Technical Writing in the Digital Age: Difference between revisions

Text editors are fundamental technical and digital writing tools, offering a platform for creating and manipulating plain text files. They are indispensable for programming tasks, providing syntax highlighting and code folding features. Text editors are commonly used to write code, markup languages (HTML, XML, Markdown), and edit configuration files.{{sfn|Godson|p=37-41}} Notable examples include [https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/windows-notepad/9MSMLRH6LZF3?hl=en-US&gl=US Notepad] (Windows), [https://support.apple.com/guide/textedit/welcome/mac TextEdit] (macOS), and [https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ Notepad++]. Whether for programmers, writers, or system administrators, text editors play a crucial role in content creation and technical work.

Technical writing encompasses various genres and styles, influenced by the information and discourse communities. Not all technical documents are produced by technical writers, as professionals produce various technical documents.{{sfn|Lannon|Gurak|2020|p=32}}  

Common types of technical communication include:{{sfn|Mussack|2021}}

Case studies are a form of empirical or observational research that consists of in-depth examination of distinct individuals, groups, events, or scenarios. This research can be used to generate qualitative or quantitative data.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|pp=401-404}}

A data sheet, also known as a technical datasheet, is a document used to describe and summarize the characteristics of a product, material, component, or technology.{{sfn|IDA|2020|p=}}

Descriptions are concise explanations of procedures and processes that assist readers in understanding how something works. Product descriptions and process descriptions are the two main types of technical descriptions.{{sfn|Lannon|Gurak|2020|pp=443-453}}

*Process: provides step-by-step instructions on how to perform a particular task or achieve a specific outcome.

Documentation comprises various texts that allow users to accomplish tasks or gain information. It generally falls into three categories, which can be defined as follows:

* Instructions: Text that describes how to complete a task, often offering numbered steps. Examples include how to download software or assemble a product.{{sfn|Balzotti|2022|p=167}}

* Procedures and Protocols: Guidelines to ensure consistency, quality, and safety in the workplace. For example, a hospital may provide staff with procedures on how to adapt operations during an emergency, such as a power outage.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|p=205}}

Emails are the primary form of communication in the workplace, used for both internal and external communication. They facilitate information exchange, idea exchange, and activity coordination.{{sfn|Lannon|Gurak|2020|p=335}} Emails should be brief, concise, readable, and targeted to specific audiences with specific subject lines.{{sfn|Lannon|Gurak|2020|p=348}}

Letters are a traditional form of communication most often used by employees to communicate with individuals outside of a company or organization. They are typically written on company letterhead. Today, letters are sent either by U.S. mail or electronically.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|p=139}}

A memo (short for memorandum) is an official communication, usually a message from the company, a manager or director, or another person or group acting in an official capacity, used to communicate with others within the same organization.{{sfn|Lannon|Gurak|2020|p=353}}

A press release can be an announcement or recent news that is distributed to media outlets from a company, with intentions on spreading the information to the general public. A press release can be called a press-statement, news release or media release.{{sfn|Pradhan|2021}}

A proposal is a document that identifies an existing problem or opportunity and outlines a comprehensive strategy for addressing it. Organizations create ''internal'' proposals to describe programs and projects that meet specific operational needs, such as a plan to replace an outdated software system. Companies develop ''external'' proposals for potential customers or clients. These documents detail new products, services, or initiatives that a company will implement to address a specific customer concern.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|p=245}}

A report is a concise, easily understandable document that presents technical information in a clear, organized format, allowing readers to access varying levels of information. Reports are categorized as informal, such as briefs, and formal, such as research, scientific, and completion reports.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|loc=chpt 10 & 11}}

Informal or brief reports provide an objective overview of an organization's current state, past events, and future plans, ensuring that readers are well-informed about the organization's operations. Some examples include{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|pp=285-288}}:

* Laboratory Reports describe experiments, tests, or inspections.

A formal report is a factual and data-driven response to a research question.

* Research reports present the findings of a study.  

* Completion reports assess the outcomes of a project or initiative and provide feedback to management or the client.

Resumes offer an overview of an individual’s educational credentials and professional experience and often are used to demonstrate an applicant’s qualifications to potential employers.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|p=100}} They may be organized in various ways, but two common approaches are chronologically and by skills.  

