A Naïve Experience

by Ryan Bachman, UNT Senior

If I was asked three months ago, when I enrolled in advanced technical writing at the University of North Texas, to define what technical writing was, I would have had no idea. I would have given some answer that would have been partially correct. Being a biology major, I apply the term to what I know and understand, so I would assume that technical writing is the type of writing found in lab reports and manuals: straight-forward and to the point, in a method that is easily understood by the audience meant to read it. This is correct, but it is not the whole answer.

Now I can answer the same question in greater depth. To begin, I now know that technical writing does not have much to do with the subject matter or type of writing used. Technical writing can be found in almost every form of writing—how-to manuals, office memos, or even political advertisements. Technical writing is not the subject matter or even the type of writing; it is rather how something is written.

Technical writers use proper formatting and care about the audience. For example, life insurance is sold to a young, wealthy business man with a different slant than to an elderly woman with little financial security. So, to define technical writing after being in advanced technical writing, I would say it is writing to make the purpose clear and meaningful for the target audience, without insulting or ignoring anyone.

I now ask technical writers as a group whether they feel that there is anything wrong with the fact that, as a senior at UNT, I probably would not take technical writing if it was not required to graduate. I am not an English major and I do not want to work in a business office setting, but I am going to be an active member of the workforce in less than one year. I would like everyone with whom I work or meet to at least have an idea what I do for a job. Technical writing could help me get a job by informing the person doing the hiring what I bring to the table from the degree that I earned and what advantages I have over other people.

The Lone Star Community may want to consider taking a proactive role in the community to teach technical writing. This may be as simple as working with local education facilities such as North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington to a greater degree. They could work with the higher education facilities to help provide internships for interested students, or work with classes on projects. Both of these would be good opportunities.

On a larger scale, it may be possible, working with alumni groups, to encourage that technical writing, even on the simplest level, should be part of the core curriculum for more majors. As a result, more graduating students would enter the workforce with an understanding of the services that technical writing provides.