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com 1

Technical writing
Gamarra Castilla Karl Andre [email protected]

1. Introduction
2. Summary
3. The Technical Editorial
4. Writing common documents
5. Skills to prepare a good final document
6. Conclusions
7. Literature

“To be a competent engineer or scientist

It must be written competently.
To be an excellent engineer or scientist
“You have to write well.”
Weiss the Writing System for Engineers and Scientists

Introduction
The topic to be developed is technical writing
The purpose for which this work was conceived is only for use as a small guide to the breadth of what
technical writing is.
Here we can find some common applications and rules of technical writing.
In chapter 1: In this chapter we will have an explanation of what technical writing is, its parts and its function.
In Chapter 2: the most frequent documents are exemplified with a proper explanation of each step and a
model to follow.
In Chapter 3: we mention and detail the skills to make a good document.
Technical writing can be used in all kinds of cases, both in daily life and in a professional case, since it is
something that we all must handle at least in general contexts.

Summary
Chapter 1: This chapter briefly describes the use and parts of technical writing. This chapter is purely
informative and serves as a small guide to continue with the content of the text.
Chapter 2: Here we have the description of the points for the preparation of the most frequent documents in
technical writing with their respective examples.
Chapter 3: This section provides concepts and examples of the skills required to prepare a good final
document.

Chapter 1

The Technical Editorial

One of the obvious characteristics of technical writing is its technical content, which for present purposes is
that which falls within the general field of science and engineering. Therefore, a technical document or writing
is the written exposition of scientific and technical content associated with science and engineering.
But apart from the content, technical writing has other characteristics, one of which is its formal aspect.
For example:
• There are different conventional forms of technical reports such as preliminary projects, progress reports or
proposals.
• There are certain forms of style, such as the use of the reflexive passive voice.
• There are certain forms of graphic aids, such as: graphs and diagrams.
• There is a high concentration of certain presentation techniques, in particular, definitions, description of
mechanisms, description of processes, classification and interpretation; often several of them in a single
report.

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Another characteristic of technical writing is its scientific point of view.

• Ideally, technical writing is impartial and objective, clear and accurate in the presentation of information.
• Use scientific and technical vocabulary, since most technical writings are aimed at a specific audience.
• What engineers write is objective evidence that will eventually be used to help someone make a decision.
In basic terms, technical writing can be divided into two parts or aspects:
1. Final products, such as reports, which are concrete packages that are delivered to a recipient.
2. The skills involved in the preparation of the final product.
The final products of technical writing are the result of an engineer's routine work. If engineers cannot
successfully communicate their ideas to inform others what they have done, all their effort was in vain.
Furthermore, the more experience engineers gain, the more frequently they are asked for recommendations
for making decisions or making decisions themselves. On the other hand, companies' customers write letters
asking for advice on their technical problems and those letters must be answered. Within industrial and
academic institutions, engineers are regularly required to write reports, letters and memoranda.
Engineers who want to achieve a good reputation seek to publish articles in professional journals.
However, the most requested documents are the report, the letter and the official document.
The final products of technical writing are as follows:
• Business letters
• Various types of reports: preliminary projects, progress reports, final reports and others.
• Articles for technical magazines
• Abstracts
• Brochures
• Proposals
Graphic aids—graphs, diagrams, drawings, and others—are simultaneously a product and imply mastery of a
technique. These must be indispensable.
The most important part of the report is the first page, the summary. The abstract is the summary of the work.
This page—or paragraph—helps readers quickly determine whether the report contains information that is of
interest to them and is therefore worth reading. A concise, informative, and well-written abstract will not only
be appreciated by readers, but will have a positive influence on their attitudes toward the entire document.
Skills that require particular attention are as follows:
• Special technical writing techniques
• Technical style
• Writing introductions
• Use of transitions
• Construction of tables of contents
• Drawing conclusions
• Construction of indexes
• Incorporation of notes
• Preparation of bibliographies
• Using lists
There are certain techniques that technical writers frequently use, although they are not exclusive to technical
writing, and which are important parts of a whole (for example: a report).
Consequently, the technical author must know them. The most important are the definition, the description of
mechanisms, the description of processes and the classification.
Each of these writing problems requires careful attention.
The nature and complexity of the topics covered in technical documents involve the author in some stylistic
problems, especially those related to clarity.
Writing introductions, transitions, and conclusions involves the technique of telling readers, first, what you are
going to communicate to them, second, communicating it to them, and third, telling them what you have
already communicated to them.
Finally, grammar is not really a formal topic in technical writing, but it is a necessity to improve the quality of
documents.