Skills resumes provide employment history, but the primary focus is to highlight how an individual applied distinct skills and experiences across various professional positions.{{sfn|Markel|Selber|2019|pp=411-412}}

A user guide is an instructional manual created to help consumers use the product, service or system. A user guide typically includes step-by-step instructions.{{Sfn|Wainaina|2022}}

SEO refers to the practice of optimizing online content to enhance its visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs), making it a crucial skill for digital writers.{{sfn|Lucas|2023b}} To optimize content for SEO means to have the goal of SEO in mind at the time of designing, creating, and writing a web page for publication. Using keywords and alt-text are two examples of optimizing content for SEO.{{sfn|Barr|2010|loc=chpt. 17}}

Keywords are the words that search engines crawl a website for and index as the page's most important words. Based on other pages using the same keywords, the website is added into the search engine results pages from best matches to worst matches. The position of a website in search results is influenced by where it ranks on a scale determined by the keywords that a user searches for.{{sfn|Lucas|2023b}} To optimize a website's keywords, you should begin with researching keywords on your own website and ensure that you have an XML [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitemaps sitemap] so search engines such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google Google] can crawl your web pages for updated information. In addition to using keywords, updating a page's metadata information can also help with showing up on SERPs. Using title and header tags as well as meta descriptions for content also helps optimize a website's ratings in SERPs.{{sfn|Lucas|2023b}}

Alt-Text (alternative text), or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt_attribute Alt Attributes], is a practice that increases the usability and accessibility of a web page for users. Alt-Text is often used for visual elements that cannot be displayed in a different format but still provides description of the element for screen readers or users that may have a disability. Alt-Text also improves a website's SEO as a form of content optimization.{{sfn|Lucas|2023b}}

Sharing content from a website across different social media platforms is another way to create SEO optimization. This technique can help with being seen as legitimate and improves visibility of the website overall. Additionally, it can drive traffic and enables back-linking to occur when other websites have the ability to also link to the website.{{sfn|Lucas|2023b}}

A user of search engines formulates queries by using keywords or posing questions. One of the most important elements of building an SEO strategy for a website is developing a thorough understanding of the psychology of your target audience and how they use words and concepts to obtain information about the services and/or products you provide. Once you understand how the average search engine user—and, more specifically, your target audience—utilizes query-based search engines, you can more effectively reach and keep those users.{{sfn|Enge|Spencer|Stricchiola|2022|p=9}}

Digital documentation is the conversion of physical documents into digital files, enabling easier access, retrieval, and sharing of information. It includes features like searchability, version control, and security measures to ensure data integrity and confidentiality.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Digital documents exist in electronic formats, which means they are stored and transmitted as binary data. This format allows for efficient storage, retrieval, and transmission of information via electronic devices.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}} Digital documentation is the only method to meet a critical challenge of the relatively new concept of "knowledge management" that applies to all organizations. A digital knowledge management system is crucial to an organization so everyone can access information created by employees who are no longer with the organization or to allow cross-referencing with other seemingly unrelated departments.{{sfn|IBM}}

Unlike paper documents, digital documents lack physical presence. They are intangible and exist as electronic files, residing on devices or in the cloud.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Website content should be designed in accordance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure that individuals with disabilities are able to access the same information as those without disabilities.{{sfn|WAI|2022}} It is a legal requirement to include accessibility features in website design.{{sfn|WCAG|2023}} It is also ethically imperative to make sure there is accessibility in digital writing. There are four different types of impairment that can affect how a user interacts and perceives digital documents: vision, mobility, auditory, and cognitive.{{sfn|Robbins|2018|p=42}} Digital documents will need to be optimized so that information can be accessed by hardware and software tools used by people with disabilities.{{sfn|Barr|2010|pp=103-104}} Accessibility broadens the reach of digital content and reaches a wider audience. This is important for technical writers, as their documentation and instructions are critical resources for users of varied abilities.{{Citation needed}}  

Digital documents rely on the "Seven Cs" of precise writing to be effective and increase readability. Forms of technical writing must have readability. Readability is a term used to determine whether the content has clarity, conciseness and courtesy.{{sfn|Zeleznik|Burnett|Benson|1999|p=207}} The other four Cs are coherent, concrete, correct and complete.{{sfn|Last|2019}}

