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Home › Career › What Does a Technical Writer Do? › Top Technical Writing Portfolio Examples 2024

Top Technical Writing Portfolio Examples 2024

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Are you looking for technical writing portfolios to help inspire you? You’ve come to the right place.

You can use a technical writing portfolio to showcase your experience and skills. However, creating a great tech writing portfolio is quite challenging since there is a lot to consider. You should know how to communicate the complex work you do, show your technical writing projects in an interesting manner, and demonstrate your work samples, no matter if you have a many or few. 

Here, we cover the five best technical writing portfolio examples 2024. But before that, let’s discuss the importance of a technical writing portfolio and its major components.

What is a Technical Writing Portfolio?

Similar to a cover letter, the portfolio gives a hiring manager the first impression. A technical writing portfolio is your chance to show your potential hiring managers the range of your writing abilities, thought processes, and other useful skills. It is a set of web pages or a part of a larger website used to showcase your previous writing projects. Technical writers use tech writing portfolios to showcase their work, together with an explanation of their work methods. 

Having a technical writer portfolio is beneficial when explaining your achievements and demonstrating your writing skills and abilities. It is where you give solid proof of yourself as a strong and eligible candidate. In the main, writing portfolios lets you stay current in your career and help you interest potential clients or employers through your technical writing case studies, and more. Portfolios can become a decisive factor in getting you invited for the interview. It is what interests the recruiters to get in touch with you after learning about you and your technical writing skills.

Importance of a Technical Writing Portfolio

If you want somebody to hire you as a technical writer, you need to market your skills to them. Having a portfolio helps fulfill this purpose. A portfolio is a window that works as the make-or-break factor in determining whether a potential employer will choose you. A great online portfolio helps you leave a good impression on them. It provides proof of your expertise and abilities and demonstrates to the employer that you are eligible for a specific job.

You will need a technical writer portfolio, whether you are looking for a full-time position or a freelance job. While a CV gives recruiters an overview of your work experience, education, accomplishments, and skills, portfolios accentuate your expertise and what you can offer in the technical writing field. It allows you to show the employer your best skills in great detail and with maximum precision and differentiates you from other competitors. This, as a result, increases your chances of landing a job.

Major Components of a Technical Writing Portfolio

There is no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to what to add to a technical writing portfolio. In the end, your aim is to make your prospects confident in the fact that you can provide the service they need to drive business results. But how do you do that? You need to build your portfolio on a simple structure that introduces you, demonstrates your process, and inspires action. Here are the major components you should add to your tech writing portfolio:

Short Biography

Clients or employers look for candidates who will fit in their team. So, it is useful to add some basic information about you that can give some valuable insights into your personality and work style. Add a quick summary of your skills to tell your potential employers who you are, what you are good at, and how you will put your expertise to use in a work environment. Try to mention everything that might set you apart from other technical writers. A short yet good introduction lets the readers picture what sets you apart from other candidates and how you can help their business.

Work Samples and Case Studies

Gather the best samples of your work. Your goal is to interest your potential employer with high-quality technical writing samples and show your experience. Select the projects with interesting backstories and challenges – those that pushed you to your limits. If you have a long collection of projects, there is no need to indicate all of them. Showcase samples from your recent technical writing projects unless they are under NDA (non-disclosure agreement).

Collect your samples from different areas, such as user guides, release notes, tutorials, API documentation, reference manuals, etc., so that you can attract a bigger audience to your portfolio. Cover a diverse range of formats and writing situations to show your versatility and ability to use the appropriate language. A user guide and installation guide are essential in the high-tech software industry. So, you can include such texts and samples to make a great portfolio.

You can also display your work with case studies. Case studies cover descriptions of the projects and offer insight into your creative method and the before-and-after visual demonstration of your service(s). It is better to add case studies instead of including screenshots of your work to show recruiters what you can do.

Contact Information

If you want to win business, make it easy for prospects to contact you. Display your contact information like phone number and email in strategic places. In addition to adding basic contact information to your technical writer’s portfolio, highlight your online presence with links to social media profiles also. Sharing links to your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles can help you build up your credibility and authority. Also, the network will offer a greater sense of confidence to potential clients.

Testimonials

If you are an experienced technical writer, add testimonials from your previous clients or employers to your portfolio. Include written testimonials from everyone you have worked for. Make sure the shared testimonials are clear enough – indicating who they are coming from (their name, position, and company name).

5 Best Technical Writer Portfolio Examples 2024

By now, you know everything to start off. Your portfolio is a portal through which both clients and readers learn about you and your work methods – and it is one of the best ways to land a job. If you need to understand how to make a portfolio, take a look at these five writer portfolio examples for technical writing services:

Karen Rempel

Karen Rempel Technical Writing Portfolio

Karen Rempel is an award-winning New York-based technical writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in writing, designing, and creating other materials. She has a simple and clean website having different sections. The portfolio covers each project, along with detailed descriptions and the tools used. The site has a dedicated page to show Karen’s resume to the visitors. Throughout the site, you can find her contact information, previous technical communication position, services, and recent blog posts. You can find detailed client testimonials under the Recommendations section.

Mario Garon

Mario Garon Technical Writing Portfolio

Mario Garon is a technical writer with a background in translation [English/French]. He has a great passion for communicating complex ideas to readers in a simple manner and improving our everyday lives. The portfolio starts with his quick introduction and goes deep into all stages of his projects. There is also a Blog section that has posts around different tech topics written by Mario. He has also shared his resume to give a brief summary of his skills and experience relevant to technical communication. Clients can reach out to him by filling out a form on the Contact page.

Chelsea Palmer

Chelsea Palmer Technical Writing Portfolio

Chelsea Palmer is a renowned technical writer and designer who has been generating excellent copy for her clients and readers for many years. Some of her past employers are eBay, ProWrite, HealthSpot, and Johnson & Johnson Company. The Homepage of her personal website displays her major services: technical communication, digital and visual rhetoric, professional writing, and usability testing.

Her portfolio showcases all her recent technical writing projects, with short descriptions and appealing screenshots. What’s interesting is that the site has a page covering everything about creating technical documentation. Also, Chelsea’s portfolio contains individual pages having her resume and contact details.

Craig Wright

Craig Wright Technical Writing Portfolio

Stray Goat Writing Services is a firm owned by a UK-based freelance technical author, Craig Wright. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Communication and Information Design and boasts over two decades of experience in hardware and software technical documentation. Visit his website , and you will see some of the best technical writing samples in his portfolio.

The portfolio includes samples of technical writing projects like processes online help, user guide, software online help, and help articles, along with their brief descriptions and screenshots. In addition, the site has pages covering his work methods, services, case studies, client testimonials, blogs, and prices. There are About and Contact pages also, where you can find Craig’s brief introduction and contact information.

Peter Gustafson

Peter Gustafson Technical Writing Portfolio

Peter Gustafson is a senior API documentation writer with over 20 years of industry experience. He has worked on documentation for Stripe, Coinbase, Google and several other companies in the technology, crypto and FinTech sectors.

His portfolio website has a simple design and gets straight to the point: you can browse through the detailed list of documentation projects and access the documents that you find interesting. There is also an About page on the website with a brief author bio, and a page with Contact information in case you need to get in touch with Peter.

What to Do If You Have Zero Technical Writing Experience?

As an entry-level technical writer, you may have zero to some writing samples under your belt. Regardless, you must create a portfolio to apply for technical writing jobs. There is no need to wait for your first technical writing assignment to build your portfolio. Instead, keep practicing by creating new documents for existing programs or projects.

In the beginning, you may come across opportunities to gain experience by working for free. Work in exchange for samples to build your portfolio and gain references from reputable clients. Many open-source projects need help with documentation. Contributing to open source is a great idea as using Git, GitHub, and Markdown will help you develop skills that are in demand for technical writing jobs.

Also, you can land writing work by pitching ideas to blogs and publications. Start with small outlets like niche blogs. With little time spent refining your pitch, you can land a good number of guest posts this way. Just come up with a topic, carry out the research, write content, and reach out to editors to see if they want to publish it. Spec writing works great if you are just starting out and have ideas for the niche topic.

Collect poor documentation and rewrite it to make it better. Then, in your writing portfolio, mention how and why you made changes to the technical documentation. In addition, you can start publishing how-to articles or tutorials about your favorite technical products. You can also volunteer to write user guides, documentation, or articles for your favorite startups. Check what kind of writing samples you have. Whether you have articles or blog posts, you can work with that since it is everything about how you frame it.

Final Thoughts

There is no need to add all your work to a portfolio. Instead, select the best and most interesting ones to improve your image in the eyes of potential employers. At times, it is better to include few but impressive internal documentation in your portfolio. Or else, they may get lost in the remaining of your work. Now that you have seen some excellent examples of technical writing portfolios to draw inspiration from, it is time to consider where to build it and start adding your work.

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Technical Writing

  • Technical Writing
  • Português – Brasil

Technical Writing Courses

Every engineer is also a writer.

This collection of courses and learning resources aims to improve your technical documentation. Learn how to plan and author technical documents. You can also learn about the role of technical writers at Google.

technical writer writing assignments

Study technical writing

technical writer writing assignments

Review technical writing resources

technical writer writing assignments

Learn about the technical writing role

Are these courses for me.

We've aimed these courses at people in the following roles:

  • professional software engineers
  • computer science students
  • engineering-adjacent roles, such as product managers

You need at least a little writing proficiency in English, but you don't need to be a strong writer to take these courses.

You will find these courses easier to understand if you have at least a little background in coding, though you don't need to be an expert coder.

These courses focus on technical writing, not on general English writing or business writing.

Technical Writing One objectives

Technical writing two objectives, tech writing for accessibility objectives, writing helpful error messages objectives, what format do these courses take.

Technical Writing One and Technical Writing Two consist of two parts:

  • pre-class lessons
  • in-class lessons with a facilitator and other students

The pre-class lessons provide a solid educational experience, which the in-class lessons enhance. That said, the pre-class lessons on their own are still valuable.

Ordinarily, we expect organizations (universities, software companies, and so on) to facilitate the in-class lessons. However, Google occasionally provides free in-class lessons to everyone. For details, see Announcements .

Where can facilitators find information about teaching the in-person lessons?

technical writer writing assignments

You can find facilitator guides and related resources for each of the courses on this site.

Technical Writing for Beginners – An A-Z Guide to Tech Blogging Basics

If you love writing and technology, technical writing could be a suitable career for you. It's also something else you can do if you love tech but don’t really fancy coding all day long.

Technical writing might also be for you if you love learning by teaching others, contributing to open source projects and teaching others how to do so, too, or basically enjoy explaining complex concepts in simple ways through your writing.

Let's dive into the fundamentals and learn about what you should know and consider when getting started with technical writing.

Table of Contents

In this article, we’ll be looking at:

  • What Technical writing is

Benefits of Technical Writing

  • Necessary skills to have as a Technical Writer

The Technical Writing Process

  • Platforms for publishing your articles

Technical Writing Courses

  • Technical Writing forums and communities
  • Some amazing technical writers to follow
  • Final Words and references

What is Technical Writing?

Technical writing is the art of providing detail-oriented instruction to help users understand a specific skill or product.

And a technical writer is someone who writes these instructions, otherwise known as technical documentation or tutorials. This could include user manuals, online support articles, or internal docs for coders/API developers.

A technical writer communicates in a way that presents technical information so that the reader can use that information for an intended purpose.

Technical writers are lifelong learners. Since the job involves communicating complex concepts in simple and straightforward terms, you must be well-versed in the field you're writing about. Or be willing to learn about it.

This is great, because with each new technical document you research and write, you will become an expert on that subject.

Technical writing also gives you a better sense of user empathy. It helps you pay more attention to what the readers or users of a product feel rather than what you think.

You can also make money as a technical writer by contributing to organizations. Here are some organizations that pay you to write for them , like Smashing Magazine , AuthO , Twilio , and Stack Overflow .

In addition to all this, you can contribute to Open Source communities and participate in paid open source programs like Google Season of Docs and Outreachy .

You can also take up technical writing as a full time profession – lots of companies need someone with those skills.

Necessary Skills to Have as a Technical Writer

Understand the use of proper english.

Before you consider writing, it is necessary to have a good grasp of English, its tenses, spellings and basic grammar. Your readers don't want to read an article riddled with incorrect grammar and poor word choices.

Know how to explain things clearly and simply

Knowing how to implement a feature doesn't necessarily mean you can clearly communicate the process to others.

In order to be a good teacher, you have to be empathetic, with the ability to teach or describe terms in ways suitable for your intended audience.

If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself. Albert Einstein

Possess some writing skills‌‌

I believe that writers are made, not born. And you can only learn how to write by actually writing.

You might never know you have it in you to write until you put pen to paper. And there's only one way to know if you have some writing skills, and that's by writing.

So I encourage you to start writing today. You can choose to start with any of the platforms I listed in this section to stretch your writing muscles.

And of course, it is also a huge benefit to have some experience in a technical field.

Analyze and Understand who your Readers are

The biggest factor to consider when you're writing a technical article is your intended/expected audience. It should always be at the forefront of your mind.

A good technical writer writes based on the reader’s context. As an example , let's say you're writing an article targeted at beginners. It is important not to assume that they already know certain concepts.

You can start out your article by outlining any necessary prerequisites. This will make sure that your readers have (or can acquire) the knowledge they need before diving right into your article.

You can also include links to useful resources so your readers can get the information they need with just a click.

In order to know for whom you are writing, you have to gather as much information as possible about who will use the document.

It is important to know if your audience has expertise in the field, if the topic is totally new to them, or if they fall somewhere in between.

Your readers will also have their own expectations and needs. You must determine what the reader is looking for when they begin to read the document and what they'll get out of it.

To understand your reader, ask yourself the following questions before you start writing:

  • Who are my readers?
  • What do they need?
  • Where will they be reading?
  • When will they be reading?
  • Why will they be reading?
  • How will they be reading?

These questions also help you think about your reader's experience while reading your writing, which we'll talk about more now.

Think About User Experience

User experience is just as important in a technical document as it is anywhere on the web.

Now that you know your audience and their needs, keep in mind how the document itself services their needs. It’s so easy to ignore how the reader will actually use the document.

As you write, continuously step back and view the document as if you're the reader. Ask yourself: Is it accessible? How will your readers be using it? When will they be using it? Is it easy to navigate?

The goal is to write a document that is both useful to and useable by your readers.

Plan Your Document

Bearing in mind who your users are, you can then conceptualize and plan out your document.

This process includes a number of steps, which we'll go over now.

Conduct thorough research about the topic

While planning out your document, you have to research the topic you're writing about. There are tons of resources only a Google search away for you to consume and get deeper insights from.

Don't be tempted to lift off other people's works or articles and pass it off as your own, as this is plagiarism. Rather, use these resources as references and ideas for your work.

Google as much as possible, get facts and figures from research journals, books or news, and gather as much information as you can about your topic. Then you can start making an outline.

Make an outline

Outlining the content of your document before expanding on it helps you write in a more focused way. It also lets you organize your thoughts and achieving your goals for your writing.

An outline can also help you identify what you want your readers to get out of the document. And finally, it establishes a timeline for completing your writing.

Get relevant graphics/images

Having an outline is very helpful in identifying the various virtual aids (infographics, gifs, videos, tweets) you'll need to embed in different sections of your document.

And it'll make your writing process much easier if you keep these relevant graphics handy.

Write in the Correct Style

Finally, you can start to write! If you've completed all these steps, writing should become a lot easier. But you still need to make sure your writing style is suitable for a technical document.

The writing needs to be accessible, direct, and professional. Flowery or emotional text is not welcome in a technical document. To help you maintain this style, here are some key characteristics you should cultivate.

Use Active Voice

It's a good idea to use active voices in your articles, as it is easier to read and understand than the passive voice.

Active voice means that the subject of the sentence is the one actively performing the action of the verb. Passive voice means that a subject is the recipient of a verb's action .

Here's an example of passive voice : The documentation should be read six times a year by every web developer.

And here's an example of active voice : Every web developer should read this documentation 6 times a year.

Choose Your Words Carefully

Word choice is important. Make sure you use the best word for the context. Avoid overusing pronouns such as ‘it’ and ‘this’ as the reader may have difficulty identifying which nouns they refer to.

Also avoid slang and vulgar language – remember you're writing for a wider audience whose disposition and cultural inclinations could differ from yours.

Avoid Excessive Jargon

If you’re an expert in your field, it can be easy to use jargon you're familiar with without realizing that it may be confusing to other readers.

You should also avoid using acronyms you haven't previously explained.

Here's an Example :

Less clear: PWAs are truly considered the future of multi-platform development. Their availability on both Android and iOS makes them the app of the future.

Improved: Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) are truly the future of multi-platform development. Their availability on both Android and iOS makes PWAs the app of the future.

Use Plain Language

Use fewer words and write in a way so that any reader can understand the text.‌‌ Avoid big lengthy words. Always try to explain concepts and terms in the clearest way possible.

Visual Formatting

A wall of text is difficult to read. Even the clearest instructions can be lost in a document that has poor visual representation.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This rings true even in technical writing.

But not just any image is worthy of a technical document. Technical information can be difficult to convey in text alone. A well-placed image or diagram can clarify your explanation.

People also love visuals, so it helps to insert them at the right spots. Consider the images below:

First, here's a blog snippet without visuals:

step2-1

Here's a snippet of same blog, but with visuals:

step1-1

Adding images to your articles makes the content more relatable and easier to understand. In addition to images, you can also use gifs, emoji, embeds (social media, code) and code snippets where necessary.

Thoughtful formatting, templates, and images or diagrams will also make your text more helpful to your readers. You can check out the references below for a technical writing template from @Bolajiayodeji.

Do a Careful Review

Good writing of any type must be free from spelling and grammatical errors. These errors might seem obvious, but it's not always easy to spot them (especially in lengthy documents).

Always double-check your spelling (you know, dot your Is and cross your Ts) before hitting 'publish'.

There are a number of free tools like Grammarly and the Hemingway app that you can use to check for grammar and spelling errors. You can also share a draft of your article with someone to proofread before publishing.

Where to Publish Your Articles

Now that you've decided to take up technical writing, here are some good platforms where you can start putting up technical content for free. They can also help you build an appealing portfolio for future employers to check out.

Dev.to is a community of thousands of techies where both writers and readers get to meaningfully engage and share ideas and resources.

devto

Hashnode is my go-to blogging platform with awesome perks such as custom domain mapping and an interactive community. Setting up a blog on this platform is also easy and fast.

hashnode

freeCodeCamp has a very large community and audience reach and is a great place to publish your articles. However, you'll need to apply to write for their publication with some previous writing samples.

Your application could either be accepted or rejected, but don't be discouraged. You can always reapply later as you get better, and who knows? You could get accepted.

If you do write for them, they'll review and edit your articles before publishing, to make sure you publish the most polished article possible. They'll also share your articles on their social media platforms to help more people read them.

freecodecamp

Hackernoon has over 7,000 writers and could be a great platform for you to start publishing your articles to the over 200,000 daily readers in the community.

Hacker Noon supports writers by proofreading their articles before publishing them on the platform, helping them avoid common mistakes.

hackernoon

Just like in every other field, there are various processes, rules, best practices, and so on in Technical Writing.

Taking a course on technical writing will help guide you through every thing you need to learn and can also give you a major confidence boost to kick start your writing journey.

Here are some technical writing courses you can check out:

  • Google Technical Writing Course (Free)
  • Udemy Technical Writing Course (Paid)
  • Hashnode Technical Writing Bootcamp (Free)

Technical Writing Forums and Communities

Alone we can do so little, together, we can do so much ~ Helen Keller

Being part of a community or forum along with people who share same passion as you is beneficial. You can get feedback, corrections, tips and even learn some style tips from other writers in the community.

Here are some communities and forums for you to join:

  • Technical Writing World
  • Technical Writer Forum
  • Write the Docs Forum

Some Amazing Technical Writers to follow

In my technical writing journey, I've come and followed some great technical writers whose writing journey, consistency, and style inspire me.

These are the writers whom I look up to and consider virtual mentors on technical writing. Sometimes, they drop technical writing tips that I find helpful and have learned a lot from.

Here are some of those writers (hyperlinked with their twitter handles):

  • Quincy Larson
  • Edidiong Asikpo
  • Catalin Pit
  • Victoria Lo
  • Bolaji Ayodeji
  • Amruta Ranade
  • Chris Bongers
  • Colby Fayock

Final words

You do not need a degree in technical writing to start putting out technical content. You can start writing on your personal blog and public GitHub repositories while building your portfolio and gaining practical experience.

Really – Just Start Writing.

Practice by creating new documents for existing programs or projects. There are a number of open source projects on GitHub that you can check out and add to their documentation.

Is there an app that you love to use, but its documentation is poorly written? Write your own and share it online for feedback. You can also quickly set up your blog on hashnode and start writing.

You learn to write by writing, and by reading and thinking about how writers have created their characters and invented their stories. If you are not a reader, don't even think about being a writer. - Jean M. Auel

Technical writers are always learning . By diving into new subject areas and receiving external feedback, a good writer never stops honing their craft.

