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Who reads technical document? |
Instructions:
Read the material below.
So, as you can see audience/ the reader is really important in
technical writing. Here we discuss the who your readers are.
Note the basic dichotomy between internal and external documents.
Writing for each of these audiences presents different challenges.
For example:
Your boss:
What makes it easy to write for him/her?
 | he/she probably knows at least the basics of the project |
| with any luck you know what he/she wants |
| with any luck your supervisors have a positive attitude about your project |
| motivation? |
What makes it difficult?
| evaluation |
Your boss’s boss:
What makes it easy?
| motivation? Desire to please, show what you have accomplished?? |
What makes it difficult?
| might not have technical expertise in your field |
| might have technical expertise but it might be outdated |
| might need lots of background information to understand |
| evaluation (not only of you but your boss and the project) |
| might not have a positive attitude about the project |
| might have unrealistic expectations |
Co-workers:
What makes it easy?
| know the project |
| have technical expertise similar to yours |
| probably have a positive attitude (or at least want to get the job done)? |
What makes it difficult?
| will know if you made any mistakes |
| will want share of credit |
| If you make a mistake, you could hurt someone or someone’s career |
Counterparts in other companies
What makes it easy?
| know what they want |
| have technical expertise similar to yours |
| attitude may vary depending on your reputation, your organization’s reputation, competition |
What makes it difficult?
| will know if you made any mistakes |
| will want share of credit |
| If you make a mistake, you could hurt someone or someone’s
career |
A complication:
Commonly people write a document that will have multiple
audiences.
The writer’s task:
| know who the audience(s) is are |
| understand the audience’s level of technical expertise on the topic |
| write for the audience |
Audience for this technical writing course
| In this class, you will not necessarily write highly
technical reports for people who know what you know. |
| In this class, you will not write for professors or
colleagues who know more about your topic than you know. |
| In this class, you will write for people who do not
know what you know. |
CONSIDER: If your readers know what you know, why
would they waste their time reading the document telling them what they
already know??? Would you? I wouldn’t –I have other things to do.
SO, you need to write for people who don’t know the
details you know. You need to remember:
| You and your colleagues have highly specialized
expertise and knowledge. |
| You and your colleagues talk about your projects a
lot: you are used to
conversing with people who know what you know. |
| The big challenge in writing technical documents is
writing so people
outside your circle of colleagues and coworkers can understand what you
are writing. |
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Discussion |
- Consider a document you read recently.
a. Was it aimed at your level of expertise?
b. How could you tell?
c. List 3 factors that let you know who the audience is.
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