest exit.

An unbroken page of text is not reader friendly.

Make them want to read

Highlight the key points and break up monotonous looking text

REWRITING

Most Important Stage to ensure that everything is just right

- Makes the writing perfect

- Good writers fine-tune, hone, sculpt, and polish their drafts to make sure their final versions are perfect

- To rewrite, revise, revise and revise

Revision requires to look over the draft and do the following:

• Add missing details for clarity

• Delete dead words and phrases for conciseness

• Simplify unnecessarily complex words and phrases to allow for easier understanding

• Emphasize the important ideas

• Reformat using highlighting techniques

• Enhance the tone and style of the text

• Correct any errors

Dear Berth---I appreciate you notifying me of the delay in delivery of your order. Your orders are coded to ship via Allied Shipping. Allied’s stated shipping level is next day. However because of Allied’s sorting system , the way Allied ships package, it is possible for an order to become split. Alternate delivery is possible through an delivery service we use in your district. To do this we need an alternative address. Please let me know should you need additional. If you need additional information, please feel free to contact me

Carefree Cosmetics83rd End PreenKansas City, MO 64141

September 19, 2013

Mrs. Berth Fox6078 BrowntreeMilwaukee, WI 53131

Dear Mrs. Fox:Thanks for letting me know about the split delivery of your campaign 19 order. Our talk last week gives me an opportunity not only to explain the situation but also to offer help.Allied will deliver to your home; however Allied sorts packages individually rather than as a group. Even though we send your packages as a unit (all under your name), Allied loads its trucks not by complete order but by individual cartons. Because of this, occasionally one carton ends up one truck with another carton shipped separately. You received such a split order. This is an inherent flaw in Allied’s system; however Allied constantly works with us to eliminate these service failures.

Because we understand this problem, we have an alternative delivery service for you. Free of charge, you can have your order delivered by our delivery agent, whose system has better control of orders. If you like this service, we will need an alternative address since it delivers only within a designated area. Should you be unable to establish a different delivery address, we will still work with Allied to ensure that you receive home delivery of your complete orders.

Sincerely,

David L. PorterSenior Transportation Analyst

Objectives in technical writing

• Clarity

• Conciseness

• Accuracy

• Organization

• Ethics

CLARITY- the ultimate goal of good writing

PROVIDE SPECIFIC DETAIL• Supply specific quantifies information• Don’t use vague, abstract adjectives or adverbs, such as some or

recently Example: Our latest attempt at molding preform protectors has led to some positive results. We spent several hours in Dept. 15 trying different machine settings and techniques. Several good parts were molded using two different sheet thicknesses. Here’s the summary of the findings. First we tried the thick sheet material. At 2400F, this thickness worked well.Next we tried the thinner sheet material. The thinner material is less forgiving, but after a few adjustments we were making good parts. Still the thin material caused the most handling problems.

REWRITTEN

During the week of 10/4/05, we spent approximately 12 hours in Dept. 15 trying different machine settings, techniques, and thicknesses to mold pre-form mold protectors. Here is a report on our findings.0.030’’ Thick SheetAt 2400F, this thickness worked well,0.015” Thick SheetThis material is less forgiving, but after decreasing the heat to 2000F, we could produce good parts. Still material at 0.015” causes handling problems

The goal of a technical writer is to communicate clearly. To do so, state your exact meaning through specific, quantified word usage.

ANSWER THE REPORTER’S QUESTIONSAnswer the 5 W’s and H

Example:

DATE: NOVEMBER 11, 2012TO: MARY JANY POSTFROM: DON GOLDENBAUMSUBJECT: TECHNICIAN MEETING

Please be prepared to plan a presentation on month end reports. Please be sure that your explanations are very detailed.Thanks

The questions are What doesn’t the newly hired employee know?What additional information would that employee need to do the job?What needs clarifying?What is the subject of the presentation?Who is the audience?(technicians)Is Don focusing on automotive technicians, electronic engineering technicians, or dental hygiene technicians?Why is the presentations being made?What is the rationale or motivational for the meeting?When will the presentation be made?How much detail is very “detailed”?Where will Mary Jane and the technicians meet for the presentation?Is Mary being asked to make a presentation, plan a presentation, or merely prepare to plan a presentation?

The memo lacks clarity.

USE EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE WORDSAnother key to clarity is using words that the reader can understand easily.Avoid obscure words and be careful in using acronyms, abbreviations and jargon.

WRITE TO EXPRESS, NOT TO IMPRESSWRITE TO COMMUNICATE , NOT TO CONFUSE

If the reader has to use dictionary, you are not writing clearly

Example: The following rules are to be used when determining whether or not to duplicate messages:• Do not duplicate nonduplicatable messages.• A message is considered nonduplicatable if it has already been duplicated. Your job duties will be to ensure that distributed application modifications will execute without abnormal termination through the creation of production JCL system testing.

OBSCURE WORDS ALTERNATIVE WORDSAforementioned already discussedInitial firstIn lieu of instead ofAccede agreeAs per your request as you requestedIssuance sendThis is to advise you I’d like you to knowSubsequent laterIn as much as becauseAscertain find outPursuant to afterForward mailCognizant knowEndeavour tryRemittance payDisclose showAttached herewith attachedPertain to about

USING ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND JARGON create obstacles for the readers.Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name. Ex: scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), radar(radio detecting and ranging) NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

Abbreviation is shortened form of a word or phrase. Ex: FBI (Federal bureau of Investigation)

Some Jargons- (technical words or in-house words) have become so common that we reject them as clichés Ex: frozen ropes (line drives) heaters (fast balls) in the game of baseball.These words not only cause problems because they are too common but also because no one understands them.