Of course, good writers are also voracious readers. By reviewing highly-read or highly-used documents, your own writing will definitely improve.

Can't wait to see your technical articles!

Introduction to Technical Writing ‌‌

How to structure a technical article ‌‌

Understanding your audience, the why and how

‌‌ Technical Writing template

I hope this was helpful. If so, follow me on Twitter and let me know!

Amarachi is a front end web developer, technical writer and educator who is interested in building developer communities.

If you read this far, thank the author to show them you care. Say Thanks

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How Technical Writers Can Master Prompt Engineering

How Technical Writers Can Master Prompt Engineering

Category: Technical Documentation

Technical writers are primarily responsible for writing technical content. They need to document products that might be hard for users, especially technology. For that purpose, many hours may be spent wrestling with language and brainstorming ideas.

Large language models, and natural language processing, is starting to change all that. Artificial Intelligence is molding the way we write content and, more specifically, document products. Prompt engineers who are also technical writers stand a better chance of withstanding the tidal wave of disruption that AI may be bringing.

As one of the hottest tech jobs around, prompt engineers can benefit from the number of jobs on LinkedIn containing “GPT” (a popular generative AI tool) rising by more than half between 2021 and 2022.

The fact is, the better we can handle AI means technical writers are able to move with the times and make their jobs easier as well. Learning prompt engineering opens up a wealth of job opportunities that don’t require a computer science degree to be successful, but build on existing technical writing capabilities.

Table of Contents

Understanding prompt engineering, essential skills and background for prompt engineering, types and examples of prompts, why technical writers need to master prompt engineering, steps to master prompt engineering, using prompt engineering in technical writing, 3 best tools for prompt engineering.

The term prompt engineer may be slightly misleading, and some experts in the field have argued for “prompt specialist”, though this has not caught on yet. If you are a prompt engineer, you will be working with writing text-based prompts to feed into AI tools (such as ChatGPT) to create specific and accurate outputs.

Prompt engineers are concerned with creating content for technical products, working with complex information to make it clear and easy to understand. Writing is still vitally important, but prompt engineers use AI to create technical documents that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve.

Prompt engineers are likely to work in healthcare, technology, and engineering, just like more traditional technical writers. The emphasis is on crafting the prompts to control the output, which requires an understanding of AI models to ensure technical writers are inputting the right prompts.

Technical writers who work with prompt engineering must be able to teach the AI to learn from the prompts and become more accurate.

There are a few specific skills that technical writers will require if they are to succeed in prompt engineering.

Language Model Knowledge

Prompt engineers need to have a knowledge and understanding of language models to be able to craft their prompts to generate specific text outputs. They don’t necessarily need to understand the mechanics behind the model but simply the principles governing it so they can effectively utilize it to create engaging and human-sounding technical documentation.

Programming Language Knowledge

Knowledge of programming language is not essential, but it certainly helps when it comes to prompt engineering. Python is a popular language that is used with prompt engineering to interact with APIs and manipulate data in order to make prompts more effective and accurate. Python works particularly well with ChatGPT to create prompts that generate highly specific outputs, and luckily many technical writers are already familiar with Python.

Hands-On Experience with AI and ML Technologies

You absolutely must have experience with AI and ML technologies, such as ChatGPT, published by OpenAI in 2022. Being able to work with and manipulate these technologies is a crucial part of the role of prompt engineers who want to create technical documentation . Since prompt engineering deals directly with AI, technical writers must seek out projects that use these technologies to become successful prompt engineers.

Understanding the Basics of Content Creation

The technical content created by AI tools due to prompts is unlikely to be the final product, especially since documentation must conform to specific standards and technical specifications . Working documentation still must be tested and approved before it can be released to customers or users, and prompt engineers must understand the principles of content creation to be successful. Content cannot be divorced from its human creators and rather supplemented by AI.

Ability to Work within Limited Timeframes

Even with the awesome power of AI behind you, you’ll still need to work within limited timeframes to create content to a deadline. Products can’t be shipped without appropriate documentation, and you’ll often be working just behind the pace of the engineering team. Since LLMs will be so integral to the process, project leads may expect even tighter deadlines than they would if you were simply creating documentation manually.

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Now we’re going to look at a few kinds of prompts you might want to feed your into LLM.

Simple/Traditional Prompts

Prompt wording means using the right words when writing your prompts for the AI model and using the correct technical terms. This basic prompt requires technical expertise and domain knowledge.

Succinctness – being as clear as possible in the wording of your prompt to enable the system to understand what you mean. Do not use more words than necessary to construct your prompt.

Roles and goals – assigning a clear role to the LLM as well as setting a goal to aim for so as to create effective outputs. This means knowing who exactly is meant to be writing the documentation and the target user.

Positive and negative prompting – incorporating commands to either do something or not do something to guide the LLM in its response. The AI understands that there is a right and a wrong answer.

Advanced/Detailed Prompts

Input/output prompting – clearly defining the input you want to feed into the LLM as well as the output you require, such as a script. You feed the correct data into the LLM in order to produce the correct output.

Zero-shot prompting – inputting quite a general instruction to the LLM so as to avoid limiting the response, which means the tool can arrive at a wide range of answers.

One-shot prompting – similar to the zero-shot prompt except the prompt engineer provides a little more context to the LLM to help refine results, adding extra information about how you would like the AI to formulate your answer.

Chain-of-thought prompting – guiding the LLM through the critical thinking process needed to solve a problem in order to generate more accurate responses, allowing the AI to learn from your prompts.

Prompt engineering is becoming an extremely in-demand skill for technical writers who want to work with emerging technologies to produce better documentation. Companies seek writers with experience working with generative AI who can use tools such as ChatGPT to handle complex information.

Also, Check out our article on Best practices in writing content for Generative AI-based chatbots

Since the field is expanding rapidly, more and more jobs are becoming available for technical writers who can master prompt engineering. Technical writing is becoming more about crafting the content and ensuring that it is highly accessible to users, which AI can support you with.

Being able to manipulate these AI technologies means technical writers can stay relevant in their field and have access to highly lucrative positions. While technical writers are already “technical” in some sense, they can expand their skills to include generative AI and prompt engineering.

Follow these steps to become a master of prompt engineering as a technical writer.

Research and familiarization

Develop your ability to conduct research and find the right information and data to feed into AI as prompts. The responses of the AI tools are only as good as the information supplied to it so technical writers should be adept at identifying the right sources to craft into instructive prompts.

Adapting to Evolving Technologies

AI, like all technology, is a field that is constantly changing, and the latest technology of the day may become hopelessly obsolete when a new product is released. Being able to understand the principles behind generative AI and how prompts can be engineered is key to adapting to an evolving landscape that requires technical writers to possess the latest skills.

Supporting Cross-Functional Teams

Technical writers using prompt engineering don’t work in a vacuum, and you’ll need to work with other departments such as product, engineering, project management, marketing, and sales to produce the right documentation with AI. Understanding what these teams require from the technical writer and managing expectations is key to success.

Crafting Effective Prompts

Being able to understand the mechanics behind effective prompts, including incorporating the use of programming languages, will enable you to master prompt engineering. Asking AI the right questions and tailoring your input to enable the tool to generate the right answers means technical writers must be smarter than the machine. Crucially, technical writers must be experts in their field in order to successfully use LLMs to their full potential.

Testing and fine-tuning

Inputting a single prompt is not going to generate the final product. You must test your prompts and iterate them over many versions in order to arrive at responses that are truly suitable for your users in terms of technical documentation. The AI must be trained to adapt to the right answers, without which the tool may become nonsensical and “hallucinate” errors.

Providing Context and Use Cases

The content you will be creating with LLMs does not exist in a vacuum – that means any documentation you create must contain context and be targeted at specific use cases in order to be useful. Ultimately, the AI is not conscious of your intent behind the prompt, so you must be ultra-accurate when providing the LLM with instructions for your documentation.

Documentation of projects

The number one use case of prompt engineering in technical writing is documenting products for end users, whether that might be engineers, scientists or the general public. Even when you use prompts to create the documentation, it still requires a background in technical writing to ensure you arrive at content that is acceptable for the business. AI is one tool that technical writers can use to achieve this goal.

Collaborative work

Using prompt engineering, you can take colleagues’ inputs to generate documentation representing multiple groups’ interests. As long as you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with the documentation, which ultimately should be to help users, AI tools can theoretically respond to complex instructions that generate a highly polished final product.

Automation and efficiency

One of the biggest advantages of using AI for technical writing is the ability to automate previously mundane tasks. Prompt engineers take this automation to the next level by creating documentation that previously required intensive labor and creative ability to produce the finished product, achieved quickly.

Here are the three best tools for prompt engineering that we know of.

Document360

Document360 is Knowledge base software that uses AI to recommend tags and SEO descriptions for your documentation. This means that as you write the natural articles for your knowledge base, Document360 provides the metadata and SEO to enable users to discover your pages more easily.

ChatGPT is one of the most popular tools used for prompt engineering which Microsoft is now integrating into all of their enterprise tools. ChatGPT caused a sensation when it was released in 2022 by generating highly natural-sounding human-like responses to a variety of prompts.

Github

GitHub is an AI-powered development platform that enables you to turn natural language prompts into code suggestions. This makes writing, testing and publishing your code much easier as you can use a feature trained on billions of lines of code, called GitHub Copilot.

Technical writers who take the time to learn prompt engineering may not only stay current with the latest technologies but also make themselves more employable. Being able to save time and produce more comprehensive documentation means you can help more users with fewer resources. Technical writers are already “technical” in this traditional sense, and already using supporting technologies in their workflows. Generative AI provides opportunities to use existing skills to create highly informative content which is then reviewed by experts – technical writers.

An intuitive knowledge base software to easily add your content and integrate it with any application. Give Document360 a try!

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Sep 29, 2023

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Home » Blog » 8 Great Technical Writing Examples to Inspire You

8 Great Technical Writing Examples to Inspire You

technical writer writing assignments

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Detailed examples are a treasure for technical writers. They are a great way to understand and adapt to the best practices that can make your technical writing content stand out.

An example of good technical writing can help you identify phrases, words, and practices that can improve your content. They can also help you start writing a type of technical document you haven’t read before.

However, there aren’t only  good  examples of technical writing out there. A poorly written technical document example can also teach lessons on avoiding common mistakes. The example work allows you to develop a writing outlook to create successful technical documentation.

We will discuss technical writing and how you can write a technical document. We will also enlist eight technical writing examples that may help you write exceptional pieces.

What is Technical Writing?

Whenever technical information is written and documented, it is technical writing. Technical writing contains all documentation for complex technical processes. It includes executive summary statements, reports, briefs, and much more.

It can also include high-tech manufacturing, biotech, aerospace, finance, IT, engineering, and supply chain information. The format of a technical document is no longer bound to lengthy user manuals; it must be distilled and presented unambiguously. It can also come in technical reports, emails, briefs, press releases, or policies.

Technical writing continues to be a high conversion skill in all professional workplaces. Its demand grows at 10% annually from 2014 to 2022 — faster than any other occupation. Therefore, it would be great if you learned to write complex documents for your organization, and we have prepared a  list of technical writing examples  to help you understand and write better.

8 Best Technical Writing Examples

1. user manuals.

Writing a user manual is a daunting task for a  technical writer  , as it contains all the instructions a user needs to operate a product or feature. Writing a user manual requires a combination of organizational and technical writing skills, so it is an essential example of technical writing to follow.

Before moving into the components of a user manual, make sure you have worked on three things: 1) collecting information, 2) choosing structure and style, and 3) putting the manual together.

Here are five major components of effective user manuals:

It is the central part or body of the user manual that explains the process. The logical, numbered steps help the user solve the problem. Illustrations can also be used to facilitate component or experience visualization.

2.  Content

Avoid technical language whenever there is a risk of isolating audience segments. The best way to make your content super easy is to imagine you are writing for a junior high school student. Tables and graphs can also be included to show how content sections relate, complement, and contrast.

3.  Glossary of Terms

Every industry has its language and vocabulary. But some users are not familiar with even the most commonly used terms. A glossary of terms serves as their reference and a home for each term. It eliminates the need for technical writers to restate and re-explain definitions repeatedly.

4.  Table of Contents

As a general rule, if a user manual exceeds 10–12 pages, you must use a table of contents. The entries are listed in order of presentation with accompanying page numbers.

5.  Precautionary Information

Notes of caution, warnings and danger notices help user safety. They also help the manufacturer address liability concerns related to the product. Also, use universal graphic symbols to present each type of risk to the reader.

A user manual’s content can range from less than a dozen to hundreds of pages. The more complex the product or service, the lengthier the manual. In its ideal state, a user manual is a set of instructions presented in a style and format that helps quick reference and facilitates the product’s success in the market.

Unbounce’s  user manual is a sublime example of effective user documentation. Their documentation is easy to navigate, with each step having its table of content to make it easy to find. Refer to their user manual as a standard if you ever write a user manual.

technical writer writing assignments

2. API Documentation

Similar to the user manual, API documentation helps guide the user through configuring an API. Before we move to API documentation, let us reveal exactly what API is.

API is the short form for the application programming interface. It is like a bridge between your computer, mobile phone, or other application and external resources.

In simple words, APIs allow the software to interact with other software programs, resources, and databases. Since APIs are built by software developers, it is easier for a software developer to create the documentation.

Moving on to the next part of writing API documentation, here is what you must include.

  • An Overview

An overview is just like an abstract page of a project report. It contains a summary of the API and the problem it is solving. It also includes the benefits of using the particular API over similar ones.

2.  Tutorial

It is the main instructional body of the documentation. A tutorial must include different content formats you are using to explain the concept of the API to the user. It also contains links for reference and a detailed guide for integrating and consuming the API, so it functions properly.

3.  Examples

Once you have explained how the API works and provided steps, it is a good idea to show examples of it. Examples of calls, error handling, responses, and other operations can help demonstrate how the developer interacts with the API.

4.  Glossary

Although a glossary is optional, it is recommended for your API documentation. Instead of boring the user with long text blocks, explanations of various terms, images, and schemas can be pushed to the glossary. Then you can reference these things in the documentation and link to the glossary.

Stripe API Reference  is the best example of API documentation and a work of art. It includes a sleek, two-panel design, with explanations written in plain English on the left and handy code snippets on the right. It has all the crucial information one needs.

technical writer writing assignments

3. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

A standard operating procedure or SOP is a set of written instructions. They describe the step-by-step process of performing a routine activity. SOPs follow the same approach every time to guarantee that the organization remains consistent and complies with industry regulations and business standards.

SOPs provide the policies, standards, and processes required for the organization to succeed. They also benefit a business by reducing errors and increasing profitability and efficiencies. They create a comfortable work environment and generate guidelines for how to resolve issues and overcome obstacles.

Before writing the SOP, ensure the writers perform a risk assessment. It will help them determine any obstacles that may arise during the process. They should also consider the risk associated with those obstacles.

Here are the three components that comprise a standard operating procedure.

  • Title Page:  A title page lists the title of the SOP, what it is written for, its SOP identification, and the names and signatures of the people who prepared and approved the manual.
  • Table of Contents:  It provides easy access to the various sections in large SOPs.
  • Steps of Procedure:  It includes explanations of the task’s goal, roles and responsibilities, terminology, regulatory requirements, descriptions of what should be done to complete each step, and a discussion of decisions that must be made. It is the central part and takes the main portion of the SOP.

Once technical writers finish the draft, it must be reviewed, edited, and tested. The process should repeat until all stakeholders have written and approved an SOP. At this point, the SOP can be distributed to each person who needs it.

SOPs record the production line procedures used to train employees and make products. It can also be used in finance and administrative environments to document the processes of customer finance collection. Examples of how an SOP is used can be found in a manufacturing environment.

technical writer writing assignments

Both case studies and white papers are the most potent and sought-after types of content. Both can help an organization generate leads for the business. However, both differ in purpose, audience, and funnel stage.

A white paper is a technical document that helps readers understand an issue and devise a strategy to solve a problem or make a decision. It is a lengthy piece of content, at approximately 2,000 words or six pages. White papers can be practical to target people at all steps of the funnel.

One white paper can create awareness of a persona’s problem by targeting someone at the top of the funnel. While a second can focus on advanced product uses, targeting someone at the bottom of the funnel.

The components of a white paper include:

  • Introduction with a problem statement
  • Proposed solution

On the other hand, a case study features extended testimonials on how a product or service helped a customer. It is shorter than a white paper and consists of around 800 words. These are best suited for the audiences at the top or middle of the funnel. Use these to create awareness of a problem and show how a solution worked for a real customer.

A case study’s must-have components include:

  • Executive summary
  • Outlining customer’s challenges
  • The leading reader through the customer’s journey
  • Moment of discovery
  • Writing solutions as the central part
  • Walking reader through implementation
  • Celebrating customer results
  • Closing with CTA

Gravitate’s  setting the stage for success  is the best example of how to transform a detailed case study for an easier read. It introduces the customer to give visitors a little background of what they do. Then they dive straight into their role of helping the customer with a robust marketing strategy.

Global Trade Professionals Alliance’s (GTPA)  Capacity Building And Standards Development For Inclusive Trade  is the top example of a white paper. It starts with an overview of the problem, then states the role of GTPA in solving the problem, and finally, it reveals the outcomes and way forward.

technical writer writing assignments

4. Press Releases

A press release is a short yet compelling news story. It is written by a public relations professional and sent to targeted members of the media. Its goal is to press release the interest of a community or business. The press release contains all the necessary information for the journalists to quickly produce their stories.

It is also defined as a brief, printed statement highlighting significant facts of a news story in journalistic style. A press release can read like a news story, written in the third person but cites quotes and sources containing standard press release information.

Press releases are essential as they can be an excellent way to start a dialogue with a report. Journalists usually get dozens of irrelevant press releases every day. So, if you reach out to a reporter with a well-written press release, they may take notice and appreciate it. The press release also helps build credibility and control the narrative. Moreover, it can also build SEO traffic and increase customer engagement with your product or service.

A press release has six essential components. These include:

  • Data and location
  • Boiler place

The top example of a press release is  Hobby Lobby’s press release . Hobby Lobby is a nationwide retail store that issued a press release announcing an increase in the minimum wage.

With an ongoing debate on minimum wage, the store gave a newsworthy story for corporations to instill a minimum wage increase. Not only did this build a positive brand image, but it also helped attract and retain more staff.

technical writer writing assignments

5. Business Plans

A business plan is a technical document that tells the company’s objectives in detail. It also describes the strategies for achieving these objectives. A business plan lays out a written guide for the firm from financial, operational, and marketing standpoints. The startups and established companies use business plans as their basic requirement. A business plan is essential for a company’s external and internal audiences.

For instance, a business plan can be used to bring investment even if the company won’t have an established track record. It can also help secure lending from financial institutions. Additionally, a business plan keeps a company’s executive team on the same page about strategic actions. It helps them meet established goals. Sometimes, a business plan is created for a based business that decides to move in a new direction.

Below are some of the most common components of a business plan.

  • Market analysis
  • Products and services
  • Marketing strategy
  • Financial planning

A business plan is not as difficult as one might think. It is a written tool about a business that projects 3 to 5 years ahead. It also outlines a company’s path to make money and grow its revenue. Think of your business plan as a living project for your business and not a one-time project. Break it down into mini plans like one for sales, pricing, marketing, and so on.

If you want to write your business plan, know there is no right or wrong way to write it. You can pick a plan format and start writing. It also helps you reach business milestones and get you the required funding. The important thing is that your business plan must meet your needs.

ThoughtCo’s  business plan for a fictional company called Acme Management is the best example of a business plan. Its executive summary occupies nearly half the page. So, if you intend to write your business plan, follow this example as your guide.

technical writer writing assignments

6. Company Documents

Business or company documents are written papers that represent you, your department, and your company. Whether it is external parties or other stakeholders in your organization, a company document will list them all. For precision, a company document is any sort of format document that is used for business purposes.

Multiple things fall into the company documents category. The list can be extended, but we will only include the most common things considered for a company document.

  • Accounting Documents
  • Formal Letters or Memos
  • Financial Documents
  • Meeting Summaries
  • Business Plans
  • Customer Service Documents
  • Operational Documents

A company document is not only a representation of your company but also represents you. So, make sure you do a solid job putting these materials together. If you don’t know already, here is how you write the best version of a company document.

First, start with an outline that is well-organized and highly structured to be effective. If you begin writing prematurely, the thoughts will be less structured and repetitive. So, before starting, always do three things: 1) generate ideas, 2) organize, and 3) structure.

Secondly, do not bury the lead. Do not hide the most critical information deep within your writing. In company documents, do not start with a bunch of fluff. You do not need to introduce anyone and build anticipation. A business document should be as streamlined and straightforward as possible.

Thirdly, use active verbs. You do not need to make your business document a thriller; neither should it be dry and bland. Instead, make your documents a little more engaging to keep the audience engaged.

