Technical Writing Blog

The times when technical writers were using Notepad or MS Word to create user manuals are over. Now, we have a big and dynamic market of technical writing tools. But, the more solutions emerge – the more difficult it is to find the one that suits best. Or, even to figure out the right parameters…

User manuals serve as a vital link between manufacturers and end users. They provide details on the installation, use, maintenance, and troubleshooting of a product. A well-crafted user manual can significantly reduce the time customers spend learning how to use a product, while also lowering the company’s costs associated with providing customer support. In this…

We are living in an age when communication relies heavily on visual content. Visual communication is all around us. In order to experience it, we don’t have to visit an art gallery or watch a movie – we just need to take a look around: signs, logos, leaflets, books, mobile phones, and advertisements – visual…

Technical writing or technical communication is about delivery of technical information to the general audience. Using plain language in technical documentation allows to make the writing clear, concise and helpful to readers. Plain language writing helps the target audience easily perceive information, avoid misunderstandings and save time, because it gets the job done the first…

To jargon, or not to jargon: that is the question. Although technical writing and the word ‘jargon’ appeared long before Shakespeare, this is not exactly the famous question posed by Hamlet. Today it is a tricky matter which occupies the minds of specialists in technical communication and all sorts of writing. But first of all…

Hyphenation is a linguistic phenomenon which is quite often left out of grammar books. Nevertheless, there are rules that one must follow to use hyphens right. Technical writers, for example, need to make their user documentation look professional. Otherwise, their readers might think that the company itself is untrustworthy. Let’s try to figure out how…

Your documentation team is one busy department. Useful documentation heavily relies on your team’s ability to keep the workflow moving, but in a business where things are notoriously fast-paced, that can be a difficult thing to achieve. With that said, you might find another article interesting, that is – Documentation Team: How to Delegate Tasks….

Technical documentation is not just any text. It is a whole new world with its rules and patterns to follow. This article will explain how technical writers can avoid the most common mistakes when writing a user manual. Abbreviations Abbreviations are great. They save us time and effort. We can transmit information faster using abbreviations,…

What do we want from any user manual? Clarity and consistency. And, good looks. How can we achieve this? Well, as far as looks are concerned, you can start off by reading this article on user documentation design. And, there’s a long list of things that can be done to improve a user manual’s consistency…

If you are a native English speaker then the choice between Active Voice and Passive Voice is likely to be obvious to you. But, if you are writing user guides in English or working in an English speaking team while it is not your mother tongue – you should study the vital difference between these…