Perhaps the most obtuse way of explaining what a technical writer is to say
that the profession is misnamed; the real description should be
non-technical
writer
. In other words, a person who turns technical text into non-technical
information.
The US Department of Labor Statistics (DLS) have the following definition of
the writing and editing occupations:
"
Writers and editors communicate through the written word. Writers and
editors generally fall into one of three categories. Writers and authors
develop original fiction and nonfiction for books, magazines and trade
journals, newspapers, online publications, company newsletters, radio and
television broadcasts, motion pictures, and advertisements.
Technical writers
develop scientific or technical materials, such as scientific and
medical reports, equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance
instructions. They also may assist in layout work. Editors select and
prepare material for publication or broadcast and review and prepare a
writer's work for publication or dissemination.
"
The complete definition is available at the
DLS
Web Site
.
It is often incorrectly claimed that the technical writing profession emerged
in the 1980s, when the need for software documentation started to mushroom. In
fact, the profession was alive and well in Australia 40 years earlier, creating
aircraft manuals, engineering equipment manuals, and other instructions, books,
lists and guides. In the UK, the Institute of Scientific and Technical
Communicators (ISTC)
was founded in the early 1950s. Shortly after that, the forerunners of the
American Society for Technical Communication (STC)
were founded. Although the majority of technical writers are now employed within
the broader information technology industry, there are still plenty of
engineering technical writers and technical illustrators producing manuals for
planes, trains, trams, ships and automobiles.
A
Californian
Government occupation guide
helps define the role of the technical writer
further.
"Technical Writers create communication from product developers to
users of the products. Users include consumers as well as scientists,
engineers, plant executives, line workers, and production managers. Writers
must write in a concise and easy-to-read manner for consumer publications or
in highly specialized language for experts. With the increased use of desktop
publishing, Technical Writers increasingly are responsible for the publication
process including graphics, layout, and document design.
"
Technical Writers produce product instructions, reference and maintenance
manuals, articles, project proposals, training materials, technical reports,
catalogs, brochures, on-line documentation and help systems, Web pages,
multimedia presentations, parts lists, assembly instructions, and sales
promotion materials.
"
Perhaps the following explanation sums it all up. It is grand in its
simplicity.
"
A technical writer is a person whose job it is to get the right
information to the right reader at the right time at the right cost.
"
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