How to Write a Technical Paper
To write a technical paper requires an understanding of writing educationally. Technical papers target a specific audience to provide instruction on completing a job or task. Technical papers include assembly instructions, business guides, and scientific reports, training materials, user guides, white papers and release notes. The ability to research and understand the subject matter is key to writing a technical paper.
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Instructions
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Research the target audience of your technical paper. User guides use different language from release notes and scientific reports. Your audience will dictate the language you use.
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Create an outline. The outline should detail clearly in steps what you hope to accomplish in the technical paper. For example: step one, introduce the audience to the product; step two, detail what the product can do; step three, how to install the product; step four, troubleshoot the product.
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Keep it simple. A technical paper should be educational, and the user should never be guessing what you mean. If you want them to turn the air conditioning unit on, you should indicate what temperature the unit should be set to and when it should be turned on.
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Create a draft of the work. Use the outline to create a table of contents. In many cases, your technical writing is going to be read by a number of others. Your paper should explain the problem clearly, why the problem and the solution are interesting, why the problem has not been solved previously and the key components necessary to achieve the results.
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Edit the paper. Review "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White for style management of the paper. Eliminate any unnecessary or ambiguous details. Technical papers may seem dry, but they should always be direct and to the point.
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Tips & Warnings
Properly cite any sources you use in the paper. Appendices should contain related material but material necessary for understanding the paper. The conclusion should sum up the details of the paper Technical papers should teach; if the paper does not teach an idea, a skill or a how to, it's not a technical paper.
