Objectives or goals of technical communication

Gerson: Technical Communication, 6e © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.1

Technical Communication: Process and Product

6th Edition

Steven M. Gerson

Sharon J. Gerson


Chapter 3: The Goals of Technical Communication

This chapter discusses the following:

• Clarity• Conciseness• Accuracy• Organization• Ethics


Clarity

To achieve clarity:

• Provide Specific Detail

• Answer the Reporters’ Questions

• Use Easily Understandable Words

• Use Verbs in the Active Voice Versus the Passive Voice


Clarity—Provide Specific Detail

BAD:

“Put enough air in your tires.”

(How much air is “enough”?)

GOOD:

“Fill your tires to 32 pounds per square inch.”

Specific detail

Vague word


Clarity—Answer Reporter’s Questions

Reporter’s Questions = who, what, when, where, why, and how

BAD:“We bought a new machine to solve the problem.”

• Who is “we”? • What is the “new machine”? • When was the purchase made? • Where was the machine located? • Why was the purchase made—what was the problem? • How much did the machine cost?


Clarity—Answer Reporter’s Questions (cont.)

GOOD:“The marketing department bought anew AABco laser printer ($595) on June 10 for our production room.This printer will produce double-side,color copies unlike our prior printer. ”


Clarity—Use Easily Understandable Words

BAD:

“We are cognizant of your

need for issuance of citations

pursuant to code 18-B1 CPR

violations.”

NOTE:

Write to express, not to impress! Use words that

are easy to understand.

NOTE:

Write to express, not to impress! Use words that

are easy to understand.

Define abbreviations like “CPR.”


Clarity—Use Easily Understandable Words (cont.)

GOOD:

“We know you need to send citations because of code 18-B1 Continuing Property Record violations. ”


Clarity—Use Verbs in the Active Voice vs. the Passive Voice

Avoid Passive Voice:

“It has been determined

that the machine was

broken by John.”

Use Active Voice:

“John broke the

machine. ”

NOTE:

Active voice sentences are less wordy and

more direct than passive voice constructions.

NOTE:

Active voice sentences are less wordy and

more direct than passive voice constructions.


Practice

• Use the end-of-chapter activities to practice writing clearly.


Conciseness

To achieve conciseness:

• Write to “fit the box”• Limit paragraph

length• Limit sentence length• Limit word length


Conciseness—Write to “fit the box”

• Technical communication often “fits in a box.”– An automobile’s user manual must fit in the glove

compartment.– Instructions for baking brownies must fit on the

back of the brownie box.• Due to technological advancements, the box

is shrinking. Consider the monitor size of: – Cell phones– PDAs – E-mail screens– PowerPoint slides


Conciseness—Write to “fit the box” (cont.)



The size of this e-mail box limits the size of your correspondence.



Boxes within boxes within boxes


Conciseness—Limit Paragraph Length

• To write concisely, limit paragraph length to approximately:– 4-6 lines of text– 50 words per paragraph


Conciseness—Limit Paragraph Length (cont.)

BAD

Please prepare to supply a readout of your findings and recommendations to the officer of the Southwest Groupat the completion of your study period. As we discussed,the undertaking of this project implies no currently knownincidences of impropriety in the Southwest Group, nor isit designed to find any. Rather, it is to assure ourselves of sufficient caution, control, and impartiality when dealing with an area laden with such potentialvulnerability. I am confident that we will be better served as a company as a result of this effort.

NOTE:Long

paragraphs are hard to

read.

NOTE:Long

paragraphs are hard to

read.


Conciseness—Limit Paragraph Length (cont.)

BETTERPlease prepare to supply a readout of your findings and recommendations to the officer of the Southwest Groupat the completion of your study period.

As we discussed, the undertaking of this project implies no currently known incidences of impropriety in the Southwest Group, nor is it designed to find any. Rather, it is to assure ourselves of sufficient caution, control, and impartiality when dealing with an area laden with such potential vulnerability.

I am confident that we will be better served as a company as a result of this effort.

NOTE:Shorter paragraphs are easier to read.

Spacing gives readers a chance to stop, breathe, and digest the information.

These paragraphs are still hard to read, due to the sentence and word length.

NOTE:Shorter paragraphs are easier to read.

Spacing gives readers a chance to stop, breathe, and digest the information.

These paragraphs are still hard to read, due to the sentence and word length.


Conciseness—Limit Sentence Length

• To write concisely, limit sentence length to:– 10-15 words (average)


Conciseness—Limit Word Length

• To write concisely, limit word length to:– 1-2 syllables (average)

NOTE:All words cannot be 1-2 syllables! You cannot shorten words like “telecommunications,” “engineer,” “accountant,” or “trinitrolulene” (TNT).

Change the words you can; leave other words alone.

NOTE:All words cannot be 1-2 syllables! You cannot shorten words like “telecommunications,” “engineer,” “accountant,” or “trinitrolulene” (TNT).

Change the words you can; leave other words alone.


Conciseness—Limiting Word and Sentence Length (cont.)

BAD

“During the month of July, I

made a decision to positively

impact my writing inabilities

by having a meeting with an instructional

advisor.”

NOTE:This sentence is 23 words long, and it uses five words over two syllables (underlined).

NOTE:This sentence is 23 words long, and it uses five words over two syllables (underlined).


Conciseness—Limiting Word and Sentence Length (cont.)

GOOD

“In July, I decided to improve

my writing by meeting with a

teacher.”NOTE:

This sentence is 13 words long, and it uses one word over two syllables (underlined).

NOTE:This sentence is 13 words long, and it uses one word over two syllables (underlined).


Practice

• Use the end-of-chapter activities to practice writing concisely.


Accuracy

• Errors in your writing make you look unprofessional.

• Proofread to catch and correct errors.


Organization

• Use appropriate organizational modes to help readers understand your content:– Spatial (good for technical specifications)– Chronological (good for instructions)– Importance (good for focusing your reader’s

attention on the key ideas in any type of writing)

– Comparison/Contrast (good for showing alternatives in any type of writing)

– Problem/Solution (good for proposals)


Practice

• Use the end-of-chapter activities to practice different organizational modes.


Ethics

• Post Enron, IMclone, and Adelphia, ethics in communication have never been more important.

• Effective technical communication must focus on:– Legalities– Practicalities– Ethicalities


Ethics (cont.)

• Follow the Society for Technical Communication’s (STC) six guidelines for writing ethically, as follows:


Ethics (cont.)

1. Use language and visuals with precision. (Clarity)

2. Prefer simple, direct expressions of ideas. (Conciseness)

3. Satisfy the audience’s need for information, not your own need for self expression. (Clarity and Conciseness)


Ethics (cont.)

4. Hold yourself responsible for how well the audience understands the message. (Clarity)

5. Respect the work of colleagues. (Focusing on Confidentiality, Courtesy, and Copyright laws)

6. Strive continually to improve your professional competence. Promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment.


Practice

• Use the end-of-chapter activities to practice ethical considerations.