Several assumptions can be made about technical writing which cannot be made about essays. This sheet is meant to help remind you of these assumptions.



Technical writing is aimed at a specific, identifiable primary audience; often that primary audience is NOT the course instructor. The primary audience is often identified in the work's title or introduction. The instructor acts as a secondary audience.


Technical writing is meant to be used for a specific purpose by its intended audience, and the writing is designed and organized to anticipate that use. This purpose is also normally stated explicitly in the introduction.


Technical writing makes extensive use of subheadings to identify blocks of information. Rarely will a piece of technical writing go longer than a page of sentences and paragraphs without some sort of identifying heading.


In technical writing, the visual presentation of information--in charts, graphs, lists, or illustrations--is preferable to the exclusive use of sentences and paragraphs. Visual presentation makes for quicker reading.


Especially in longer technical reports, the same information will be repeated in several sections. Such repetition allows for a variety of readers and reading situations.