You've encountered technical writing if you've ever followed a recipe. This also applies if you've built furniture from a manual or attempted to troubleshoot a stubborn software issue. There are two primary types: step-by-step instructions and conceptual explanations....
If users can’t find the information they need, your documentation might as well not exist. Searchability isn’t a “nice-to-have” feature—it’s the backbone of useful documentation. The best content means nothing if hidden. A mountain of text with no clear way to access...
You're troubleshooting a network issue. You open the documentation, and you do not find clear steps. Instead, you get a paragraph explaining how networks operate. It tells you what to do only after that. Not helpful. This is where task-based writing makes all the...
When was the last time you opened a manual? Did it feel like you had a personal guide walking you through the steps? Probably not often. Most documentation reads like a rulebook—cold, rigid, and barely tolerable. But the best documentation does something different. It...
Bad Writing Wastes Time. Good Writing Gets Out of the Way. Technical documentation exists for one reason: to help people do something. If your writing makes them stop, re-read, or second-guess, it’s failing. Your goal isn’t to impress—it’s to guide. The user should...