Theory and Practice of Technical Writing, Part 3
Question 1: State and define the audience analysis acronym used by technical writers.
Answer 1: A – Analysis (Who exactly is the audience?)U – Understanding (What do they already know about the project?)D – Demographics (How will their demographic data affect their understanding?)I – Interest (Why do they care about the document? What stake do they have in the project?)E – Environment (Where/how will the document be viewed? Hard copy? Electronically? PowerPoint?)N – Needs (What do they need that directly correlates with this document?)C – Customization (How do you tailor it to the audience?)E – Expectations (What does the audience expect to learn/be able to do after reading it
There are lots of good resources about Technical Writing that you can find available.
Question 2: List edits 1 through 7 to conduct when adapting a piece of writing to a particular audience.
Answer 2: Once you have conducted an audience analysis, and thoroughly know the audience, the following steps should be followed to adapt the writing to the audience’s specific needs and expectations.Change the writing level. Either increase or decrease the technical level of the language.Remove extraneous information.Add information and examples that will encourage better understanding.Alter the level of the examples. They could be too technical or too vague.Reorganize the writing to better serve the readers.Add transitions where appropriate to increase readability.Strengthen the topic sentences of both sections and individual paragraphs.
Question 3: List edits 8 through 14 to conduct when adapting a piece of writing to a particular audience.
Answer 3: Rewrite the introduction and conclusions to provide better synopses.Vary the sentence length and writing style appropriately.Strengthen sentences by being more concise.Use visuals. Use headings and bulleted lists to provide direction and guidance to the audience.Break up large sections of text into digestible chunks.Retain control over the document design, using fonts, font sizes, margins, and white space to the advantage.
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