A document's scannability is determined by the ease in which it can be scanned to determine meaning. Readers often scan pages for words and phrases that align with their task or interests, as well as for trigger words that are deeply ingrained.{{sfn|Krug|2014|p=23}} The most effective web content is concise and simple to scan, making it easy for users to find the important information. Breaking up text into interesting, easy-to-read sections helps users quickly find information.{{sfn|Barr|2010|p=103}} Ways to improve a document's scannability include implementing visual elements, white space, concise language, highlighting, and emphasis.{{Citation needed}}

Digital documents are easily copied and distributed. They can be duplicated without any loss of quality, making it simple to share information widely and at minimal cost.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Hyperlinking is a quick and efficient method for directing readers to relevant information in digital documents, facilitating seamless navigation between sections, references, and external resources.{{sfn|Carroll|2010|p=79}}

Digital documents can incorporate multimedia elements like images, audio, video, and interactive content, enhancing engagement through visual and auditory elements. Multiple media formats work best when sharing new, complicated ideas.{{sfn|Carroll|2010|p=36}} Increasing multimodality on a website improves engagement, usability, and accessibility. This can improve the impact of the website's standings in SERPs.{{sfn|Carroll|2010|p=280}}

Version control is a characteristic of digital documents that allows for the tracking of edits and revisions to digital documents. In collaborative writing, version control helps maintain the document with accountability and transparency.{{sfn|Lucas|2023d}}

One form of collaborative technical writing is a wiki, which is a "website developed collaboratively by a community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content."{{sfn|Lucas|2021}} One of the predominant elements of a wiki is that it is defined as being open source. As a result, anyone can modify it regardless of their geographic locations.

Digital documents can be protected with encryption, passwords, and access controls to safeguard sensitive information. These security measures enhance data protection and privacy.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Digital documents have a smaller environmental footprint compared to paper documents, as they reduce the need for paper production, printing, and transportation.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Online digital documents can be updated dynamically, ensuring that users always have access to the most current information. This is particularly valuable in fast-changing fields.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Digital documents can be shared globally, transcending geographical boundaries and time zones. They support international collaboration and the dissemination of knowledge on a global scale.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

In business and research settings, digital documents can integrate with databases and data analysis tools. This integration streamlines data collection, analysis, and reporting processes.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

Digital documents can be subjected to data analytics techniques, allowing organizations to extract valuable insights from large volumes of textual data, which can inform decision-making and strategy.{{sfn|Lucas|2023c}}

In technical and professional writing, digital documentation takes various forms. These methods streamline the sharing of technical information, enhance collaboration, and ensure easy accessibility within professional settings, contributing to efficient communication and knowledge dissemination.{{Citation needed}}

Infographics, shared as digital documents, typically combine text, graphics, and illustrations to convey complex concepts or data in a concise and visually appealing format. Infographics are often used to simplify information, making it more accessible to a broader audience, and are found in presentations, reports, websites, and educational materials.{{sfn|Lannon|Gurak|2020|pp=292-293}}

Presentations created with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint PowerPoint] or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Slides Google Slides] are vital for professional communication and knowledge sharing. They condense complex information into visually appealing slides for effective presentations by using photos, videos, graphics, charts, and graphs.{{sfn|Parkinson|2018|loc=chpt. 4}}

A blog, short for "weblog," is an informational website organized into short articles called posts, typically chronologically ordered series of website updates, written and organized similar to a traditional diary.{{sfn|Bair|2014|p=7}} They are regularly updated, providing readers with insights on a specific topic or subject. Blogs serve various purposes, including sharing opinions, providing news, offering educational content, and documenting personal experiences.{{sfn|Rose|Garret|2012|p=2}}

Forums are an example of a digital document that allows users to seek and provide information within a community. Forums are gathering information points users provide instead of technical writers. Companies can utilize forums as part of their technical communication with consumers in the digital environment, expanding past the traditional technical communication of a user manual.{{sfn|Ellingson, Marissa|2014}}

