Common Mistakes to Avoid in Technical Writing
Technical writing is a type of writing where an author writes about a particular subject that requires instruction, direction or explanation. Technical writing is not just a mere text, it is simplifying the complex! A good technical writing results in relevant, useful and accurate information geared to targeted audiences in order to achieve a specific goal.
Technical writing has some rules and patterns to follow. This article explains few common mistakes technical writers should avoid while writing technical articles.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Abbreviations and acronyms are both shortened versions of something else. Both can often be represented as a series of letters. They are great! They save us time and effort. We can transmit information faster using abbreviations, and they are relatively easy to memorize.
The problem in using abbreviations and acronyms is too much; we tend to use them often in professional fields. The golden rule is to “always explain your abbreviation and acronym at the very first mention in your article or document.” This would guide readers to understand the articles better without getting stuck. This would also help to avoid long names mentioned repeatedly in the context of the articles.
Unconventional Abbreviations
These are termed to be words that are not adhering to convention or accepted standard in English Language. The unconventional abbreviated words are commonly used in chats, friendly letters, informal mail contents, etc. These words are non-standard and unprofessional in technical writings.
Here are some of the commonly used unconventional abbreviations:
- “Kul” — “Cool”
- “Gud” — “Good”
- “Tnx” — “Thanks”
- “9ice” — “Nice”
- “Fyn” — “Fine”
- “Btw” — “Between”
Common words that are easily mixed up
There are some words that sound similar but are spelt differently and have different meanings.
Unfortunately, it is still a very demanding task for a spell-checker to differentiate between “it’s” and “its”. Spell-checkers may find it difficult to pin-point these errors. One may think they mean the same and the mistake would be overlooked but bear in mind that the words interpret wrongly to the readers. Of course, it could take time for a reader to understand what the context of the article means and will definitely make the reader roll their eyes. Hence, this makes your article look unprofessional.
I would like to mention some of these words that are mixed up, and please carefully study the difference between them.
- “I’m” — “Am”
- “You’re — “Your”
- “They’re” — “Their”
- “Forth” — “Fourth”
- “To” — “Too”
- “Of” — “Off”
- “Site” — “Sight”
- “Write” — “Right”
- “No” — “Know”
- “New” — “Knew
Contractions
Contractions are the natural way of a language to be more concise while remaining understandable. They originate from spoken words and work their way into written words. They are words with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe.
They aren’t used in technical writings, official documents included. Contractions make articles or documents look less corporate and serious.
Conclusions
There are many more of these like informal contradiction in English. The common mistakes are the ones covered just in a tiny part of the whole. But it is a good beginning. There are many things you can do to develop top skills any technical writer needs.
Begin from here and never stop growing as a professional technical writer!