Syngenta’s financial report  is the perfect example of a business document. Please give it a read to understand the main components of an excellent company document.

7. Annual Reports

As the name suggests, an annual report is a comprehensive overview of a business’s achievements and financial statements from the preceding year. It also tells the financial status and vision for the future. It is produced annually and provided to shareholders, stakeholders, investors, and others to inform them of the business’s overall performance.

Today, businesses and organizations create different types of annual reports. These are used as a marketing tool for organizations to impress their investors and donors1, showcase their brand to employees and companies, and attract new ones. Each type of annual report is designed with a specific goal in mind.

A standard annual report for a public company must have:

  • A letter from the CEO
  • Corporate financial data
  • Market segment information
  • Operation and impact
  • Plans for new products
  • Subsidiary activities
  • Research and development activities

Depending on the size of a company, an annual report can range between 20 to 200 pages. Remember that actual human beings read your annual report. So, it must not be filled with fluff. Make it easy to read, review, and understand for the concerned people.

The annual report’s main section should include the following as its components:

  • A table of contents
  • Mission and vision statement
  • CSR initiatives
  • An afterword
  • Charts, graphs, and tables

Concerning annual reports, MailChimp’s name tops the list for great examples. With bold colors and playful illustrations, the  2020 report  feels more like a video game than a regular annual report. It includes yearly traditional report content, like information about products and sales, as well as fun anecdotes about their culture and data about value-based initiatives they will take. As a result, an exciting and entertaining recap of the year comes is formed.

technical writer writing assignments

6 Steps to Craft the Best Technical Document in 2022

After you know all the best technical writing examples, it is time to write one. But what if you write a technical document and no one reads it? To avoid this, here are six steps that one must follow to create a technical document that everyone loves to read.

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is indispensable, especially when creating technical content for a product or service. For instance, a cab driver may have a different level of knowledge and understanding than a doctor reading your SOPs.

So, before you write or even create an outline, make sure you have a clear idea of who your readers are. Knowing this lets you adjust your tone, vocabulary, and framing accordingly. It also helps you to meet your readers’ needs from their point of knowledge.

2. Do Your Research

As a technical writer, you have to guide your readers through unfamiliar territory. For this, you must know everything about that particular thing. Otherwise, it will be unwise to expect a tremendous technical document. Remember, you can only teach what you thoroughly know and understand. A knowledge gap is immediately visible when you are not thorough in your research.

The best way to do this is to place yourself in your reader’s shoes. Then, imagine you had zero knowledge of a particular thing. Doing this will force you to cover all the potential questions that come to your mind.

3. Craft an Outline

An outline is essential because it gives a roadmap of what to cover in your piece. It can also help identify knowledge gaps as you conduct your research. A longer form of technical content, like white papers and case studies, always requires an outline. It serves as their marker to remind you of what you need to include in your technical document.

Some  technical writing , like business plans and annual reports, has predefined formats. You can also use a template in place of an outline.

All in all, crafting an outline is an essential component of writing great technical content.

4. Prioritize Readability

Technical writing is more fact-based rather than entertaining. So, to tackle complicated topics, use sentences that are easily readable and can make your work more enjoyable to read.

In contrast, if you are verbose in your sentences and use words that are hard to understand, you will only frustrate your reader. To improve the readability of your technical content writing, apply these tips:

  • Use shorter, direct sentences that are easy to follow. Avoid passive voice wherever possible.
  • Add subheadings to break up the long texts for better readability.
  • Bold text and highlight paragraphs for emphasis and improving readability.
  • Add hyperlinks for web pages to reference and navigate to other sections of your piece.

5. Add Visuals

A technical document is all about words and sentences, but if you add visuals, it makes both writing and reading easier. Adding visuals is becoming less of an option and a necessity today. With flowcharts, illustrations, screenshots, and more, a technical document needs a dose of visuals to look presentable.

Whether creating a user manual or business documents, your reader will be happy to see product drawings, pie charts displaying the numbers, and more.

6. Cut the Fluff

Once you have written the technical document, the final part is to double-check the facts and cut the unnecessary information.

But what exactly is fluff? Fluff is anything that does not add value to your content; instead, it negatively impacts the understanding of your text. It can be a word, a sentence, or a phrase — if you find it, cut it off. Every word in your technical document must add value to your reader’s life.

Once you know the steps to write a technical document, it is time to learn the tips that will help you write effectively.

Tips for Improving Technical Writing

Poor writing affects the reader’s understanding of the product. It also damages the reputation of the company. So, how do you make your technical writing more inspiring and practical? Below are the five tips that will make your technical writing superb, even if you are just starting writing.

  • Stick to a technical writing style
  • Use plain language
  • Give important information first
  • Clear sentence structure
  • Don’t use passive voice

Good technical writing is not easy to achieve and often quite challenging to find. However, with these technical writing tips, you can take your writing to the next level and maximize the value you provide to your audience.

Now that you’ve read this guide, remember the document you create represents your company. If it’s written poorly, the user will consider it useless, and the company’s reputation will be at risk.

On the other hand, if it’s written well and follows every instruction, it will enhance user understanding, and the company will attract more attention.

So, read this guide carefully and create your technical documents accordingly. Whatever type of technical document you write, follow the rules defined above, and they will improve your skills. Always keep a note of your mistakes and things you have learned, and never stop honing your skills.

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The Ultimate Guide for Technical Writing

If you’ve ever gotten frustrated when putting together IKEA furniture or reviewing product info online, you have learned the importance of quality technical writing firsthand.

With the rise of software companies in the last decade, the demand for quality technical writers has sharply increased.

Technical Writing

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for technical writers is going to increase much faster than average relative to other professions, and the average technical writer makes $35 an hour.

It’s no wonder that writers are flocking to pick up this skillset. Before we walk through how you can become an effective technical writer, let’s first define what we’re actually talking about.

What is technical writing?

When most people think of technical writing , they tend to think of user manuals. In reality, technical writing is any kind of writing that instructs a reader how to do something.

This is in contrast to writing for marketing purposes, in which the goal is to try to get the reader to take action. The goal of technical writing is to be direct and make complex concepts easy to understand.

Some examples of technical writing are:

  • Press releases
  • White papers
  • Product descriptions
  • Business proposals

You can see why there is a lot of demand for capable technical writers amongst software companies, as they need to create online documentation to answer a wide range of product questions from customers.

When I first started technical writing, I made a lot of mistakes. I have distilled what I learned to help you avoid those same mistakes and to ensure your writing is concise and easy to understand.

Tip 1: Hang out where your audience does online

The first technical writing assignment I did was for my company BeamJobs . We built tools to make it easy for tech professionals to create effective résumés. Specifically, my assignment was to write a résumé guide for software engineers , a notoriously skeptical audience.

In my first attempt at that assignment, I thought I could wing it. I read a few articles online about software engineering and wrote my first draft. It went very poorly.

I received a lot of negative comments, all on the theme of, “You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.” While those comments were hard to read, upon some reflection, I knew they were right!

When writing a technical piece, you’re typically targeting an audience of subject matter experts. If you don’t take the time to really understand the product or field you’re writing about, it will be obvious that you’re an outsider and you will lose the trust of your reader.

So, how did I better acclimate myself to software engineering to write a more effective résumé guide? I learned where software engineers hung out online and I frequented those websites. For software engineers, these were websites like Hacker News and Stack Overflow.

Almost any niche you’re writing for will have a place to congregate online. By spending time on these sites, I quickly learned what kind of language and tone resonated with my audience. I also learned the technical lingo as it was used in context.

Hang out where your audience does online to better acclimate yourself and come across as an expert in your technical writing.

Hang out where your audience does online

Tip 2: Keep your writing simple and direct

Remember what the goal of technical writing is: to instruct your reader how to do something or convey the meaning of a concept that is hard to understand.

The aim is to leave no room for interpretation. Your writing should be concise and straight to the point. Exclude all flowery prose and metaphors from your technical content.

This is not a creative writing assignment . It’s not the time to wax-poetic! With each iteration of your drafting and editing process, you should strive to shorten your content by 5-10%.

Be ruthlessly efficient. Examine each word and determine whether it will impact your reader’s understanding of what you’re writing.

To illustrate this point, let’s walk through an assignment I actually completed. I was tasked with writing a short technical description of the objective of the card game solitaire.

Remember, as a tech writer, your goal is to convey information and be direct .

Good example of a technical description:

Place all cards on the foundation in sequence. Each foundation pile contains a single suit, starting with Aces at the bottom and Kings on top. The game is won once all cards are in their respective foundation piles.

We’re describing exactly how to win a game of solitaire. There’s no fluff here.

Bad example of a technical description:

Get rid of all the cards in the deck as quickly as possible to demonstrate your solitaire expertise! You can play alone or play with a group of friends.

Tip 3: Give examples to provide clarity

Technical writing is, by its nature, dry and objective. A reader chooses a technical writing piece to learn new information to build something or solve a problem.

During my first few assignments as a technical writer, I went a bit overboard with this concept and made my writing too dense. Just because your writing needs to be objective does not mean it needs to be hard to read. I mistakenly conflated those two ideas.

Again, the goal of a tech writer is to clearly convey complex information. What better way to do that than to include concrete examples of what you’re talking about or trying to get the reader to understand?

These examples can come in the form of text, or you can use images and diagrams to show exactly what you’re talking about. Let’s illustrate the efficacy of concrete examples with, you guessed it, an example.

In this technical guide, we’re trying to explain to a user how to filter all incoming emails that contain the word “error” in Gmail and star them.

Here is how that looks without an example:

  • In the top right corner, click the gear icon and choose “Settings”
  • Click on the “Filters and Blocked Addresses” tab
  • Click “Create a new filter”
  • In the “Has the words” field type “error”
  • Click “Create filter”
  • Click the checkbox for “Star it”
  • Click the “Create filter” button

Now, let’s convey that same information, except this time, let’s use only images.

Step 1

Using screenshots and diagrams in your technical writing as examples makes it much easier for the reader to understand what you’re trying to say.

How to become a technical writer

Now that you know the tricks of the trade to become a great technical writer, what’s next? How can you apply these tools and actually become a tech writer?

If you’re an entry-level technical writer, you’ll need to demonstrate the necessary technical writing skills to be successful at the job.

What are those skills?

Technical writing skills you’ll need to land your first job:

  • Research skills to learn about new products and topics.
  • Tech proficiency. To break down complex technical concepts, you’ll need a good grasp on technology.
  • Attention to detail. You’ll be in charge of telling others how to complete complicated tasks, so attention to detail is a must-have.
  • Strong writing skills. You could have guessed this one. You need to be a strong writer to succeed in technical writing.

If you’re looking to break into the field as an entry-level tech writer, I highly recommend you build a small portfolio of technical writing pieces that you can show to prospective employers. Do this by taking tools and processes you use in everyday life and write technical documentation for them.

Do you love a certain website? Write a sample press release for a fictional technical product they’re launching. Write a how-to-guide (with screenshots) for completing certain tasks in your favorite online tool.

If you want a challenge to really impress employers, try to build out technical documentation for a field you currently know nothing about. As I mentioned before, spend time where your audience does online to learn the lingo, and then give it your best shot.

Remote technical writer jobs

Now you have the right skills and you know what you need to do to appeal to a prospective employer to land a technical writing job. You’re well on your way to getting paid to write technical content.

The beauty of being a tech writer is you can work from anywhere . When it’s time for me to write, I get too easily distracted by the hustle and bustle of an office. This is especially true when I’m writing technical pieces.

How can you find technical writing jobs that will allow you the freedom to work where you want? There are a lot of resources online that make it easy to find freelance technical writing jobs.

A great place to start your search is Textbroker. You can apply for free, and once approved you’ll have access to thousands of paying projects from companies across the globe. You can pick up new assignments as you want them, so you control your own schedule.

If you’re looking for a full-time role, I suggest you visit career websites of tech companies, especially enterprise companies that sell to other businesses. They have a need to clearly explain their products to their customers to reduce customer support costs.

Remote Technical Writer

Technical Writing Opportunities

The demand for tech writers is going to continue to grow over the next decade. If you have great writing skills, strong attention to detail, and a good tech sense, you’ll have no trouble launching a technical writing career.

The goal of technical writing is to make complex concepts easy to understand through extensive reports and user how-to guides. To succeed, follow these three tips that I’ve learned firsthand by making mistakes:

  • Know your audience by spending time online where they spend time online.
  • Keep your language direct.
  • Illustrate your points with examples and screenshots or images.

Technical writers can work from anywhere, so if you’re looking for your next freelance technical writing job, be sure to sign up as a writer on Textbroker.

technical writer writing assignments

Begin your technical writing career at Textbroker. Sign up today!

Author Bio Stephen Greet

Stephen Greet

I’m the co-founder and head of growth for BeamJobs, where we help people create effective resumes. I write all the content for BeamJobs so I love engaging with the content writing community and sharing what I’ve learned.

  • May 14, 2020
  • April 25, 2023
  • Stephen Greet
  • Blog, For authors, Content Trends

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7 best technical writing examples to improve your skills

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It’s no wonder that technical writing is a fast-growing field.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the employment of technical writers will grow up to 12% from 2020 to 2030–a pace that’s faster than the average for all occupations.

If you’re looking to improve your technical writing skills and break into the field but are unsure how to do it, this article will help.

We’ll show you what technical writing is, how to write a technical piece (step by step), and then share some of the best technical writing examples you’ll ever find.

What is technical writing?

Technical writing is any writing designed to explain complex, technical, and specialized information to audiences who may or may not be familiar with them . It is typically used in technical and occupational fields like engineering, robotics, computer hardware and software, medicine, finance, and consumer electronics.

Usually, technical writing falls into one of three categories depending on whom it’s written for:

  • Consumer-directed technical writing refers to technical content written for end-users or consumers. Good examples include user manuals, employee handbooks, standard operating procedures (SOP), software user documentation (help files), troubleshooting guides, and legal disclaimers .
  • Expert-to-expert technical writing is written chiefly for a knowledgeable audience. It includes scientific papers, medical case studies, annual business reports, and legal case reviews .
  • Technical marketing content is technical information presented in a digestible format to promote a product or service. Think marketing case studies, white papers, product brochures, press releases, and business plans and proposals .

Like most types of content , technical writing is complex and nuanced in its own way. Let’s break down the steps to writing technical content that appeals to your audience.

6 Steps to Writing a Technical Piece That People Actually Want to Read

Instruction manuals, assembly guides, and research papers, oh my . Technical writing can quickly turn into a snooze fest if not done correctly.

How do you create a technical piece that people want to read?

1. Identify Your Audience

Knowing your audience is super important, especially when writing technical content.

For example, the new dad learning to build his first crib may have a different level of medical knowledge (and sheer focus) than the experienced doctor reading a medical research paper.

When you have a clear idea of who you expect to read your piece, you can adjust your vocabulary, tone, and framing accordingly.

This allows you to meet your reader at their point of knowledge .

2. Dig Deep in Your Research

As a technical writer, you’ll be guiding your reader through entirely unfamiliar territory.

You might be explaining how a new electronic tool works, what to expect from their new workplace, or what happened before their firm took on a new legal case. It is essential that you fully understand your subject matter .

You can only teach what you know, and knowledge gaps show when you aren’t thorough in your research.

Place yourself in your readers’ shoes. Imagine you had zero knowledge of the topic at hand and ensure your research covers all potential questions that come to mind. ‍

💡 Tip : If you need help understanding your topic, work with subject matter experts. Here are three helpful resources for collaborating with SMEs:

  • How to create great content with busy Subject Matter Experts
  • How to collaborate with a Subject Matter Expert
  • How to get the content you need from subject matter experts

3. Create an Outline

We recommend creating an outline to give you a sense of what you need to cover in your piece. This can also help identify knowledge gaps as you conduct your research.

When you’re writing longer-form content like white papers or case studies, an outline can serve as a marker to remind you of what you need to include .

In lieu of an outline, you can use a template . Some technical writing, such as business plans, have industry-accepted formats, including sections like an executive summary and competitor analysis.

4. Focus on Readability

Technical writing is not creative writing—you're writing to teach, not inspire or entertain. When tackling complicated topics, using readable sentences can make your work more enjoyable to read .

On the other hand, if you’re verbose or use words that are hard to understand, you’ll only frustrate your reader. If you want to improve readability in technical content, try these tips:

  • Use simple language: Strive for shorter, direct sentences that are easy to follow, and avoid passive voice wherever possible.
  • Use subheadings: For longer-form content like user documentation, white papers, and research papers , adding subheadings can break up long text walls.
  • Add bolded sections and callouts: Bolding text and highlighting paragraphs or callouts for emphasis will make reading easier.
  • Hyperlinks and jump links: If you’re writing technical content for webpages, add hyperlinks to any material you reference and jump links to other sections of your piece for easier navigation.

5. Add Visuals

We’re all about the words and the writing, but visuals can make your technical writing easier to understand! In technical writing, adding visuals is less of a luxury and more of a necessity . Visuals such as flowcharts, screenshots, and illustrations can add a much-needed dose of cheer to text-heavy documents.

Whether you’re creating a user manual or annual report for stakeholders, everyone will be happier with product drawings showing the directions or a pie chart displaying the numbers.

6. Cut the Fluff

When you’ve got all the words on paper, it’s time to double-check the facts with collaborators . Don’t be afraid to cut unnecessary information during this writing phase.

How do you identify the fluff? Removing fluff doesn’t impact the readers’ understanding of your text. It could be a word, a sentence, a paragraph, or a step in the directions. Every word in your technical document should count.

7 of the Best Technical Writing Examples from Technical SMEs

With some help from a few technical content experts, we’ve chosen different forms of technical writing across various industries so you can see the skill in action.

Pipedrive’s Developer Documentation

pipedrive developer documentation - technical writing examples

Developer documentation is essential for technical communication, and Pipedrive does it well. This technical document is geared toward layman product users and must be easy to understand, even while providing complex information. Notice the use of jump links and the callout box on the page.

Outfunnel’s Head of Marketing, Katheriin Liibert says about Pipedrive’s technical writing,

technical writer writing assignments

Digimind Consumer Brand Footprint Ranking 2021 Report

Digimind white paper - technical writing examples

Digimind goes the extra mile with their visuals in this white paper/industry report . It’s eye-catching and information–all the while remaining thoroughly professional and readable. Being a B2B brand does not mean boring text-only marketing copy.

University of Wisconsin Onboarding Tool Kit

University of Wisconsin’s onboarding handbook - technical writing examples

This onboarding/employee handbook wins for being easy to read with short sentences and bullet points that improve readability. The human resources department also adds quick links to any relevant documents new employees need to download or fill out.

Cell Reports Medical Study

[Cell medical report - technical writing examples]

Yes, a medical research paper with pictures!

Dr. Sophia Milbourne , a stem cell biologist and freelance science communicator, appreciates that this paper is a “great summary of the subject matter.” More importantly, Milbourne mentions that

technical writer writing assignments

LG Refrigerator Manual

[LG user manual - technical writing examples]

This basic user manual from LG gives users an overview of their new product and helps them make the best use of it. (The diagram will come in handy when an online article tells you to adjust the control panel and you’re not sure which knob it is.)

Mashable India’s User Agreement

Mashable India legal user agreement - technical writing examples

This is an excellent example of a consumer-directed technical document. Mashable India’s user agreement is a technical legal document including their disclaimer, use license, and usage conditions.

Lawyer and content writer Ejike Umesi acknowledges that the company follows the numbered styling typical of these documents. He says,

technical writer writing assignments

Slack Help Center

Slack Help Center - technical writing examples

The Slack Help Center is an excellent example of technical writing that speaks to the layman. Slack is known for its brilliant UX copywriting . Amruta Ranade, Staff Technical Writer for Airbyte, admires the company’s documentation writing style.

“Slack’s Help Center shows incredible user-awareness. The information displayed is contextual, concise, and complete–it helps the user accomplish their task without distracting them or sidetracking them with extraneous information.”

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With GatherContent, you can build templates for any content you create, including case studies! GatherContent also has helpful resources for helping you and your team prioritize user-led content .

If you publish your content online , you can connect GatherContent to your CMS of choice for seamless exporting. Planning, creating, and sharing great technical content doesn’t have to be so… technical.

Start your GatherContent free trial today.

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technical writer writing assignments

What Is a Technical Writer? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

 Technical writers create content like how-to guides and instruction manuals that accompany products, with the goal of providing good user experiences.  Here’s what to know about a technical writer’s salary, needed skills and how to become one.

What Is a Technical Writer?

A technical writer is someone who has writing and communication prowess as well as product expertise. They study target audiences to determine how best to communicate the technical aspects of a product and its features. Their work is not exclusively in written format. They may also need to help produce videos, illustrations and other visual communication.

What Do Technical Writers Do?

Technical writers craft concise communications that help both technical and non-technical users understand how to interact with products. They collaborate closely with people involved in product development and gather feedback from users to inform their process and figure out how to simplify complex concepts for written materials.

