The technical writer’s toolkit
The most important thing you need as a technical writer
2. SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN: THE TECHNICAL WRITING CYCLE
1. Specification, audience and scope
4. Testing, reviewing and revision
7. Revision, archiving or destruction
A quick word about writing apps
A quick word about formatting text
What do they need to know, and why?
Where and when do they need to know it?
4. BREAK IT DOWN: THE IMPORTANCE OF A TASK-BASED APPROACH
Break it down (but not too much)
The other big benefit of a task-based approach
Junk the jargon, banish buzzwords and abolish acronyms
3. Irrelevant or useless graphics
6. Forgetting to include the ‘how’
9. BE ACTIVE: WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID THE PASSIVE VOICE AND WEAK VERBS
Why weak words make writing worse
10. DIAGRAMS, LISTS AND GRAPHICS
What to look for when you’re editing
12. THE TECHNICAL WRITING HOUSE OF HORRORS