How Style Guides Help the Technical Writers?
Technical writing is more about following the standards and maintaining consistency in writing. Anyone can write but the challenge is to write precise, simple and accurate. There are several style guides which help in this regard. A technical writer collects information by analyzing existing material and questioning the subject matter experts (SMEs).
The technical writer also examines the audience to understand their needs and comprehensibility level. Well- structured technical helps and documents are made by following common publishing guidelines. Technical documentation can be done in many styles and formats, and the format largely depends on the various medium being used.
On the other hand the Printed documentation may have some different style and standards as opposed to the online documentation. There are various styles and standards set by the organizations themselves which they create based on their work culture, clients and branding strategies etc however there are few globally used style guides also available which the technical writers across the countries use. A lot of technical writers follow the formatting conventions which are being featured in the world famous style guides.
In the United States a majority of technical writers follow the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Many companies have their own corporate style guides; The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications is also a very well accepted guide for technical writers.
In the end I would conclude by saying that a style guide becomes inevitable when it comes to technical writing. So use a proper style sheet for a better documentation.
Please visit www.thetechwriters.blogspot.com or www.articlefeeder.blogspot.com for more articles on Technical writing and www.prashant-t-verma.blogspot.com for stories written by me.
The technical writer also examines the audience to understand their needs and comprehensibility level. Well- structured technical helps and documents are made by following common publishing guidelines. Technical documentation can be done in many styles and formats, and the format largely depends on the various medium being used.
On the other hand the Printed documentation may have some different style and standards as opposed to the online documentation. There are various styles and standards set by the organizations themselves which they create based on their work culture, clients and branding strategies etc however there are few globally used style guides also available which the technical writers across the countries use. A lot of technical writers follow the formatting conventions which are being featured in the world famous style guides.
In the United States a majority of technical writers follow the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Many companies have their own corporate style guides; The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications is also a very well accepted guide for technical writers.
In the end I would conclude by saying that a style guide becomes inevitable when it comes to technical writing. So use a proper style sheet for a better documentation.
Please visit www.thetechwriters.blogspot.com or www.articlefeeder.blogspot.com for more articles on Technical writing and www.prashant-t-verma.blogspot.com for stories written by me.