Technical Writer Responsibilities

  • Writing and editing technical documentation.
  • Producing videos, illustrations and other visual communications.
  • Conforming to style guides.
  • Conducting research and studying product samples. 
  • Collaborating with other teams and departments as they produce products and features that need documentation.
  • Learning about complex concepts and technical product aspects.
  • Collecting feedback from users.

Technical Writer Role Within a Company

Technical writers are available as needed to departments throughout an organization. They often collaborate closely with engineers, product teams and others who are directly involved in developing the products and features they’ll be drafting communications for. A technical writer may be responsible for users outside of the company, as well as putting together documentation for internal purposes.

Importance of a Technical Writer

Technical writers essentially serve as translators who make sense of high-level information and convert those details into a format that’s understandable to intended users.

What Skills Are Needed to Be a Technical Writer?

Qualifications to be a technical writer.

  • Ability to apply critical thinking skills to writing and communication.
  • Understanding of types of technical documentation and how to choose the right one.
  • Skilled researcher and editor.
  • Capable of quickly learning complex topics and communicating them to others.
  • At least one to two years of relevant experience.
  • Familiarity with common writing platforms and publishing software.
  • Efficient at collaborating across teams and departments.

Technical Writer Prerequisites

  • A bachelor’s or associate’s degree in a relevant field or from a technical writing or communication program.
  • Professional certification.

Technical Writer Hard Skills

  • Some jobs may require knowledge of coding languages like HTML, CSS, Python and Javascript.
  • Product research and audience analysis.
  • Proofreading skills and knowledge of relevant style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style.
  • Proficient at using writing and publishing tools.

Technical Writer Soft Skills

  • Strong communication and collaboration skills.
  • Creativity and curiosity.
  • Managing time to meet project deadlines.
  • Organized and detail oriented.

Tools and Programs Technical Writers Use

  • Writing software and platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
  • Publishing software like Adobe RoboHelp and MadCap Flare.
  • Tools like Jira and Confluence for workflow and project management.

How to Become a Technical Writer

Technical writer education and experience.

Common majors for technical writers include English, journalism, communications, information technology and computer science. Some schools even offer technical writing specific programs. Depending on what field they work in, some technical writers enter the industry with an associate’s degree or no degree at all. These individuals may have lots of relevant experience, a strong writing portfolio and professional courses and certifications under their belt to prove their proficiencies.

Technical Writer Certificates and Courses

  • Technical Writing: Master Your Writing Career
  • Technical Writing: How to Write Software Documentation
  • Learn API Technical Writing: JSON and XML for Writers
  • Learn API Technical Writing 2: REST for Writers
  • Certified Professional Technical Communicator
  • Medical Writer Certified credential

Technical Writer Career Path

Recent graduates may be able to find an entry-level technical writing role such as an internship or junior technical writer position, but newcomers should expect to work at least one to two years before breaking into technical writing. Some also choose to become a UX researcher or junior UX designer before moving into technical writing. This route allows them to learn about UX research, design techniques and other areas that can give them a necessary understanding of interaction design and how users relate to products. As they advance in their career, technical writers can add senior to their job title or step into the role of managing a team of technical writers at a larger company.

Technical Writer Salary and Job Outlook

As of 2021, there were 55,400 technical writers employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . That number is expected to grow by 6 percent for a total of 58,400 technical writers by 2031, with a projected 5,400 openings each year.

The full compensation package for a technical writer depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average technical salary.

Expand Your Technical Writer Career Opportunities

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CH 2 Assignment: Revising/Translating

Part of a technical writer’s job is to translate highly technical writing and complex concepts for laypeople (non-experts). Technical writing is often a form of communication between a specialist and a non-specialist (layperson), though sometimes it is between a specialist in one field and an expert in a different discipline.

For this assignment, you (or your group) will practice translating complex information for a non-technical audience by rewriting the excerpt down below . The excerpt comes from a scholarly article written for a highly-technical audience. Your job is to make it understandable to most readers.

* Before you begin this assignment, make sure you have read the previous sections on Audience and Purpose .

For this assignment, you (or your group) should:

  • Think about what you’ve learned so far about Audience and Purpose.
  • Your audience is a general adult audience, and your purpose is to summarize the main point(s) of the article.

Scholarly Excerpt about Oceanic White Tip Sharks

“All female specimens less than 180 cm TL with thin ovaries, threadlike uteri and oviduct were considered immature. The onset of sexual maturity in females appears to occur at a TL of 185 cm TL. The smallest mature female specimen was found in April 2005, and was 190 cm TL and 43 kg in weight. The specimens greater than > 200 cm TL had well-developed uteri and were considered mature. The logistic curve describing the relationship between P and TL was estimated to be P = 1/e−0.3213(TL−193.4) (n = 89, P < 0.05) (Figure 5b). The size at 50% maturity with 95% CI was estimated to be 193.4 ± 0.97 cm TL for females. Only two pregnant females were examined in detail in this study. A pregnant female collected in September 2005 (222 cm TL, 86 kg) had 10 embryos (five for each uterus, 56–64 cm TL, 1600–2600 g) and 10 unfertilized ova (0.4–0.8 mm (n = 6), and 10–11 mm (n = 4)) in the ovary. Another pregnant female (217 cm TL, 70 kg) collected in December 2005 had 11 embryos (five and six for left and right uterus, respectively, 19.5–22.3 cm TL, 88–148 g) and six unfertilized ova in the ovary. One mature but non-pregnant female (198 cm TL, 47 kg) also collected in December 2005 had 14 ova ranging from 0.8 to 24 mm in diameter with the majority being 8–14 mm (n = 10). The largest embryo (64 cm TL) with teeth and similar morphology to the freeswimming individual was considered to be a nearterm embryo. The umbilical scar on the smallest freeswimming individual (93 cm TL) was healed, suggesting it was not a newly born individual. Hence, the size at birth of the oceanic whitetip shark was suggested to be at least 64 cm TL based on our observations.”

The entire article is available here: White Tip Sharks (PDF)

Technical Writing at LBCC Copyright © 2020 by Will Fleming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

ENGL210: Technical Writing

Course introduction.

  • Time: 86 hours
  • Free Certificate

Because the goal of this course is to improve your ability to write clear, comprehensible examples of technical writing, most subunits include short writing activities that will give you hands-on experience in many different writing tasks. Each unit also includes a series of writing self-assessments that will allow you to evaluate your own writing based on specific criteria and provide examples and commentary on how to write successfully. This practical focus on specific writing skills will help you learn the writing skills you will need in the workplace. By the end of the course, you will feel comfortable tackling a wide variety of workplace communications.

Course Syllabus

First, read the course syllabus. Then, enroll in the course by clicking "Enroll me". Click Unit 1 to read its introduction and learning outcomes. You will then see the learning materials and instructions on how to use them.

technical writer writing assignments

Unit 1: Audience Analysis

Imagine needing to make a phone call but not knowing what number to dial. Beginning a communications project without first establishing your audience is a lot like that phone call without a phone number. If you don't first know who you are communicating with, you can't determine what information they need and in what format. In this unit, we walk through the steps of audience analysis to determine who we are writing to, what they know, what they need to know, and the best ways to reach them.

When we first take on a writing project, we must first consider who we are communicating with. We should ask ourselves who they are, what they know, and what they need to know to take action.

After we conduct this audience analysis, the next steps in the process apply this analysis to writing choices. Different audiences require different approaches to word choice, tone, and formatting. We also use our audience analysis to anticipate issues and any concerns or questions the audience might have after accessing the communication we have created.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.

Unit 2: Internal Communication: Writing Memos and Emails

Two of the most common forms of technical writing that you will encounter are the memo and the email. After completing an audience analysis, you must determine which form would be best for sending the message; memos and emails often rely on smaller amounts of information or requests for more information. In this unit, we cover the best practices for creating effective memos and emails.

Once the dominant form of communication in the workplace, memos typically serve as internal communication within an organization. Memos can update policies and procedures, announce meetings or organizational changes, or inform the internal audience as needed. Memos must typically be brief, concise, organized for readability, and addressed to targeted audiences with specific subject lines.

Emails, which often replace memos for internal communication, can be sent internally or externally. While this form of business communication must take into account the time constraints most readers face as a result of high email volume, people use emails to communicate issues both large and small. Emails must make use of strong subject lines, clear formatting, and concise writing. Email also presents some ethical challenges as the forwarding and BCC function enables you to easily share communications with larger audiences quickly and in a way that is documented for the longer term.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 9 hours.

Unit 3: External Communication: Formal Letters

While memos are used for internal communication and emails for both internal and external communication, formal letters are mainly used as an external means of communication. Understanding when a communications context requires the more formal delivery of a physical letter falls under the initial considerations of the audience analysis and design/formatting stages of the writing process.

Letters can range from friendly introductions to more formal announcements with accompanying legal documents. In their more serious capacity, letters seek to create a formal and documented chain of communication. 

Two main formats exist for letters: the block format and the indented format. Both require the recipient’s and sender’s full names and addresses. They begin with a formal salutation and end with a complimentary closing. Their formal structure helps to convey authority and credibility.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.

Unit 4: Using Visuals to Convey Information

Words are not the only way to present and share information with an audience. Technical writing often utilizes visuals to accompany written information and further deliver information to the audience. This unit leads you through the types of visuals available and the best practices for using them.

Visuals take many forms; they can be as simple as a photograph of a plant specimen or pie chart breaking down enrollment data or as complex as an embedded video or multi-page, hyperlinked, organizational chart. Visuals must be carefully selected to support the audience's understanding of the topic.

However strong they are on their own, visuals must be integrated into the text of the document. The written word supports the visuals, and the visuals further exemplify the meaning of the text. The two work in tandem to support the main idea of the document.

This unit will also cover the important tools needed to properly label, title, and document visuals used in a given communication context.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 11 hours.

Unit 5: Process Documentation

One of the most common formats of technical writing is the process document. The process document explains either how to do something or how something was accomplished. This can be used to teach people or to document a process for the record. These documents vary in level of formality based on audience, but they all share elements of formatting to keep the communication organized and effective. This unit takes you through the ways to create process documents.

Formatting is probably the first design concern for a process document. The writer must distinguish whether or not the audience will have the directions with them as they accomplish the task or if they must commit the task to memory. Beginning nursing students, for example, are taught the proper way to wash hands in a roughly 1,500-word document. This document details not just the steps of handwashing, but also explains why each aspect of the process is critical to overall handwashing success. This extra detail helps to embed the proper procedure into new nurses' minds; they will, after all, be washing their hands countless times during the day without the instructions handy. Recipes, on the other side of the spectrum, anticipate that the audience will have them close by as they prepare the food; as a result, these feature lots of white space and step by step formatting.

Process documents must also pay special attention to anticipating potential trouble spots or questions from the audience. Anticipating these moments enables the writer to save time overall and increases the chances that the audience can complete the process without difficulty. Note that in this unit we will work through the writing process to develop complete process documents. We'll start with planning before moving to initial drafting, then revising.

Unit 6: Writing Proposals

Proposals are another common form of technical writing. These reports can either be formal or informal depending on the context. Some examples of proposals can be simple estimates for home improvement projects to more complex and formal business plans. This unit covers how to craft proposals.

Like process documents, proposals also rely on formatting to help them convey professionalism and appeal to the audience. Appealing to the audience is key given the persuasive nature of proposal writing. Proposals seek to persuade the audience to take action on a requested item or task. 

Like other forms of technical writing, a proposal begins with audience analysis and moves through the steps of planning, writing, and revision.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.

Unit 7: Communicating on the Internet

As the Internet rapidly expands, so does the opportunity for businesses to share information and reach audiences online. Technical Writers are increasingly called upon to craft communications to reach a broad online audience. The unit explores how the Internet is used to communicate and how to apply the foundations of technical writing effectively to reach online audiences.

Reading and writing for the Internet presents certain challenges that the printed word doesn't. The largest concern is the shortened attention span of Internet-based readers and reduced reading comprehension. Given the scrolling feature and the ease of clicking away, savvy writers for the Internet tailor their communications with headings, short paragraphs, clear and engaging visuals, and links for further development. 

Additional points to consider when writing for the Internet are how to use social media as a tool for both communications and marketing. Given how easy it is to share communication online, the technical writer should be well versed in the social media tools and the common practices for writing on each of the interfaces. For example, what works on a blog post would not work in a tweet. The technical writer must learn how to translate the same idea for several different types of social media and in a way that reaches the intended audience.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 12 hours.

Study Guide

This study guide will help you get ready for the final exam. It discusses the key topics in each unit, walks through the learning outcomes, and lists important vocabulary terms. It is not meant to replace the course materials!

technical writer writing assignments

Course Feedback Survey

Please take a few minutes to give us feedback about this course. We appreciate your feedback, whether you completed the whole course or even just a few resources. Your feedback will help us make our courses better, and we use your feedback each time we make updates to our courses.

If you come across any urgent problems, email [email protected].

technical writer writing assignments

Technical Writing

(28 reviews)

technical writer writing assignments

Annemarie Hamlin, Central Oregon Community College

Chris Rubio, Central Oregon Community College

Copyright Year: 2016

ISBN 13: 9781636350653

Publisher: Open Oregon Educational Resources

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Amine Oudghiri-Otmani, Instructor, Marshall University on 10/15/22

This text offers a good amount of instruction (though at times limited) underlying effective workplace and technical writing/communication. Having personally examined a number of technical writing materials, this is by far one of the very few... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text offers a good amount of instruction (though at times limited) underlying effective workplace and technical writing/communication. Having personally examined a number of technical writing materials, this is by far one of the very few texts that incorporate a section about texting. Freshman students will benefit from this introductory-level text and will appreciate the authors' emphasis on conventional technical documents including emails, letters, memos, reports, and proposals. The textbook, however, may not satisfy the needs of students in advanced technical writing courses looking for guidance on complex documents beyond the conventional ones identified here. Visual representation of information could be improved, and the organization of chapters could be more strategic. A separate section about reports with important introductory information, for instance, could precede the progress reports and technical reports sections.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

A full citation guide is not provided, which may not reflect well on the credibility of the authors and/or the accuracy of the information provided. The attribution information at the end of each chapter is the only reference provided, contradicting the authors' recommendation to support one's writing with material from outside research.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Although the materials are relevant to orthodox technical writing contexts, the text could benefit from a separate section that introduces writing in the digital world to reflect the evolving nature and changing landscape of technical communication. As part of the additional section, for instance, the authors could discuss potential similarities/differences between documents produced traditionally (e.g., pencil and paper, in addition to those developed by means of regular Word processor) and those produced digitally using various contemporary media. Similarities and/or differences could be discussed in light of prose and rhetorical strategies, among others.

Clarity rating: 5

The authors use simple, clear, and easy-to-understand prose. After all, sentence structure in technical writing is expected to be short, concise, and to the point. This text fits under this category of direct and unambiguous language. In addition to the authors identifying and covering essential technical terminology, the reader will appreciate the combination of descriptive (i.e., regular declarative) and direct (i.e., imperative, instructional) language. The memo, for instance, "has a header that clearly indicates who sent it and who the intended recipients are," and the reader is asked to "always consider the audience and their needs when preparing a memo."

Consistency rating: 4

Consistency is off a few times throughout the text. At the beginning of the first chapter, "Professional Communications," for instance, the authors write, "From text messages to reports, how you represent yourself with the written word counts." In this first chapter, however, only texting, emails, memos, and letters are discussed. Reports are mentioned only briefly under the cover letter to a technical report section, but no prior background about reports is provided.

Modularity rating: 5

Consistent use of headers and special highlights (e.g., boldface, etc.) helps chapter sub-sections and other important information stand out. The headings and sub-headings minimize potential distractions or other inconsistencies in modular presentation of chapter content.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Chapter organization throughout the text consists of introduction and discussion. A conclusion in which a general, targeted final reflection is provided, however, is missing. Although the same chapter structure is used throughout the text, which will help keep the reader focused as they navigate subsequent chapter content, the authors could discuss chapter presentation, structure, and framework prior to the first chapter. The introduction section could benefit from a few sentences previewing this across-the-board structure.

Chapter lineup could also be more strategic. The chapter "Ethics in Technical Writing," for instance, could go first before "Information Literacy" and "Citations and Plagiarism."

Interface rating: 4

Readers may be distracted by the number of blank pages at the end of chapters. Readers looking to print individual chapters with ample text on each page (or those simply interested in saving trees by minimizing the number of pages printed in multiple jobs) may be disappointed. Text navigation and individual chapter selection, however, are made easy thanks to the hyperlink attached to each line/item under "Contents." Readers looking to go to a specific chapter do not need to engage in much scrolling and are given the opportunity to jump straight to the specific chapter or chapter sub-section by clicking the link.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

No grammar errors have been detected. The authors' occasional use of the "conversational" tone may not be an issue, especially in terms of deciding whether the language matches the universal, agreed-upon conventions of technical writing. The textbook being an introduction to technical writing is meant to provide a general overview of the field, and technicality at the clause level is not required. The latter is expected to be a feature of advanced-level texts. The authors, however, could consider adding a separate section that discusses style and tone (in addition to orthodox grammar/sentence structure error patterns like splices, fragments, etc.). That the language used in the text may not match the conventions of technical writing - in terms of style and tone - could also be emphasized.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Chapter 13, "Communicating Across Cultures," introduces the reader to the importance of considering the variety of cultures and culture uniqueness (and peculiarity) in technical communication, which I believe does the job. Advanced-level texts may delve deeper into the requisite component of culture and culture sensitivity in both drafting certain technical documents and deciding on the style/tone to be used, context dependent. This textbook subscribes to the general/introductory category in this (i.e., discussion of culture) respect.

Reviewed by Sylvia Hayes, English Instructor, Midlands Technical College on 7/26/21

This book is concise and covers an array of Technical Communication topics and genres. This text provides flexibility in the fact that it focuses on Technical Communication for a more generalized audience and therefore this would work well as a... read more

This book is concise and covers an array of Technical Communication topics and genres. This text provides flexibility in the fact that it focuses on Technical Communication for a more generalized audience and therefore this would work well as a Technical Communications text for a First-Year Writing course at a 2 or 4-year college. The organization of the section is not very logical, luckily most instructors do not use textbook chapters in order. The text could use more examples for students in the medical and legal fields. It could use more visual support within the chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The information presented in this text is accurate, error-free, and unbiased; however, there are no references to original sources for most of the content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content of this text is written so students can use the information in many different technical communication settings.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear, the prose is accessible and it defines and provides adequate context for concepts college-level students may find unfamiliar. There are multiple instances of the text directing you to a hyperlink to another resource that explains the concept in more depth. However, the text does not model the level of clarity necessary for technical communication. There are various sections that are underdeveloped and need more graphics and examples.

Consistency rating: 3

Due to the sheer number of contributing authors, it is hard to create a consistent framework for the chapters. They each seem to be designed by the separate contributors in ways that make sense to them and are not uniform to the book. In terms of terminology, the text is consistent.

Modularity rating: 3

This text is broken up into sections and subsections, that can be assigned at different points within a course. As the organization of the chapters is chaotic, I believe most instructors would have to move sections around as assign them individually instead of starting at chapter 1 and working through the textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 1

The organization of chapters is confusing. Why are citations in between Proposals and Progress Reports? Chapters refer to students learning of concepts found later in the textbook.

Interface rating: 2

Not all sections are set up the same, which makes it harder to navigate and find information. In some versions of the text, you can't see the graphics. You cannot search the text using normal search indicators "AND," "NOT," etc. this makes searching this text much more difficult than some others. Why are there so many blank pages in the PDF, if someone was to print the text they would waste about 1/4 of the pages.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

There weren't any noticeable grammatical errors. The sentence structure is varied, however, there were some long, wordy, confusing sentences. The tone is very casual and not professional.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There is no culturally insensitive or offensive language in the text, however, the text is not inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in its examples or images.

Reviewed by Mary Larsen, Instructor, Pittsburg State University on 5/14/21

This textbook highlights important components of technical writing, including various forms of technical writing in the workplace and also approaches to audience analysis, graphics, and ethics within the writing of these documents. This text also... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook highlights important components of technical writing, including various forms of technical writing in the workplace and also approaches to audience analysis, graphics, and ethics within the writing of these documents. This text also includes information about resumes and employment, which is very applicable to technical writing and provides readers with a dual layer of content.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content within this text is accurate and mostly error-free. The content is based off of multiple authors rather than one single-viewpoint, which provides additional insights into topics versus only one limited view. Content is cited and derived from David McMurrey, who has experience and a plethora of knowledge in all aspects of technical writing.

The text is relevant to writing in the workplace as it covers aspects of "netiquette," which is something technical writers will encounter more and more as workplace functions are moved more to online formats. The formats covered are also frequently used forms of communication in the workplace, such as email, letters, memos, proposals etc. This provides a large scope of relevant documents that readers could encounter when writing in the workplace.

This text is written in plain language and easy to read. Content is sectioned off pretty well for easier readability and there were few, if any, areas of jargon or overly technical language. Tips are provided in various sections that assist readers in actually applying the content.

Consistency rating: 5

How text and visuals are presented and the sense of organization of various chapters and sections are all consistently presented within.

