18 of 24

Write now Article Tools

How Technical is too Technical?

While attending university for my English degree, one particular project was for me to present to a class of up-and-coming scientists on how to write a document and how to present their findings to a non-technical audience. With little to go on, I performed a random study throughout the campus. I included a variety of ages, backgrounds and professions. The study involved 20 participants who were openly honest about what makes for good writing, for good reading. It is their responses that I've noted.

Appearance document design, graphics, colors, and typeface reinforces the central idea of the topic. The document should be pleasing to the eye. For example, a font size of 8pt with single spacing is not healthy for anyone's eyes, especially if reading a document that is longer than a 5x7 page.

Word Choice A close look at the issues of technicality seems to encompass word choice. A good flow with balanced white space makes the reader decide to continue reading or not.

Audience The rationalization of what makes a journal article so difficult to understand is that people need to understand the technical terms but, even though the text is in our language, we still cannot comprehend the meaning. If a document is incomprehensible, the audience wastes valuable time trying to translate the information. Most people are too busy and do not have the extra time to research the research. That is what a good writer's job entails. The author must remember the audience for whom he or she is writing.

Reading Comprehension This follows the similar idea of who is the intended audience. When a reader decides to continue reading, he or she will want to understand the subject matter. If the wording is too technical or the message has comprehension complications, this is another opportunity to put down the document and walk away.

Details Clear and reasonable text is hard to find. Technical writing information should be clearly written, helpful and interesting. The reader must learn from the reading or there would be no need to read the material. The reader does not want to spend hours on a document if they feel their time is being wasted. A general audience may be pushed to read a document, especially if the reading is mandatory. If the interest is not heightened, the reader will get next-to-nothing out of the reading.

Author Credibility Sometimes, the reader will give the author some credibility just because the document is published. They believe the writing must be accurate and truthful if someone actually published it.

Technique Authors usually learn formats in one of two ways; either in the academic classroom, or on-the-job. Both are practical ways of learning, but the question posed is, are they equally correct ways to learn the art of writing? Can one be a better writer to a greater audience, depending upon the learning technique?

With endless writing styles for numerous types of document, writing them is the key to successful education to a reader. Reading and comprehension is easy, but only if the writer has allowed it.

Learn more about this author, Dustee Mourning.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about The importance of effective communication skills?
We want to hear your view. Write now!