3 Artifacts of Technical Writing

Most people envision writing to be a job for some quirky professor holed up somewhere penning the next best novel. However, in reality, a significant number of people make a living from writing that cannot even qualify as fiction. In this excerpt, we aim to discuss into detail 3 artifacts of technical writing and steps you can use to make your writing more effective.

Technical writing has proved to be a lucrative and reliable source of livelihood, especially for nonfiction writers. You find that a majority of writing that businesses use falls in this category. In this article, we will share with you 3 artifacts of technical writing and characteristics that make for effective technical writing samples.

Table of Contents

What is Technical Writing?How to Write a Strong Technical Artifact3 Artifacts of Technical WritingInstruction ManualWhite PaperMedia AdvisoryCharacteristics of Technical DocumentsAddress Particular ReadersSolve the ProblemReflect the Organization’s Goal and CultureIncrease ReadabilityUse Words and Images to Convey MessagesQualities of a Good Technical ReportClarityAccuracyAccessibilityComprehensivenessCorrectnessConcisenessLooking for a Technical Writer to Work on Your Report Today?Conclusion
What is Technical Writing?
As the name suggests, technical writing if a type of writing that focuses more on technical topics. Unlike creative writing that’s often centered around storytelling, a technical form of writing is centered on objective facts. The 3 artifacts of technical writing mentioned in this excerpt serve to convey information within various fields such as technology, finance, law, engineering, medicine, etc.
Generally, technical writing aims to display several characteristics that distinguish it from other types of writing. First, technical writing focuses on specialized topics such as instructions to perform technical tasks. Technical writing is also frequently conveyed through a digital medium such as a PDF file of a website page. Finally, technical writing can take the form of a step-by-step guide that shows the user how to accomplish a specific task.
How to Write a Strong Technical Artifact
The best technical writers across the world are often analytical and very detail-oriented. You will also notice that in the 3 artifacts of technical writing mentioned below, facts matter a great deal. Therefore, attention to detail is paramount and cannot be overstated.
Unlike creative writing that aims more to evoke the reader’s emotions, technical writing is often emotionally neutral. That isn’t to say that there is no room for creativity when writing technical artifacts. The opposite is quite true. Technical writing is usually highly nuanced. For example, a legal contract requires the writer to convey a firm tone while still maintaining an air of professionalism. On the other hand, a case study may need you to adopt a more conversational voice even as you discuss a technical line of work.

Technical writers possess different writing skills from those of creative writers. However, that doesn’t make the skills of creative writers any less important while writing technical papers. Below are 3 artifacts of technical writing that you can use to strengthen your technical writing skills. You can use the samples below to review and tweak your paper.
3 Artifacts of Technical Writing
Technical writing requires specific types of skills that few writers possess. It’s a highly valuable skill that requires a lot of practice and persistence. It’s also a skill that students and people working in tech-related businesses like engineers and scientists should have.
Technical writing isn’t just about your understanding of technical information and how you record it in a document. This type of writing requires high-level information and how you process it into digestible content for your audience. The 3 artifacts of technical writing below should provide you with a clearer perspective of what technical writing is about.
Instruction Manual
Most people take instruction manuals for granted. This can be costly, especially for people handling heavy machinery or equipment that is difficult to use. Instruction manuals are some of the toughest written materials for manufacturers to get right. The technical writer creating such papers never have the luxury of missing any steps, however little. Failing to include any step or writing the wrong steps can leave the reader bewildered. Also, you cannot use ambiguous language, or you will invite uncertainty too. Instruction manual writing is an art in itself, and one that technical writers have learned to maser.
A technical writer for an instruction manual must be precise and pay attention to detail when writing such documents to ensure that they capture all writings. Say, for instance, you’re writing an instruction manual for a technical device such as a wireless charger. You must write it in such a way that even the most novice buyer can read and understand it. Consequently, the reader should be able to install and use the charger properly with minimal effort.