Modularity rating: 4

Subheadings are used within for easier readability; however, content is text-heavy at times. Content jumps around some, but is otherwise organized into a logical progression of points (such as discussing audience and types of documents in the beginning and saving design and employment content for later in the text).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization follows a logical progression of ideas and concepts that would be presented within a technical writing course. The Table of Contents includes easily recognized sections and page numbers and each new section is noted at the top of the page. At times the images presented conflict with the text and spacing on pages, but is otherwise easy to attribute to the content pertaining to the image.

Interface rating: 5

Some of the images / videos are pixelated. The textbook includes links to videos and images that further touch upon the concepts of a chapter, which is very helpful and engaging. Images link to direct PDF files for easier access of a document. Seems to be some unnecessary space left on pages or between section changes.

Text is mostly free of grammatical errors, although a few minor grammar mistakes were present. For example, "insure" is used instead of "ensure" in Section 3.7.

Chapter 13 of the text is "Communication Across Cultures," which lends to its response to cultural sensitivity. The text seems to keep in mind readers of various races and backgrounds and uses relevant pop culture references that are inclusive. If anything, the textbook could incorporate aspects of gender in relation to technical writing in the workplace.

This textbook covers most all of the content I currently use in my own technical / professional writing courses and I am considering adopting this textbook in future courses that I teach.

technical writer writing assignments

Reviewed by Bjorn Smars, Career Instructor, University of Oregon on 7/2/20

As far as I can tell, this textbook does not include an index or glossary. However, each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings, so navigating to specific concepts and ideas is not difficult without the use... read more

As far as I can tell, this textbook does not include an index or glossary. However, each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings, so navigating to specific concepts and ideas is not difficult without the use of an index. My only complaint about this text, at least in regards to its comprehensiveness, is that many of the sections or pages are underdeveloped or do not contain sufficient explanation and/or examples to illustrate important concepts. For example, the chapter on communicating across cultures provides useful tips that students can use to think critically about cross-cultural communication, but these suggestions are limited in that they are designed to apply broadly to most situations in which cross-cultural communication occurs and therefore do not offer clear guidelines or practical strategies for students to learn about and identify a particular culture's communication norms.

As far as I can tell, the information presented in this text is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. The purpose of this textbook is to serve as an introduction to technical writing, and as such is designed to provide students with practical strategies for engaging in effective technical communication.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, most of the content in this textbook is written in such a way that it can be applied practically and broadly to a variety of situations in which students may find the need to engage in technical writing and/or communication. The focus is more on providing practical strategies and helping students develop critical thinking skills than it is about using a particular software.

The prose is clear and accessible to college-level readers, and unfamiliar concepts are either defined in-text by the textbook's authors or via hyperlink to another source. For example, in chapter "13.2 Understanding Cultural Context," the authors provide a link to a YouTube video that explains the differences between high-context and low-context cultures in more depth.

The textbook uses consistent terminology and frameworks throughout.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the organization of the textbook is easy to navigate and understand. Each chapter is broken into separate sections with descriptive titles and headings. My only complaint is that there is some inconsistency between the lengths of each chapter's subsections. Some sections are very short (150-300 words max) while others are much longer, ranging in the 2,000-3,000 word range. That said, each section is clearly labeled, and the headings are highly descriptive.

See previous comment.

Each chapter's subsection has navigational arrows that allow the reader to move on to the next section easily, and the table of contents is easily accessible on every page. However, locating the table of contents may not be intuitive for some students, and some students may not know how to navigate through each chapter's subsections.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, this text could provide more examples to help students better understand cultural differences in terms of communication. More examples that are relevant to students attending one of Oregon's many colleges or universities would help to illustrate these cultural differences and provide students with a practical, real-world strategies for engaging with their peers, professors, and other folks from other cultures and/or regions.

Overall, I found this textbook very useful, though I had to supplement much of the information either with links to other sources or with material I developed personally. It's a useful and accessible introduction to technical writing for most undergraduate students, but it is not a comprehensive document and therefore may require the instructor to provide additional information or resources.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Aydelott, Part-Time Instructor, Lane Community College on 6/26/20

This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. A class geared toward a specific aspect of the field - engineering or a medical field, for example - would need to add material. This text... read more

This text covers almost every topic that I would cover in a Technical Writing Class for generalized studies. A class geared toward a specific aspect of the field - engineering or a medical field, for example - would need to add material. This text provides a solid basis for any course in technical writing, though.

The information is accurate, the citation guide up-to-date, and most material is relevant to any aspect of the field.

The content is almost all up-to-date. I would suggest adding a section on conference calls in the chapter on Professional Communications. That format has its own specific netiquette rules, ethics, and audience considerations. And conference calls, in a variety of formats, are increasingly essential to the working life.

Clear, common sense prose. The beginning of each chapter should probably be titled "Overview" or something similar, perhaps with a brief outline, for more clarity.

The book's structure changes with each format. I suggest that the instructor designate a preferred version for the class. Within the text, however, it becomes fairly easy to navigate through the material.

This text would be easy to assign in appropriate chunks for the students.

The text has a logical order, but I would assign the last chapters first since I usually begin with employment application materials and then cultural awareness almost immediately afterwards.

Interface is fairly straightforward and clear. Some of the videos, particularly in the beginning, are a bit referential to a specific course rather than to the topic in general.

Grammar has no problem. I wish, though, that a general chapter on grammar was included for the students.

I really appreciated the chapter on Communicating Across Cultures, but I wish it had been included earlier in the book. Perhaps a reference to Cultural Literacy within the chapter on Audience.

I'm confused about why the Open Textbook Library lists the book with only one author instead of the seven listed in the book itself.

Reviewed by Christopher Schott, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Missouri - St. Louis on 4/23/20

This book really does cover a great deal of ground. However, I found the pacing and the organization of the section to be a little sporadic, especially if the book were to be read linearly by students. This may not be a serious concern as,... read more

This book really does cover a great deal of ground. However, I found the pacing and the organization of the section to be a little sporadic, especially if the book were to be read linearly by students. This may not be a serious concern as, especially in a digital format, the book can be navigated easily from topic to topic. Many chapters are short (some are quite detailed, though), which can be a real asset, but the lack of technical writing theory might be a concern for instructors looking to balance practice with understanding approach. While the book does cover a great of texts that are useful for students studying engineering and computer science, it may provide fewer examples and cover less in terms of students looking for technical communication instruction in medical fields, journals, legal fields. Another issue, when it comes to comprehensiveness, is the lacking of exercises and assignments. For my own teaching, this is not an issue (I try to craft assignments that fit the culture of my students' academic programs), but I could see it limiting the use of this book for other professors who would like corresponding assignments and readings.

As a reader, this book seems unbiased to me. That said, there are some prescriptive outlooks on crafting documents that may lead a reader to believe there is a one-size-fits-all way to compose a text. For example, there is a recommendation that emails are limited to three paragraphs, which is a very narrow view of that genre (shouldn't it depend on the rhetorical context, audience, etc.?). Overall, the content in the book appears accurate, even if a little prescriptive at times. However, this can be remedied through instruction from the professor.

The information that is presented in this book is very similar (and in some cases, exactly the same) as the information I've been teaching for the ten years I've been teaching technical communication. Some concepts in this course, such as audience, purpose, tone, precision--these will forever be touchstones of any professional writing course, technical writing is no exception. I very much am happy to see a chapter on information literacy, which is honestly and unfortunately absent from a surprising amount of existing (and expensive) technical writing textbooks. Some of the information does seem to not work (some links, for example), which may hurt longevity, but the authors do note this might be a possibility when using the book.

This book is clear. As a technical communication text, I would hope it would be and I was happy to see the authors not utilize jargon, instead stick to very explicitly presented ideas, sentence structure, and offering simple language that will appeal to readers, make them feel smart, all while retaining the level of academic rigor a text like this needs.

The chapters in this book are all formatted relatively the same. This offers readers a consistent and predictive reading experience (which, in itself, is a valuable technical communication skill). Each chapter starts with a very useful introduction, leading nicely into the rest of the chapter. There are, at times, inconsistencies in how thoroughly topics are treated and covered, but that is to be expected with many textbooks.

This text seems to be designed for purposeful fragmentation in a course. By this, I mean that the text does not have to be read linearly to be useful for students. In fact, and this is something the authors may have had in mind when writing, but most textbooks are not read and interacted with linearly anyway. Chapters are skipped, brought back, and revisited. I think this is just fine and, in many ways, provides a more fruitful reading experience.

Along with the previous idea of Modularity, I do not think the text is perfectly organized. One could argue that a textbook should move from more simple to more complex concepts. However, I disagree and do not think this needs to be the case. Instead, while the chapters here might seem a bit out of order in terms of their "difficulty," to do seem to be ordered nicely in terms of some theoretical understanding (though, very little) into more genre-based writing. Because the text can function in ways that benefit the class, this is not an issue.

The book is incredibly easy to navigate and use. Some links are broken, which can be frustrating, but it doesn't distract from the usefulness of the book overall.

I did not notice any grammar and mechanical errors in the text.

Despite an opening comment in the Introduction that claims students will learn to write "in such a way that even Grandad can understand," a which is a bit insulting to grandpas everywhere (it's ageist), the book seems to be culturally respectful and appropriate. I am a big fan of the cultural sensitivity section in the book, which I think is very carefully and thoughtfully presented to readers. There are topics that can be included that were not. In technical communication, it's important to remember that standards are always changing in business and this will undoubtedly shift the way professionals communicate, interact, and write. For example, a section on language inclusivity would be useful.

I'm grateful for this book. The authors have really put together a text that is useful in terms of what it can do in different kinds of technical communication classroom. I've seen many different kinds of technical writing courses and they are all taught differently. It seems this book has the unique ability to fit many different kinds of teaching styles, learning environments, and student abilities--and the book's design and functionality allows for professors to be very malleable in their pedagogy.

Reviewed by Brian Ballentine, Professor, West Virginia University on 4/20/20

The book is being reviewed the book in the web PDF format. At least one other reviewer has noted that there are inconsistency issues across various formats in which the book is offered. The web PDF format functions as expected in Acrobat reader... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

The book is being reviewed the book in the web PDF format. At least one other reviewer has noted that there are inconsistency issues across various formats in which the book is offered. The web PDF format functions as expected in Acrobat reader with the sidebar thumbnails and toc providing hyperlinks to specific pages and sections. This format does not have a much-needed index or glossary. The book does not have the same comprehensive content that a student would find in one of the large, mainstream, and admittedly costly technical communication texts by authors like Markel and Selber, Lannon and Gurak, or Anderson. There isn't enough or any coverage on important topics like instruction sets, technical procedures or definitions, user experience testing (including testing instruction sets and other technical documentation), and oral presentations. Documents like instruction sets are mentioned but only in passing. E.g., "Examples are one of the most powerful ways to connect with audiences, particularly in instructions" (2.3). There is content on preparing PPT slides but no content on giving a presentation.

The content does not cite original sources. Each chapter and even sub-section has author attributions for the book itself but rarely does it reference external sources. This becomes particularly obvious for writing instructors in parts of the book like chapter 14 that contend with genre, genre analysis, and genre systems but with no references to the writing scholars we attribute to genre studies (Miller, Bawarshi, Russell). This is not to say that the content is automatically inaccurate but one of the points the authors themselves make about the need to cite sources is the importance of using those sources to build confidence in the audience.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 1

The book opens with content on texting and email but then largely abandons digital communication platforms. Again, in larger technical communication textbooks instructors would expect to find chapters dedicated to "blogs, wikis, and web pages" and "social media" platforms as in offerings by Lannon and Gurak. A more contemporary text would no doubt include online collaborative tools and meeting platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. The recommendation here would be to create a separate chapter or chapters dedicated to technology platforms with the idea that it would be easier to update in the future.

Clarity rating: 2

The writing is more conversational than professional. The book does not model the level of clarity needed for technical writers. E.g., section 9.2 on "Presentation of Information" begins with a longer paragraph that attempts to summarize the space shuttle Challenger disaster as an example of why clear communication is important. The textbook authors write: "Possibly the engineers were just poor writers; possibly they did not consider their audience; or possibly they did not want to look bad and therefore emphasized all the things that were right with the Challenger. (Incidentally, the O rings had worked fine for several launches.)" Edward Tufte's now famous case study of the Challenger contradicts this summary. The rocket company and its engineers did indeed make a no launch recommendation (their first in 12 years) precisely because they had data showing the O-rings failed in cold temperatures. It is moments like these in the textbook that give me pause.

Consistency rating: 2

The multiple authors on this textbook likely pose challenges for creating consistency across the project. For example, in the chapter dedicated to Proposals, the first section is titled "Some preliminaries" and it offers a narrative overview of proposals and the roles they may play. In the chapter dedicated to "Progress Reports," the first section offers "functions and contents of progress reports" that has just two bullet lists. Students like to become acquainted with a consistent format across a book's chapters so they know where to find answers/resources that they need, regardless of the topic.

The textbook does contain self-referential content but overall the chapters could be used in a modular fashion to supplement other learning materials/readings in a technical writing course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

Even if the textbook was designed to be modular, it is still prepared and presented in a specific order (with linked toc in the PDF version). Concepts of genre and genre analysis are presented as fundamental to understanding the writing process yet they come at the end of the text. Audience analysis comes much earlier (chapter 2) but not before texts, emails, and netiquette. Proposals are in chapter 3 but information literacy, including instruction on how to begin research for a proposal isn't until chapter 4. Organizing a textbook toc must be incredibly challenging but there are many models out there that overcome some of these organizational challenges.

Interface rating: 3

The PDF version of the textbook works as expected in terms of the links in the toc and the thumbnails visible in Acrobat. It can be challenging to orient yourself in the text especially because there are many pages with minimal content. The PDF version has 242 pages but I would recommend to students that they only print selectively as many pages are blank.

Despite having many authors (and some open source content), the book does not have an abundance of grammatical errors. As mentioned before, the more casual tone of the textbook does not help with modeling technical and professional communication. There are grammatical issues (or perhaps more stylistic issues) that could be edited. E.g., the book uses the opening phrase, "In other words..." ten times throughout the book. Overall, though, the book scores high in the grammatical category.

Chapter 13 is dedicated to "Communicating Across Cultures" and offers students an overview of "culture" as a term as well as some important guidance on global communication. The book does break some of its own advice in these sections with references to authors with no attribution. E.g., "Geert Hofstede views culture as consisting of mental programs, calling it softwares of the mind, meaning each person 'carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned throughout their lifetime.'” This chapter could make more specific references to technical communication and globalization. A longer paragraph in 13.4 on intercultural communication uses sheep as an example when there are so many ways to talk about the importance of good technical writing in support of technical products and services when they go global.

I would like to thank all of the authors as well as David McMurrey for their efforts in writing and editing this open source textbook. I will likely use chapters or sections to supplement other course materials in an effort to save students money on textbook costs. It may be possible to pair chapters from this textbook with one of the smaller "handbooks" on technical communication out there. While the ratings here aren't overly high, the standard of comparison was challenging. I am looking for options to supplant one of the large, mainstream technical communication textbooks and that is a high bar.

Reviewed by Lars Soderlund, Associate Professor of English, Western Oregon University on 3/7/19

The book has a strong balance of topics. In addition to the mix of genres that it discusses, the book is also effective in its coverage of different aspects of writing such as audience, context, ethics, etc. read more

The book has a strong balance of topics. In addition to the mix of genres that it discusses, the book is also effective in its coverage of different aspects of writing such as audience, context, ethics, etc.

The book contains no inaccuracies as far as I could tell, nor any political or social bias.

The book is relevant in a way that seems sustainable. It is not at the cutting edge of technical writing technologies or software, but it is the sort of book that would have (and probably has) helped students a decade ago and will still be useful in another decade owing to its coverage of general topics and its emphasis on writing fundamentals.

The book is extremely easy to read, and should not hold any students back.

The book's format changes occasionally, probably owing to the various authors involved, but it is not especially noticable and does not affect the book in a negative way.

The book seems to have been designed for modular use, and indeed that is how I plan to use it in my future classes. The way that the book starts with a quick reference guide to genres and then moves into the big-picture writing theory is evidence that the writers want the book to be immediately useful.

The book's organization seems maximally effective for teachers and students. As I mentioned above, the book starts by covering genres with relative swiftness, then it digs into essential writing topics, and then it covers larger genres in more detail. It ends with a section on "Thinking About Writing" that is pretty clearly designed for more advanced readers, and I think that's an effective choice.

The book was extremely easy to navigate and to use.

The book is very well-written and contains no grammatical errors.

The book is fairly dry, and so I did not notice cultural issues that might be of note.

The book is very good, and I look forward to using it.

But I do want to say that although above the book got 5-stars across the board, I'm not sure if I would give it a perfect review if I were to rate it. Basically, I find that students seem to flourish when a class (and a textbook) regularly comes back to explicitly stated themes, and the book didn't necessarily have those. They were there (audience, genre, etc.), but they weren't really up-played in a way that students will definitely get.

Still, again, this is a very strong book and I plan to redesign my future Technical Writing class with it.

Reviewed by Kathryn Northcut, Professor, Missouri University of Science and Technology on 1/13/19

The book is offered in various formats, and they aren't parallel. The organization of chapters in the web-native version defies logic. The expandable table is tricky to get used to because the hyperlink from the Chapter title goes to the chapter... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 1 see less

The book is offered in various formats, and they aren't parallel. The organization of chapters in the web-native version defies logic. The expandable table is tricky to get used to because the hyperlink from the Chapter title goes to the chapter but the arrow on the right shows the subsections. It's hard to remember where you are as you navigate. I did not locate a glossary or index, and the book is not fully searchable in the web-native version because all sections can't be expanded onto one screen.

Content Accuracy rating: 1

Almost none of the content has references to original sources, and far too little theory is made explicit. Too much of the writing is chatty and conversational to provide a model of technical writing for university students.

The first section includes both platforms and genres. However, currently relevant platforms like Twitter are excluded from this section. Mixing platforms and genres seems odd logically. Later chapters jump between concepts and genres with no obvious logic to the order.

The style is accessible but not professional. The writing attempts to be engaging but is not rich enough in evidence, references, or good, contemporary examples for university students.

Consistency rating: 1

Unfortunately, the book consistently raises questions about whether these authors/editors have worked in technical contexts recently. Their advice seems to be off-base, including comparing omitting a conclusion to slamming down a phone on a caller. In fact, much professional writing starts with an abstract, executive summary, or cover sheet that obviates the need for a conclusion. The worst thing we can do in much scientific and technical discourse is build suspense and save the point, answer, or recommendations to the end. The way this book is designed and written does not seem to engage the exigencies of technical writing as I'm familiar with them. Other textbooks, whether consistent or not, provide better examples of practices from many industries to help prepare students from writing after college. This textbook focuses not just on the college experience, but on the Central Oregon Community College experience to the exclusion of other contexts.

Modularity rating: 2

The text does not contain modules that stand independently, despite appearing at the outset to be designed that way. Many phrases such as "as seen in the last section," make it difficult for students to follow what's happening. The videos address students in a single section writing a specific assignment and the content of the videos is not transferable to other contexts. The videos I viewed would not work in my courses, ever. Further, the textbook refers constantly to watered-down assignments that I would not assign. In my courses, students DO write a full proposal, not just an academic topic proposal. No one in industry writes topic proposals, so I would not teach that genre in my technical writing course. In fact, this textbook constantly focuses on the specific introductory assignments and methods at Central Oregon Community College, so a more ambitious, advanced curriculum would directly contradict the information in the textbook. If you wanted to teach your students to write proposals, you would be better off with online examples of successful proposals and top-of-the-head commentary than this textbook.

The organization of the textbook appears to be clear and clean, but gets difficult to manage once specific questions are asked, such as, "how should I assign readings to prepare my students for specific assignments?" One of my specializations is teaching proposals. This book doesn't handle proposal writing in a way that fits what I know of proposal writing outside of essay topic proposals used in composition courses. Why is information on Citations and Plagiarism after the chapter on proposals? Professional and academic proposals are robust documents which cite sources, so that background information would be useful earlier. Despite the textbook attempting to be modular, numbering chapters does suggest that there is a logic to the order. Non-numbered TOC might be a solution to this problem. In this book, short chapters are split up into tiny subparts, and navigation between them is tricky in the web-native version. Other Technical Writing/Communication textbooks, from Burnett's 2005 Technical Communication 5th Ed., to the current editions of Markel (and Selber) and Lannon (and Gurak) are superior in terms of internal logic, as is the Engineering Communication Manual (House et al) if the authors/editors need better examples of structure.

Interface rating: 1

I found the design appealing initially. Using it was confusing and there are many incompatibilities between the various versions available. The students would have difficulty locating the correct version of the textbook unless a PDF were provided to them by the instructor, and the PDF is problematic in terms of design and omission of content. In the web-native version, the sections are all very short and navigating to the next section requires clicking back and re-finding your place every time. Not having a "next section" button or arrow almost ensures that students will not complete the readings because they will think, incorrectly, that they are done with the (very short) chapter. The PDF version has many blank pages, making navigation cumbersome. The PDF document is much thinner than the large number of pages suggests. If a student were to print the PDF, much paper would be completely wasted and blank.

