{"id":23,"date":"2017-12-07T19:30:03","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T00:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting2ed\/part\/techcomm\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T11:53:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:53:39","slug":"techcomm","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting2ed\/part\/techcomm\/","title":{"raw":"1. WHAT IS TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION?","rendered":"1. WHAT IS TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION?"},"content":{"raw":"
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Chapter 1 Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\nThis chapter will help you understand what technical writing is, what it \"looks like,\" and why its important by covering the following:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Apply a \"problem-solving\" approach<\/a> to communications tasks, starting by learning how to fully define the problem before looking for solutions<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Distinguish the main conventions and characteristics<\/a> of technical writing those used in other forms, such as journalism and academic writing<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Understand and apply strategic \"writing moves<\/a>\"\u00a0 and develop iterative writing processes appropriate for technical communication contexts<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Develop an understanding of what Generative AI<\/a> is and how its adoption might impact you as a learner and professional<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Apply what you have learned so far by examining \"case studies<\/a>\" that demonstrate the costs of poor communication in various contexts.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \"Some of the most accomplished engineers of all time have paid as much attention to their words as to their numbers, to their sentences as to their equations, and to their reports as to their designs.<\/em>\"\r\n

    Henry Petroski, \"Engineers as Writers\"[footnote]H. Petroski, \u201cEngineers as Writers.\u201d American Scientist<\/em>, vol. 81, no. 5 (1993): 419\u201323. http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/29775007.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nWhen you hear the term \u201ctechnical communication,\u201d what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of scientific reports, specifications, instruction manuals, software documentation, or technical manuals. And you are correct. However, technical communication is so much more than that. Technical writing is a category of writing that encompasses not only technical materials such as manuals, instructions, specifications, and software documentation, but it also includes writing produced in day-to-day business operations such as correspondence, proposals, internal communications, media releases, and many kinds of reports.\r\n\r\nTechnical writing is \"transactional\" in that it is meant to achieve a clear purpose. It includes the communication of specialized technical information, whether relating to computers and scientific instruments, or the intricacies of mindfulness meditation. And because oral and visual presentations are such an important part of professional life, technical communication also encompasses these as well. <\/span>For an interesting example of technical communication on TikTok and Instragram, check out this video:\u00a0 <\/span>Tech Comm Examples: Black Forager - Enoki vs Deadly Galerina<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe might define technical communication, then, as using various modes (oral, written, visual) of communication to manage technical information, to analyze a problem, find and evaluate evidence, and draw conclusions in a way that allows people to take action. Queens University Library maintains a Database of Technical Reports<\/a> published from the late 1970s to the present, including a wide range of technical reports from government, NASA, and the Engineering Research and Development Centre. It's useful to scan through some of these to get a sense of the wide range of form and content that is covered under the umbrella of \"technical reports.\"\r\n\r\nHere are some examples that you might not have thought of as \"technical writing\" -- but in each case, the authors have analyzed and addressed a problem and suggested possible solutions:\r\n

    Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptations and Vulnerability<\/a>. <\/strong>Working Groups II Contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report assesses the impacts of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels. It also reviews vulnerabilities and the capacities and limits of the natural world and human societies to adapt to climate change. Note that the website contains 2 downloadable summaries, a Summary for Policy Makers and a Technical Summary. What do you suppose are the key differences between these two summaries?<\/p>\r\n

    Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future<\/a>,<\/strong> is an executive summary of the findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. This Executive Summary is over 300 pages long, indicating the depth and breadth of the commission\u2019s findings overall. It allows readers to see the extensive information available and choose which parts would be most appropriate for their context.<\/p>\r\n

    One of the sections of the larger TRC report, which is available separately, is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action<\/strong><\/a> (2015). \u00a0Note that this document is presented largely in easy-to-read bullet points in organized numbered sections, making the 94 calls to action (note that it does not use the word \u201crecommendations\u201d) very straightforward to understand and implement.\u00a0 Calls to action 62-65 directly address Education for Reconciliation. Institutions committed to decolonization make extensive use of this document to guide their decisions-making and policy changes.<\/p>\r\nThus, technical writing is highly \"transactional\" as it conveys information to enable and encourage specific actions -- to help the people communicating with each other to achieve specific goals.\r\n

    Why are Technical Communication Skills Important?<\/h1>\r\nIn a 2018 survey of over 1000 professionals from various professions, over 70% of engineers and almost 50% of programmers rated the quality of their writing as either \"very important\" or \"extremely important\" to their job performance, as well as to their career advancement.[footnote]J. Swartz, S. Pigg, J. Larsen, J. Helo Gonzalez, R. De Haas, and E. Wagner, \"Communication in the workplace: What can NC State students expect?\" Professional Writing Program, North Carolina State University, 2018 [Online]. Available: https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1pMpVbDRWIN6HssQQQ4MeQ6U-oB-sGUrtRswD7feuRB0\/edit<\/a>[\/footnote]\u00a0 Engineers who are more advanced in their careers spend less time engaged in hands-on technical problem solving and more time engaging in communications tasks such as\r\n