User experience (UX) is how a product works and is experienced from the perspective of the user. By creating a positive experience for users, technical writers can ensure that the intended message is effectively communicated and retained. Digital documents can be created with efficient user experiences by practicing several design methods, including information architecture, responsive design, usability, and user-centered design. {{Citation needed}}  

User-centered design (UCD) is implemented by considering the user and their needs throughout the entire development of a product.{{sfn|Garrett|2011|p=17}} The approach of UCD in technical writing consists of the following methodologies:{{sfn|Lucas|2023e}}

* Maintenance and updates: to maintain a digital document based on user feedback and changing needs

To ensure a digital document has effective UX design and accessible information, technical writers need to construct a clear and organized information architecture (IA). IA is a design principle that organizes information so that it is easily found and understood by users, prioritizing their needs and reducing information overload. A design challenge is making IA understood across multiple digital experiences, changing the navigation structure to fit different medias while staying logical and consistent for the user.{{sfn|Rosenfeld|Morville|Arango|2006|pp=1, 17-18}} IA that is not constructed well can confuse the user and could cause them to give up their search of information in frustration.{{sfn|Garrand|2006|p=12}}   

*Searching systems: how users search for specific information

Responsive design is a strategy that appropriately updates the layout and content of a website or document in relation to the screen size, device, and/or orientation, allowing the site or document to be easily viewed and navigated regardless of device used. With the increased use of mobile devices, web content should be constructed with proper responsive web design (RWD) to ensure effective UX and usability on those devices.{{sfn|Robbins|2018|p=485}}   

*Content hierarchy: Carefully constructing content that is organized for the user and creating a hierarchy of content that prioritizes user needs is necessary to ensure effective user experience and navigation across multiple screen sizes.{{sfn|Robbins|2018|p=499}}

Technical writers must create documents and websites that meet the expectations of their readers and users, and in doing so, writers increase the usability of their site or document.{{sfn|Garrand|2006|p=26}} Usability consultant Steve Krug considers the most important rule for ensuring a site or document is usable is by making pages self-evident and allowing the user not to have to think about actions.{{sfn|Krug|2014|pp=11-18 }} A website that is well designed for usability means that the users will not have any questions about the content or functions of the site. The site will have a clear hierarchy, use standard web design principles, have well-defined content areas, include noticeable and simple links, and will have limited distractions.{{sfn|Carroll|2010|p=69}}  

*Using clear and concise language and, when appropriate, visual aids

In technical workplaces, resolving ethical dilemmas will be part of one's job. Resources, time, and reputations are at stake, so one will feel pressure to overpromise, underdeliver, bend the rules, cook the numbers, or exaggerate results. Technical fields are also highly competitive, so people sometimes stretch a little further than they should. Ethical dilemmas can force one into situations in which all choices seem unsatisfactory.{{sfn|Johnson-Sheehan|2018|pp=71-84}}

Technical communicators have ethical standards to which they must abide. The standards are divided into three primary categories. They are the employer, the public, and the environment.{{sfn|Markel|2009}}

Obligations to one's employer include competence and diligence, honesty and candor, confidentiality, and loyalty.{{sfn|Markel|2009}} The technical communicator must adhere to these obligations so that he/she does not harm the reputation or operation of the employer.

Technical communicators may occasionally work for an organization with strict privacy policies that prohibit them from using the documents they create outside of the organization. It is important for ethical communicators to follow the privacy policy for their organization because unauthorized release of information could lead to consequences up to and including termination.{{sfn|Balzotti|2022|p=83}}

Organizations are obligated to treat customers fairly. Technical communicators must convey that the products or services an organization sells are safe and effective.{{sfn|Markel|2009}}

Technical communicators have an obligation to the environment. This obligation includes alerting their supervisors, managers, and executive leadership to products or processes that are detrimental to the environment. Protecting the environment can be costly, however, and organizations may consider ignoring legal guidelines to save money.{{sfn|Markel|2009}} Yet, failure to adhere to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations also has financial implications. For example, the penalty for mishandling hazardous waste is five years and/or up to $50,000 for each day of the violation.{{sfn|Environmental Protection Agency|2023}}

One major ethical concern in all forms of writing, but especially in digital writing, is the creation and spread of disinformation. Disinformation, often referred to as "[[w:Fake news|fake news]]," is information that is purposefully spread as false or misleading and is a sub-type of misinformation.{{sfn|Lawrence|2022|loc=section 3.7}} Modern communication technologies allow for the spread of information to occur at a fast pace. Social media is one area where the spread of disinformation occurs regularly.  