The conversational tone isn't ideal for educating students who will need to do technical writing in industry, but there are few overt typographic and spelling errors. The ones that exist are obvious and instructors can correct them if they use those chapters. Sometimes the authors refer to specific genres (like reports, in section 5.1) in a way that would confuse students (because writers cite sources in proposals, memos, and presentations, not just reports), and those errors should be addressed lest the students be misled about the conventions of the genres. Further, references to "your paper" and "paper" demonstrate lack of focus on rhetorical concepts of audience and purpose that should drive every technical communicator in every task. Most of our work is electronic/digital/online, so references to paper may not be incorrect, but they are largely archaic. When the authors refer to student assignments, they might call them "assignments," not "papers." The writing in section 5.2 needs editing. Overuse of "it" and "there" and back-referencing through pronouns ensures that students will have difficulty parsing the information. Further, students are seeing a poor example of a strong technical writing style because the sentences are written in a vague style that would lead to comprehension and translation errors. Further, the authors state that plagiarism is institution-specific, but that's only true in our academic bubble. In fact, plagiarism is an important IP (intellectual property) concern globally, so reference to international publication and copyright standards would be far more useful to students, who are students for 4 years or so, but professionals for up to 40 years.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

Ideally, the authors would employ a plain style to avoid usability problems for non-American-dialect users. In the section (2.1 types of audiences) about audience, an opportunity is missed by not getting into user profiles and usability theory. Contrary to what is stated, technicians do not always lack sophisticated theoretical knowledge. It is not true that executives are always the audience for whom our students will or should write. The lack of robust user-based terminology is a problem with this book. I wonder if any of the authors are currently active in the technical communication community or have worked in nonacademic technical environments on communication design tasks. If they have, I would implore them to use better industry examples and the jargon of writers in technical professions. The authors should also focus on plain language in this book, and exemplify it in their prose. Karen Schriver's work is a good starting point.

I recommend this book (only) to instructors at Central Oregon Community College, where it perhaps serves a useful, important purpose. Its structure and content is unsuitable for majors in professional fields including engineering and science, and therefore is not a good choice for instructors teaching at most institutions where the course is offered. The emphasis on MLA style demonstrates the limited appeal of the textbook (to English majors). To be clear, MLA is not used in a single industrial or professional context I am aware of, outside English departments and literature-oriented professions. No mention is made of IEEE, which is the largest professional society in the world and which publishes professional ethics and authorial style guides that many professionals will encounter. It's great to include APA, but that social-science emphasis should be balanced with another professional style such as ASME or IEEE. The authors may have heard this, because they mention ASME in section 5.1, but they give no examples of what ASME looks like in practice. I worry that this textbook potentially does a disservice to the technical communication field as well as to open-access materials, which should be of high quality and represent best practices based on an awareness of the range of communication tasks working professional undertake. David McMurrey's work was far more technical and usable in its time; I'm sad to conclude that this textbook does not build productively on his legacy.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wilde, Adjunct instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/18/18

The text does many things very well, but it is too uneven to be truly comprehensive. It will work best as an introduction to technical communication and business writing. It is less helpful, I think, to students going into health care fields and... read more

The text does many things very well, but it is too uneven to be truly comprehensive. It will work best as an introduction to technical communication and business writing. It is less helpful, I think, to students going into health care fields and the social sciences. Chapters are brief and pragmatic, with no discussion of theory, no instruction on clarity or sentence structure, and little discussion of diction and style. The index is helpful; there is no glossary, but this does not seem to be an omission as there is little jargon used throughout the book. Some of the chapters are extremely brief and rudimentary, while others are detailed and nuanced. An example of the former is the section headed "Types of audiences", and an example of the latter is the section on ethics of technical writing. One of the earliest chapters is about texting. There are useful chapters dedicated to resumes, incident reports, proposals, and several other genres - and there is an interesting, though perhaps not as practical, discussion of genres in writing. Like most other technical writing resources, this book has nothing to say about case reports, medical or nursing notes, letters to the editor or position papers for professional and trade journals, all of which are pertinent to the daily work of many professionals in human services or advocacy. Another issue with the book is the lack of writing exercises and assignments. There are some areas with a "Try This" section, but not very many of them, and the assignments lack an assessment component.

The book seems unbiased, although some advice feels a little arbitrary, such as the recommendation to limit emails to three paragraphs. I do not find any errors of content. There is a technical error in the middle of the book, where the author refers to a graph about voting in Australia; that graph does not exist on the page but there is this editorial comment that was no doubt not intended for publication: [“How to vote…” – this image is on a blog that is CC-licensed but I don’t think the author used the image with permission. Is it possible to find a sub?] Who is who? Which Australian are we voting for?

Much of the advice will be appropriate forever: know your audience, know your purpose in writing, be respectful, be specific and clear rather than general and vague. The sections about how to present information visually are helpful: contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are given the unfortunate acronym CRAP (so no doubt the reader will never forget it!) I also appreciate the chapter on information literacy, which includes information on scholarly, professional and general publications. This includes trade journals, something that WR 121 classes tend not to mention but are important for technical writing students. Of course, there is some information about PowerPoint that is likely already past its best-buy date, but the authors discuss that and point the reader towards existing and upcoming technologies other than PowerPoint. I was able to see the video on the writing situation but not all of the other links worked. The authors include a caveat that not all links will work, so that seems fair, but a comprehensive resource would not rely on links to external sources with all their potential foibles.

The authors resist the temptation to use jargon, and they stick to simple sentence structures for the most part. In that sense, they exemplify the sort of simple, crisp (if unexciting) prose that technical communication strives for. There is abundant use of the colon to introduce lists, and the authors use bullet points frequently.

The book is highly consistent. Each chapter starts with a brief introduction to what comes in the sections included in the chapter. That means that the first segment of each chapter is extremely short, followed by more detailed segments. What is not consistent is the amount of time spent on various elements of technical writing, which, as mentioned in the section on comprehensiveness, varies quite a bit.

Chapters could be read out of order, and instructors can certain assign some sections and not others. I would be most inclined to use the chapters on ethical issues, research, and proposals. I think that's OK, but the book is almost too modular. Chapters do not relate to one another and the order in which they appear feels arbitrary. There is some redundancy - for example, the issue of audience is addressed repeatedly without adding anything new on the subject. I generally prefer a text in which each chapter leads logically to the material in the next chapter and adds to the student's understanding of technical writing, but there are advantages to a source like this, too.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is highly modular and the chapters do not flow into one another. I'm not sure why the chapters are ordered this way. I would tend to put some basic information about what constitutes technical writing at the beginning, followed by some guidance around doing research and writing ethically, followed by chapters on different types of technical writing: texts, emails, case reports, letters, resumes, proposals, recipes, instruction manuals, position papers, abstracts, encounter notes from a visit or interview, letters to the editor, mini-biographies and autobiographies ("about the author"), annotations. I would include an appendix about conventions: when to use a colon, how to convey numbers, the rules of capitalization, and the like.

The navigation was extremely simple and easy to use. The charts and images that are used are minimal but every one is highly useful and easy to see. Some links are broken.

I am prone to noticing grammatical and punctuation errors, but nothing jumped out at me in this textbook.

There is an ageist comment about "so easy that Grandpa could understand it" in the early pages defining technical vs academic writing. There is a very thoughtful section on cultural sensitivity. The authors use an interesting example of cultural differences, using a world map to illustrate the different meanings of the color red in different countries. However, it seems like a serious omission to leave out a discussion of inclusive language. Things in that field are always changing, but the authors could provide information about where to find the most up-to-date recommendations on inclusive language, such as the acceptability of "they" as a singular personal pronoun for gender nonbinary people, and what language is appropriate to describe ethnic groups etc.

The book is quite well written and useful, but not comprehensive. I would love to see this text updated with more sections. Chapters on lab/case reports, medical/interview notes, abstracts, introductions, mini-biographies, position papers and letters to the editor would enhance this text and broaden its appeal to new audiences, especially social science/health care students. I would love to see sections on effective sentences, collaborative writing, inclusive language, and grammatical conventions. Finally, an effective text on this topic should include assignments along with discussion of how to assess the assignments.

Reviewed by Cynthia Kimball Davis, Chair of the Integrative & Interdisciplinary Studies (IES) Department, Southern Utah University on 8/2/18

Comprehensiveness - Appears to offer all of the standard technical writing topics with an excellent easy bulleted table of contents. It also contains an excellent index and glossary. read more

Comprehensiveness - Appears to offer all of the standard technical writing topics with an excellent easy bulleted table of contents. It also contains an excellent index and glossary.

Content Accuracy - Appears to provide accurate content.

Relevance Longevity - Information appears to fit the relevant longevity category with the exception of the Professional Communication chapter; however, that would be an easy update.

Clarity - Information is presented in a simple and clear format.

Consistency - Information was not found to be incongruent in any way.

Modularity - The text is laid out in chapters with clear and simple sub-headings underneath each one.

Organization Structure Flow - The flow of the text is easy to follow.

Interface - The images could be more ascetically pleasing to the eye. In come cases, it appears that a high school student made them. Investing in a graphic designer might make the graphics more ascetically appealing. Furthermore, breaking the text apart with colorful questions and answers, activities, quotes, etc., is suggested.

Grammatical Errors - There were no grammatical errors found.

Cultural Relevance - The text appears to be culturally sensitive of all races, nationalities and ethnicities.

A text I definitely want to consider for my Technical Writing course. :)

Reviewed by Adam Karnes, Adjunct Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/19/18

The book covers the typical range of topics for a technical writing guide. At times, the balance feels off. A significant amount of the length is dedicated to topics usually covered in other classes (including research, citations, outlining). I... read more

The book covers the typical range of topics for a technical writing guide. At times, the balance feels off. A significant amount of the length is dedicated to topics usually covered in other classes (including research, citations, outlining). I would have preferred to have more info about the modes typical to technical writing, but what the book has is useful. Also, while the book has examples, I would appreciate even more examples. The book has a dropdown menu with a table of contents and a search feature in the reader.

The book is accurate. I did not observe inaccuracies.

On the whole, the book is relevant and should remain so for several years without the need for updates.

One important consideration regarding relevancy is the thematic dominance of references to Oregon. While the frequent mention of things related to the Pacific Northwest does not limit the readability of the text, this reoccurring theme makes the book more relevant for readers from this area than from others.

The book is clear and written with appropriate vocabulary for the typical student of technical writing. The body of the text goes into an adequate depth in the explanation of key concepts. Crucial terms are adequately explained. Examples are frequently included, although even more examples would be a welcome addition. The book lacks a glossary, which would also be a helpful addition.

The text is adequately consistent from beginning to end, but at times the sections feel disconnected. In this respect, the text works well as a modular book with distinct sections. The various parts do seem separate, however. The crossover between chapters could be stronger. This is probably the case due to chapters being derived from other sources. The differences do not render the text unreadable, just lack cohesive than the average textbook.

This text excels as a modular work. The sections are distinct and could be read independently. Teachers can easily pick and choose between sections without assigning the entire text.

The order in which the book’s contents are presented is somewhat arbitrary. (The section on resumes, for example, comes at the end—in many technical writing texts, this would come at toward the beginning.) Still, the ordering of the text is not confusing.

Navigating the text can be slow, with lots of scrolling and clicking through. Some of the sections are particularly long, and can be tiresome to scroll through. However, the table of contents is accurate and helpful. The book also has a search feature.

The text has no grammatical errors. The overall quality of editing is high.

The text is geared towards an American culture. However, the text discusses at length the importance of audience awareness and cultural differences in writing, particularly applications that span multiple cultures.

The greatest value this book offers is the ease with which teachers can select limited portions to assign to students based on the class objectives. This could easily replace a standard technical writing textbook in many courses, particularly if other texts further supplemented the class.

Reviewed by Susan Engel, Instructor, St. Cloud Technical and Community College on 6/19/18

Although an index/glossary is not provided, the Table of Contents organizes the material and allows for readers to see the breadth of areas and subjects within the Technical Writing textbook. Topics common to technical writing courses are explored... read more

Although an index/glossary is not provided, the Table of Contents organizes the material and allows for readers to see the breadth of areas and subjects within the Technical Writing textbook. Topics common to technical writing courses are explored in this text and include an important section (4.6) on evaluating sources as well as sections on plagiarism and the importance of citing sources. Topics that could perhaps be added to the text include social media (LinkedIn in Chapter 12: Employment Materials, for example) and technical writing for web pages or using online technologies.

Overall, the content appears accurate, error-free, and generally unbiased. Figure 13 in Chapter 11.4, however, doesn’t offer a resume sample for the exercise and simply states “Text of fake resume here”.

Content appears to be mostly relevant and offers up-to-date information on information literacy and other important technical writing concepts. Some of the content could be further updated, however. For example, chapter 12 discusses the idea of the cover letter being potentially outdated but then proceeds to offer guidance on writing one. This and other sections could offer updates, particularly regarding electronic and online documents.

The text is accessible and concise in delivery. Further clarification is offered through examples/samples in the sections on emails, memos, outlines, cover letters, technical reports, and others. Examples could be given in sections on proposals, progress reports, and other sections to offer further clarity.

The text offers consistency through the organization of the chapters and sections. Some chapters have features that others do not have, however. For example, Chapters 11 and 13 are structured with interactive activities not found in other chapters. The “activity” and “try this” in these chapters would be helpful in other chapters, too.

Chapters and sub-units within this text are clearly labeled. Although some overlap is offered, overall chapters and sections can be used individually in a course.

The organization is clear, user-friendly, and easily navigable using all-cap chapter headings and numbers and lower case section headings and numbers.

This text is offered in various formats which likely will help eliminate interface issues with certain sections. The section on resumes and cover letters, for example, might offer display differences depending on the format.

Grammatical errors were not detected.

Much of the text appeared to be neutral, and sections were dedicated to discussing cultural sensitivity within workplace writing. With that said, additional work on representation could be added within the examples. Also, ideas for inclusivity through accessibility in design of workplace documents might be added, too, as well as an updated discussion on gender in written communications beyond using Mr. or Ms. in the sections on email, cover letters, and audience.

This text is well organized with topics appropriate to technical writing, and I will consider using it in technical writing and workplace writing courses for first- and second-year students.

Reviewed by Erica Stone, English Instructor, Technical Writing, University of Missouri Kansas City on 6/19/18

The textbook is comprehensive; however, it seems to cover both technical writing and professional or workplace writing. It is absolutely appropriate for a comprehensive service course, but the authors should consider another title. Perhaps... read more

The textbook is comprehensive; however, it seems to cover both technical writing and professional or workplace writing. It is absolutely appropriate for a comprehensive service course, but the authors should consider another title. Perhaps Technical and Professional Writing would be more accurate.

There are a few minor typos and notes from a previous editor in the document and a few leftover editing notes. Regarding bias, the entire text does seem to be written for a particular course. While it is generalized, it does refer to particular assignments and contexts, sometimes without an example given.

The content is up to date; however, it may require revision as technologies evolve and change. For example, the texting section may need to be updated within the next year to account for newer texting apps and conventions.

The entire textbook is clear and accessible. In some places, it is conversational; however, I find that quality increases its accessibility and approachability, which is necessary for a technical writing service course.

The framework and organization of the textbook is consistent and easy to follow.

The modularity is helpful, and the text is well-organized.

All of the topics are presented in a logical and clear fashion.

All of the available interfaces work well.

I did not see any grammatical errors during my review. I did, however, see a few leftover notes from the editor.

The text is culturally appropriate and all example are relevant and inclusive.

In some places, the example links do not work. When there is time, the editors and/or authors should review the book to check for errors and broken links.

As mentioned in my first comment, the textbook could benefit from separating technical writing and professional writing as they are separate disciplines.

Reviewed by Michael Nern, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Ohio University Zanesville on 2/1/18

The book does not contain an index or a glossary. The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The book does not contain an index or a glossary.

The book's primarily focuses on the proposal but also covers other traditional technical writing assignments such as the cover letter and resume.

The content is accurate. I would not call the book error free.

The book contains relevant content that could be updated with relative ease.

The book's prose is not tightly edited, but the prose is accessible.

The book's content is consistent.

The text is well-organized for assigning smaller sections of reading at different points within a course.

The book's organization is solid and clear.

The text does not have interfacing issues.

The book needs a careful and close editing by one person.

I found the short chapter on ethics to be presented almost as an afterthought and believe it would be of little help to students.

I would use the book as a resource but not as a textbook for students. I might assign certain sections for reading but would more than likely use information from the book to add to already existing lectures and discussions, of course, giving credit to the authors.

In general, I believe both the Web and open source materials provide enough material to work with that textbooks in writing courses are unnecessary.

Reviewed by Jennifer Dareneau, Assistant Teaching Professor, The Pennsylvania State University- Berks on 2/1/18

Based on the Table of Contents, all subject areas mentioned there were covered adequately. However, there are several mentions of the technical report being the main document produced at the end of the term (which is true) and mentions of several... read more

Based on the Table of Contents, all subject areas mentioned there were covered adequately. However, there are several mentions of the technical report being the main document produced at the end of the term (which is true) and mentions of several prefatory documents needed for benchmarking along the way. Only a couple of those mentioned documents are detailed or explained in the book.

There are a few minor typos and notes from a previous editor in the document, including a question about permission to use a chart. Content itself seemed accurate.

Content is up to date. With the inclusion of sections on MLA and APA citation style as well as the job application chapters, it would need to be updated in about 5 years to reflect changes to those areas.

Clarity of language and expression of concepts is well done. Language is easy to understand but remains at a college student's level. Special terms are explained and defined.

For the most part, the book is internally consistent. There are some inconsistent elements- some chapters include links to samples, but not all; there is a link to one video only; some chapters include an activity prompt, but others do not.

Modularity is well done. Each larger unit is broken into smaller, easily understood and relevant sub units.

Organization is simple and logical.

I did not experience any navigation problems. Some images had an editor's note next to them, or were quickly covered by a small icon in the top right. The chapters on graphics had some photos that did not connect well to technical writing, and I suspect students in a class would struggle to understand the rhetorical significance of them (particularly the sections with Obama and the girls gymnastics team).

I noticed only one or two minor typos. There were some fragments and sentences beginning with And or But, which I hope were stylistic choices.

There were no culturally insensitive examples or remarks.

Reviewed by Ethan Jordan, Lecturer, Bowling Green State University on 2/1/18

The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course. read more

The book covers a broad range of technical communication genres, and it covers everything I would hope to cover in my upcoming course.

Due to the objective nature of most technical writing, this book certainly follows suit and contains little in terms of bias or subjectivity. The document genres covered fit with standards in the field, and I have found very few errors.

I agree that this book will remain relevant over time. Certainly, notions of "netiquette" and online forms might change, but the essential tech comm genres covered will remain an essential component of workplace literacies, and as such, this book should remain relevant and be easy to update as needed.

The textbook is written in a voice that is straightforward and no-nonsense for students. It isn't the most scintillating reading, but a book on technical writing clearly doesn't need to be! The voice of the text is one that I feel students would appreciate - let's get to the point!

I don't see any major inconsistencies. The text works to reinforce technical communication concepts both in its subject matter and in the style of the text itself. Clarity and intelligibility are essentials, and the text appears to work within those frameworks.

I appreciate the way the sections aren't overly extended or complicated - the individual components make up the larger whole and could easily be reconfigured to suit the needs of instructors. I feel like this is less of a textbook to read in order, but a set of modules for instructors to customize.

The overall structure of the piece makes sense, and I found myself following the process outlined within the overall book structure. It also is able to be modified quite easily if needed, so that's a plus.

Some of the graphics are a bit low-res, but nothing that would inhibit meaning... it's well presented overall.

Very few that I can see!

I see no issues here - it's quite objective overall.

I'm really happy I found this one! It will be a huge help in my upcoming course, and I'm excited to use this as a supplement to my in-class discussions!

Reviewed by Elizabeth McClure, Lecturer, University of Maryland, College Park on 2/1/18

This text includes several sections that I would expect to see in a technical writing textbook: job search materials, reports, proposals, using graphics, professional communications, and audience analysis. It also includes a couple of sections I... read more

This text includes several sections that I would expect to see in a technical writing textbook: job search materials, reports, proposals, using graphics, professional communications, and audience analysis. It also includes a couple of sections I wouldn't necessarily expect, but that would be very useful in any professional writing class: discussions of the ethics involved in report writing, information literacy, and document design. However, there was no section related to manuals or instructions, which is a large gap.

In terms of usability in relation to comprehensiveness, the table of contents is nicely detailed, but no index appears so locating overlaps of information among and between chapters would not be as simple or straightforward as it could be.

In general, the information in the text is accurate, although some areas and issues would benefit from more nuanced or complex discussion. For example, in the section on job materials, professional advice varies widely related to the design of resumes, but this text does not discuss any of the variety of advice.

