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Developing Technical Descriptions

Technical descriptions explain how equipment, machines, or objects operate and are assembled and what happens during a process. A process can include an event, such as a hurricane, or an activity, such as the transmission of an e-mail message. Technical descriptions of these objects and processes help readers understand what they do, how they function, when and where they happen, and why. They can also help readers understand a topic, especially an abstract topic.

Technical Descriptions of Objects

When working with appliances, equipment, or other objects, we frequently need a description to understand their assembly and components. An object description helps readers grasp the physical structure and assembly of an item, enabling them to develop a mental image of the object and how its components relate to each other.

Object descriptions are useful in a variety of situations to enable the audience to better understand what the object looks like and how it functions, for example:

· To prepare to install a ceiling fan, a homeowner reads a description of an electrical switch to see how wires are connected and to learn more about the switch.

· To determine how to clear a paper jam from a laser printer, users refer to the user guide's description and diagram of the printer.

· To evaluate the options for upgrading a local area network (LAN), a telecommunications specialist reviews the various configuration alternatives and diagrams presented in a report analyzing a LAN upgrade.

Technical Descriptions of Processes

In a process explanation, you explain chronologically how a process occurs from a logical beginning point to a logical ending point, giving readers a sense of the actions that occur during the process. This explanation gives an overview to readers who need to know what happens in a process, but do not need to do it themselves. The focus is on what happens and why the process occurs, not how it happens. Process descriptions are helpful in situations such as explaining

· department activities to supervisors who need to know about them, but do not generally perform them

· a new process to technicians or operators who must understand what is happening and why before attempting to read the instructions to do it

· what occurs during a natural process or event, such as a hurricane or blood flow through the body, to help readers increase their knowledge and understanding

A process explanation differs from instructions in its focus and purpose. It describes a process, whereas instructions present a series of commands and supporting information about how to do something.

Process explanations can vary from a graphic with a few words to a long document. A graphic can provide a simple overview of the process, such as how nitrogen cycles between the air and the Earth.

Where to Locate Technical Descriptions

Technical descriptions are often combined with other types of technical writing in documents. You can include a description of an object before a set of instructions so that readers understand how the object works before using it. For example, suppose you are preparing instructions for operating a dishwasher. First you may explain briefly the different buttons, their purpose, and their arrangement on the dishwasher panel. A process explanation may be incorporated into a report or a proposal. For example, in a proposal to reorganize your department's staff, you can describe the process that will be used to develop a reorganization plan.

Analyzing the Audience for Technical Descriptions

The readers of a technical description are generally unfamiliar with the topic or encounter it infrequently and need more information about it. The audience needs a clear, logically organized description to understand how an object is assembled, how its parts function, or what happens in a process.

As you plan your description, ask yourself these questions about your audience:

· Why do they need this information?

· What do they already know about the process or object?

· Do they have previous experience related to this process or object?

· What will they do with this information?

· What information about the process must be emphasized for them?

Identifying the Purpose of Technical Descriptions

The purpose of a technical description influences how you should organize it and what you include. A technical description can:

· increase readers' knowledge of a process or object to help them understand what happens or how it is assembled, to satisfy their curiosity, or to see how it affects their work

· communicate activities and developments in a discipline to other professionals

· provide information to be used in making a decision or taking action

The purpose will help you select the information to impart as well as the method of dividing the information for the description.

Organizing Technical Descriptions

Organize technical descriptions according to the breakdown of the object or process. You can organize your object description using one of three patterns:  spatial ,  chronological , or  priority . Always organize a process explanation chronologically.

When describing an object, focus in the introduction on the whole object and its characteristics, such as dimensions, shape, color, and texture. Towards the end of your introduction, identify the way you will break down the object in the body of your description. This breakdown description is an advance organizer similar to the examples shown in the reports tutorial in module 2. In a conclusion, describe how the components fit and work together.

In the introduction to a process explanation, define the process and its purpose, provide necessary background information, and describe when and where it happens and any special considerations. Towards the end of your introduction, identify the sequence of stages in the process using an advance organizer. Then, in the body, expand sequentially your description of each stage. Indicate any relationships between the stages.

Use transitions as you move from one part of the description to another to guide readers and improve the flow. Additionally, maintain a parallel structure throughout your description.

Characteristics of Technical Descriptions

The characteristics of a technical description help readers develop a mental image of an object or an understanding of the flow of a process. Language (for example, use of active or passive voice or first, second, or third person), partitioning, and graphics can help you create this image. We will describe these characteristics in the following sections.

