Technical Writing for Beginners

Are you looking to begin a career in writing but aren't sure what part of the writing industry suits your skills best?  You've certainly noticed many job listings for technical writing positions but don't really know what technical writing is and aren't sure exactly what is involved.  In fact, you can't even be sure if you have the qualifications such a position calls for because you are completely unfamiliar with the idea of technical writing.

When you consider it, technical writing as a term is fairly self explanatory.  Technical writing is the use of basic technical knowledge of a product or service and understanding of the terminology and language associated with that particular industry utilized to provide documentation on all aspects of the product or service.  Usually, it is grouped into the marketing department of a company, since it is involved in much of the literature provided to both consumers and professionals who install, setup, and maintain whatever product is in question.  However, other areas of marketing are geared toward promoting a product for sale, while the technical writing department is focused on factual information only, providing information on the inner workings of the device, as well as troubleshooting material.

Technical writing can involve producing white papers, installation instructions, troubleshooting guides, wiring information, and other detailed documents involving the functionality and usage of a particular product.  While it is not usually necessary for a technical writer to be familiar with every aspect of a product or device in order to prepare such documentation, technical writing requires that you be able to decipher and make use of the terms that arise in the application of the product or service on a daily basis within that industry.  This means having a concept of the entire industry in which the product is marketed.

For example, if you are a technical writer in the telecom industry, you should be familiar with the usage of terms like "switch" and "server" in relation to the products provided by the company you work for, as well as maintain comprehension of several acronyms that you would use on a daily basis in your technical writing, including abbreviations like CDMA and NTSC.  Technical writing is a great field to enter, if you have any kind of intimate knowledge of technical and technological industries

Source: http://www.techauthors.co.uk

 
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