The best instruction manuals must have highly specific details (“cool for 10 minutes,” “wait up to 2 minutes,” “charge for a minimum of 4 hours,” etc.) Such instructions help to eliminate or minimize any confusion about whether the user is installing the product correctly.
White Paper
Writing an impactful write paper is vital for any technical writer for several reasons. First, a white paper targets a clear, well-defined technical audience. They mostly target managers who have trouble developing their employees. White paper also concisely and objectively defines issues using fact-based support only from reliable sources.
White paper outlines actionable steps that the reader can use to correct a specific problem. Often, white papers also have a call to action that invites the audience to learn more about a situation and how to solve it. The call to action is often a key component for white papers and found at the conclusion section of the white paper. The technical writer who produces a white paper must, therefore, be very attentive and detail-oriented. Only then can the writer produce the best white paper that’s aimed for a specific target audience.
Media Advisory
A media advisory is also another vital yet unique piece of technical writing that very few writers know how to craft. If written appropriately, a media advisory can help another group of writers in their fields, journalists, to do their jobs easily. You may need to craft a media advisory for any number of reasons. Either for an energy company, a travel advisory, ecommerce company, etc.
Upon viewing this type of document, you will also notice that it’s formatted for hasty skimming. This makes it perfect for its intended audience – busy reporters, who don’t always have the time to go through huge volumes of texts. A media advisory is meant more to save the audience’s time in getting to the facts of an event. As such, a media advisory is written in the form of short bullet points that sum up only must-know information. Also, the technical writer should have readily available detailed info for the reporter or journalist for easy follow up and additional details.
Characteristics of Technical Documents
By this stage, you should know that writing a technical document requires you to address specific criteria. As with any other type of writing, technical documents also target a specific audience and aim to help the audience to understand a product or concept better. As such, all technical writing has the following characteristics:

Address Particular Readers
Each product or service is always meant for a specific group of people, the target audience. Technical documentation also possesses similar characteristics. Your writing must, therefore, include a brief statement at the beginning that states who the paper is for and who it will benefit.
You should, therefore, write your technical document with a clear audience in mind that knows the paper is for them. Readers who don’t need the information will also not have to waste their time reading through the paper. Writing for specific readers ensures that your paper reaches the target demographic. Your readers know what to expect from your paper; it’s your job to provide it.
Solve the Problem
The whole point of writing a technical document is so that it can help solve the reader’s problem. Instruction manuals are particularly welcome here and help new customers learn how to use certain products properly. White papers and booklets should also help to answer burning questions that readers have regarding topics related to your business.
Most technical documents often summarize the problem and provide a basic solution on a single page. That’s perfectly fine. You just have to ensure that the rest of your document further guides and explains to the user how to follow and stick to your solution.
Reflect the Organization’s Goal and Culture
A properly written technical document should also reflect organizational goals and cultures. To mean that your report should have a clear and concise purpose of being. Obviously, the user’s objective is to answer the target audience’s questions in the best way possible.
The technical document must, therefore, reflect the organization’s goals. This documentation should encompass everything that the company believes in and the steps it aims to take to reach its goals. This can be in the form of a booklet that describes how users can communicate with the company. A technical writer should know to include a simple statement on the cover of the document or in the footer to help show the organization’s goals or culture.
Increase Readability
The structure of any written communication is vital in the writing process. For one, it determines the overall readability of the paper. While most consumers read files from beginning to end, technical document readers may only need a select portion of the paper at a given time. The writer’s use of headings, a logical flow, and billet points is, therefore, essential.

