TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS

Tips and Hints to Help with Technical Writing

By: Connie Kimeu

5 TIPS AND TRICKS

In this presentation you will find 5 tips and

tricks to writing professionally that anyone

can use! These tips are meant to help a

student or a professional hone their skills for

technical writing.

USE OF A WRITING PYRAMID

Identifying the main message or the “summary statement” will help your

readers understand the context of why you are writing to them and will

identify what point or points are most important in the document.

After the main statement has been developed you insert the

“background” information which leads up to the main point.

Once the “background” has been laid then the facts need to be listed to

support the main point and gives the readers the details of what the main

point is about.

Lastly the outcome or the results of the main point are established and

serves as a close of the document.

Colon use is indicated when

there will be a list,

summary, or quote being

used within a sentence.

Example:

There are only three kinds of

people: the good, the bad, and

the ugly.

Semicolon use is indicated

when there are two

separate clauses that are

related to each other.

Example:

The children cam home today;

they had been gone for over

two weeks.

COLON AND SEMICOLON USE

Colon : Semicolon ;

In this type of

comparative analysis

report the writer’s

opinions are not expressed

until the very end of the

report as part of the

conclusion to the report.

In this type of comparative

analysis report the writer’s

opinions are spread

throughout the report to help

the reader understand what

the writer’s thoughts and

feelings are about a

particular topic.

TYPES OF COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS REPORTS

Objective Subjective

THE IMPORTANCE OF CITING SOURCES

It’s extremely important

to cite your sources. Not

citing sources is called

plagiarism and is

considered “stealing”.

There are several

different types of citations

depending on the

institution requiring a

document.

Chicago

APA

CSE

MLA

Turabian

WHEN TO CITE?

Whenever you use a quote, paraphrase, summarize,

or otherwise refer to the work of another person or

entity, you are required to cite its source.

You can do this by way of parentheses or by usage of

a footnote.

You must also develop a bibliography which lists the

references completely with any identifying

information.

E-MAIL SUBJECT LINES

When using e-mail to communicate with others it is very

important that you are using the subject lines properly.

Try to keep the subject line meaningful and try to avoid

overloading on attachments.

Make sure you are proofreading the subject line before

sending out the e-mail and try not to use all capital letters as is

suggests “yelling”.

Don’t assume that what you write will remain private. Always

write as if you know the e-mail will be public knowledge.

REFERENCES

Slide 3

Blicq, R., & Moretto, L. (2004). Technically Write! In R. Blicq, & L. Moretto, Sixth

Edition

(pp. 24-26). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Slide 4

Blue, T. (2000, August 17). Colons, Semicolons, and Bears! Retrieved September

12, 2011, from Grammartips.Homestead.com:

http://grammartips.homestead.com/colons.html

Unknown. (n.d.). Using Semicolons. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from

Connect.MSBCollege.edu: Semicolons Presentation

REFERENCES

Slide 5

Blicq, R., & Moretto, L. (2004). Technically Write! In R.

Blicq, & L. Moretto, Sixth Edition (pp. 105-107. Upper

Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Slide 6-7

Duke University Libraries. (n.d.). Citing Sources. Retrieved

September 12, 2011, from Library.Duke.edu:

Duke Library Citing Sources

REFERENCES

Slide 8

Bauer, J., & Jerz, D. G. (2001, March 8). Writing Effective E-

Mail: Top 10 Tips. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from

Jerz's Literacy Webblog: http

://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/email/