Senior Officer’s Management Course
Si
II
Batch
04
S
ess
i
on-
II
Batch
-
04
Technical Writing
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Technical Writing-Management Course-Lecture Slides, Slides of Management Fundamentals
This lecture was delivered by Dr. Umar Faiz at Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Islamabad (PIEAS) for Management Course. It includes: Planning, Analyzing, Audience, Expressing, Impressing, Readers, Managerial, Theorists, Job, Function
Typology: Slides
2011/2012
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Senior Officer’s Management Course
S
i
II
Batch
Session-II
Batch
Technical Writing
docsity.com
We have bigger houses but smaller families: We have moredegrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgments;more experts but more problems; more medicines, but lesshealthiness. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but
y
we have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.
We build more computers to hold more information, to producemore copies than ever but we have less communication Wemore copies than ever, but we have less communication. Wehave become long on quantity but short on quality. These aretimes of fast foods, but slow digestion; tall man, but shortcharacter; steep profits but shallow relationships It is timecharacter; steep profits, but shallow relationships. It is timewhen there is much in the window but nothing in the room.
(Dalai Lama)
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
Umar Faiz
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
Expressing versus
p
g
Impressing^
The right way to approachtechnical writing is expressingtechnical writing is expressingideas and conveyinginformation,
o^
Yet the urge to impress
o^
Yet the urge to impressreaders is all too prevalent.
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Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
What Is Technical Writing?
g
Broadly, the audience includes
o^
Technical readers
o^
Theorists
o^
Theorists
o^
Technicians
o^
Managerial readersG
l^
d^
( t ti
o^
G
eneral readers (at times)
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
1. Technical Readers
Technical readers have deepknowledge about the contentof your particular written
y^
p
communication.
Technical readers prefer adirect and simplified writtend ec a d s
p
ed w
e
approach.
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Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
3. Technicians
Technicians repair, maintain,and operate mechanisms andcontrol processes.
p
o^
Electricians, nurses, andhydraulics mechanics are alltechnicians.
Forms of writing commonlydirected to this group are
o^
Technical manuals
o^
Mechanical descriptions, etc
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
- Managerial Readers
Managerial readers do notneed the technical detail anddepth.Th
i l
d
i h
Th
e managerial reader might not have the technicalunderstanding of the purelytechnical reader.
Managers generally areflooded with writteninformation and do not havetime to readtime to read.
o^
"Executive Summary" hasbecome a common andvaluable tool in technical report
iti
writing.
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Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
Conducting an Audience Analysis
g
y
Creating an Audience Analysis Grid
To establish specific plans for preparing a technical document, take time toresearch some typical questions (shown in the grid).research some typical questions (shown in the grid).
Typical Research Questions
PrimaryAudience
SecondaryAudience
1. What type of document is it?
yp
2. Who will read your document?3. Why it being written? 4
Wh
h i
j b f
i^
4. What are their job functions?5. What are their levels of expertise and experience?6. What do they need from the document?7. Do they have any biases or prejudgments?8. Under what conditions will the audience read this document?
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
1. What type of document is it?
Some possibilities :
o^
Proposal
o^
Procedure
o^
Procedure
o^
Contract
o^
Instructions
o^
Progress report annual
^
Presentation at meeting
^
News article
^
Newsletter
o^
Progress report, annualreport, other report
^
Newsletter
^
Letter
^
Book (covers a wide range oftopics)topics)
^
Advertisement or advertisingbrochure
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience ^
3. Why it was written?
Some possibilities:
o^
To get new work or newcustomers.
o^
To persuade (covers a wide
o^
To persuade (covers a widerange of topics).
o^
To say why you need theresources (people, money, etc)to do a jobto do a job.
o^
To tell someone what to do orhow to do it.
o^
To tell someone what you are doing and whether you are onschedule (or why not).
o^
To inform (give peopleinformation they might want orneed).
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience
4. What are their job functions?
Some possibilities:
o^
Your supervisor.
o^
Senior management.
o^
Shareholders in your company.
o^
Prospects.
o^
Users of your goods orservicesservices.
o^
Suppliers (people who supplygoods or services to you oryour company).
o^
General public (may have aninterest in the topic).
o^
Legislators/governmentbureaucratsbureaucrats
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience ^
5. What are their levels of
i^
d
i^
?
expertise and experience?^
Find out as accurately aspossible the technicalknowledge of your readers.knowledge of your readers.
Do not use terms they might notunderstand. Do not explainthem things they already know.
For experienced audience,include advanced information.experience.
If th
t^
th
iti
If they are new to the position,you may be required to writelonger introductions and givemore background material.
Planning - Analyzing Your Audience ^
5. What Are Their Levels ofExpertise and Experience? Expertise and Experience?^
If your audience is small, theirknowledge levels may besimilar. If your audience isl
t
large, you can expect agreater diversity.
Some questions to ask:
o^
General educational level
^
Low, average or high?
o^
Knowledge level in the subjectmatter
^
Low, average or high?
o^
English as second or thirdlanguage?
^
Poor, average or high Englishlanguage skills?