This can be increasingly beneficial when writing more extensive manuals or booklets. The writer may have to include a detailed table of contents or index to make it easier for readers to navigate to different sections of the paper.
Use Words and Images to Convey Messages
Here’s where most technical writers begin to fail. Inasmuch as a written report can be used to express information, sometimes adding images can help to convey messages clearer. Some writers also tend to rely more on messages that may not be easy to decipher. In such instances, using a mixture of written content and pictures can help your technical content to relay your message successfully.
If you use images, ensure that they are appropriate, and your target audience can relate to them. You, therefore, cannot use simple figures to convey meaning to educated, adult audiences.
Qualities of a Good Technical Report
Knowing how to write a technical report is a vital part of almost everyone’s career. That’s why it is important that you start practicing and know how to write technical documents as early as possible. Writing well is difficult and can be quite time-consuming. And writing a technical paper can be even more stressful.
If done well, writing a technical report can be an exciting, fulfilling experience. It can, however, turn out to be really frustrating and even harmful to your career development if done poorly. The following points should help you become a better technical writer and produce targeted papers:
Clarity
A technical document should contain a single meaning that the target audience can read and understand. A well-written report acts as a vital communication link between employees. Therefore, if this link is weak, there’s a chance that it might jeopardize the entire project. Unclear technical writing can be both expensive and dangerous.

The 3 artifacts of technical writing mentioned above all support the idea that the reader should clearly know what to expect from your paper. You shouldn’t, therefore, stray from the main point of your paper under any circumstance. For example, providing unclear instructions on how to operate certain machinery can expose the machine operator to unnecessary harm.
Accuracy
Unclear writing can also cause issues and even inaccuracies in your report. Even single figures can make a huge difference in a technical report. For instance, if you mean to write 50,000, don’t write 500,000. The slightest errors can confuse, even annoy the person reading your report. If the reader suspects that your information is inaccurate, he/she can doubt your entire document.
Accessibility
This means the ease with which your targeted audience can locate and access the information they seek in your document. The best way to increase the accessibility of your document is by including headings and lists in your report. A table of contents can also be beneficial in helping to make our report more accessible for the reader.
Comprehensiveness
It’s always important that you provide all the relevant information when writing a technical report. Ensure that you provide a clear description of the background processes, the methods you used to carry out a specific task, the results you found, the conclusions you made, and the recommendations you reached.
Correctness
One of the crucial qualities that every technical writer must have is correctness. A good technical report must be correct, as well. It must not have grammatical or punctuation mistakes and use the appropriate format standard. Readers will always doubt the accuracy and eligibility of reports that have grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes.
Any technical writing should convey information and attempt to persuade the audience. And the best way of accomplishing these goals is by writing correct, clear, accurate, and easy to access information.
Conciseness
All technical writing is also meant to be useful. The longer your document is, the more difficult it will be for the reader to use it. Moreover, it will consume more of the user’s time too. A technical document should be long enough that it’s clear. It must also give the audience purpose while free of any unnecessary phrases.
Looking for a Technical Writer to Work on Your Report Today?
Not many writers would boast of having the right skill set to craft perfect technical papers. This can make writing a technical paper all the more difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start from. Fortunately, you can now find several online essay help services that you can use to write your paper for you. Custom paper writing websites like Myhomeworkwriters.com source for and hire only the best technical writers in the world. You, therefore, never have to worry about the quality of the technical paper that these writers submit.

My Homework Writers has a long-standing reputation for writing and submitting only high-quality, 100% original technical papers. This essay writing company also has thousands of positive reviews from satisfied clients to back up this claim too. You can trust that a certified and experienced technical writer will work on your paper and submit it within the set deadlines. These writers have more than enough experience when it comes to the 3 artifacts of technical writing.
Myhomeworkwriters.com is the website to use if you’re looking for a technical writer who will structure and format your paper according to your professor’s specifications.
Conclusion
From the above excerpt, it’s evident that technical writing is a prized skill. It’s a valuable title both for people looking to make a career from it or those looking to add it to their current roles. And the 3 artifacts of technical writing mentioned above should provide you with more insight on how to write such a paper. Or, you can also always hire a professional technical writer from Myhomeworkwriters.com to handle your paper for you. Either way, the points mentioned above are an excellent place to start with your technical writing endeavors.