final notes on tech wrtng

8/11/2019 Final Notes on Tech Wrtng

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Unit 1. Introduction to Technical Writing

1.1 Introduction

What is Technical Writing?

Taking complicated subject matter and transforming it into easy-to-

understand information for the reader.

Technical writing is done in the workplace and centers on technical topics.

Technical writing has uniue characteristics and has specific audiences.

Technical communicationis a method of researching and creating information about

technical processes or products directed to an audience through media. The information

must be relevant to the intended audience. Technical communicators often workcollaboratively to create products (deliverables) for various media, including paper,

video, and the Internet. Deliverables include online help, user manuals, technical

manuals, white papers, specifications, process and procedure manuals, industrial videos,reference cards, data sheets, journal articles, patents, training, business papers, technical

reports, and forms and documents.

Technical domains can be of any kind, including the soft and hard sciences, high

technology including computers and software, consumer electronics, and businessprocesses and practices.

!oalThe goal of technical writingis to enable readers to use a technology or understand aprocess or concept. ecause the subject matter is more important than the writer!s voice,

technical writing style uses an objective, not a subjective, tone. The writing style is direct

and utilitarian, emphasi"ing e#actness and clarity rather than elegance or allusiveness. $technical writer uses figurative language only when a figure of speech would facilitate

understanding.%

(&erald '. $lred, et al.,Handbook of Technical Writing. edfordt. *artin!s, +-)

ere are the main characteristics oftechnical writing/

"urpose#&etting something done within an organi"ation (completing a project,persuading a customer, pleasing your boss, etc.)

$our knowledge of topic#0sually greater than that of the reader.

%udience#1ften several people, with differing technical backgrounds.


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&riteria for '(aluation#2lear and simple organi"ation of ideas, in a format that meets

the needs of busy readers.

)tatistical and graphic support#3re4uently used to e#plain e#isting conditions and topresent alternative courses of action.

&ontent creation

Technical communication is sometimes considered a professional task for which

organi"ations either hire speciali"ed employees, or outsource their needs to

communication firms. 3or e#ample, a professional writer may work with a company toproduce a user manual. 1ther times, technical communication is regarded as a

responsibility that technical professionals employ on a daily basis as they work to convey

technical information to coworkers and clients. 3or e#ample, a computer scientist mayneed to provide software documentation to fellow programmers or clients.

The process of developing information products in technical communication begins byensuring that the nature of the audience and their need for information is clearly

identified. 3rom there the technical communicator researches and structures the contentinto a framework that can guide the detailed development. $s the information product is

created, the paramount goal is ensuring that the content can be clearly understood by the

intended audience and provides the information that the audience needs in the mostappropriate format. This process, known as the !5riting 6rocess!, has been a central focus

of writing theory since the 789s, and some contemporary te#tbook authors have applied

it to technical communication.

Technical communication is important to engineers mainly for the purpose of being

professional and accurate. These reports supply specific information in a concise mannerand are very clear in their meaning if done correctly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_process


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1.* T+' W,ITI-! ",&'))# %- /',/I'W

The process approach to writing re4uires the following

se4uence/

Prewrite-Before you can write your technical document, you

must have something to say. 6rewriting allows you to spend4uality time,prior to writing the correspondence, generating

information. In prewriting, you :#amine your purposes

Determine your goals

2onsider your audience

&ather your data

Determine how the content will be provided

2. Write-Once you have gathered your data and determined

your objectives, the ne#t step is to state them. ;ou need to draft

your document. To do so, you should (a) organize the draftaccording to some logical se4uence that your readers can follow

easily and (b)format the content to allow for ease of access.

< . Rewrite-The final step, and one that is essential to

successful writing, is to rewrite your draft. This step re4uiresthat you revise the rough draft. =evision allows you to perfect

your memo, letter, or report so you can be proud of your final


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product.

The writing process is dynamic, with the three parts > pre writing, and rewriting>often

occurring simultaneously.

",'W,ITI-!

6rewriting, the first stage of the process, allows you to plan your communication. If you

do not know where you are going in the correspondence, you will never get there, and

your audience will not get there with you. Through prewriting, you accomplish manyobjectives, including

:#amining your purposes

Determining your goals

2onsidering your audience

&athering your data

Determining how the content will be provided

'0amine $our "urposes

efore you write the document, you need to know why you are communicating. $re you

planning to write because you have chosen to do so of your own accord or because you

have been asked to do so by someone else? In other words, is your motivation external orinternal?