One minor note: There are several sentence-level errors (i.e., subject-verb agreement) that don't compromise communication but are occasionally jarring.

The content generally seems up-to-date, and the chapter organization and breakdown appear to lend themselves to easy updating.

Clarity rating: 3

The text’s language is clear and accessible. Sufficient background information is presented to give context for new concepts.

Other structures that would enhance clarity are not consistently present, however. For example, not all chapters provide examples to illustrate concepts or discussion/reflection questions to encourage students to apply concepts to other situations. Additionally, most chapters have no graphic material – pull-out text boxes, illustrations, summary lists, etc. – that would offer a different presentation method for readers.

This text is consistent in its approach, terminology, and framework.

This text is divided into sections in such a way that individual sections could easily be assigned out of order and at different points in a course. There are few, if any, instances in the text that refer to earlier material in a way that would make non-consecutive reading unworkable or unwieldy. In general, sections are relatively short and are organized under useful headings. Few subheadings are used within the text itself, although chapters are broken down into sections, each of which is labeled on the page and in the table of contents with a heading. These headings should make finding relevant sections in the text fairly easy.

The topics in this text progress clearly enough to avoid confusion, but less clearly than they could. For example, starting with Audience Analysis rather than with a variety of workplace communication genres (text, email, memos, etc.) would be more rhetorically sensible. The progression from Proposals to Information Literacy (research) to Citations to Progress Reports makes sense in that it follows the progression one might follow in a particular workplace project. However, while the order of chapters follows the process of writing a workplace document (proposal, research, progress report, technical report), it doesn’t necessarily follow the order of writing skills. For example, research is usually an integral part of developing a writing topic rather than something that happens at a single defined point mid-way through a project; likewise, a discussion of ethics should happen before a technical report is underway, perhaps in relation to an analysis of audience or to a discussion of the rhetorical situations present in professional writing generally. Because these chapters can be read out of order, the problem isn’t serious, but the chapter order doesn’t make as much use of logical development as it could.

In general, the text’s interface is user-friendly. There are a couple of places, however, notably in the chapter on design, where graphics don’t appear above the caption.

The text is overall clean but there are a handful of grammatical errors.

The text is inoffensive. Its examples aren’t culturally specific – examples don’t refer to particular groups at all, so diversity does not seem to be at issue.

Reviewed by Pam Orel, Senior Lecturer , University of Maryland College Park on 2/1/18

This is a very compact book, with easily managed lessons in basic concepts that are a quick and easy read for most students in the sciences and technology fields (STEM). Where it summarizes the key details, it does so with general clarity and the... read more

This is a very compact book, with easily managed lessons in basic concepts that are a quick and easy read for most students in the sciences and technology fields (STEM). Where it summarizes the key details, it does so with general clarity and the links to other, more detailed resources appear to be effective, although one or two are dated. It is not designed as a comprehensive or exhaustive resource on technical writing and avoids a heavily academic tone.

The book’s advice, while brief, is extremely solid, backed up by authoritative evidence, and easy to follow. Students would appreciate the very good detail in the table of contents as well as the ease of navigating from section to section as needed. Charts, where used, easily help students find the key differences in concepts, which is something that more detailed, less approachable textbooks tend to overlook.

In general I don’t teach with a textbook, so my comments should be taken in the context of someone who uses texts more as a resource than a work that guides the entirety of our semester’s journey as writers. This is a very relevant work for busy writers who need to grasp the essentials quickly, and get leads on how to find more detail as needed. It is particularly good at using graphics to shape ideas which is a factor in more and more writing courses. If I had to point to one area where it might need updating, it might be in allowing more space for instructions, presentations and video content, as these are emerging as valuable tools and I am not seeing a lot in the text. It appears to focus a lot on the preparation of reports and print materials, but is a good basic resource in those areas.

Very clear, with short, effective paragraphs and guides to other resources clearly labeled as such. As noted earlier, graphics are well supported in the version that I reviewed. It should be noted that different formats might have issues relating to page presentation, as I have noticed that in other primarily online references I have seen.

It can be inconsistent in terms of the amount of space given to, say, some issues over others. However, in general the issues which are not treated in great detail are those for which often there are other, key resources focusing on general principles involved that are attached. Also, in some instance (plagiarism is one example) there are a wealth of other resources available in most higher education communities.

The sections in the book are effectively broken into segments which are short but emphasize key points in about a page or so. This is one of the areas where it might be most attractive to students who rely on it as a reference rather than a week-to-week resource. Teachers who wish to use, say, one or two segments while not using others would find this a very helpful resource.

This is an area of strength for this publication, as it shapes very well around ideas for most proposal writers as well as the ethics of the field as we know it today. Ethical concepts are generally brief, but clear as to impact on the STEM fields. It would be stronger with a little more emphasis on presentations and video, as noted, which are important as digital communications tools for STEM majors.

The online interface I used was generally very easy; with both arrows and a table of contents, writers can easily move to where they need to get their information. It is noteworthy that it does not have questions in the back of each section, so it’s not designed for, say, test development or study for exams. But most technical writing courses don’t focus on exams (there may be quizzes on concepts) so that is not a significant barrier.

I was not able to find any significant errors in grammar.

This could be stronger in its approach to culture across the STEM communities, which is not a small issue in a global economy. However, one challenge with that is attempting to keep it current -- culture, like everything else in science and technology, changes very rapidly.

I have taught from a range of different resources, which change from year to year as it’s important to keep a course relevant in the rapidly evolving STEM fields. I have had trouble finding resources, particularly open source ones, that are approachable but convey the key concepts in an easy to access format. Students in my classes use a text as needed, rather than as the foundation of an entire course. This has worked very well in that role in this semester, and I am hoping to keep it on my list of resources moving forward.

Reviewed by Amanda Izenstark, Professor, Reference & Instructional Design Librarian, University of Rhode Island on 2/1/18

This text covers numerous facets related to technical writing, including basic business correspondence and determining how best to reach the audience for the particular type of technical writing being done. The authors cover related and integral... read more

This text covers numerous facets related to technical writing, including basic business correspondence and determining how best to reach the audience for the particular type of technical writing being done. The authors cover related and integral elements that help writers produce better documents, including using outlines and graphics as well as information literacy skills that writers should have. While there is no index or glossary, the table of contents clearly displays the content of the text. It’s worth noting that the table of contents on the Open Textbook Library website does not include the two final sections of the book, which cover “Design and Readability of Publications” and “Employment Materials.”

The book is accurate, and even in sections where elements might change - such as screenshots in the Information Literacy chapter - they are general enough that even if the interface changes, the instructions will be relatively similar.

The topics in the book are not likely to become dated immediately. Some of the basic material related to communication and being concise will be consistently useful. While some of the linked material may change over time, that isn’t the fault of the authors. When I reviewed this text, the links tested were still working and relevant.

The text is written at a level accessible for college-level students, and perhaps some high school students. The materials are logically arranged and easy to understand.

As some of the material includes elements remixed from other open texts, there are some differences in the language and layout of chapters. For example, some of the elements of chapter 12 related to cover letters and resumes use color, and have more modern examples than those in chapter 1, which focuses on online etiquette.

Many of the chapters will do well on their own. I plan to adopt this for my information literacy and writing course, and anticipate re-arranging sections to fit the course structure.

This may be a result of my background as a teacher of information literacy first, but it might make more sense to start with the sections on information literacy and citations, then progress to audience analysis and outlines. It seems the chapter on “Professional Communication” might fit better toward the end. Otherwise the flow and structure are generally logical.

The online version of the book is hosted on the Pressbooks platform, which is intuitive to use, but long sections require significant scrolling. The PDF version of the book works as expected, with functioning links in both the table of contents and the text.

There are no grammatical errors in the text, which is what one would expect from a writing textbook.

As appropriate, the book highlights cultural issues to consider when writing for an audience. Examples don’t highlight a variety of backgrounds, but neither are they so pervasive that it’s a problem.

Given the appropriately broad coverage of this text, I can envision it being useful to students after they leave my course and have jobs in their chosen fields.

Reviewed by Jim Crawford, Adjunct English Instructor, Germanna Community College on 2/1/18

I examined this textbook as a resource for a 100-level Technical Writing class. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The authors offer no discussion of theory, despite a claim on page 1 that theory underlies... read more

I examined this textbook as a resource for a 100-level Technical Writing class. In this context, questions of comprehensiveness arose almost immediately. The authors offer no discussion of theory, despite a claim on page 1 that theory underlies technical writing. There was no mention of the writing process, a confusing oversight on two fronts. First, the omission raised questions about course level. Did the textbook assume students already understood writing as a process? That would put this text higher than entry-level; writing as a process is usually taught in 100-level English. Or, by omitting the writing process, does the textbook defy modern writing pedagogy and emphasize the products of technical writing over the process?

There was also no mention of the rhetorical situation: the amalgamation of purpose, stance and tone, genre, media, and, of course, audience. The text offers a separate chapter on analyzing the audience, but no holistic examination of the roles that purpose, stance and tone, genre, and media play in reaching the audience.

Omitting a discussion of the rhetorical situation elicits more questions about course level and students’ prerequisite knowledge. Does the text assume students understood the interaction of purpose, stance, and genre in a writing project? The textbook mentions purpose, almost in passing - the purpose of a memo, for instance, or a report. Stance - how the writer feels about the topic versus how she expresses it through her tone - was not addressed at all. Given that technical communicators may be asked to write about things they don’t care about or may disagree with (e.g., an environmentalist writing a press release on new oil exploration), a discussion of stance and tone is important.

Lacking an essential discussion of theory and concept, the textbook covers a limited range of genres, another writerly term that is not mentioned. The first chapter reviews types of correspondence, starting with, oddly enough, texting. Next, comes e-mail, then an interjection about netiquette, followed by brief discussions of memoranda and letters. Later chapters describe proposals and progress reports. A recent revision added a chapter on employment-related documents, such as résumés.

While this is an adequate list of technical genres, the choices seemed limited and specific. Why the focus on progress reports? A broader chapter covering incident or recommendation reports seems more thorough. Other key genres are missing entirely. Instructions get no mention, although giving directions and documenting procedures are common workplace tasks. Presentations are another key genre for technical communication that is overlooked in the textbook.

Among the genres that are discussed, accuracy falters due to a handful of random, undocumented prescriptions. On page 12, for example, the authors declare,” a good e-mail should get to the point and conclude in three small paragraphs or less.” Really? According to who? In my 30 years of experience in the technical workforce, I have read, and written, countless e-mails longer than three short paragraphs. While I agree that students should keep e-mails short and direct, especially when corresponding with the instructor, there is nothing inherently wrong about a longer e-mail message. Some arguments cannot be made in three short paragraphs. Are the authors saying that longer arguments are better suited for a memorandum or a letter? If so, that indicates a need to discuss the conventions of genre. If the authors are recommending the abbreviated length as a best practice for emerging technical communicators, they should say so. If the authors proclaim the three-paragraph limit as their personal preference, they should say that, too. However, they must also inform students that they may occasionally need to write, and read, longer e-mails in the workaday world.

A similar prescription occurs on page 36, with the decree that “an average between 15 and 25 words per sentence is about right. Sentences over 30 words are to be mistrusted.” Again, I wondered, “Says who?” Had the authors cited evidence — a study finding that sentences over 25 words are ignored by readers, for instance — the claim might be more compelling. Lacking documentation, it’s puzzling at how five additional words can separate an effective sentence from an untrustworthy one.

Furthermore, while conciseness is an essential feature of technical and professional writing, establishing an arbitrary sentence length may encourage students to emphasize conciseness at the expense of clarity and accuracy. It would be more effective to educate students on the relationship between clarity, conciseness, and accuracy, and teach them to use the shortest, clearest, most direct language needed to effectively address the audience and accomplish the purpose of the text. But this relationship is impossible to discuss with this text, since overarching concepts and conventions are never introduced.

The digital nature of the textbook assures easy editing and the potential for long-term relevance. In fact, between July 2017, when I downloaded a PDF copy for review, and October 2017, when I began writing the review, the authors added chapter 11 on design and readability, and chapter 12 on writing employment materials. They also expanded chapter 10, adding information about successful report design.

As with comprehensiveness and accuracy, clarity is marred by odd omissions. Page 12 advises that “professional communications require attention to the specific writing context” but there is no explanation of what context is. Again, a question about prerequisite knowledge arises. Can the authors assume that students understand what context is, and how it impacts a writing product?

Another missed opportunity occurs on page 16, where the authors admonish “culture and even gender can play a part in how people communicate.” While this is undoubtedly true, two questions arise. First, can instructors assume that students will recognize this intricate interaction? Second, can instructors assume that students will tailor their writing to navigate the interaction and improve communication? Lacking examples, explanations, or a declaration of prerequisite knowledge, the answer to both questions is “no.”

Clarity is further diminished by Inconsistencies within the text. Chapter 8, “Creating and Integrating Graphics,” recommends “including identifying detail in the graphics” (128), yet does ignores its own advice. The sample bar chart on page 123, depicting types of produce grown in Sisters, Oregon, has axis titles, but the y-axis, entitled “Percentage produced in 2015,” has no scale. The chart shows that potatoes are the most plentiful crop. Its bar towers over that of carrots, the closest competitor, by about two-thirds. But, without a scale, the value for potatoes could be 30 percent, or 3 percent, compared to carrots at 10 percent or 1 percent.

A pie chart on page 122 shows a similar dearth of detail. The chart is entitled, simply, “Success with Vegetables Grown.” Potatoes account for 60 percent of vegetables grown; carrots for 23 percent. But percent of what? The pie chart doesn’t say. Is it percent of all total crops grown? Is it percent of crop yield, compared to crops planted? Students are left guessing, and, from this, may learn to create charts that inspire their own guesswork. More subtle inconsistency arises in the textbook’s formatting. Chapter 1, on correspondence, uses at least three different formats for bullet points. Pages 12-13 list characteristics of e-mail with bullets featuring a bolded opening phrase. Pages 15-16, on netiquette, uses headings, along with simply, un-bolded bullet points. Meanwhile, page 24 presents a list of correspondence types with no bullets at all; the different types are simply bolded. These inconsistencies model poor document design for students. This is especially problematic given the text’s emphasis on longer documents, such as the progress reports, which require consistent formatting throughout.

Formatting inconsistencies notwithstanding, the text is well-marked for modularity. Clear, consistent headings and sub-headings are used throughout. Students should have no trouble identifying a reading assignment such as “chapter 9, sections 9.1 through 9.3.”

Alas, the headings and sub-headings demarcate a haphazard arrangement of content. Topics are not grouped according to theory (should there be any) and practice, strategies and genres, or from easiest material to more challenging. The chapters appear randomly, with an early chapter often referring to material that has not been introduced yet. Chapter 1, on correspondence, advises, “careful consideration should be given to the audience...” (9), but the chapter on audience analysis follows 14 pages later.

Considering the recent addition of chapters on design and employment documents, it appears that chapters are organized in the order that they’re added. New chapters are simply tacked on at the end. While such labor-saving is understandable, it may be worth the effort to reorganize the textbook by introducing overarching concepts, such as audience, research methods, and ethics at the beginning, with specific writing strategies (e.g. outlining) and genres to follow.

This review was prepared from a print-out of a PDF file generated on the textbook’s Web site. Although the charts and graphics conveyed when printed, the videos, understandably, did not. It would have been helpful to include URLs for the videos, so that students preferring a paper-based text could find and watch the videos while reading.

The interface for the Web version of the book is clear, simple, and unobtrusive. [Home] and [Table of Contents] buttons are fixed on the right-hand side, allowing students to easily jump among sections. Gray “forward” and “backward” arrows, on the right and left, respectively, make it easy to flip pages. A “search” box, almost invisible in the upper, right-hand corner, offers quick full-text searching. A search for “audience” returned a list, itemized by clickable links to specific sections containing the term. Traditional search conventions, such as double-quotes to find phrases, work as expected. However, more sophisticated search operators, such as “AND,” “OR,” “NOT,” and “NEAR” do not work, though this is not a major shortcoming.

There were no noticeable grammatical errors, though there were occasional long, wordy, confusing sentences. The sentence describing crop yields in Sisters, Oregon was a staggering four lines long, strung together with “and” between three independent clauses (121).

Generally, the text is inoffensive. There was, however, one off-putting cliché: the notion that older people are slow to grasp technical concepts. The book’s Introduction advises, “…plan to write in such a way that even Grandad can understand!” (3). While this was surely a throwaway attempt at levity, the cliché may be discouraging to older students, while cultivating the bias of younger ones.

Reviewed by Linda Stewart, Instructor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers proposals and progress reports in depth with links to examples of other types of technical writing including resumes and instructions (but no discussion of these forms in depth). The text does not cover multi-cultural audience in... read more

The text covers proposals and progress reports in depth with links to examples of other types of technical writing including resumes and instructions (but no discussion of these forms in depth). The text does not cover multi-cultural audience in any depth and does not consider disabled audiences (including visually impaired audiences). The text does not include an index or glossary.

The book is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

The text begins with the most common kinds of professional communication, including texts and e-mails, which demonstrates an understanding of current workplace needs. This section may need updating since technology brings changes to workplace communications. The section on research rightly emphasizes electronic sources, and this too, may need updating as library databases and other electronic sources may change. Other sections, like the ones on audience and ethics, will not need updating.

Students would enjoy the bulleted lists and simple, readable prose. The authors provide some excellent, labeled figures and graphics so that students can comprehend the main ideas quickly. The authors do a good job of defining terms, but students will need to read the text to discover the important terms; no sidebars or lists are used to call attention to specialized vocabulary.

The formatting and tone are consistent with good use of numbered sub-topics and bulleted lists in each chapter. The sources provided as links are not consistent with the formatting of the main text. For instance, the link to examples (titled "Online Technical Writing: Contents") uses yellow background and blue lettering, and does not include any explanatory text. This linked resource is not formatted as professionally as the main text. The terminology is internally consistent.

The text is well organized and clearly divided into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course.

Problems with organization: Since the topic of "ethics" is one that applies to all forms of technical writing, it seems out of place as "Chapter 9." It also seems that "Outlines" might be addressed sooner since those could apply to writing proposals as well as progress reports. Finally, it seems odd to separate the chapters on graphics and document design (they are chapters 8 and 10 with the ethics chapter in between them.

The overall organization progresses logically from shorter forms of technical writing to longer, more complex ones.

The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems or problems with display.

The authors observe standard conventions of grammar.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. The authors could do more to include a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds as part of their discussion of "audience"

The text does an especially good job of explaining how to write proposals and reports in a clear, step-by-step manner.

Reviewed by Carol Jacobson, Instructor, Century College on 6/20/17

The text covers all areas that are part of the technical writing curriculum. There is a detailed Table of Contents that lays out the subjects that are covered. There is no index or glossary. read more

The text covers all areas that are part of the technical writing curriculum. There is a detailed Table of Contents that lays out the subjects that are covered. There is no index or glossary.

Content is accurate and error-free.

Content is current for the technical market. It covers current topics and concerns, but also includes all the traditional topics expected for Technical Writing courses.

The text gives full explanation of the content.

The text was consistent with its terms.

The text is divided into multiple sections that are each on a different topic or focus so these sections could be easily assigned at different point for a course.

The topics of the text are ordered in a logical way, beginning with topics that should be covered first in a Technical Writing course.

Some of the images are blurry and hard to see. The 2 videos are designed by an instructor for a specific course and reference specific assignments for that course so these are not good choices for this textbook that is meant to be a general source for any Technical Writing course.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The text is presented in a neutral way with no offensive or insensitive words or examples.

The format of the content is very text heavy in paragraph structure, which is odd for a Technical Writing book because a general rule in Technical Writing is to use shorter, concise paragraphs with more lists, bullets, and tables for easy reading and referencing of the information. In addition, the text needs more real-life example that demonstrate the points being made in each section.

Reviewed by Shannon Kelley, English Faculty, Chemeketa Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers a good amount of information related to technical writing; some of the sections are more in depth than others. Many sections would benefit from further inquiry to assist students with more complex issues in the field of technical... read more

The text covers a good amount of information related to technical writing; some of the sections are more in depth than others. Many sections would benefit from further inquiry to assist students with more complex issues in the field of technical writing and communications. While all of the topics are relevant, it sticks to the basics of each topic without exploring innovations and trends in the field. The topics covered are appropriate for a low-level, introductory course in technical writing.

The book is accurate and unbiased. It is a straight-forward text that introduces the basics of technical writing in a clear, error-free format. Each chapter provides references and is accurately cited. The examples are neutral and helpful.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The content is relevant, but not exhaustive. The text does not cover new trends in the field. Many technical writing students, particularly in community college courses, are entering a variety of fields. While this text provides the basics of technical writing, it does not help with a variety of concerns students may face in their chosen fields.

The text is arranged in way that will allow for necessary updates moving forward. The text seamlessly incorporates modalities, like video links, that prove helpful as examples. More of these new modalities are desirable as writing and reading moves to the Internet. There are places in the text that could benefit from utilizing new, innovative examples.

