Technical Writing Conventions

Principle 1: Use Active Voice

"Active voice" is a grammatical term that refers to when the noun of a sentence performs the action of the sentence, and the noun is clearly paired with an action verb.

Consider the following examples:

• Gloria sent the finalized business proposal to her boss.

• Gloria's finalized business proposal was sent to her boss.

Which sentence do you find easier to understand? Why?

Principle 1: Use Active Voice (cont'd)

In general, active voice is preferred over passive voice, especially in direct technical communication. There are, however, instances in which passive voice is the better option. These instances include:

• When you do not know who or what is responsible for the action

• When the person or thing that performed the action is not important for your reader to know

• When you know the subject responsible for the action, but you don't want to assign credit, responsibility, or blame

• When you want to maintain the impression of objectivity

Principle 2: Common Words > Complex Words

In tecnical communication, clarity is of utmost importance; using language that is accurate, appropriate, and straightforward is one way you can ensure your writing is clear.

The kind of words you use will of course depend on your audience. In general, though, you want to avoid using euphemisms, jargon, and slang.

• Euphemisms are words that are milder or indirect ways of saying things, often used to soften the message (e.g., "let go" instead of "fired").

• Jargon is technical language understood by a specific profession or discipline.

• Slang is casual, informal language, often invented words that certain groups of people understand.

Principle 3: Write for Your Reader

As we hopefully all know by now, we must always consider our rhetorical situation when writing. Audience is one incredibly important element of the rhetorical situation; who we're writing for affects what, when, where, why, and how we write!

With technical writing, using plain language is important because technical documents often have many different audiences, and the plainer the language, the easier it is for more people to understand.

Which is clearer? Why?

• No persons are permitted to utilize the park between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

• The park is closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Check Your Writing for...

• Repetitive ideas
• For example, providing two definitions of the same idea when one definition would suffice.

• Repeated words

• Unnecessary words

• Expletive pronouns
• These types of pronouns generally take the form of "there is" or "there are" and do not stand for a specific person, thing, or place. They can make sentences awkward and wordy, the opposite of concise! Unless crucial to the grammatical structure of a sentence, most sentences are better off without expletive pronouns.

Case Study #1: Delivering Negative News

A Human Resouces manager must let employees know that their paychecks will be delivered a day late. Which of the following is a more effective piece of communication? Why?

"Due to an error made by our payroll processing company, the paychecks of all employees who never signed up for direct deposit will be delievered a day late."

"We apologize for the inconvience caused by the fact that PLT processing, our payroll company, experienced an issue that will delay paychecks by one day. By signing up for direct deposit, you can ensure that your paychecks will not be delayed."

Case Study #2: Promoting Safety in User Manuals

A technical writer is creating a user manual for how to install a ceiling fan. Which of the following statements would be easier for users to follow? Why?

"Be sure to read the following important information about where Super Air Flow fans might be installed before mounting the fan."

"Before mounting your new Super Air Flow fan, read the following helpful safety recommendations."