TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Breaking into the tech writing job market From:"Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 9 Aug 2006 07:49:06 -0700
I'm wondering why so many seem to assume that documentation
that eliminates unnecessary prose and cuts quickly to information
that is needed to perform a specific operation is written for a
sixth-grader...
My experience has been that most over-written documentation is
the result of writers not having sufficient technical knowledge of
the product and its users' needs to be able to look at input received
from developers with a critical eye toward what the user is really
going to require for a specific operation and cut out or move what
is unnecessary.
I'm repeating what I've been taught. It's not condescending at all. The
theory is that many don't refer to the manual until they're having a
problem (myself included), and at that point, they don't want wordy,
grammatically perfect novel writing. They want: "To make it go, push the
green button."
My first boss (and mentor in this field) used to write like we was
writing a novel. Too wordy, too involved, etc. I agree that you need
simple, concise, easy-to-read steps. Hence, a 6th grade level.
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList