If you want to do things right, get the right people for the job.  And when it comes to technical documents, there’s usually more than one person putting out the good stuff.

The responsibility for most of a technical document relies on technical writers.  Whether a company employs one or a dozen of them, technical writers are usually put in charge of assembling any type of technical report or manual.

You can think of a technical writer as the “information architect” for any writing project.  This person takes responsibility for, pretty much, the entirety of a document — from what information goes into it to how it is presented to ensuring it is fit for consumption by its target readers.  As such, a technical writer’s biggest job is defining the strategy by which the document can be accomplished.

This includes defining the scope of the document, identifying the target audience, defining the major points to be tackled, planning the structure and all the other steps that go into a writing project.   In some organizations, the subject matter experts (engineers, developers) will write their own documentation; in others, that job will fall solely on the technical writer’s shoulders.  Regardless of which is the case, the technical writer will have to adapt — rewriting from documentation and interviewing the experts for the project at hand, as the case requires.

Because technical writing tends to be factual and instructive,  it’s easy for documents in this vein to fall into the trap of being dull and uninviting.   While clarity remains the key quality of technical documents, having something extra is the difference between writing that readers gobble up and documents that you only open when you have to.

Fact is, technical writing doesn’t need to be boring.  You can still be clear and factual, while managing to keep readers engaged.  And it isn’t all that difficult to effect either.

In fact, there is one thing you can do to turn things around quickly: vary your sentence structures.  Technical documents tend to rely too much on simple sentences to guarantee precision and clarity.  While effective for the purpose, doing so makes your paragraphs sound choppy and unsteady.  You don’t need to perform anything too complicated, either.   Just combine simple sentences into compound and complex constructions, using subordinate clauses and pairing them with the connector “and.”

To add even more color to your writing, you can’t go wrong with choosing vivid verbs and making colorful comparisons.  Just like varying your sentences, it isn’t all that difficult of a change from your usual routine, but the effect it can have on your writing should be plenty special.

Just because you’re writing a paper for a highly-technical field (be it Engineering, Math or Physics), it doesn’t mean you can do away with proper rules and writing conventions. Yes, you will have to compose the work with as much attention and care as you would if you were making it for that literature subject you dread so much.

What kinds of things do you need to keep in mind to turn up an easy-to-read technical paper?

1. Make sure all your terminology and notations are clear to everyone who reads it, spending appropriate time inw riting definitions when necessary.
2. Never use “etc.” unless the succeeding3 items are 100% obvious.
3. Every table, figure, draft, algorithm and diagram should be on the top of a page, not in the body of text. It ruins flow otherwise.
4. As a corollary to the above, the accompanying reference for the graphic should start on the same page. In case it’s too big to fit any text in, then use the next page, but that’s as flexible as it gets.
5. Never say “for various reasons.” It’s a cop-out of damaging proportions. If there are reasons, always list them.
6. Always use a technical writing software for proofreading (or, if you have a living, breathing proofreader, all the better). Not doing so is inexcusable, especially if you’re serious about your piece.
7. Use large enough fonts (base average is 11 point), with generous spaces and margins. You do want to make your paper readable, right?

Many forms of writing, such as scientific and technical documents, naturally lend themselves to a complex and unclear structure.    That’s why it’s particularly important to consciously compose it to read as simply as possible.

Need some ideas on how to do that, apart from using the best writing software you can find?  Read on and find out our recommendations:

1. Use the simplest words you can find.  Most inexperienced writers tend to rely on an extensive vocabulary in order to show off their abilities.  It’s a bad, bad road to take.  Unfamiliar vocabulary will leave plenty of gaps in readers’ comprehension.  Couple that with the already difficult technical language and you’re dropping a serious lot of work their way.

2. Tighten your writing.  Technical people generally don’t have the patience (nor the time) to wade through a pile of words that don’t directly help the point.  Keep the setup and flowery language where it belongs – in English class.  In the real world, hack those unnecessary items with an axe.

3. Keep sentences short.  Complicated language only gets even more dense when you throw it inside unnecessarily long sentences.  Keep them short, but make sure they’re complete (use your concise writing software for help).

4. Make sure your subject and verbs match.  This is basic, yet remains a common sticking point for many technical workers.  At the least, you should be getting this right.

5. Punctuate long sentences properly.  Most of the time, you can’t get away with using purely short sentences.  As such, you’ll need to throw in long ones every now again.  When you do, make sure they’re properly punctuated to allow the reader some necessary breathing room.

User manuals and technical documents are among the most difficult materials to write.  Not only should they express complex technical concepts in simple terms, they should also make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for.

Since most manuals are now available both in print and digital format, it gives the reader more flexibility when trying to find the information they’re looking for.  Unfortunately, it also means extra work for the writer who’s in charge of creating the document.

When people want to look for information, their tendency is to use words that are familiar to them.  Since you have no hand in your readers’ overall language facility, it’s up to you to try and cover as much as you can to help them out.  That means anticipating what the users will look for, apart from putting together a clear guide (with the help of a quality writing software) for them to use.

So, what’s the easiest way to approach this problem?  Here’s something we recommend:

• Define the core concepts for each page of the manual.
• Draw up various terms that correspond to these same concepts (i.e. it means the same but written differently, similar to the synonyms of a word).
• Integrate all the terms you come up with into the sentences and paragraphs in the page.

Do you see the value in that?  Since you can’t really know how users will look for specific concepts, your best chance of success is to try to cover all your bases.  While you aren’t likely to anticipate every possible thing they can search, you should manage to score many of them – and that’s usually better than the majority of guides available out there.

While most regular folks will attribute technical documents to writers, majority of them are actually written by non-writers.  Sure, professional writers and editors will usually clean up the work and repackage it for public consumption.

If you’re an engineer or are involved in any similarly technical field, there’s a good chance you’ll be asked to write technical materials for the projects you’re working on.  After all, there’s no one better to write knowledgeably about a technical item than those who busy their hands toiling on it.

In case you’re tasked with the job of writing the specifications, user’s guide or other technical manuals detailing the intricacies of your project, here’s a few ideas that can help you turn out both a good technical document as well as make it easier for the technical editor to deck it out in more palatable terms.

1.  Accuracy

While you probably don’t own the skills to fashion your writing in a flowery form, nothing’s stopping you from keeping it as accurate as possible.  As such, make sure all facts you write down are correct.  Otherwise, any derivative writing stemming from it (such as those from your company writer), will merely reflect the same errors.

2. Clear Language

Try to write in as clear a language as possible.  While it’s probably easier for you to write in industry jargon and technical terms, writing out intricacies in as clear a language as you can muster will ensure that more of your ideas make it to official company releases.   The more confusing you write certain features out, the greater the chances it will be overlooked.  In the same light, make sure to use a grammar software to clean up your writing to ensure as legible a copy as you can produce.

3. Be Descriptive

When you’re writing technical documents that’s bound to reach the desks of either a writer or an editor who will be tasked to fixed it up, try to be as descriptive as possible.  While brevity does have its value, you’ll be more helpful if you present the material as completely as you can – let the pros summarize it for public consumption.