Chapter 2

Writing common documents

2.1.-Writing a letter

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The style of the letter must be adapted to the recipient:

 Formal, if it concerns official, public or business matters;
 Colloquial or informal, if addressed to family or friends and colloquial language is used that both
understand (sender and recipient)
 Familiar, which could be a derivative of the previous one, with the only difference that this one is
specifically for relatives.
Characteristics
Psychological characteristics:
 He has a courteous and affable attitude.
 It seeks to positively impress the recipient.
 Seeks a reaction favorable to the sender's interests.
Formal characteristics:
 It's short.
 It is organized with clarity, conciseness, precision and accuracy.
 Seeks to provide complete information.
Linguistic features:
Use short sentences. Use precise and polite vocabulary. Use complete sentences correctly organized. Do
not abbreviate words. Use punctuation appropriate to the meaning of what you want to express. Use
cohesive elements that interrelate sentences and paragraphs.
Parts
Formal letters, particularly business letters, have the following elements:
 Heading: name and address of the place to which it is addressed.
 Greeting: personal or consolidated in established formulas.
 Statement of the matter, with relevant details.
 Farewell: also with formulas established by custom.
 Signature
The letter also consists of:
 Letterhead: name, address, telephone number and city of the company writing it.
 Date: city, state, day, month and year in which it was issued.
 Address: name, address, city and postal code of the person to whom it is addressed (recipient).
 Vocative: expression of courtesy that links the signer with the recipient.
 Text: exposition of the subject that motivates the letter.
 Farewell: expression of courtesy that ends the letter.
 Signature: company name or name of the company.
 Signature: full name of the sender and his signature.
 Final references: initials, upper and lower case respectively, of the person dictating and the person
typing the letter.
 Other information: information on any attachments being sent or the names of the persons to
whom a copy of the document is being sent. These notes are made at the bottom and before the
final references.
2.2.- Writing a report
This should be clear and detailed enough that any reader knows what you did, the results you obtained, and
whether the experimental evidence supports your hypothesis. Additionally, you should include your sources
of information.
Much of the report comes from your journal. Organize and copy the information and prepare tables
and graphs that clearly show your data and results.
The report must be typed, double-spaced, and bound in a binder. Requirements may vary in
different locations so check with your teacher about the fair rules in your region. Generally the report
should include the following:
 Title Page - With the title of your centralized project. Choose a short, descriptive title that gets to the
point.
 Abstract - Summarize the most important points of your project. State the purpose, hypothesis,
methods, results and conclusions you obtained. It should be short and clear, and although it appears
at the beginning for the benefit of the judges, it is the last thing to be written.
 Acknowledgements - Recognize the people who helped you.
 Table of contents
 Introduction - Describe your research problem, state your purpose, hypothesis, and briefly mention
the methods you will use. If there are already works related to the problem, you can mention them.

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 Try to gain the attention of those who read your work.

