An introduction to technical writing

Why this book?

As a technical writer, you are tasked with the important job of communicating complex and technical information to a variety of audiences. This workbook is designed to help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to excel in your role as a technical writer.

Technical writing is an exciting area in the field of communications, it offers challenging but diverse opportunities to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Virtually every industry relies on the skills of a technical writer.

Technical writing is first and foremost about the reader. It’s about communicating technical things to people, who may or may not be technically inclined. It’s about simplifying the complex. It’s about writing clear and concise documentation which addresses the specific needs of your readers.

I teach technical writing workshops for Google and this workbook is an adaptation and extension of that two-day course.

This workbook is split into two parts and is designed for beginners and intermediate writers. Core concepts are reinforced with quizzes and writing exercises. Take your time. Practice, and enjoy the learning journey.

You will learn how to:

•  Use terminology—including abbreviations and acronyms—consistently.
•  Recognize ambiguous pronouns.
•  Confidently use active voice and not passive voice in technical writing 
•  Write short and concise sentences
•  Effectively use the appropriate type of list in your writing
• Write compelling paragraphs
• Work with long complex documents
• Define who your audience is and what are their needs
• Write with diversity and  inclusivity in mind
• Start using markdown, the text-to-HTML language for web writers
• Illustrations in documentation
• Write a first and second draft
• Edit & revise your writing
• Organise large documents
• Create useful, clear & concise code samples
• Write tutorials

…and lots more