External Motivation

If someone else has re4uested the correspondence, then your motivation is e#ternal. ;our

boss, for e#ample, e#pects you to write a monthly status report, a performance appraisal

of your subordinate, or a memo suggesting solutions to a current problem. 6erhaps avendor has re4uested that you write a letter documenting due dates, or a customer asks

that you respond to a letter of complaint. In all of these instances, someone else has asked

you to communicate.

Internal Motivation

If you have decided to write on your own accord, then your motivation is internal. ;ou

need information to perform your job more effectively, so you write a letter of in4uiry.;ou need to meet with colleagues to plan a job, so you write an e>mail message calling a

meeting and setting an agenda. 6erhaps you recogni"e a problem in your workenvironment, so you create a 4uestionnaire and transmit it via the company intranet.

Then, analy"ing your findings, you call a meeting to report your findings. In all of theseinstances, you initiate the communication.

etermine $our !oals

1nce you have e#amined why you are planning to communicate, the ne#t step is to


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determine your goals in the correspondence or presentation. ;ou might be

communicating to

6ersuade an audience to accept your point of view

Instruct an audience by directing actions

Inform an audience of facts, concerns, or 4uestions you might have

uild trust and rapport by managing work relationshipsThese goals can overlap, of course. ;ou might want to inform by providing an

instruction. ;ou might want to persuade by informing. ;ou might want to build trust bypersuading. till, it is worthwhile looking at each of these goals individually to clarify

their distinctions.

&ommunicating to "ersuade

If your goal in writing is to change others! opinions or a company!s policies, you need to

be persuasive. 3or e#ample, you might want to write a proposal, a brochure, or a flier tosell a product or a service. *aybe you will write your annual progress report to justify a

raise or a promotion. $s a customer, you might want to write a letter of complaint about

poor service. ;our goal in each of these cases is to persuade an audience to accept yourpoint of view.

&ommunicating to Instruct

Instructions will play a large role in your technical communication activities. $s a

manager, for e#ample, you often will need to direct action. ;our job demands that you

tell employees under your supervision what to do. ;ou might need to write an e>mailproviding instructions for correctly following procedures. These could include steps for

filling out employee forms, researching documents in your company!s intranet data bank,

using new software, or writing reports according to the company!s new standards.

$s an employee, you also will provide instructions. $s a computer information specialist,maybe you work the 7>@ hotline for customer concerns. 5hen a customer calls about

his computer!s crisis, your job would be to give instructions for correcting the problem.

;ou either will provide a written instruction in a follow>up e>mail or a verbal instructionwhile on the phone.

&ommunicating to Inform

1ften, you will write letters, reports, and e>mails merely to inform. In an e>mail message,

for instance, you may invite your staff to an upcoming meeting. $ trip report will informyour supervisor what conference presentations you attended or what your prospective

client!s needs are. $ letter of in4uiry will inform a vendor about 4uestions you might haveregarding her services. *aybe you will be asked to write a newsletter informing your

coworkers about the corporate picnic, personnel birthdays, or new stock options availableto employees. In these situations, your goal is not to instruct or persuade. Instead, you

will share information objectively.

&ommunicating to 2uild Trust


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uilding rapport (empathy, understanding, connection, and confidence) is a very

important component of your communication challenge. $s a manager or employee, your

job is not merely to %dump data% in your written communication. ;ou also need to reali"ethat you are communicating with coworkers, people with whom you will work every day.

To maintain a successful work environment, you want to achieve the correct, positive

tone in your writing.This might re4uire nothing more than saying %Thanks for the information,% or %;ou!ve

done a great job reporting your findings.% $ positive tone shows approval for work

accomplished and recognition of the audience!s time.=ecogni"ing the goals for your correspondence makes a difference. Determining your

goals allows you to provide the appropriate tone and scope of detail in your

communication. In contrast, failure to assess your goals can cause communication

breakdowns.