 Explain why your research is important.
 Methodology - Describe in detail your experimental design, the materials and equipment you used,
and the procedure you employed.
 Results - Present the data you found clearly using tables and graphs.
 Discussion of Results - Show the most important results and indicate how they confirm (or refute)
your hypothesis. It presents the margins of error in each measurement and in the result.
 Conclusion - In this section, write the results of your research. Mention what you learned in your
research. If your results supported your hypothesis, indicate so. (Careful! You should not say that
your hypothesis is true, the correct thing to say is that it was supported.) If the results did not support
your hypothesis, you should also write that down. You should also include possible sources of error
and, very importantly, make projections (suggest future research on the same topic).
 Bibliography - Make a list of the books and magazines you used to search for information.
 Appendices - Additional information in the form of graphs, photos, drawings, etc. is included here.
I present the following points to you when writing your report:
 Photos, drawings, diagrams, tables and graphs are very useful tools to explain your project, as well
as making it more attractive.
 Be very careful when writing your report. Make sure your work is clean, well organized, and free of
spelling errors.
 Don't use fancy words when writing your report. Try to be as clear as possible, so that everyone who
reads it can understand it well. You can use technical words as necessary but without affecting
clarity.
 Include negative results because they are part (a valuable part, believe it or not) of your data.
Inspiration for new experiments can come from them.
2.3.- Writing a summary
To make a summary you must:
 Be objective.
 Have a clear idea of the general idea of the text, its fundamental ideas and the secondary ideas that
are crucial to understanding the main ones.
 Underline the main parts of the text, take note of the most significant ideas and write down key
words.
 Outline what is underlined.
 It is necessary to find coherence between the underlined sentences, so that the summary is perfect.
 You need to understand the text so you can summarize it.
Types of summary
Information summary
It summarizes the content of the original text, the message of the communication, and is very useful for
giving a quick and general idea of the text.
It is the reduction of a text, in proportions that can be proposed, but which in general tend to be 25% of the
text, written in the editor's own words in which the author's ideas are expressed.
Descriptive summary
It explains the structure of the text, as well as its fundamental parts, sources and style, and is very useful in
the case of long or complex texts because it helps the reader to understand the organization of the text and
locate the data that may be of interest to them.
Abstract abstract
It is a variant of the summary, generally of a descriptive type, which is used at the beginning of scientific
articles. It is usually included in the article itself, after the title and on the first page. Its function is to inform
about the content of the text so that potential readers can get a general idea in a short time and decide
whether they are interested in reading the entire document. It generally does not include specific data, such
as figures or percentages.
The synthesis
It consists of summarizing various texts that deal with the same topic or related topics. This text reduction
technique allows you to bring together the essential elements of more than one text to obtain a coherent
summary. It is not about producing a different summary of each text, but rather a single summary that
synthesizes and relates the source texts. The practice of synthesis is essential in exams and academic work,
where you must demonstrate your knowledge of various bibliographic sources and your ability to relate. The
synthesis must respect the author's ideas. Therefore, it does not express its own concepts.
2.4.- Writing an official letter

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Classes
Simple or direct office
This type of document is used when the standard tool and the text or content are addressed to a single
person. It is generally used for an invitation, a congratulation, a request, a thank you or a report of cultural or
sporting events or activities. Also when a manager goes to a company to manage a service.
Multiple occupation
It is a document that is used when the same subject or text is addressed to different and various recipients,
and for this reason the institutions or departments include the official number, leaving ellipses to write the
name and position of the recipient, to specify it when the case requires it. This also serves to speed up the
documentation process.
The text of this type of document is based on the issuance of orders, instructions, recommendations,
suggestions or information to different offices or offices simultaneously.
The treatment considered in the multiple trade is vertical descending and horizontal. That is, it is directed at
subordinates, or between heads of institutions at the same level or hierarchy.
The structure of the multiple trade is basically the same as that of the simple trade, however it is important to
remember that:
1. the official number is the same for all copies to be distributed;
2. In the multiple office, the word distribution is necessarily written, which is the last part of this type of
office (see example).
Transcription office
The word transcription tells us the purpose of this type of writing: it is a document that serves to transcribe
the content of the letter as it is given in the original, in its entirety and without any alterations. The entire
transcribed fragment or paragraph must be in quotation marks and faithful to the original.
This document is used to issue: resolutions, circulars, directives or other cases of the same nature.
The type of treatment and/or relationship that is fulfilled through this document is that of authority to
subordinates or between authorities of the same level, inside and outside. This document will be used to
transcribe relevant and important reports.
Parts
 Letterhead
It's the first one. All companies have a letterhead, which is very important for a trade.
 Place and date
This is the first part, in which you write: the place from which it is sent, the day, the month and the
current year.
 Numeration
In this part, the three pieces of information are written, just like in the memorandum: the word
"official" in capital letters, followed by the issue number and separated by a slash, and then the
initials of the office of origin in capital letters, separated by a slash, and the current year.
 Addressee
It is the part that covers four lines or more, as required. Here you write: the full name, position and
location of the person to whom you are addressing.
 Affair
It is the fourth part and the word SUBJECT is written in capital letters, followed by two periods and
then, in summary, the message of the text is clearly indicated, which will be explained in the body.
 Reference
It is the fifth part that is used only when it is necessary to mention the numbering of the previously
received document, the content of which needs to be answered. This word is also capitalized and
written below the subject.
In some cases this part of the letter is used to mention decrees, resolutions, directives or
agreements.
 Body or text
It is the central part of the document, where the message of the communication will be made known,
clearly, precisely and very briefly. There are usually expressions to start the text, such as:
"I have the pleasure of informing
you..." "I am very pleased to inform
you..." "I have the honor of addressing..."
"I have the pleasure of addressing..."
 Farewell

