What it takes to be a technical writer
Over time, the evolution of technology has led to the advent of new professions. Among these professions, we find that of the technical writer. On several points, it seems to stand out from professions such as content developer or content writer. How? ‘Or’ What ? We will see it later in this article.
Since digital has become the new normal, many people tend to convert into tech careers. If they have a penchant for research and writing, their best niche happens to be technical writing. However, many people still have difficulty understanding this profession and its various contours. Moreover, they want to know how they can progressively become a technical writer.
Who is a technical writer?
The technical writer is the professional who knows how to combine his writing skills with his interest in research on the Internet and of course in books. On this point, it is very similar to the content writer whose objective is to produce content on a subject that is not necessarily technical. Basically, the technical writer is someone who puts his or her writing skills to create documents in order to easily convey information about how to perform a specific technical task.
Wikipedia defines the technical writer as a professional information communicator whose task is to transfer information between two or more parties, through any medium that best facilitates the transfer and comprehension of the information. Emphasis is put on the ability of the technical writer to render the information in a more comprehensible way and easily capture the attention of the potential readers.
The technical writer is very often found in the fields of IT development where he applies himself to developing documents or manuals to better explain technical concepts to any audience. Sometimes it is possible to see a technical writer making diagrams, simplified diagrams to make the information accessible and understandable.
What is the goal of technical writing?
The technical writer is the professional in charge of technical writing. Technical writing itself is a discipline located at the heart of literature and science. It is defined as simplifying the complex and its main objective is to provide useful, valuable and precise information to a target audience whose objective is to carry out a scientific task, which requires a given process.
What are the most common types of technical writing?
There are several types of technical writing that you should be familiar with if you aspire to become a technical writer. But we can always group them into three main categories:
- Traditional technical writing
- End-user documentation
- Technical marketing content
What should you know next?
To become a technical writer, it is crucial to know that the technical writer follows, like a mobile application, a development cycle.
The lifecycle development of technical writing
1- Identification of the scope and the audience needs
2- Making a plan
3- Research
4- Production of the article
5- Reviews and corrections
6- Publication
7- Evaluation
Do’s and Don’ts of a technical writer
As a technical writer, it is important to quickly adapt to the context and pay attention to some details. Here are some tips for a future technical writer:
- Know or learn to know your audience : Who they are and what they need to know.
- Make a plan and take the time to research: A technical writer is supposed to bring information to an audience so the more he or she finds information through research, the better the article is.
- Be impersonal while producing a technical article.
- Put yourself in the shoes of your audience : if you don’t love long and syntactically complicated sentences, try to not produce for your audience because it will make them confused.
- Use technical writing tools : You need to create a better user experience for your readers so keep your contents engaging by using software or tools such as Photoshop, Acrobat, Visio or FrameMaker.
As long as technology exists, the position of technical writer will always be in demand. If you want to shift from any other career to technical writing, I hope this article gives you an idea on how you can get started.