&onsider $our %udience

5hat you say and how you say it is greatly determined by your audience. $re youwriting up to management, down to subordinates, or laterally to coworkers? $re you

speaking to a high>tech audience (e#perts in your field), a low>tech audience (people with

some knowledge about your field), or a lay audience (people outside your workenvironment)? 3ace it>you will not write the same way to your boss as you would to your

subordinates. ;ou will not speak the same way to a customer as you would to a team

member. ;ou must provide different information to a multicultural audience than you

would to individuals with the same language and cultural e#pectations. ;ou mustconsider issues of diversity when you communicate.

!ather $our ata

1nce you know why you are writing and who your audience is, the ne#t step is decidingwhat to say. ;ou have to gather data. The page remains blank until you fill it with

content. ;our communication, therefore, will consider personnel, dates, actions re4uired,

locations, costs, methods for implementing suggestions, and so forth. $s the writer, it is

your obligation to flesh out the detail. $fter all, until you tell your readers what you wantto tell them, they do not know.

There are many ways to gather data. These planning techni4ues include/

$nswering the reporter!s 4uestions

*ind mapping

rainstorming or listing

1utlining

toryboarding

2reating organi"ation charts

3lowcharting


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,'W,ITI-!

=ewriting lets youperfect your writing. $fter you have prewritten and written your draft,your final step is to rewrite. There are no good writers, only good rewriters. 6eople who

write effective documents know that doing so re4uires a second or third write. &ood

writers fine>tune, hone, sculpt, and polish their drafts to make sure their final versions areperfect. To rewrite, you need to revise revise and revise again. =evision re4uires that

you look over your draft and do the following/

!dd any missing detail for clarity.

"elete dead words and phrases for conciseness.

#implif$unnecessarily comple# words and phrases to allow for easier

understanding.

%ove around information (cut and paste) to ensure that your most important ideas

are emphasi"ed.

&eformat (using highlighting techni4ues) to ensure reader>friendly ease of access.

'nhance the tone and style of the te#t.

(orrect any errors to ensure accurate grammar and content.

.

=evision is possibly the most important stage in the writing process. If you pre>writeeffectively (gathering your data, determining your objectives, and recogni"ing your

audience) and write an effective draft, you are off to a great start. owever, if you then

fail to rewrite your te#t, you run the risk of having wasted the time you spent prewritingand writing. =ewriting is the stage in which you make sure that everything is just right.

3ailure to do so not only can cause confusion for your readers but also can destroy your

credibility.

1.5 26'&TI/') I T'&+I&%7 W,ITI!

Technical Writing

Technical writing encompasses design documentation, user guides, reference and

installation manuals, help desk sheets, tutorials, online documentation and any contentwhich is technical in nature. 5ith the emergence of increasingly varied users, audiences

and customers of technical material and content, the roles of technical writers are being

redefined accordingly. Therefore, technical writers need to keep some key objectives in

mind to produce precise, compelling and succinct technical communication material.

In technical writing, the purpose of training and support the goal would be to provide

support to customers for the software application. The audience is taken into account in

deciding what to say and how.

26'&TI/') I T'&+I&%7 W,ITI!


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The five objectives of technical writing are/

7. &larity.

+. &onciseness.


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)ubseuent later

"ursuant to after

)upersede replace

,emittance pay

isclose show

+. &onciseness.

The second main objective of a writer is the brevity the information using fewer words

saves time. 2oncise writing can aid comprehension. 2onciseness makes your writing

more appealing to the readers. If the readers can read your correspondence easily, theyread it with more interest and involvement. The technology is constantly being updated

and a space for display of information is becoming smaller. Thus when you write, you

need to consider the way in which technology limits your space and accordingly cater tothe needs of the audience.

To save your writerCs time/

Eimit paragraph length

Eimit word and sentence length

$void a high fog inde#

$void shun words $void camouflaged words

$void the e#pletive pattern

1mit redundancies

$void wordy phrases

ere are some e#amples of wordy phrases and their concise revisions.

Wordy phrases &oncise ,e(isions

In order to purchase to buy

$t a rapid rate fast

It is evident that evidently

5ith regard to about


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In the first place first

$ great number of times often

Despite the fact that although

$m in receipt of received

6lease find enclosed enclosed is

Due to the fact that because

Is of the opinion that thinks

$s soon as possible by 77/ then you have wasted your time and destroyed your credibility. To be effective,

your technical writing must be accurate. $ccuracy is very important for any technical

document. &rammar and spelling need to be verified thoroughly before sending thedocument. :rrors create a negative impression and sometimes can be disastrous in case of

figures, e4uations, scientific or medical data.