The text is written clearly and concisely. Each chapter is divided into sections. The section and chapter headings create parallelism that helps its overall clarity. The table of contents is clear and easy to use. There is not a lot of technical jargon present; the lack of technical writing terminology is one reason the book reads like introductory material.

The text is consistent in its layout. It is easy to use and access. The structural framework of the text is effective for online reading.

The text is not self-referential, but it does reference information only relevant to COCC. The text is divided in a way that feels manageable for students. The downside is the text borders on being too modular. The sections felt purposefully shortened and many chapters left me wanting more information. For instance, visual rhetoric and page layout were lumped together with audience. And in terms of this topic, topics like those deserve their own exploration.

The text works itself through the basics, from small workplace writing tasks like emails and memos, up through more complex writing like proposals and reports. Thought was given to the order of the text and it is logical and predictable.

There were no interface issues as I reviewed the text. i downloaded it as a PDF and also read some parts online.

The text contains no grammatical errors. It was edited well. The grammar is basic and reads at an introductory level reading.

The text remains neutral and uses voice or cartoon like figures in some of the videos. I would have liked to see more examples throughout the text. Visuals and page layout are important features of a lot of technical writing and this text doesn't take advantage of opportunities to incorporate a variety of examples. There are opportunities throughout the book that allow for incorporation of examples from fields of nursing, human services, engineering, computer science, and education.

It should be noted that I am reviewing this text for a 200 level course. At Chemeketa Community College students enter technical writing after completing two-three levels of prerequisite writing courses. Technical writing is the highest level of writing students receive before they enter their professional fields or transfer to four-year universities. The book is well written, clear, useful, and comprehensive for an introductory course, but not for a higher level technical writing course. Much of the focus felt repetitive and covered skills students in technical writing should already possess. There were missed opportunities to expand some of the more relevant topics, like the importance of visual rhetoric in page layout; solicited and unsolicited proposals; and, analytical report writing like feasibility studies.

Reviewed by Daniel Hocutt, Web Manager & Adjunct Professor, University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies on 4/11/17

The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. The text introduces itself as an introductory text to technical writing (or communication), and provides a definition of technical communication... read more

The text does not include an index or glossary, but does provide a comprehensive table of contents. The text introduces itself as an introductory text to technical writing (or communication), and provides a definition of technical communication that is limited to the types, content, and coverage of texts created. A more comprehensive text would address some of the responsibilities of technical writing as it relates to the technical writer herself: team building and collaboration, intermediary across multiple departments and divisions; and negotiator of meaning in workplace cultures. Also missing from the text are generous examples of document types generated by technical writers, like websites, brochures and flyers, and other types of written communication. The text's focus on report writing seems limiting, and its approach to technical writer as largely autonomous does not accurately reflect the complexity of technical writing workplaces.

The content is up-to-date and appears to be thoroughly accurate. Its authors clearly understand and practice technical communication, and its integration of external tools and links are current, complete, and appropriate to the content of the text itself. Chapters in the text address real-world examples and seek to connect communication techniques to workplace and technical contexts. Of particular importance is the text's approach to communication as audience focused and customized; this reflects theoretical accuracy and currency in technical and professional writing and, more broadly, in rhetoric and communications.

The applicability of this question to a text on technical communication is somewhat misplaced; technical writing handbooks must follow technical advances that will necessarily render older technologies less relevant. For example, the section on texting would not have appeared in earlier editions of this text, while the section on memoranda feels somewhat dated in paper-less or paper-reduced workplaces. As a result, the content will regularly have to be updated as modes and media of communication and writing evolve. This is a problem of all technical writing texts, but it's particularly acute as it relates to an online text, which will likely be expected to be current, relevant, and inclusive of the latest trends in technology and writing.

The text is remarkably approachable to its intended audience, those entering into the field of technical writing or those who will, by virtue of their technical positions, be required to compose technical artifacts. Its prose is clear and specific, and it follows the guidelines for writing technical prose that it presents to reader: clear, concise, and effective.

The field of technical and professional communication tends to use terms somewhat synonymously, so the conflation of certain terms in the text is not unusual in the field. For example, “writing” and “communication” are often used largely synonymously in the field, and that practice is also followed throughout this text. The same is true of “business” and “professional” as it relates to writing and communication. An introductory text should seek to better follow consistency while explaining the issues that exist in the field.

The text is quite modular, to the point that certain parts of it might be combined to keep from creating extremely short chapters or sections. This is especially true of several introductory sections. In general, segments are only a few paragraphs in length, with modules easily excerpted for re-use or revised usage. I could definitely see the potential of a teacher taking certain sections and incorporating them into class notes or as a customized resource. But I also see the value of using the entirety of the text as a stand-alone text; I believe the text’s structure enables both uses with little revision or customization necessary.

The text’s organization is not as clear or logical as I would expect. Given that modules or sections can be reordered on demand, this is not a significant drawback. However, I found the default order of modules confusing, shifting between more general, theoretical approaches (like audience analysis and information literacy) and more specific practical approaches (like proposals and progress reports) without a clear rationale for shifting from one to the other. A more logical structure might be to address the general theory in an opening section that includes examples for illustration, then to include a second section to address specific genres and types of technical writing. The structure is not off-putting, but as someone who might consider teaching from this text, I question the rationale behind the logic but am given little explanation.

The text’s interface is clean and clear. Serif fonts are a little unusual in web documents, but the type style used is quite readable online. Table formats don’t always fit on the page, and this requires left/right scrolling to access some of the columns. The text includes few images; most are linked to accessible PDF versions, which are full-screen and easy to read. Embedded videos appear to function as expected; the interface could benefit from a column-width inline viewer that would keep the video window from being narrower than the text columns. This is likely a result of making the interface mobile responsive, and represents what is often a necessary compromise.

Like its prose, the grammar appears to be clean and normalized to American standard English. The tone can be academic, but that is to be expected from a text used in an introductory classroom. I found no grammatical errors.

I did not encounter ethnicity- or gender-specific language in the text. The examples provided represent a number of different document types and genres, generally focused on the professional workplace or the academic environment. However, no text will free itself completely from ideology; I might like to have seen the text more directly address this issue as it relates to business writing. The text could do more to explore cultural contexts in which technical documents are planned, prepared, and consumed, especially given increasing internationalization of workforces. This may reflect an issue with the field — we tend to classify international communication differently from general technical communication — but a section on writing in the global community and for cross-cultural audiences might be useful.

I did not expect to find an open textbook as useful or well-constructed as this is. While its cover and design are unassuming — which, for a text on technical writing, might be a drawback — its content is erudite and targeted to its primary audience and purpose. I would consider using this text in an introductory technical writing class, with the addition of several notable sections identified elsewhere in this review.

Reviewed by Ruth Perkins, Adjunct instructor, Chemeketa Community College on 4/11/17

The text clearly focuses on research and report writing in a business context. These are appropriately and adequately covered. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. The chapters lead students... read more

The text clearly focuses on research and report writing in a business context. These are appropriately and adequately covered. The table of contents is detailed and accessible on each page with a link to each section. The chapters lead students through the steps of producing a formal report including research, proposals, citation, and progress reports. There is a useful section on information literacy and conducting research beyond the first items in a Google search.

The importance of keeping readers in mind is stressed throughout. In addition to a link to an audience worksheet, there is a clear explanation of how reports might be used by different readers.

Chapter 10 includes a link to a wide variety of examples of technical writing.

Missing are sections on topics often included in technical writing: instructions, procedures, descriptions and definitions. These could be easily fit into the overall structure of the text although obviously other sources of information would need to be found.

The principles of professional communication are accurately presented. The authors make the useful point in several places that a business, agency, journal etc. will likely have its own preferences for professional communications but that some aspects, such as avoiding plagiarism, doing proper research, are consistent.

The content is up-to-date since there are not apt to be quick changes to the principles of technical writing nor to the precepts of e-mail, texting etc. and their place in business. Any changes could be quickly made.

There are links that are specific to or have comments that are specific to COCC that instructors will probably want to point out and substitute their institution’s or their class policy. Examples are the links in 1.3 and 6.2.

The book is clearly written in an informal, conversational tone that should appeal to students. The terminology is basic without down-writing. Any specialized terms are defined.

The link in 8.4 to visuals that need revision is probably not useful for most classes. Figures 1 and 2 are very specialized.

The text is consistently organized. There are clear signals that link each section to the main section. The emphasis is on professional communication throughout so chapters are linked through that context.

In section 4.1 there is inconsistency in terminology where “academic” and “scholarly” are used interchangeably.

The book is clearly arranged into chapters with clear titles and headings. The table of contents is linked to each section for quick finding. The pages have ample white space and large readable type.

The book is clearly organized around the perspective of researching and writing a final report. The chapters can easily be rearranged according to an instructor’s preference since the table of contents is linked to each section.

However, the book is arranged in a logical progression through the different aspects of research and writing the formal report.

The book is posted in 4 different formats which makes it readily accessible to students. There is an important missing link in 9.2. This link in 4.3 is no longer valid: The Research Cycle derived from A Cycle of Revolving Research by UC Libraries, CC: BY-NC-SA 3.0 Otherwise there are no issues.

There are grammatical errors in section 9 as well as confusing switches in point of view.

Grammar errors: 9 “Writers . . . she” 9.3 “. . .your employer to pursue and action” and “the groups’ goal”

Point of view First, chapters 1-8 and 10 are written in second person. Chapter 9 is written partly in second person, partly in third person. While some references to “the writer” are logical, it inconsistently directly addresses readers or talks about writers in general.

Second, there is inconsistency in an attempt to be gender neutral in the third person. In 9 “she” and “he” are used interchangeably. 9.3 uses “her/himself,” “s/he,” and “his/her.”

The examples in the text and references to writers are neutral. There is nothing to identify a particular culture, race or ethnicity.

The book doesn't completely fit the course in technical writing that I teach but I would consider using if it did. However, I do have some problems with Chapter 9, ethics in technical writing, that I would like to see addressed. These are in addition to the grammatical issues.

In 9.1 General Principles, the authors give examples of ethical dilemmas that range from trivial to life and death. These do more to complicate the subject than clarify it. Part of this is due to the phrasing about the friend’s haircut, “This lie, though minor, preserves . . .” What is “though” doing in this sentence? It signals a contrast which isn’t there.

More of a concern though is the phrasing of the third choice of saving lives. The person might “risk [her life] to save her children” but to save the stranger, she would have to “choose to die.” Risk and certainty are not equal choices.

The second paragraph concludes that “If you would . . . lose your job. . . the action is probably unethical” oversimplifies -- one can lose a job for being ethical as well.

Section 9.2 includes the Challenger disaster as an example of unethical writing. The missing link is vital here since there are definitely different accounts of the underlying causes beyond the O rings. The authors speculate about possible motives of the engineers with no source information to support their conjectures. They make statements about the priority of information in the engineers' report which imply that they are in a position to make that judgment.

I suggest deleting or re-writing this section of the book.

Reviewed by Corrine Holke-Farnam, Instructor, University of Northern Iowa on 2/8/17

The text provides an adequate overview of the field for beginners in technical writing. read more

The text provides an adequate overview of the field for beginners in technical writing.

The content is accurate and straight forward.

The text is up-to-date and covers the range of topics addressed in introductory technical and professional writing courses.

The information is presented effectively in clear, concise language. Provides accurate definitions and many links to examples for easy understanding.

I found no internal inconsistencies.

Text is user-friendly. Effective use of white space. Employ small chunks of text, bullet point lists, and hyperlinks.

Many technical writing textbooks begin with audience analysis. Hamlin, Rubio, and DeSiva begin with common types of professional communication like email and memo format; doing so provides an effective context for beginning writers. The chapters of the book could be easily reorganized to fit user needs and/or preferences.

The text is free of interface issues. Navigation between and within chapters is smooth. Website links opened easily.

Technical Writing contains no grammatical errors.

The text revolves around professional communication. Does not contain offensive or insensitive material or links.

This text seems like a good fit for students in my Technical Writing for Electrical Engineering Technologists course. Practical information, concise presentation.

Reviewed by Jennifer Barton, Advanced Instructor, Virginia Tech on 2/8/17

The book appears to be written for a course designed around a specific major project that asks students to write a proposal for a technical report and then to research and write the report itself. Those sections are adequate, but I would like to... read more

The book appears to be written for a course designed around a specific major project that asks students to write a proposal for a technical report and then to research and write the report itself. Those sections are adequate, but I would like to see more content in general.

In particular, I would like information on writing instructions and technical descriptions, as well as the finer points of correspondence writing, like strategies for persuasion, or handling negative news, or emphasizing reader benefits. I would also like to see information on team writing—a must for the modern workplace. The book would also benefit from a section on presentations and a broader section on document design. The current section on design is specific only to reports and is really about organization, not design.

The content is accurate. The book sticks to the basic writing principles which don’t change much over time. I especially appreciate the repeated emphasis on audience and that while particular elements are expected for particular genres, organization and approach can and should be modified to suit the writer’s purpose and the needs of the audience.

The core principles aren’t likely to go out of date any time soon. The limited scope and lack of discussion about the design expectations of the modern audience does make the book feel dated.

Although the concept of linking to examples and additional information is an excellent use of this medium, the choice of links could be improved. For example, many of the linked reports are nearly twenty years old, and while they may demonstrate many of the writing principles that stay constant over time, they do not demonstrate contemporary expectations for design, and the topics are so dated as to make them seem irrelevant to most students.

The authors do an excellent job of adhering to plain language principles. The style is clear, simple, and direct. It reads like the authors are speaking directly to the audience.

As mentioned previously, the book reads as though it were designed for a very specific class. It shifts quite a bit between universal advice about writing for a professional audience and specific advice about writing for an instructor. That’s confusing and limits the book’s applicability.

The book is divided into logical sections that would make it easy to customize for a course if not for the problem previously cited of its being designed around a specific course’s project.

Follows a familiar and standard organization for workplace writing textbooks, beginning with basic correspondence and working towards longer and more complex reports.

Some easily correctable issues here: Many widowed headings (which the text advises to avoid). Figures and tables are not always labeled correctly.

The visual weight of “Chapter Attribution Information,” which is currently the same as chapter titles, should be reduced. In some chapters, that information is repeated before every section, which adds visual clutter.

There are additional problems in the pdf version that make it the pdf only partially usable: Text boxes tend to exceed the width of the page and cannot therefore be read. Everything is rendered as plain text, which means that table formatting is screwy and all images (including images of example documents) are missing. Citations get embedded directly into the text.

Grammar looks fine.

Deals very little with cultural issues, which is surprising given the global ventures of many companies and the increasingly diverse workforce in the US.

The book has the potential to be quite good, but I don't think it’s yet ready to compete with the for-profit options. I look forward to seeing subsequent editions.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Professional Communications
  • 2. Audience Analysis
  • 3. Proposals
  • 4. Information Literacy
  • 5. Citations and Plagiarism
  • 6. Progress Reports
  • 7. Outlines
  • 8. Creating and Integrating Graphics
  • 9. Ethics in Technical Writing
  • 10. Technical Reports: Components and Design
  • 11. Basic Design and Readability in Publications
  • 12. Employment Materials
  • 13. Communicating across Cultures
  • 14. Thinking about Writing

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This open textbook offers students of technical writing an introduction to the processes and products involved in professional, workplace, and technical writing. The text is broken up into sections reflecting key components of researching, developing, and producing a technical report. Readers will also learn about other professional communication, designing documents, and creating and integrating graphics. Written especially for an academic setting, this book provides readers with guidance on information literacy and documenting sources. This book was collected, adapted, and edited from multiple openly licensed sources.

About the Contributors

Annemarie Hamlin is an Associate Professor of English at Central Oregon Community College.

Chris Rubio is an Assistant Professor at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR.

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What is a Technical Writer?

Learn about the role of Technical Writer, what they do on a daily basis, and what it's like to be one.

  • What is a Technical Writer
  • How to Become
  • Certifications
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  • LinkedIn Guide
  • Interview Questions
  • Work-Life Balance
  • Professional Goals
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Definition of a Technical Writer

What does a technical writer do, key responsibilities of a technical writer.

  • Assessing and understanding the technical documentation needs of end users
  • Collaborating with product managers, engineers, and subject matter experts to gather product information
  • Organizing and writing supporting documents for products using simple, clear, and concise language
  • Developing and maintaining detailed databases of appropriate reference materials, including research, usability tests, and design specifications
  • Editing, standardizing, or making changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel
  • Producing high-quality documentation that meets applicable standards and is appropriate for its intended audience
  • Creating tutorials to help end-users use a variety of applications
  • Analyzing documents to maintain continuity of style of content
  • Managing updates and revisions to technical literature
  • Using photographs, drawings, diagrams, animation, and charts that increase users’ understanding
  • Selecting appropriate medium for message or audience, such as manuals or online videos
  • Standardizing content across platforms and media to maintain consistency and branding

Day to Day Activities for Technical Writer at Different Levels

Daily responsibilities for entry level technical writers.

  • Writing and editing simple technical documents under guidance
  • Gathering and organizing technical information from subject matter experts
  • Learning and adhering to company documentation style guides
  • Participating in document reviews and revisions
  • Assisting with the maintenance of existing documentation
  • Attending technical meetings and training sessions to improve subject matter understanding

Daily Responsibilities for Mid Level Technical Writers

  • Independently managing documentation projects from inception to completion
  • Designing and organizing documentation sets for new products or updates
  • Working closely with engineering, product management, and quality assurance teams
  • Implementing documentation strategies to improve user experience
  • Contributing to the development of internal documentation processes and style guides
  • Providing feedback and guidance to entry-level writers

Daily Responsibilities for Senior Technical Writers

  • Leading documentation strategy and aligning it with business objectives
  • Managing major documentation initiatives and cross-functional collaboration
  • Guiding teams on best practices for technical writing and content management
  • Developing and maintaining documentation standards and templates
  • Driving the adoption of new tools and technologies for documentation
  • Mentoring junior writers and contributing to their professional development

Types of Technical Writers

Software documentation writer, medical and scientific writer, technical marketing writer, policy and procedure writer, end-user assistance writer, what's it like to be a technical writer , technical writer work environment, technical writer working conditions, how hard is it to be a technical writer, is a technical writer a good career path, faqs about technical writers, how do technical writers collaborate with other teams within a company, what are some common challenges faced by technical writers, what does the typical career progression look like for technical writers.

How To Become a Technical Writer in 2024

technical writer writing assignments

Related Career Paths

Crafting compelling narratives, engaging audiences with powerful words and ideas

Crafting compelling narratives to drive brand engagement and consumer action

Shaping narratives, refining content to captivate audiences and uphold brand voice

Shaping compelling narratives, driving engagement through strategic content creation

Shaping brand narratives, driving engagement through compelling digital content

Shaping compelling narratives, refining content to engage readers and boost visibility

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technical writer writing assignments

Home » Writers-House Blog » Technical Writing Assignments

Technical Writing Assignments

Technical writing is aimed to educate, inform, or explain how to do something. This type of writing is completely different from narrative writing because its purpose is to teach readers some specific ability or skill. This type of writing is detail-oriented and requires a deep understanding of the subject. Here is some information from writers-house.com that will help you approach technical writing in the right way.

Types of Technical Writing

There are three most common types of technical writing with examples:

Traditional technical writing

  • Articles for trade publications;
  • An analysis of a legal case;
  • A summary of medical experiments that should be published in a journal.

End-user documentation

  • A cell phone manual;
  • A how-to guide on using a scanner;
  • A manual that teaches home computer users to set up a network.

Technological marketing communications

  • Informative articles about the benefits of IT consulting services for businesses;
  • A sales pitch about a new type of software or a new device.

Types of Technical Writing Assignments

Technical writing is often required in such areas as engineering, chemistry, hardware and software development, biotechnology, etc. Technical writing is also used on various websites, as well as in handbooks, owner’s manuals, articles, etc. Examples of technical writing assignments include promotional brochures, training manuals, articles, and operation guides.

Training Manuals

Technical writers also create various training manuals. When writing a manual, they might provide such information as duties associated with a certain position, general information, standard procedures, corporate policies, end-user documentation, etc.

Operations Guides

When technical writers work on operations guides, they should perfectly understand their subject. It’s important to know that people who will be read a guide are likely beginners and therefore need detailed instructions and explanations. There are the following types of operations guides:

  • Engineering guides;
  • Installation guides;
  • Assembly instructions;
  • Computer software guides;
  • Owner’s manuals.

Promotional Brochures

The main purpose of promotional brochures is to inform readers about a certain offer. However, such brochures should also motivate readers to take this opportunity, using keywords and the right type of phrasing.

Online Articles

This is another type of technical writing, which is common on the internet. Most often, when people need a guide or instruction, they use search engines and read online articles. In this case, technical writing may vary from informative articles about a certain subject in general to detailed instructions.

Technical Writing Work

If you think about becoming a technical writer, you can choose one of many categories of technical writing described above. In addition, you should study your field and read relevant sources. Last but not least, you shouldn’t forget about training your writing skills.

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