| A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, | | | | Information architecture is the art of expressing a |
| writes, creates, maintains and updates technical | | | | model or concept of information used in activities that |
| documentation including online help, user guidance, white | | | | require specific details of complex systems. These |
| papers, design specifications, system manuals and | | | | activities include things like web designing, library |
| other documents. A technical writer's key undertaking | | | | information, database development, interface designing |
| is to come up/write technical documentation for | | | | among others. |
| technical, business and consumer audiences. | | | | 3.Training material development |
| Technical writing can be on any topic or subject that | | | | A good technical writer needs to make a well |
| requires an explanation to a certain or particular | | | | elaborate training manual for the particular topic he is |
| audience. Therefore it requires the technical writer to | | | | writing on. He needs to have enough skills on how to |
| research on the necessary topic or subject and come | | | | write a simple and easy to understand and follow |
| up with accurate and comprehensive documents. | | | | manual. The manual should be made in a manner that |
| When creating a document a technical writer collects | | | | is step to step. In case of any technical terms used |
| information by studying existing and interviewing the | | | | clarification should be given for the audience to |
| subject matter experts. The technical writer also | | | | understand. |
| needs to study the audience in order to understand | | | | 4.Illustrations |
| their technical level. | | | | An illustration is visualization such as a drawing, |
| Required skills | | | | photograph or a painting or any other art work that |
| A technical writer should possess good research | | | | helps to elaborate on the subject matter. I.e. it stresses |
| techniques, good sound of language and excellent | | | | the subject matter more than form. The purpose of |
| writing skills. Apart from this one needs to have the | | | | illustration is to explicate or beautify textual information |
| following. | | | | by providing visual representations that are attractive. |
| 1.Information design | | | | Therefore a technical writer should be good at this. |
| In this case a technical writer is required to design the | | | | 5.Typography |
| information in a manner that users can get what they | | | | This is the art or technique of arranging typefaces, |
| want from the stuff and understand it when they get | | | | point sizes, line length or rather line spacing, arranging |
| there. In technical terms information design means | | | | spaces between words and paragraphs e.t.c. this is |
| creating an information structure for certain information | | | | similar work done by typesetters but it is a skill that a |
| meant for a certain type of audience. | | | | technical writer should have in order to produce |
| 2.Information architecture | | | | excellent documents. |