To help mitigate the problem of disinformation, technical writers should utilize gatekeepers. These individuals verify the accuracy of the information before it is distributed to primary readers. This helps protect the author from any ethical and/or legal issues.{{sfn|Balzotti|2022|p=83}}

Informal writing, such as some emailing, instant messaging, and texting, has crept into academic writing. In a study conducted by the Pew Internet & America Life Project, almost half of the respondents admitted to omitting proper punctuation and capitalization in their schoolwork. Others even used emoticons. Colleges and universities must now educate students on the different forms of written communication, and when best to employ them.{{sfn|Carroll|2010|p=20}}

Best practices for tone, grammar, and style can vary depending on the form of media (auditory, visual, print, etc.), and many digital writings will combine two or more of these media formats. Students of technical writing may be taught specific techniques for different types of media in order to become proficient multimedia writers.{{sfn|Garrand|2006|p=23}}

Breaking and building is a method of teaching effective writing that can be applied to technical and digital formats. It asks students to curate collections of digital media by comparing and contrasting ("building"), and also to critically analyze these collections and attempt to reason out the decisions behind them ("breaking").{{sfn|Coco|Torres|2014|p=175}} Each process has a set of targeted learning outcomes. Learning outcomes for "building" include making and reflecting on choices to find, group, present, and compile digital content. Learning outcomes for "breaking" include identifying and critiquing decisions in curating existing digital content, such as where the content originated, how it is grouped, and how it is presented.{{sfn|Coco|Torres|2014|pp=178-179}}

Between 2022 and 2032, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Labor_Statistics, United States Bureau of Labor Statistics] is projecting a 7% job growth for technical writers.{{sfn|United States Bureau of Labor Statistics|2023}} To be relevant as a technical writer in the digital age, one must possess the skills of conducting in-depth research, critical thinking, being detail oriented, design, and technical expertise. To succeed at communicating the complex to specific audiences, the technical writer must understand much of the subject in its complexity. This is accomplished through possessing the skills of communication, collaboration, and teamwork.{{sfn|Fechter|2023}}

Barriers to teaching technical communications include the speed at which digital tools evolve, the complexity of software,{{sfn|Hovde|Renguette|2017|pp=395-411}} and the dependency on input information accuracy. Outdated, incorrect, or inconsistent data delays the publication, requires more reparative efforts, and decreases productivity.{{sfn|Ajose-Coker|2022}} Also, technical writers often have to contend with complex, outdated or unsuitable tools. This can make their job more difficult and time-consuming, and can lead to frustration and errors.{{sfn|Ajose-Coker|2022}}

Artificial intelligence programs, utilizing natural language processing, are capable of producing technical writing and have advanced in recent years becoming more adept.{{sfn|Marr|2023}}

One such program is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT ChatGPT], which uses machine learning to produce texts with human-like style and tone.{{sfn|University of Central Arkansas|2023}} Another leader in this area, Contentbot, uses a WordPress plugin which gives blog writers ideas to enhance their posts which are shared via email.{{sfn|Siddiqui|2022}}

Because of the ability of chatbots to imitate human-like language, some education administrators have taken precautions to minimize the occurrence of students passing off artificially generated texts as their own. In some instances, educators have taken the view that material drawn from artificial intelligence software must be handled in the same way as sources from human authors.{{sfn|Klein|2023}} In such cases, students who incorporate artificially generated text into their work have been made to denote credit for the artificial intelligence program utilized.

The advent of chatbots has complicated the issue of credit where creative work is concerned. Because chatbots can simulate human speech, their ability to create cinematic dialogues and other types of creative writing have threatened the credits and financial condition of professional writers. According to an article by Aaron Mok and Jacob Zinkula on ''[https://www.businessinsider.com/ Business Insider]'', writing jobs are among the top 10 roles that AI is most likely to replace.{{sfn|Mok|2023}}

{{Reflist}}