To avoid grammatical errors follow proofreading tips/

Eet someone else read it

=ead thoroughly for typographical errors

=ead one line at a time

=ead long words syllable by syllable

0se computer spell checks

2heck figures, scientific and technical e4uations, and abbreviations

=ead it aloud

0se a dictionary

A. rgani3ation.

If you are clear, concise, and accurate, but no one can follow your train of thought

because your te#t rambles, you still havenCt communicated effectively. uccessfultechnical writing also must be well organi"ed. Information should be logically placed on

the page so the reader can follow the thought of the writer. If a writer does not use the

organi"ation, then readers are not capable of understanding what is read. The information


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provided through the te#t should be properly arranged and organi"ed following a proper

order and logic.

To guide your reader, use organi"ational strategies/

patial / you would describe what you see as it appears in space> left to right, topto bottom, inside to outside, or clockwise.

2hronological / events arranged in the order of occurrence.

Importance / place the more important ideas above the less important ones.

2omparison2ontrast / the table, organi"ed according to comparisoncontrast,

helps the reader understand the distinctions

6roblemolution / you should emphasi"e the readersC need (their problem) and

show how your product is the solution.

B. 'thics. To be a responsible technical writer/

2heck your actions against legal, practical, and ethical concerns 3ollow strategies for making ethical decisions/ define the problem, determine

your audience, ma#imi"e values and minimi"e problems, consider the big picture,

and write your te#t.

:thical 6rinciples for Technical 2ommunicators

Eegality

onesty

2onfidentiality

Fuality

3airness

6rofessionalism

UIT-5 &,,')"'&'

5.1 8emos

5hen you write a memo in industry or for a class assignment, it is important to have your

audience and purpose clearly defined, because this will help you determine what

information to include.

&enerally memos follow a particular format, although your instructor or company mayre4uire you to use alternative formats.

Definition of a *emo

6urpose of a *emo

$udience $nalysis


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&eneral 3ormat

2ommon Types of *emos

efinition of a 8emo

$ memo is a document typically used for communication within a company. *emos canbe as formal as a business letter and used to present a report.

owever, the heading and overall tone make a memo different from a business letter.

ecause you generally send memos to co>workers and colleagues, you do not have to

include a formal salutation or closing remark.

"urpose of a 8emo

0sually you write memos to inform readers of specific information. ;ou might also write

a memo to persuade others to take action, give feedback on an issue, or react to asituation. owever, most memos communicate basic information, such as meeting timesor due dates.

5hile memos are a convenient channel to communicate, it is always necessary to

determine if a meeting is more appropriate. 3or e#ample, your team needs to make a veryimportant financial decision. $ memo can ask for that information from team members

and re4uest a response by a specific date.

y meeting with everyone, however, you not only get to hear final decisions but the

rationale behind them. In fact, new ideas may stem from face>to>face discussions. y

writing a memo in this scenario, you may never invent alternative ways of solving theproblem.

efore writing a memo, outline what your purpose is for doing so, and decide if the

memo is the best communication channel.

%udience %nalysis

The typical audience for a memo is your co>workers and colleagues. owever, in the age

of downsi"ing, outsourcing, and teleconferencing, you might also write memos to

employees from other companies working on the project, or other departments withinyour company.

This is why knowing your audience is very important when writing a memo. 3or

e#ample, if your audience is generally familiar with you professionally andor your rolein the project, it is not necessary to provide a detailed background about your purpose. If

they are new to the project, provide detailed background information so that they

understand the situation and can provide constructive feedback if desired.


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It is helpful, however, to inform readers about the conte#t. In other words, do not only

write that a meeting will take place by listing the date and time. Inform why the meeting

is occurring in the first place. $lso, do not assume that your readers have contactinformation. $lways include some way for them to get in touch with you and other

members of the team working on the project.

$s a student, you may have to write memos to your instructor or classmates. 5hen

composing academic memos, consider what this audience already knows about thesubject. 3or e#ample, if you are writing a memo for a paper, does your audience already

know what the paper is about? 5hat further information do they re4uire to provide

understanding?

5hen writing a memo, consider the audience!s knowledge of the topic and previous

e#perience, and draft your memo to take care of those needs.

