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Conventions of Technical Documents

In technical writing, effective document design is essential for clear communication. Unlike traditional texts, technical documents utilize varied formats such as charts, lists, and headings to enhance navigation and comprehension. Understanding the audience's reading habits is crucial, as they often skim for relevant information. This guide covers essential principles for creating usable and scannable documents, including layout design, font choice, white space management, and effective use of headings and lists. Learn to shape your documents for optimal audience engagement and information retrieval.

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Conventions of Technical Documents

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  1. Conventions of Technical Documents Scott Hale ENGL 3153 Technical Writing

  2. Technical Documents • Designed differently than other kinds of documents • Doesn’t use unbroken sequences of words, sentences and paragraphs • Instead uses charts, diagrams, lists, varying fonts/sizes, headings, and other aides to assist document navigation

  3. Technical Documents Con’t... • Rarely receive audiences undivided attention • Readers skim to discern relevant information • Audience should be able to leave a portion of the document and return to it quickly

  4. Technical Documents Con’t... • Audience doesn’t read document as leisurely activity • They read it because they have to • Will use the easiest method

  5. Technical Documents Con’t... • With the rapid proliferation of documents • Your document will compete for your audience’s attention

  6. As a Technical Writer... • Your goal is to make information access and retrieval as easy as possible • Create a USABLE and SCANNABLE document

  7. Creating a Usable Document Design • Shape each page • Consider look, feel, and the overall layout

  8. Paper and Ink • Routine Documents • Black ink on 8 1/2”x11” low-gloss, rag-bond, white paper • Published Documents • Dependant on cost and audience, you may want coated, glossy, heavier paper

  9. Type or Print Quality • Print from laser or ink-jet printer • If ink-jet, use special coated paper

  10. Page Numbers • Use lower-case roman numerals(I, ii, iv, xxv) for title page, table of contents, prefaces, and abstracts • Use arabic numerals (1, 2, 15, 38) for all subsequent pages

  11. Headers and Footers • Signal a change in information or importance • Usually offset with a larger, bolder font/size

  12. White Space • The space on a page NOT filled by text/images • Divides the document into small, digestable groups of related information • Separates sections, headings, tables, and images from text/paragraphs • Intended to improve document appearance, clarity, and emphasis

  13. Margins • Justified • Even right margin creates channels of white space and can be more difficult to read • Used for formal documents: books, annual reports, etc. • Unjustified • Uneven right margins can be easier to read • Used for less formal documents: memos, letters, in-house reports, etc.

  14. Line Length • Too long lines tire your eyes, annoy reader • Too short lines disrupt rhythm of reading, annoy reader • Ideal is sixty to seventy (60-70) characters per line • Nine-twelve (9-12) words per line

  15. Columns • Two-columns often used for newsletters and brochures • Single-columns work best for complex/specialized information

  16. Line Spacing • For documents that will be read in their entirety (memos, letters, etc.), use single-spacing in paragraphs and double-spacing between them, with no indentation • For longer, selectively read documents (reports, proposals, etc.), increase line spacing within and between paragraphs, providing indentation

  17. Tailor Made Paragraphs • Use long paragraphs for clustering closely-related material • Use short paragraphs for making complex material more digestable, giving step-by-step instructions, or emphasizing vital information • Don’t indent, but separate short paragraphs with spacing • Avoid ‘Orphan’ lines of paragraphs

  18. Stacked Lists • Readers prefer lists to paragraphs • List the following • Advice or examples • Conclusions and recommendations • Criteria for evaluation • Errors to avoid • Materials/equipment for procedures • Parts of a mechanism • Steps in a sequence

  19. Stacked Lists Con’t… • Usually requires no punctuation, unless a list of sentences or questions • Set off with a visual aid • Numbers for order of importance • Bullets, dashes, or asterisks for non-order of importance • Open boxes for checklists • Introduce list with an explanation

  20. Fonts • Have/create “personality” • For technical documents, use a conservative font, unlike this • Serifs vs. Non-serifs • Size is important... • Bold, underline, normal, italic, SMALLL CAPS • CAPITALS vs. lower-case • Big to small, Dark to light

  21. Highlighting • Used for emphasis • Fonts size/style, white space, etc. • Horizontal (un/broken) lines to separate sections or offset warnings • Not all highlighting is equal…

  22. Highlighting Con’t… • Boldface for single sentence/brief statement • Italics for words, phrases, but not multiple lines • SMALL CAPS for headings and short phrases • Small type sizes for captions and labels • Large type sizes used sparingly

  23. Headings • Used for document access and orientation • Informative • Specific, yet comprehensive • Grammatically consistent • Visually consistent • Four levels of heading: Title, Main, Secondary, Tertiary

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