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TECHNICAL WRITING | PORTFOLIO

7 Ideal Documents for Your Technical Writing Portfolio

Maximize your chances of getting a technical writing job

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Seven specific types of documents are highly recommended for inclusion in a technical writing portfolio:

1. User Guide
2. Installation Guide
3. System Configuration Guide
4. Release Notes
5. Quick Reference Guide
6. Quick Startup Guide
7. Style Guide

• User Guide: The “bible” of the product, comprehensive and exhaustive. A good user guide includes information on how to ADD, EDIT, and DELETE components. It answers any question without describing specific configuration or operational procedure.
• Installation Guide: Very important in the tech sector. The goal is to provide clear, concise instructions for successful installation. Include prerequisites, visuals, troubleshooting tips, and links to additional resources.
• System Configuration Guide: Demonstrates familiarity with technical complexity. It shows a system admin how to set up basic system parameters, with different configuration options.
• Release Notes: A must in the software industry. It should include new features, fixed bugs, known issues, workarounds, and other announcements.
• Quick Reference Guide: A data chart/table presenting crucial settings or variables for quick user identification. It is a user guide stripped of textual fabric and boiled down to basic system specs.
• Quick Startup Guide: Provides step-by-step procedures to quickly set up and start using a system/gadget. Describes only 1–2 ways to setup the system.
• Style Guide: An internal document establishing writing and documentation standards. It can include document templates, fonts, color palettes, punctuation and capitalization rules, etc.
• Bonus: Help File: Highly recommended but requires specialized software. It demonstrates a high level of sophistication as a technical communicator.

Overall takeaway:

Creating a portfolio of technical writing samples, focusing on the types of documents outlined in this guide, can significantly improve a candidate’s chances of securing a technical writing position.

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BONUS: 7 Great Reasons to Become a Technical Writer (also FREE)