!eneral 4ormat

5hen you write a memo, you will follow a general format. ;our instructor or company

may have specific re4uirements that you must use. 3or instance, a company might have aparticular way of presenting a heading or may even use a specific type of letterhead or

logo.

owever, usually a memo has a %to,% %from,% %subject,% and %date% entry.

eading

*essage

Tone

Eength 3ormat &uidelines

+eading

$ memo!s heading provides information about who will receive the memo, who is

sending the memo, the date, and the memo!s subject. This information may be bolded orhighlighted in some way. 3or e#ample/

T#

4,8#

%T'#

)U26'&T#
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3a.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3b.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3c.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3d.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3e.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3a.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3b.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3c.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3d.cfmhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/pop3e.cfm


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$dditionally, you might also initial your name in the %3=1*% line to indicate that you

gave the memo a final approval.

ometimes organi"ations specify how to fill out the headings. If you are unsure, it may bea good idea to include your job title and your reader!s. The memo will then be

informative to someone new to the situation, or someone who received the memo after itwas passed on from the original reader.

8essage

*emos are reproduced and e#changed rather freely, and it is common for a reader toreceive a memo that is only marginally relevant to him or her.

This is why it is important that the first sentence of the memo should answer that 4uestion

with a purpose statement. The best purpose statements are concise and direct.

;our memo!s message should also provide a conte#t for readers. In other words, alwaystell your readers why you are writing. 2onsider the following 4uestions/

Is your memo a result of a situation? 3or instance, %$s a result of yesterday!s

meeting...%

Is your memo a reminder? 3or e#ample, %The)roposalis due 'uly +.%

y providing conte#t for your readers, you avoid being asked to provide that informationlater. $lso, you should always include your contact information at the bottom of your

message. This can be your phone number or e>mail address.

3inally, consider how your memo looks. If you have nothing but paragraph afterparagraph of te#t, you might use lists to draw attention to specific information. Eistsrepresent an effective way to present information. Got only do they breakdown large

amounts of te#t, but they also provide te#t in a way that is visually pleasing. Eists are

especially useful for conveying steps, phases, years, procedures, or decisions. yavoiding full sentences in a list, your information is concise and more likely to engage

your readers. 3or e#ample/

%To receive a degree in engineering, you must complete the following/%

2ore 2ourses

:lective 2ourses enior Design

Eists can be bulleted, as in the e#ample, or numbered. Typically, you should use a

numbered list when you need to stress the order of the listed items.

Tone


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ince you typically send memos to those working within your company, you can use a

more informal tone than you would if you were writing a business letter.

3or e#ample, you might refer to your colleagues by their first names or use humor.owever, always keep in mind that you still need to be professional. $sk yourself how

the company!s president would react to your memo. If you would be embarrassed to havethe president read your memo, consider changing or eliminating information.

7ength

*emos are generally short, concise documents. owever, you may have to write longermemos, depending on your topic. 3or e#ample, a memo might present the new guidelines

for a specific office task.

1bviously, if you have over forty guidelines, the memo will be more than a page. ome

memos might even introduce a short report. In this case, you might include the report in

the memo, or the memo might be a separate document, introducing the report.

4ormat !uidelines

=egardless of the style, memos generally have similar format characteristics, unless

otherwise specified by your professor or company. Eisted below are some basicguidelines that can help you create a memo/

*emos have one>inch margins around the page and are on plain paper

$ll lines of the memo begin at the left margin

The te#t begins two spaces after the subject line

The body of the memo is single>spaced, with two spaces between paragraphs econd>page headings are used, as in business letters

The second page includes who the *emo is to, the page number, and the date

The sender usually signs the *emo using initials, first name, or complete name

&ommon Types of 8emos

:ach memo is written for a specific purpose to a specific audience. The purpose and

audience for your memo will help guide what type of memo you will write.

:ven though no two memos are identical, four common broad categories e#ist. If you areunsure about how to format your memo, ask your instructor or review memos your co>

workers have written.

Directive

=esponse to an In4uiry

Trip =eport

3ieldEab =eports


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irecti(e 8emo

$ directive memo states a policy or procedure you want the reader or co>worker tofollow. The length of the memo depends on how much space is re4uired to properly

e#plain the procedure.

