Technical Writing vs General Writing
Every one does not have the flair for writing as not every one is a good orator. However, there are ways to improve one’s writing to make it more compelling, error free and clear to reach the minds of the writers. Words are mightier than a sword in the sense that they inspire, educate and entertain people. But not all writing is equal or same. General writing, such as writing your thoughts and opinions about a social issue, is totally different from another style of writing called as technical writing. One should not confuse between the two styles, technical writing and general writing, as they serve very different purposes and are also meant for vastly different audiences.
General Writing
While writing on general subjects, the writer must place himself in the shoes of a reader to see the effect of his own writing. Writing a weak piece of prose is not that serious when compared to a piece full of errors. This is when the readers get confused and distracted. People respect high quality writing and tend to take the writer seriously when the piece is error free and the message comes out clearly.
Spelling and grammar mean a lot to a reader. He gets irritated when he sees such mistakes as he expects nothing less than perfect from a printed piece of paper. This is where spell check and editing after you have finished writing comes handy. After this of course is the content, it should be logical and sequential so that there is no reason for ambiguity and obscurity in the minds of the readers. Another important ingredient is life. The content should be lively to keep the reader interested.
Technical Writing
Technical writing is a form of writing that is more seen than any other type of writing with people not even realizing the fact. The essence of all technical writing is HOW. At a simple level, you can take the examples of a cookbook full of recipes or an instruction manual on how to operate a mobile as technical writing. A good part of technical writing is not meant for general public. This includes business writing to communicate with management, employees and other businesses and is full of jargons related to the world of business.
In a wider sense, textbooks of science subjects are also examples of technical writing. If you are a student of photography, any book containing information that is valuable to you is a form of technical writing as it contains words that common public may not understand or appreciate.
Whether intended for general audience or for specific readers, technical writing should be clear and concise. It should be helpful for the readers it is intended for. Although technical writing is certainly different from writing a story or a poem, any technical writing must have content presented in as such a manner that it has the ability to engage the reader. It should have material arranged in a manner that the reader gets the information that he is seeking and also understands the subject matter easily.
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In brief: General writing vs Technical writing • General writing and technical writing are two different styles of writing • Though the basics remain the same (both need to engage the reader and must be free from spelling mistakes and grammatical errors), technical writing is considered a little more difficult than general writing as it needs to provide information in a clear cut manner that the reader is able to assimilate and understand. • General writing is more about arousing the interest of the reader whereas technical writing has the sole objective of making the reader understand a topic in an interesting manner. • Technical writing has general guidelines to follow and it has to be clear and concise. It has to be in first person and avoid passive voice.
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