Language in Technical Descriptions

The language used in technical descriptions should be clear and precise. When describing an object, choose concrete, specific, accurate words or phrases that communicate the attributes of the object—its size, shape, colors, texture, and position. For example, words such as gritty, rough, scaly, U-shaped, and elliptical convey distinct images to readers.

A technical description concentrates on the object or process. When the object or process rather than the writer is the focus, use the third-person perspective. This perspective is most commonly used in process explanations.

The decision whether to use active voice or passive voice should be based on the topic, focus, purpose, and audience of the technical description. Active voice is preferred when the focus is on the subject of the action rather than the object or result of the action. Passive voice is appropriate when the result of the action is important or when the actor is unimportant.

For example, suppose you are explaining the process of assigning project numbers to new projects in your office. If the accountants, who perform this action, are the focus of your explanation, use the active voice to emphasize the accountant, the doer of the action. On the other hand, if your focus is the project tracking number (PTN), the object or recipient of the action, use the passive voice to focus attention on the PTN.

Description Using  Active Voice

Description Using  Passive Voice

The accountants assign the project tracking number (PTN). They derive a unique six-digit number for each project that identifies the responsible division, status, department, and type of project. They enter the PTN in their database and record the number on the project tracking form. After the accountants assign the PTN and complete the tracking form, they distribute them to the systems administrator, project tracking office, and contracts office.

The project tracking number (PTN) is assigned by the accountants. This unique, six-digit number identifies the responsible division, status, department, and type of project. The PTN is created by the accountants, entered in the accounting database, and recorded on the project tracking form. The completed form is then distributed by the accountants to the systems administrator, project tracking office, and contracts office.

Partitioning in Technical Descriptions

Effective partitioning is important in a technical description. Similar to chunking, partitioning means breaking down an object into its components or a process into smaller, related steps or stages. Partitioning can help readers understand how the object is constructed and operates or what happens during each step of a process.

An object consists of different parts that work together to achieve its function. For example, a screw is an object and can be described thus:

A screw consists of two parts: stem and head. The stem is circular and has threads embedded in its surface for driving it into another substance. The head is raised, has a greater diameter than the stem, is often circular, and is slotted so a tool can drive the stem into another surface. You insert a tool, such as a screwdriver, into the slot in the head to drive the stem into a substance, such as wood.

The separation of a screw into its parts is an example of partitioning.

Sometimes you can partition an object by structural parts or functional parts. When dividing by structural parts, separate the parts according to their physical appearance, not their function. For example, if you describe the external parts of a personal computer (PC), you would likely partition it by its physical parts. When dividing by functional parts, you separate parts based on how they work during the operation of the object. The description of the screw is based on its separation by functional parts.

Partitioning a process into a series of stages helps readers comprehend the stages and assimilate them into the whole process. They can see how the stages relate to each other and how the activities in one stage can affect another stage of the process. Identifying stages helps you define how the process flows and plan how to explain it to your audience. As you break the process down, identify logically related chunks of information that constitute a unit. For example, the process of preparing a report can be separated into the following stages:

1. define the issue or problem and the purpose of the report

2. identify the audience and their needs

3. develop a research plan and conduct the research

4. interpret the information that has been gathered

5. evaluate, refine, and revise ideas and thoughts as the analysis evolves

6. organize these ideas and thoughts

7. draw conclusions

8. make recommendations

You can further subdivide each of these stages into a series of steps. For example, you can decompose stage 3, develop a research plan and conduct the research, into a series of steps, identifying separate activities for developing your research plan and conducting your research. Your steps for this stage might include the following:

3. develop a research plan and conduct the research

· develop initial research plan

· develop initial research schedule

· revise research plan and schedule

· develop a preliminary outline

· prepare, pretest, and conduct survey

· conduct interviews

· search relevant literature

When you explain a complex process, partitioning it at several levels helps to present the information to readers in small chunks.

Using Graphics in Technical Descriptions

Graphics are used in technical descriptions to illustrate how the parts of an object fit together or the steps of a process occur, to summarize the flow of a process, and to explain abstract concepts. Graphics are especially beneficial for visually oriented or multicultural readers.

Several types of graphics are effective in process explanations. Graphics that depict the process with its sequence of stages include flowcharts, time lines, and schedules. Graphics that show an object and its parts include photographs, exploded diagrams, and cutaway view diagrams.