The body of the memo should begin with a clear, concise sentence that states the purpose

of the memo. 3or e#ample/

%The purpose of this memo is to let all members of the $2 department know thatdoughnuts will be provided every 3riday morning at @ a.m.%

;ou then provide statements that e#plain the rationale for such a decision or procedure.

:#ample Directive *emo

'0ample irecti(e 8emo

MEMORANDUM

T# Design Team H


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The purpose of this memo is to provide the audience with desired information. It usually

has four parts/

purpose statement

summary

discussion action

egin this memo with a short paragraph stating the purpose, which is always to respond

to a re4uest for information. Ge#t, summari"e the information re4uested.

Third, in a discussion section, point out to the reader any important information that youfeel should be highlighted or stressed.

3inally, in the action section, state any additional action you are going to take or feel

should be taken to properly address the original re4uest for information.

:#ample =esponse *emo

'0ample ,esponse 8emo

MEMORANDUM

T# Design Team H


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summary

discussion

action

egin this memo with a short paragraph stating the purpose, which is always to provide

information on your trip.

Ge#t, summari"e the trip. =emember, the reader is usually not interested in a detailed

minute by minute account of what happened. Instead, take the time to write a clear andconcise outline of your trip.

Third, in a discussion section, point out to the reader any important information that you

feel should be highlighted or stressed.

3inally, in the action section, state any additional relevant information you have come

across since returning from the trip or any recommendations you might have for the

reader.

'0ample Trip ,eport 8emo

MEMORANDUM

T# Design Team H


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*emos are often used to report on inspection and procedures. These memos, known as

field or lab reports, include the problem, methods, results, and conclusions, but spend less

time on the methods section.

$ field or lab report memo has the following structure/

purpose of memo

summary

problem leading to the decision to perform the procedure

methods

results

conclusions

recommendations

'0ample 4ield97ab ,eports 8emo

MEMORANDUM

T# Dean of 'ournalism

4,8# teve Gash

%T'# 'une +9, +77

)U26'&T# 2omputer Eab

)*rpose+This memo presents the findings of my visit to the computer lab at

2lark 2+B+.

#*mmar$+In general, I felt that the lab needs much new e4uipment and

renovation.

)roblem+

The inspection was designed to determine if the present e4uipmentwas ade4uate to provide graduate students with the technology

needed to perform the tasks e#pected of them by their professors and

thesis research.

%ethods+I ran a series of tasks on 6 and 5ord6erfect and recorded

memory capacity and processing time for each task.

&es*lts+The inspection found that the hardware used to run the computers isoutdated and that the computers itself are very slow.

(oncl*sions+ This lab is inade4uate for the everyday needs of graduate students inthis department.

&ecommendations+3our new computers running on 5indows8@ and a processing speed

of at least +


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:.* '-8%I7 'TTI;U'TT'

It is ama"ing to find that in this day and age, some students and future employees havestill not reali"ed how important their email communications are. *any people send emailreplies late or not at all, or send replies that do not actually answer the 4uestions you

asked (of course, we are talking about formal e>mails). If you are able to deal

professionally with emails, this will provide you with an edge over others.

Why do you need email etiuette?

$(n) student(employee) needs to implement eti4uette rules for the following three

reasons/

"rofessionalism#y using proper email language, you will project a professionalimage.

'fficiency#:mails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly

worded emails.

"rotection from liability#:mployee awareness of employerCs rules while

sending emails will protect the employee and the employer from costly law suits.

What are the etiuette rules?

There are many eti4uette guides and many different eti4uette rules. ome rules will differaccording to the nature of your business and the corporate culture. elow is a list of the

empt further 4uestions


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7A. Do not overuse =eply to $ll

7B. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons

7-. e careful with formatting79. Take care with rich te#t and T*E messages

7@. Do not forward chain letters

78. Do not re4uest delivery and read receipts+. Do not ask to recall a message.

+7. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission

++. Do not use emails to discuss confidential information+mail can be very discouraging

to read.

*. %nswer all uestions< and pre-empt further uestions.

$n email reply must answer all 4uestions, and pre>empt further 4uestions J If you do notanswer all the 4uestions in the original email, you will receive further e>mails regarding

the unanswered 4uestions, which will not only waste your time and the recipientCs time

but also cause considerable frustration. *oreover, if you are able to pre>empt relevant4uestions, the recipient will be grateful and impressed with your efficient and thoughtful

work ethic.

