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A Difficult Question to Answer
Because the academic and career interests and focuses of technical writers are so diverse, it is very difficult to come up with an all-inclusive definition for what a technical writer does and is in every situation. The following two sections include the best definitions I have been able to come up with for the student and professional technical writer as well as some links to other sites which attempt to define these two groups.
The Student Technical Writer
My Definition:
The student who decides to study technical writing should be very interested in communication and have a strong desire to learn about writing, editing, and document design since all of the core classes dealing with technical writing deal directly with one or more of these three areas. Because many of the courses involving the technical writing major or minor involve working with computers, the technical writing student should also be at least somewhat interested in computer related technologies and have the curiosity to learn about new computer developments (e.g., new software).
The Professional Technical Writer
My Definition:
The professional technical writer, like the student technical writer, should be very interested in communication. Because most technical writing jobs involve at least some exposure to writing, editing, and document design, the professional technical writer should be at least somewhat interested in and have some experience with all three of these areas. Furthermore, the professional technical writer should be willing to continue learning about changing and emerging technologies and trends in technical writing throughout his or her career.
Links:
- "Technical What?":
In this About.com article, technical writer Gary Conroy provides a definition of a technical writer, an explanation of what technical writers do, and his thoughts on why technical writers are becoming more and more sought after by companies.
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Contact Me
Jeremy Bates
E-Mail: batesjd@uwec.edu