technical writing

English

A sign explaining how to use a waterless female urinal, an example of technical writing (sense 2).

Noun

technical writing (countable and uncountable, plural technical writings)

1. (uncountable) The act of, or profession pertaining to, the creation of factual and instructional texts, written using clear and precise wording, intended for the communication of information to a specific audience.

   The furniture manufacturer's technical writing department is responsible for creating the assembly manuals for their flatpack furniture.

   • 2005, Vicki Spanel, The 9 rights of every writer: a guide for teachers, page 128:

     Only one sort of writing can afford to go voiceless, and that is the sort in which a technical writer speaks to a technical reader — as in a medical treatise on the inherent risks of performing appendectomies. In such writing, the writer deliberately, carefully removes him- or herself, getting out of the way so the message can have center stage and consume the reader’s full attention. Writing that plays to our emotions is out of place in such a context; we need to get on with the operation. Good technical writing is sleek as polished steel. It is the essence of message, from which all fingerprints have been wiped clean.

2. (countable, uncountable) Works created by technical writing.

   User manuals, training manuals, textbooks, signs, and cooking instructions on food packaging are all examples of technical writing.