5. Use proper spelling< grammar and punctuation.

This is not only important because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a

bad impression of you, it is also important for conveying the message properly. :>mailswith no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the

meaning of the te#t.

=. 8ake it personal.


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Got only should the e>mail be personally addressed, it should also include personal i.e.

customi"ed content. 3or this reason, auto replies are usually not very effective. owever,

templates can be used effectively in this way.

:. Use templates for freuently used responses.

ome 4uestions you get over and over again, such as directions to your office or how to

subscribe to your newsletter. ave these te#ts as response templates and paste these into

your message when you need them. ;ou can save your templates in a 5ord document, oruse pre>formatted emails.

>. %nswer swiftly.

6eople send an e>mail because they wish to receive a 4uick response. If they did not want

a 4uick response, they would send a letter or a fa#. Therefore, each e>mail should be

replied to, within at least +A hours. If the email is complicated, just send an email back

saying that you have received it and that you will get back to them. This will put themailer!s mind at rest and usually they will then be very patient.

. o not attach unnecessary files.

y sending large attachments you can annoy people and even bring down their e>mailsystem. 5herever possible try to compress attachments and only send attachments when

they are productive. *oreover, you need to have a good virus scanner in place since your

recipients will not be very happy if you send them documents full of viruses.

@. Use proper structure and layout.

ince reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from paper, the structure and

lay out is very important for e>mail messages. 0se short paragraphs and blank lines

between each paragraph. 5hen making points, number them or mark each point as

separate to keep the overview.

A. o not o(eruse the high priority option.

5e all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. If you overuse the high priority option,

it will lose its function when you really need it. *oreover, even if a mail has high

priority, your message will come across as slightly aggressive if you flag it as !high

priority!.

1B. o not write in &%"IT%7).

I3 ;10 5=IT: IG 2$6IT$E IT ::* $ I3 ;10 $=: 10TIG&. This can be

highly annoying and might trigger an unwanted response in the form of a flame mail.Therefore, try not to send any email te#t in capitals unless you want to emphasi"e a

particular point.


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11. onCt lea(e out the message thread.

5hen you reply to an email, you must include the original mail in your reply, in other

words click !=eply!, instead of !Gew *ail!. ome people say that you must remove theprevious message since this has already been sent and is therefore unnecessary. owever,

this is not desirable. If you receive many emails you obviously cannot remember eachindividual email. This means that a !threadless email! will not provide enough information

and you will have to spend a frustratingly long time to find out the conte#t of the email inorder to deal with it.

1*. %dd disclaimers to your emails.

It is important to add disclaimers to your internal and e#ternal mails, since this can help

protect your company from liability. 2onsider the following scenario/ an employeeaccidentally forwards a virus to a customer by email. The customer decides to sue your

company for damages. If you add a disclaimer at the bottom of every e#ternal mail,

saying that the recipient must check each email for viruses and that it cannot be heldliable for any transmitted viruses, this will surely be of help to you in court (read more

about email disclaimers). $nother e#ample/ an employee sues the company for allowing

a racist email to circulate the office. If your company has an email policy in place and

adds an email disclaimer to every mail that states that employees are e#pressly re4uirednot to make defamatory statements, you have a good case of proving that the company

did everything it could to prevent offensive emails.

15. ,ead the email before you send it.

$ lot of people don!t bother to read an email before they send it out, as can be seen from

the many spelling and grammar mistakes contained in emails. $part from this, readingyour email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more effective message

and avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.

1=. o not o(eruse ,eply to %ll.

1nly use =eply to $ll if you really need your message to be seen by each person who

received the original message.

1:. Take care with abbre(iations and emoticons.

In business emails, try not to use abbreviations such as T5 (by the way) and E1E(laugh out loud). The recipient might not be aware of the meanings of the abbreviationsand in business emails these are generally not appropriate. The same goes for emoticons,

such as the smiley />). If you are not sure whether your recipient knows what it means, it

is better not to use it.

1>. 2e careful with formatting.


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=emember that when you use formatting in your emails, the sender might not be able to

view formatting, or might see different fonts than you had intended. 5hen using colours,

use a colour that is easy to read on the background.

