technical writing vs academic writing

technical writing vs academic writing

Comparison between Technical Writing and Academic Writing

1. Introduction

Both technical and academic writing have one thing in common in terms of their purpose: that is, to present intended information to a reader. Technical writing aims to get work done, to change people by changing the way they do things. It involves designing and making things better by providing new innovations or solving problems. The primary purpose of academic writing is to demonstrate knowledge of a topic. This purpose is frequently accomplished by using any number of different rhetorical strategies to show the reader that the writer has a solid grasp of the pertinent discipline, as well as a sophisticated understanding of the disciplinary rhetoric. Rhetorical strategies are always employed to help achieve this purpose, which can be thought of as the method by which the paper will try to achieve its goal. Technical writing is always directed towards some practical end, even if this end is merely a better understanding of some topic. The diversity of materials is strikingly similar in each, with technical writing having a more wide-ranging variety of research papers and experimental analysis. In either case, the type of writing has to fit the purpose and the writer always has to consider audience or reader. In technical writing, one is always writing to trying to make a change in a reader, to get them to do something or adopt a new way of thinking. This contrasts with the typically dispassionate, more neutral tone of academic writing whose aim is to argue a position. The intended change to the reader in technical writing means that more emphasis is put on fully explaining the topic in a way that will be most easily understood. Though technical writing is much less likely to employ complex sentence structures, both types of writing put a heavy emphasis on clear, logical explanations.

2. Purpose and Audience

Academic writing, the basis of all research and argument, is the ability to prove a point, sharing information on a particular topic. It most commonly takes place after high school such as undergraduate studies and post-graduate study. Assignments and exams are used as an assessment of knowledge. However, due to the sophisticated knowledge expected and the informal training in the modern generation, there is an inadequate understanding of what the term “academic writing” entails. This has resulted in less emphasis and poor execution of a crucial skill. The assignment of an undergraduate student to compare two products, the above is a prime example. An effort has been made to persuade the reader into understanding which product is better, using comparison and contrast, the method most widely used in technical writing. This is considered an “academic skill” and if cultivated at the student’s early stage of education, will improve his writing ability over all and provide more effective means of expression.

In technical writing, the purpose is paramount. The goal of technical writing is to enable readers to use a technology or understand a process or concept. Because the purpose of technical writing is to inform or to persuade, the most common word is the simple present tense. Technical writers use various methods to create an effective message, such as definition, classification, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect. Some writers begin with the most effective method and later decide upon another, staying with the first choice. In this case, the first method selected is the audience. Writer’s consideration of the audience is essential to effective technical writing. If the audience is not a primary concern, there is a risk of being unclear, providing unnecessary information, or being too complex or too simple. For example, a technical writer for a defense contractor has written a maintenance manual for one of its products. This manual, although found to be technically acceptable by the company, was too complex and unclear, provided too much information, and was actually a repair manual for the product. This failure was a direct result of not considering the audience, which was a group of US Marines. So, a writer should devote great effort to finding out what the audience already knows and their attitude towards the subject. An effective method is employing a sample of the intended audience. A writer of carburetor repair information assumed the current knowledge of his readers and used terminology unfamiliar to them. He incorrectly assumed that carburetor parts and functions were commonly understood. This has resulted in his audience becoming greatly confused. To the writer, a properly fitting part might be obvious. But to his readers, there is no understanding of why it is necessary.

3. Writing Style and Tone

Meanwhile, academic writing is intended to be more inclusive. The tone is more subjective, with the author’s personal opinion being a feature. Despite there being numerous forms of academic writing, the common feature is an apparent objective by the writer in allowing the reader to critique the work against some form of criteria. The tone is also more informal, and the writing is more general. For example, compare a literature review with a research plan. The literature review is the critique and summary of other works. It is an example of persuasive writing as the author needs to convince the reader of their opinion. The possible opinions would have been defined before the writing, and the audience is usually the writer’s peers. Compare this with the research plan where the author will try to convince funding bodies of why a piece of research should be done. This research plan is also a form of persuasive writing; however, the criteria to be met is less defined, and the audience is quite varied. So in this case, both the literature review and the research plan should be persuasive, but the style and tone would be different.

Technical writing is very concise and is meant to give the reader the information they need without any extra fluff. It usually has a defined audience or person it is meant for. Some forms of technical writing are intended to impart information in a somewhat persuasive manner. Some argue that all writing is intended to be persuasive. However, technical writing is more concrete as it tries to accomplish its goal. The writer might need to convince the reader to take some form of action, but in many cases, the results will simply be given with no judgment involved. Technical writing is usually done from a defined point of view and is more impersonal than other forms of writing. For example, a business case is usually intended to persuade someone of something and therefore is a form of persuasive writing. Usually, the person to whom the case is being made is only loosely defined (e.g., a board of directors). Therefore, the writing would be more specific. However, a software manual is intended for a specific defined audience.

4. Formatting and Structure

Although technical and academic writing share many attributes, there are basic differences in style and content. Technical writing is more demanding of the reader, with the reader often having to invest more time reading and re-reading in order to fully understand a technical document. Sentence complexity, vocabulary, and the use of passive voice or third person in technical writing can, at times, act to confuse or mislead the reader and should be used with care. Although many academic papers can also be complex and hard to understand, the writer will often aim to write in a clear and concise manner. Sentence complexity is usually less than technical documentation, and the use of first person can make the information more personal and easier to understand.

When compared to technical writing, academic writing is usually more subjective. The writer can write in the first person, which usually requires the writer to testify to a certain documentation. This is carried out to back up an argument proving what has been written. Usually, academic writing will contain a lot of evidence in the form of citing other people’s work throughout the document. This too is similar to technical writing; when using information off the internet, it is also deemed necessary to use evidence to back up what you have written. Both types of writing require the writer to communicate clearly, using evidence, examples, and explanations to simplify complex ideas or technical jargon.

Technical writing documents are like academic papers. They need to be well organized, clearly structured, and will require the reader to invest more time in order to understand the content. Although the type of information can be more complex and detailed than a report, the reader will not have to sift through information to find what is relevant to them. Often, the formula is the same: introduce the subject, body of the subject, summaries, and conclusions.

5. Conclusion

One thing that is similar in these two types of writing is that they are both very structured. Each type has a format that must be followed. The essay has shown how each type of writing has a different audience and purpose and how these affect the way that the writing is done. Technical writing has shown to be the better written form for society today. With how the world is becoming more and more fast paced, people are having less time to read in-depth articles on a certain subject. Technical writing is for the person who wants to understand something and move on. This essay has shown that academic writing is becoming a thing of the past, the future is in technical writing.

This essay has compared the differences between academic and technical writing. Although the goal of both essays is to prove that their conclusion about one subject is correct, the way in which that is done is very different. Academic writing is designed for the purpose of proving a point through using evidence and logic. Then, technical writing is designed to inform and educate the reader about a certain topic. This is a comparative and contrasting essay on the differences between the two types of writings.