We are all Tech Writers Now: Three Steps to Clear Writing for the Web

Take some tips from technical writing that will make your opinions clear and persuasive in the new reading environment of the net.

Print media puts the reader in the passenger's seat. Imagine if you do not want a character to die? Imagine if you don't like the direction the story has had? Traditional reading is linear--you start at chapter one and you also visit the end, with no detours in between.

Instruction manuals have always been different. Who reads https://techvig.net/write-for-us-technology/ from beginning to end? Instead you dip into it, try something, and when that doesn't appear to work, flip several pages backward or forward and try again.

Now the internet has become a huge manual where in fact the reader can move around at will--technology has stolen authorial control. You have to expect your readers to jump around. To reach your goals, anything you write for the net has to follow the same three rules that technical writers use:

Write in Chunks

Readers choose. Recognize that your audience isn't expecting a story--they have specific goals. Points need to be self-contained and clearly marked to help them find what they're looking for and move on. Respect your reader's time--don't make them eat the sundae when all they need is the cherry.

Follow a Structure

You can structure your articles by category, rank, location--but there must be a structure. By organizing your information you're giving your reader an instrument that lets them find what they're looking for and skip what they don't really need. If you cannot look for a structure that works, you should define your points more clearly.

Connect it Together

You can't force your reader to check out the road you've set for them, but you can give them usage of information that supports your message. You shouldn't be afraid to link, both to resources outside your document also to pages inside it. Your role is to help them achieve their goals; point them towards resources that help them do this.

Like technical writing, the internet is approximately helping people find information. Adopt a few of the principals of technical writing in your own work to create it get results.

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Pub: 22 Jun 2023 13:31 UTC
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