1. Take care with rich te0t and +T87 messages.

e aware that when you send an email in rich te#t or T*E format, the sender might

only be able to receive plain te#t emails. If this is the case, the recipient will receive your

message as a te#t attachment. *ost email clients however, including *icrosoft 1utlook,are able to receive T*E and rich te#t messages.

1@. o not forward chain letters.

Do not forward chain letters. 5e can safely say that all of them are hoa#es. 'ust delete the

letters as soon as you receive them.

1A. o not reuest deli(ery and read receipts.

This will almost always annoy your recipient before he or she has even read yourmessage. esides, it usually does not work anyway since the recipient could have

blocked that function, or hisher software might not support it, so what is the use of using

it? If you want to know whether an email was received, it is better to ask the recipient tolet you know if it was received.

*B. o not ask to recall a message.

iggest chances are that your message has already been delivered and read. $ recall

re4uest would look very silly in that case wouldn!t it? It is better just to send an email tosay that you have made a mistake. This will look much more honest than trying to recall a

message.

*1. o not copy a message or attachment without permission.

Do not copy a message or attachment belonging to another user without permission of the

originator. If you do not ask permission first, you might be infringing on copyright laws.

**. o not use email to discuss confidential information.

ending an email is like sending a postcard. If you don!t want your email to be displayedon a bulletin board, don!t send it. *oreover, never make any libelous(a piece of writing

which contains false or bad things about a person)or racially discriminating comments inemails, even if they are meant to be a joke.

*5. Use a meaningful subject.


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Try to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well as yourself. 3or instance,

when you send an email to a company re4uesting information about a product, it is better

to mention the actual name of the product, e.g. !6roduct $ information! than to just say!product information! or the company!s name in the subject.

*=. Use acti(e instead of passi(e.

Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever possible. 3or instance, !5e will process

your order today!, sounds better than !;our order will be processed today!. The firstsounds more personal, whereas the latter, especially when used fre4uently, sounds

unnecessarily formal.

*:. %(oid using U,!'T and I8",T%T.

:ven more so than the high>priority option, you must at all times, try to avoid these types

of words in an email or subject line. 1nly use this if it is a really, really urgent or

important message.

*>. %(oid long sentences.

Try to keep your sentences to a ma#imum of 7B>+ words. :mail is meant to be a 4uick

medium and re4uires a different kind of writing than letters. $lso take care not to sendemails that are too long. If a person receives an email that looks like a dissertation,

chances are that they will not even attempt to read itK

*. onCt send or forward emails containing libelous< defamatory< offensi(e< racist or

obscene remarks.

y sending or even just forwarding one libelous, or offensive remark in an email, you

and your company can face court cases resulting in multi>million dollar penalties.

*@. onCt forward (irus hoa0es and chain letters.

If you receive an email message warning you of a new unstoppable virus that will

immediately delete everything from your computer, this is most probably a hoa#. yforwarding hoa#es you use valuable bandwidth and sometimes virus hoa#es contain

viruses themselves, by attaching a so>called file that will stop the dangerous virus. The

same goes for chain letters that promise incredible riches or ask your help for a charitable

cause. :ven if the content seems to be bonafide, the senders are usually not. ince it isimpossible to find out whether a chain letter is real or not, the best place for it is the

recycle bin.

*A. Deep your language gender neutral.

In this day and age, avoid using language particularising gender such as/ LThe user

should add a signature by configuring his email programM. $part from using heshe, you


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can also use the neutral gender/ LThe user should add a signature by configuring the

email programM.

5B. onCt reply to spam.

y replying to spam or by unsubscribing, you are confirming that your email address is!live!. 2onfirming this will only generate even more spam. Therefore, just hit the delete

button or use email software to remove spam automatically.

51. Use cc# field sparingly.

Try not to use the cc/ field unless the recipient in the cc/ field knows why they arereceiving a copy of the message. 0sing the cc/ field can be confusing since the recipients

might not know who is supposed to act on the message. $lso, when responding to a cc/

message, should you include the other recipient in the cc/ field as well? This will depend

on the situation. In general, do not include the person in the cc/ field unless you have a

particular reason for wanting this person to see your response. $gain, make sure that thisperson will know why they are receiving a copy.

:.5 ,')U8'EF '-,')U8'EF 7I' 62 %""7I&%TI)

:.= 7'TT', 4 %""7I&%TI

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final notes on tech wrtng

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