Engineers are basically very technical people who believe that they are not good writers. See, every engineer should understand that they are writing their thoughts and ideas for documentation and not to impress anyone and this is the only key for any successful documentation.
On the other hand, technical writing is often understood as a way to communicate complex information in easy to understand language and it is not only limited to scientific journals, instructions and policies. Engineers are often asked to write about technology and this task becomes daunting for them. After all, they are not trained to write.
But when it comes to writing, they have some advantages also like they are very detail oriented, demanding and bright. They always want to know why and how something works, but the only challenge they face in communication and writing skills. But don’t worry, you can solve this problem by following some simple and basic rules of writing.
So, here is the good news and that is you can make your technical writing easier for anyone to understand by just following these simple rules:
1. Always write in plain language
The first and the most important tip for engineers is that always try to write in plain language and keep in mind that you are writing for a particular audience. With this, think clearly and make concise communication, keeping in mind the audience’s level of knowledge.
2. Know your audience
Another important tip for engineers is that always know your audience before writing so that your document can serve the purpose of your readers. You can assume what will happen if you have written your document for engineers and it was intended for lay people. It will be of no use to them.
3. Always be concise
One of the most important tip for engineers is that, they should always try to be concise while writing. Therefore, try to use simple and short sentences. Especially when it comes to technical topics, readers can easily lose their way in long sentences.
4. Always avoid using first person
Another important tip for engineers is that they should always avoid using first person words in their document. First person words are like I and we are discouraged as it seems to be informal writing.
5. Always avoid using big words
Another very useful tip for engineers is that they should avoid using too big words in their writing and instead try to use small words. Further you can also use simple, basic and straight forward English and mind it your readers will love it.
6. Try to use active voice
This is one of the most important points for writers which includes the concept of active voice. Basically, active voice is something who is performing an action, instead of having an action performed on them. Further, it also uses very less words as compared to passive voice and also don’t leave your readers wondering to understand your text.
7. Always try to use visuals
You can always try to add some visuals in your text as we all know that a single image can represent more than 1000 words. Basically, graphics and images can enhance your text to a great extent. It can make your document more attractive and effective. Further, it is also said that we remember more what we see rather than what we read.
8. Be specific
The next important tip for engineers is that they should be very specific while writing. For this, you can eliminate words that do not provide any real of specific information to your reader. These types of unwanted words can decrease the value of your content. You can provide some useful facts rather than using these words.
9. Always breakup writing inshort sentences
Last but not the least tip for engineers to improve their technical writing skills is that they can always break their long sentences into small ones. This will be more understandable by their readers. Further, long and unbroken sentences can bore your readers very easily. So, break your content into small sentences which are easier to read and understand. Small sentences are also easy to grasp as compared to the long ones.
Therefore, the above explained are some of the tips for engineers to which will help them to improve their writing skills to a great extent.
About the Author –
Jason is a creative designer and writer, spends his time in content development. He is working for an essay help company from last 2 year and guides their developer to fulfil their client’s needs effectively.
