The Elements

of Technical Writing
Reviewed by JENNIFER PARKS
This issue features books on techni-
8. Correct Spelling, Punctuation, and cal writing and statements of work. The
THE ELEMENTS OF Grammar opinions expressed by reviewers are
TECHNICAL WRITING 9. A Targeted Audience their own and do not necessarily repre-
Gary Blake and 10. Clear Organization sent the views of the Association of
Robert W. Bly 11. Interest. Proposal Management Professionals.
New York, NY: MacMillan These principles are easily overlooked in Book review recommendations are wel-
General Reference: 1993. business writing. Blake and Bly urge us to comed by book review editors Nancy
165 pp. • $9.95 remember that our audience is made up of Brome and Paul Giguere.
0-02-013085-6
humans, not just technical personnel.
Each chapter in this guide is broken out into
sections that clearly outline the information that 11. Make a list of where key resources are

G
follows. The format is legible, succinct, and located if you do not have a proposal
ary Blake and Robert Bly, both lends itself to easy reference. There are chapters library.
authorities in the field of busi- regarding the use of equations and numerals, Blake and Bly urge us to learn everything
ness and technical writing, have grammar and punctuation, and principles of we can about our clients and then tailor our pro-
provided a valuable tool in The Elements of communication, as well as a chapter regarding posals to their needs. For example, the follow-
Technical Writing. As the cover states, this commonly misused words and phrases. ing sentence does not tell the client what we can
book is the essential guide to writing clear, Chapters six through nine break away from do for them:
concise proposals, reports, manuals, letters, the rules of the English language and get down “We have extensive experience in airlines
memos, and other documents in every techni- to the specifics of writing proposals, technical operations and forecasting and evaluating
cal field. Not only have Blake and Bly includ- articles and reports, letters and memos, and traffic flows.”
ed all the necessary information concerning manuals. A better way to make the point is:
punctuation, grammar, and tone, they have Chapter six, “Proposals and Specifi- “Our extensive experience in airlines oper-
organized the book in an easy- to-use, precise cations,” details the components necessary in a ations and forecasting and evaluating traf-
format. formal proposal. The authors set forth their ten fic flows gives us insight in to the logistics of
The first chapter begins with the following principles of proposal writing, which revolve your business and will help you respond
quote and serves as a good introduction to the around the focal point of the client. They are: faster.”
material in the first chapter. 1. Learn everything you can about your The second sentence focuses on what your
“Newspaper reporters and technical writ- prospective client and the people who company can do for the potential client and tells
ers are trained to reveal almost nothing will evaluate your proposal. the reader how you will benefit them rather than
about themselves in their writing. This 3. Sell your ideas by fitting them into your simply stating your qualifications. The more tai-
makes them freaks in the world of writers, client’s needs. lored your proposal is to the reader, the more
since almost all of the other ink-stained 4. Don’t just solve the technical problems; impact it will have.
wretches in that world reveal a lot about empathize with the customer’s critical Blake and Bly have written a useable,
themselves to the reader.” needs. handy, and inexpensive style guide that is tai-
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 5. Recognize all critical factors that evalua- lored to their audience: people who write for
The first chapter, “Fundamentals of tors will use in assessing the proposal. business. While the majority of style guides and
Effective Technical Writing,” identifies the ten 6. Make sure your proposal addresses every writer’s reference books tend to be very dry, I
principles that make technical writing good element mentioned in the RFP. found Blake and Bly’s book to be highly read-
technical writing. These principles include: 7. Use appropriate graphics to highlight able. They have practiced what they preach—
1. Technical Accuracy your ideas and make them easy to visual- their writing is clear, and more importantly,
3. Usefulness ize. interesting. The Elements of Technical Writing is
4. Conciseness 8. Tailor each proposal to the needs of the written specifically for technical writers, but it is
5. Completeness specific client. also a very valuable reference guide for other
6. Clearness 9. Anticipate and defuse objections. writers. This concise style guide is now an indis-
7. Consistency 10. Avoid hedging and subtlety in proposals. pensable part of my library.