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When saying goodbye we must show kindness and courtesy. There are also well-known expressions
such as:
I take this opportunity to express my personal consideration and esteem.
Sincerely,
 Signature and post-signature
Signature: - The signature is written by hand.
Post-signature: The name and surname of the person signing the document are included, as well as
the position that distinguishes them, plus the respective stamp.
 Initials
As in the memo, the initials of the sender are written in capital letters and the initials of the person
who typed the document in lowercase.
 Exhibit
This section lists the documentation that is attached to the document, such as catalogues,
magazines, cards, programs, etc.
 Distribution
It is generally used in multiple professions; here the people and departments to whom the profession
is directed are mentioned.

Chapter 3

Skills to prepare a good final document

3.1.- The Style
Style is the set of characteristics or qualities that differentiate and distinguish one way of writing from
another. Style is the vital sense, the personality transferred to the oral or written development of the subject.
While writing and grammar are instruments that serve to achieve the best way to express an idea, style
indicates the personal and non-transferable way of doing so.
Style, on the other hand, requires the prior delimitation of the topic to be developed. Thus, the informant, the
reporter, the correspondent, must give themselves a prior answer to each of these questions:
What is expressed?
How do you express yourself?
What is it expressed for?
Who is it expressed to?
The answers will lead us to the delimitation of two situations:
1.- The channel through which the information will be transmitted.
2.- The medium through which the information is transmitted: whether it is individual or collective, rich or
poor, intellectual or poorly educated, literate or semi-literate.
3.2.- Writing introductions or opening paragraphs
The opening or introduction paragraph is unique and can often be the most important paragraph you will
write in your document. It is in this paragraph where you must capture your reader's attention, clearly
express what you are writing about and give the right tone to your message.
The following points will help you establish a criterion that will help you achieve an effective Opening
Paragraph.
An Effective Opening Paragraph Must:
> Make personal contact and give the appropriate tone to our message, depending on the reason for it.
> Capture the reader's attention.
> Include the Key Phrase and clearly inform the reader what the document is about.
> Not to be more than 3 or 4 sentences.
There are a few other aspects that can help you achieve effective Opening Paragraphs, but if you follow the
criteria mentioned above, you will be greatly favoring obtaining a good result.
3.3.- Use of transitional words or phrases
To make your document more readable and easier to understand, it is important to use transitional words
and/or phrases.
Transitional phrases and words allow you to connect the different ideas and data expressed in your writing in
a practical and fluid way. Examples:
“As you know…”, “However…”, “Particularly…”, “Unless…” and many more.
3.4.- Use of lists

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When, How and Why to use lists.