Decide when to use acronyms, abbreviations, and jargon and how to use them effectively.A simple rule is to define the term.Rather than just writing CIA, write CIA (Cash in Advance).

USE VERBS IN ACTIVE VOICE RATHER THAN PASSIVE VOICEPassive constructions are often unclear.Passive constructions are often wordy.

Use Passive voice when an individual is less important than an inanimate object.Use passive voice when the individual is unkown

CONCISENESS- PROVIDING DETAIL IN FEWER WORDS

CONCISENESS SAVES TIME

CONCISENESS AIDS CLARITY

TECHNOLOGY DEMANDS CONCISENESS- the size of the screen makes the difference and screens are shrinking.

LIMIT PARAGRAPH LENGTH- Paragraph should not be too long- long para. Force the reader to wade through many words and digest large amount of information which hinders comprehension. As a rule, a para. In technical writing should consist of

(a) No more than 4 to 6 typed lines, or(b) No more than 50 words

The words and sentences should not be too long- Do not fill the para. With excessively long words and sentences. One can determine how foggy the text is by assessing it according to Robert Gunning’s fog index.

USING THE FOG INDEX1. Count the number of words in successive sentences once you reach

approximately 100 words, divide these words by the number of sentences. This will give you an average number of words per sentence.

2. Now count the number of long words within the sentences you have just reviewed. Long words are those with three or more syllables. You cannot count (a) proper names; (b) long words that are created by combining shorter words, such as chairperson or firefighter; (c) three syllable words created by –ed or –es endings such as united or arranges. Discounting these exceptions , count the remaining multisyllabic words.A good example may be the word mul-ti-syl-lab-ic.3. Finally, to determine the fog index, add the number of words per sentence and the number of long words. then multiply the total by 0.4The result if the fog index.

.

FOG INDEX AND READING LEVEL

Fog Index By Grade By Magazine

Danger Line

1716151413

College graduateCollege seniorCollege juniorCollege sophomoreCollege freshman

No popular magazine scores this high

1211109876

High school seniorHigh school juniorHigh school sophomoreHigh school freshmanEighth gradeSeventh gradeSixth grade

Atlantic MonthlyTime And NewsweekReader’s DigestGood HousekeepingLadies Home JournalModern RomancesComics

What does a fog index mean?Look at the following table. It shows at what level the paragraph is written

A fog index of 15.6 enters the danger zone for the reason:Approximately 33% of people are graduated at university level. Thus if you sre writing at this level, you will be alienating 67% of your audience.Given this fact, many businesses ask their employees to write at a sixth to eighth-grade level.To accomplish this , one has to strive for an average of 15 words per sentence and no more than 5 multisyllabic words per 100 words: 15 (words per sentence) + 5 ( multisyllabic words) 20 (total)

20 (total) x 0.4 ( fog factor) 8.0 ( fog index level)

USE THE MEAT CLEAVER METHOD OF REVISION-It is to cut the number of words per sentence in half or thirds

AVOID SHUN WORDS- IT MEANS to shun words ending in –tion, or –sion. Shun words are almost always unnecessarily wordy. Example: instead of writing ‘I want you to take into consideration the following’ one can write ‘consider the following’. That is 9 words versus 3.

SHUN WORDS CONCISE VERSIONSCame to the conclusion concludedWith the exception of except forMake revisions reviseInvestigation of the investigateConsider implementation implementUtilization of use

Avoid Camouflaged Words- commonSimilar to shun words.Key word is buried in the middle of surrounding words (usually helper verbs or unneeded prepositions)Ex: with the exception of (the key word except is camouflaged behind the unneeded with, the, tion, and of)

Camouflaged words Concise versions

Make an amendment to amendMake an adjustment of adjustHave a meeting meetThanking you in advance thank youFor the purpose of discussing discussArrive at an arrangement agreeAt a later moment later

AVOID THE EXPLETIVE PATTERNAnother way to write more concisely is to avoid the expletives:• There is, are, was, were, will be• It is, wasBoth these expletives lead to wordy sentences. Ex:There are three people who will work for Acme.It has been decided that ten engineers will be hired.

OMIT REDUNDANCIESWords that say the same thing. CONCISENESS IS ACHIEVED BY SAYING SOMETHING Once rather than twice. Ex: During the year of 2005In the month of DecemberThe computer will cost the sum of Rs. 30000 (Rs 30000 is a sum)The results so far achieved prove (a result by definition is something that has been achieved.)Our regular monthly status reportWe collaborated together on the projectThe other alternative is toThis is a new innovationThe consensus of opinion is to

AVOID WORDY PHRASESSometimes sentences are wordy simply because of wordy phrases.

WORDY PHRASES CONCISE REVISIONSIn order to purchase buyAt a rapid rate fastIt is evident that evidentlyWith regard to aboutIn the first place firstA great number of times often

ACCURACYTo be effective, technical writing must be accurate. If the writing is clear and concise but incorrect grammatically or textually, the writer has wasted the time and destroyed the credibility.Accuracy requires proofreading the text.Use the following tips:1. Let someone else read it2. Use the gestation(process in which idea forms and develops) approach3. Read backwards (not for the content)4. Read one line at a time5. Read long words syllable by syllable6. Use technology7. Check figures and abbreviations8. Read it loud9. Try scattershot proofing10.Use dictionary