OE1-1.2 Techniques of Technical Writing
You can select precise words and phrases, distinguish abstract from specific terms, construct sentences that meet the requisites of good technical prose, and structure paragraphs of appropriate length.
The single highest-value habit in this unit is preferring the specific word to the abstract one — 'the bearing failed after 400 hours' beats 'component reliability was suboptimal', and the difference is whether the reader can act. Technical writing differs from general writing in accepting repetition: using the same word for the same thing every time is a virtue here, though it would be dull elsewhere. Sentence length is the practical lever; long sentences are where technical prose usually goes wrong.
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Techniques of writing
The methods of the trade, taken as a set before the detail below. Planning before drafting is the habit this topic is really teaching.
Selection of words and phrases in technical writing
Choosing words, which in this register means the plainest one that is precise. Long words do not make writing more technical, which is the misconception to unlearn.
Differences between technical writing and general writing
The contrast that defines the register: no ornament, no suspense, and the conclusion first. It is close to the opposite of what school essays reward.
Abstract and specific words
Concrete words carry information and abstract ones frequently do not. Replacing an abstraction with a specific is the single most reliable way to improve a draft.
Sentence structure
How a sentence is built, and why the active voice usually wins here. Passive constructions hide who did what, which matters in a report someone must act on.
Requisites of sentence construction
What a sentence has to satisfy to be usable: one idea, in an order the reader can follow. Length is a symptom rather than the problem.
Paragraph length and structure
The unit above the sentence, which is where structure becomes visible. A paragraph with no clear first sentence is a paragraph the reader will skim.
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