Conventions of Technical Documents

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Conventions of Technical Documents

• Scott Hale
• ENGL 3153
• Technical Writing

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Technical Documents

• Designed differently than other kinds of
  documents
• Doesnt use unbroken sequences of words,
  sentences and paragraphs
• Instead uses charts, diagrams, lists, varying
  fonts/sizes, headings, and other aides to assist
  document navigation

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Technical Documents Cont...

• 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

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Technical Documents Cont...

• Audience doesnt read document as leisurely
  activity
• They read it because they have to
• Will use the easiest method

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Technical Documents Cont...

• With the rapid proliferation of documents
• Your document will compete for your audiences
  attention

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As a Technical Writer...

• Your goal is to make information access and
  retrieval as easy as possible
• Create a USABLE and SCANNABLE document

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Creating a Usable Document Design

• Shape each page
• Consider look, feel, and the overall layout

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Paper and Ink

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

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Type or Print Quality

• Print from laser or ink-jet printer
• If ink-jet, use special coated paper

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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

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Headers and Footers

• Signal a change in information or importance
• Usually offset with a larger, bolder font/size

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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

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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.

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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

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Columns

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

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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

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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
• Dont indent, but separate short paragraphs with
  spacing
• Avoid Orphan lines of paragraphs

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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

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Stacked Lists Cont

• 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

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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

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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

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Highlighting Cont

• 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

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Headings

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