POSITION TITLES OF TECHNICAL WRITERS: II

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Information Developer: An Information developer writes hardware and software documentation, technical descriptions, online help files, technical definitions on Web sites

Information Designer: An information designer specializes in website , architecture, multimedia publishing and interface . He applies design principles to translate complex, unorganized data into meaningful information. By coordinating a range of design, language, analytical evaluation and technical skills, information designers play a vital role in making complex information easy to understand and use.

Web Editor: A Web editor is responsible for developing the content or editorial plan of a website. He is involved in researching, writing and presenting text in such a way that it appeals the target audience of the website. A web editor makes sure that the site content is kept up to date. He is responsible for editing and proofing materials produced by colleagues or freelancers and develops new content and editorial guidelines. He keeps abreast of developments and good practices in web technology. Since interactivity is the most important aspect of the online world, the web editor is involved in creating real-time polls, discussion forums or developing community-oriented information that is collected from people responding to a site.

Communications Specialist: A Communication specialist performs duties required to plan, design, implement, and maintain various types of communications programs which are specially designed to create and maintain favorable public relations for the company.

A communication specialist gathers, writes, and edits material for correspondence, press releases and prints online publications to inform the public of the company’s activities; hold press conferences; answer queries from the community; conduct research to assist the media; provide interviews;

Produce annual, quarterly, and weekly publications,

Documentation Specialist – A Document specialist is a person who specializes in writing, producing and maintaining documents. Documents include not only paper-based information but also online content and multimedia.

Proposal Writer – A proposal writer writes, revises, verifies and manages all elements of a proposal. He coordinates with team members, assembles writing templates, operates within the specified deadlines, and gathers requirements to ensure the proposal meets all the stated guidelines. He organizes and facilitates proposal kickoffs, meetings, review sessions, etc. He is responsible for supporting the sales team and SME’s in the development and design of proposals. He designs and creates various customized, professional-quality presentation materials using maps, charts, tables, and other features to illustrate concepts in proposals. He provides quality assurance on content and various formatting issues, helps in the development of new ideas for proposals. He manages production and distribution of documents and maintains a proposal tracking database.

Health Writer- A health writer communicates complicated health subjects to general audience. They work closely with strategic, scientific and medical experts to communicate guidance in clear, simple language. They may be involved in risk communication & emergency preparedness plans, Patient education, Guidance publications (eg-recommended immunization schedule), Health Marketing, web content and design

ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF A TECHNICAL WRITER

Technical Writers obtain and present specialized information within strict accuracy and format requirements and strong organizational skills. Technical Writers use the following skills, knowledge, and abilities to accomplish their daily tasks of technical documentation:

• Communication: Communication may be of following types:

• Written - Communicating effectively in the form of technical writing as dictated by the needs of the audience.
• Verbal - A technical writer must have the ability to interact well with SMEs and clients. This helps in getting relevant information from them in a professional and personable manner. Conducting in-depth interviews with subject matter experts helps in understanding the product or procedure. Excellent verbal communication helps technical writers to convey information by talking effectively.

• Active Listening - Listening actively to other people and asking appropriate questions.

• Analyzing- Capability to analyze the needs of the target audience.
• Strong Concentration-Technical Writing requires the ability to concentrate for long periods of time.
• Information Gathering Skills - Knowing various sources of information and identifying essential information.
• Strong Organization Skills- Organize multiple pieces of information, so that the need for further information is recognized and redundant or irrelevant information is discarded.
• Continuous Learning - Keeping abreast of new information, material, recent advances and technology.
• Technical Attitude – Interpreting complex technical material
• Giving and Taking Constructive Criticism: Technical writers should welcome useful criticism, which should be analyzed and taken forward for reworking their original ideas until the satisfaction of the customer or user.
• English Language – A good grasp of grammar, composition, structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words is essential for doing justice to the technical writing profession.

Principles of Technical Writing

Well written technical documentation serves valuable purposes in the workplace. Reviewing the basic principles of technical content writing can help you become successful technical writer to a great extent. The key principles of technical writing are as follows:

Audience Orientation: Focus on what need of the audience does the document aim to fulfill. Take into account the level of expertise of the audience. Consider how the document should be organized so that it fulfills the need of the user most conveniently.

Organization and Content: Convey ideas and analysis, not just raw data and statistics. Illustrate points made in the text using graphics, images and descriptive examples. Allow the reader to digest one block of information at a time by organizing the information into paragraphs and subheadings. Make it easy for the reader to find the main points; don’t bury them in text. Write observed facts from a neutral point of view so that communication is fair and unbiased. Use cross references in the text to clarify or elucidate points. The overall logical organization of the document must lead to the result stated.

Formatting: Document formatting drastically increases the user friendliness and readability of a document. Chapter and section titles must be descriptive and informative. Line spacing and paragraph indentation can give the document an open, easy look by introducing ample white space. Font sizes and styles should be chosen so that they are large enough to be legible, and yet look good. Page numbers and header-footer content make it easy to navigate through long documents.

Language: We must remember that technical writing seeks to convey information in a simple yet (if possible) interesting manner. Keeping this in view, use simple vocabulary and short sentences. Aviod redundant words e.g. “New innovative”. Delete words, sentences and phrases that do add to the meaning. Take special care of spellings, grammar and punctuation. Use active voice wherever possible, since sentences normally turn out to be shorter e.g.

Passive- “It is supposed that…”

Active- “Supposing…”

Avoid using “I” in formal reports. Use “I” in progress reports, memos, letters, sometimes proposals. Use past tense to describe your experimental work and results. Use present tense in most other writing. The document can be made interesting by using an active mix of simple and complex sentences of limited length.