ProposalManagement 61
 How to Write a
Statement of Work
Reviewed by LISA M. MADDRY
HOW TO WRITE A STATEMENT
PROPOSAL COORDINATOR, STRATEGIC OPERATIONS—BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
OF WORK — FOURTH EDITION
MANTECH SYSTEMS ENGINEERING CORPORATION
Peter S. Cole, CPCM
Vienna, VA: Management
Concepts Incorporated, 1999 stresses the importance of a clear and con- ple to strengthen the reader’s understanding.
241 pp. cise document, and how this affects future This consistent use of examples is evident
$98.00 (Hardcover) communications between the government throughout the book. Cole completes the
$68.00 (Softcover)
agency and interested contractors. This is learning process by walking the reader
1-56726-081-0 (Hardcover)
the basis for the entire book and is its through a sample SOW and showing how to
1-56726-082-9 (Softcover)
strongest point. The importance of the SOW correct it (Appendix A). He proves throughout
to the other parts of the solicitation or con- that he is a consummate instructor, leaving no
tract is also highlighted in this chapter. issue untouched or unexplained.

H
Chapter Two discusses the SOW devel- Peter S. Cole has more than 34 years of
ow to Write a Statement of opment planning and preparation phase. It experience in acquisition and contract man-
Work is a very detailed and emphasizes the need to visualize the entire agement. After retiring from the Navy in
informative manual. It is divided project from beginning to end, ensuring that 1979, he started developing textbooks and
into six chapters and one appendix, and all aspects of work are covered within the offering training programs to government
includes a Table of Contents detailed enough SOW. This includes choosing the type of and commercial clients. Based on his exten-
to warrant the absence of an index. The contract or SOW to be used, and distin- sive experience, Cole has become a leader
book’s target audience is government person- guishing between level-of-effort and comple- in consulting services. Cole has written 15
nel who write Statements of Work (SOW) for tion SOWs, personal versus non-personal manuals and handbooks for government
contracts or solicitations. How to Write a services, sole source SOWs, and follow-on agencies, including the Department of
Statement of Work also applies to govern- efforts and options. Cole details the prob- Treasury, the Department of Interior, and the
ment contractors who must read, interpret, lems that will arise when the wrong choices Central Intelligence Agency.
and respond to SOWs, and to contractors are indicated in a SOW. These are the pri- I recommend How to Write a Statement
who write SOWs for commercial contracts. mary building blocks for fully understanding of Work very highly. Although SOWs are
The target audience must be kept in mind, and writing a successful SOW, and Cole not an easy topic to understand, this book
because How to Write a Statement of Work is provides exceptional information and detail discusses them in a manner both informative
definitely NOT appropriate for individuals to ensure that the reader understands them. and, in its own way, very enjoyable. It
outside of the government contracting and There is very little about this book that should be required reading for anyone in
procurement fields. If not already experienced can be criticized. One of the few exceptions the government contracting and procure-
in writing or reading SOWs, the reader will is Chapter Two, Planning and Preparation, ment fields. Despite the steep price tag, its
be lost almost immediately. which covers a great deal of information on value far outweighs the publisher’s list
Cole has written a very informative and the development of the SOW. More exam- price, and the book is much better than sim-
concise manual, and kept his target audience ples on interrelating planning and prepara- ilar, more inexpensive examples. I have
in mind every step of the way. He indicates in tion, and the many aspects that fall under found How to Write a Statement of Work to
the Preface that the emphasis of the book is to each of these categories would be helpful. be an invaluable resource. Its wealth of
provide “practical, detailed guidance on writ- Overall, Cole gives very effective, solid, information provides contractors with a bet-
ing and preparing SOWs.” He accomplishes insightful, and abundant examples. In ter understanding of the government’s SOW
this and more. Cole also includes a short bib- Chapter Three, for instance, he illustrates the goals, and with the legal ramifications that
liography of other sources in the Preface, and process of writing a Performance Work affect both sides in government contracting.
these sources provide further guidance in Statement (PWS) using a fictitious Agency’s This book will be an asset to anyone
developing SOWs and Performance-Based decision to contract out one of the functions of preparing SOWs for either government agen-
Service Contracts (PBSCs). its Transportation Department. He provides a cies or for commercial purposes. How to
The first two chapters of How to Write a figure to show where this function fits into the Write a Statement of Work presents SOWs
Statement of Work are the most important. overall department structure, and explains clearly and concisely. I believe it will become
Chapter One, an overview of the SOW, each part of the PWS using this same exam- a valued, timeless resource for your Library.

Proposal Management is the professional journal of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), an organization dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences and
62 APMP Spring 2000 technology of proposal management and promoting the professionalism of those so engaged. The material in this reprint is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without
the express written permission of APMP. Though all journal articles are peer reviewed, APMP cannot warrant the competencies of its contributing authors or the research, services
and products they describe.