When you read a business document you don't read it like a novel. When reading a business document you
usually quickly try to identify the reason for the writing and the important information.
Many times, if we only organize data in paragraphs written in simple prose, the information and the message
can become confusing. This becomes even more noticeable the more complicated and technical the
document is. For the above reasons, the use of lists is frequently recommended.
Note that in a business document, when presenting three or more pieces of information that are related to
each other, one can – and often should – use lists.
Lists are more effective than simple prose paragraphs because:
> Communicate information more quickly and effectively
> They save us writing time
> They reduce the risk of making structural and punctuation errors
IMPORTANT: When using lists in your business documents, be sure to distribute the content of the lists in an
organized and uniform manner, so that the information is easy to find and understand. If your list contains
many items and you can group them into subcategories, do so.
About punctuation in lists: Use the period “.” at the end of your lists when at least one of the items in your
lists is longer than one complete sentence.
3.5.- The conclusion and the closure
This part is also very important. The last paragraph of your essay plays a key role for this purpose: it should
help reinforce and round out what is expressed in your document.
A good closure:
- Makes a final personal contact with the reader. This
is particularly important when you are trying to influence.
- In some cases it can be used to recap the main idea.
- Makes sure there are no loose ends.
- Tells the reader what happens next. If the result
of reading the document is to be an action, state
this clearly.
- Use specific language in relation to the message
you wish to convey.
3.6.- Preparation of a bibliography
Every scientific article that reflects research carried out will contain references to other authors and other
studies that have helped us to plan our work. These citations must be made in the text when we make
express reference to a specific author or article. Although there are several ways to cite, the pattern we will
follow will be:
- Write the author's surname and the year of publication in parentheses, separated by a comma.
- If several works are cited at the same time, they should be written below in the same way and separated
with a semicolon.
- If two or more works by the same author are cited at the same time, the name will not be repeated, but the
years of publication will be indicated below, separated by a comma.
- In the event that two works by the same author were published in the same year, the letters a, b, c... would
be added to the years to distinguish them. These letters will also be added to the list of references at the end
of the article.
- If there are more than three authors, the first one will be specified followed by the Latin formula et al.
Later, in the last section of our work, all the data of the article or book to which we are referring will be
specified, as well as other sources consulted and not necessarily cited. This is what will constitute the
bibliography of the work.
First of all, all references must be arranged alphabetically, and within each of them the order specified below
must be followed.
BOOK:
1. Author's surname (or editor's name), first names reduced to initials. When there are several authors, they
will be separated by a semicolon and a space.
2. Year of publication, in parentheses.
3. Title in italics, respecting upper and lower case.
4. Edition, if not the first.
5. Editorial.
6. Place of publication.

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Conclusions
Chapter 1: Technical writing is a very useful tool both in daily life and in professional life, since you always
have to know how to prepare formal documents addressed to entities or people.
Chapter 2: There are many documents but in this chapter we appreciate the main ones.
Trades and reports are very useful in our careers since we use them frequently.
Chapter 3: Style and bibliography are the soul of documents since with them we can express our personality
with the words used and the sources taken.

Literature
1. Rosalia Diaz - Barriga Martinez
Technical Writing - 2001 Edition
Mexico
Webgraphy
1. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter
2. http://www.mailxmail.com/curso/excelencia/ortografia/capítulo8.htm
3. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oficio_(document)
4. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary
5. http://www.cic.ipn.mx/editorial/informes/programas/publicar.html#tres
6. http://www.englishcom.com.mx/tips/redprof2.html#2
7. http://sek-portal10.ucjc.edu/portal/page/portal/ucjc/Biblioteca_Inicio/Biblioteca_Rincon_Bibliografia

Author:
Gamarra Castilla Karl André
[email protected]
For the subject of:
Technical Writing and Methodology of Research Work
Lima - Peru
2008
Federico Villarreal National University
Faculty of Oceanography, Fisheries and CCAA
Professional School of Aquaculture Engineering

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