How to Create Technical Writing Headlines
Know who your reader is., Determine what your reader needs to know., Organize the document to meet your reader's needs., Choose an appropriate tone for the document.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know who your reader is.
The audience for your document and the headlines you'll create to help present it will determine what information you will present and how you will structure it.
For example, quick start guide for a software application requires simpler language, briefer sentences, and less extraneous material than does a paper for a scientific journal.
In many cases, if you're writing for an internal "discourse community" such as a school, hospital, or government agency, you'll be provided with a company or agency style guide that details how to format documents for the people who will read your work. -
Step 2: Determine what your reader needs to know.
Although you may have done a large amount of research in preparing your document, not all the information needs to be presented up front.
Someone needing to know how to change a spark plug does not need to know the complete history of the internal combustion engine.
But he or she does need to know the right type of replacement plug, where the plug goes, and the right tool to use to remove the old plug and replace it with a new one. , Most readers read technical documents looking for solutions to their problems, for example, how to operate a lawn mower, how to use Microsoft Word's Track Changes feature, what to do when their car's "Check Engine" light comes on.
Documents that answer these questions (owner's manuals, user manuals, help files) are organized by defining the reader's problem and presenting those solutions.
You'll want to create an outline for your document to decide where each piece of essential information goes and from that, create the headline that introduces it.
A sample structure is given below, with places for headlines marked.
Definition of the problem, with appropriate background and context.
You'd have a headline for this section; the section itself may be as short as a single sentence or as long as 3 paragraphs.
Recommendations for solving the problem.
You'd introduce this section with a headline; the recommendations could be single sentences or 1 to 2 paragraph subsections introduced with subheadings.
Reasoning behind the solution(s) offered.
In a user manual, support for each recommendation will likely follow the recommendation itself.
In a research paper, the research procedure would be a section of its own, with its own headline.
Implementing the solution.
You'd introduce this section with a headline.
The section might be a list of single-sentence steps, or it might be a series of paragraphs with the first sentence defining the step and subsequent sentences explaining the reason for performing it.
Appendices.
Your document would include an appendix if you need to include a lengthy explanation of how you gathered the information your solution is based on or for the data you based any graphs or charts in the main document on-in short, anything that would break the flow of your main document.
You'd use a headline for this section, and if you have several Appendices, a heading for each appendix. , For most technical writing, your tone will be serious and businesslike.
Articles for a scientific journal will tend to be more scholarly, while marketing materials may adopt a more engaging, upbeat tone to encourage people to buy a product or service after presenting the advantages the product or service offers.
If you've been provided with a style guide, it will usually define an appropriate tone for the audience you're writing to, particularly when the prospective audience is large, as for a website. -
Step 3: Organize the document to meet your reader's needs.
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Step 4: Choose an appropriate tone for the document.
Detailed Guide
The audience for your document and the headlines you'll create to help present it will determine what information you will present and how you will structure it.
For example, quick start guide for a software application requires simpler language, briefer sentences, and less extraneous material than does a paper for a scientific journal.
In many cases, if you're writing for an internal "discourse community" such as a school, hospital, or government agency, you'll be provided with a company or agency style guide that details how to format documents for the people who will read your work.
Although you may have done a large amount of research in preparing your document, not all the information needs to be presented up front.
Someone needing to know how to change a spark plug does not need to know the complete history of the internal combustion engine.
But he or she does need to know the right type of replacement plug, where the plug goes, and the right tool to use to remove the old plug and replace it with a new one. , Most readers read technical documents looking for solutions to their problems, for example, how to operate a lawn mower, how to use Microsoft Word's Track Changes feature, what to do when their car's "Check Engine" light comes on.
Documents that answer these questions (owner's manuals, user manuals, help files) are organized by defining the reader's problem and presenting those solutions.
You'll want to create an outline for your document to decide where each piece of essential information goes and from that, create the headline that introduces it.
A sample structure is given below, with places for headlines marked.
Definition of the problem, with appropriate background and context.
You'd have a headline for this section; the section itself may be as short as a single sentence or as long as 3 paragraphs.
Recommendations for solving the problem.
You'd introduce this section with a headline; the recommendations could be single sentences or 1 to 2 paragraph subsections introduced with subheadings.
Reasoning behind the solution(s) offered.
In a user manual, support for each recommendation will likely follow the recommendation itself.
In a research paper, the research procedure would be a section of its own, with its own headline.
Implementing the solution.
You'd introduce this section with a headline.
The section might be a list of single-sentence steps, or it might be a series of paragraphs with the first sentence defining the step and subsequent sentences explaining the reason for performing it.
Appendices.
Your document would include an appendix if you need to include a lengthy explanation of how you gathered the information your solution is based on or for the data you based any graphs or charts in the main document on-in short, anything that would break the flow of your main document.
You'd use a headline for this section, and if you have several Appendices, a heading for each appendix. , For most technical writing, your tone will be serious and businesslike.
Articles for a scientific journal will tend to be more scholarly, while marketing materials may adopt a more engaging, upbeat tone to encourage people to buy a product or service after presenting the advantages the product or service offers.
If you've been provided with a style guide, it will usually define an appropriate tone for the audience you're writing to, particularly when the prospective audience is large, as for a website.
About the Author
Marilyn Perry
Marilyn Perry is an experienced writer with over 3 years of expertise in arts and creative design. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Marilyn creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.
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