Introduction To Technical Writing

Transcript

1. Introduction to Technical Writing - JOEL OLAWANLE Get this slide via bit.ly/Joels-tech-writing-slide
2. - Frontend Developer that majors in teaching everything frontend. - Staff Writer @Freecodecamp - Core Technical Writer Staff @StackAbuse - Freelance Technical Writer @ so many companies. - Recently joined Hackmamba as a Technical writer. - OSCA Okitipupa Chapter Lead - And lots more. @olawanle_joel Meet Joel INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
3. Who is a Technical Writer? What is Technical Writing? INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
4. Technical writing is the art of providing detail-oriented instruction to help users understand a specific skill or product. A Technical writer is someone who writes these instructions, otherwise known as technical documentation or tutorials. This could include user manuals, online support articles, or internal docs for coders/API developers.
5. How-to guides and tutorials. End-user documentation. Instruction manuals. Technical marketing and promotional pieces. Professional reports and reviews. Whitepapers and case studies. And lots more... Areas of Technical Writing INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE It's popularly said that writing on anything technical is reffered to as technical writing.
6. LMAO! How? Just Start!!! Thinking of Getting Started? INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
7. Why Should You Write? Writing is an Highly Paid Skill. When you research online how much a technical writer earns annually, you'll see a huge sum of over $75k. This shows that this is not just a side skill but a career anyone could dive into. And as usual you don't need a BSc or BTech in English Langauage to ba a Technical Writer. You understand the Topic Better. There is a popular saying that when we teach a topic/concept we tend to understanc the concept better. This applies to Technical writing also. You can't write/teach what you don't know (well). You Grow Your Network, Share Ideas, Solve Peoples problems. This gives you an opportunity of growing your brand, starting a blog, getting online attention, getting public praise and lots more. You get to explain concepts that helps developers solves their bugs, and become happy. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
8. Understand the Use of Proper English Before you begin writing, you must first understand English, including its tenses, spellings, and basic grammar. Your readers do not want to read an article that is riddled with grammatical errors and poor word choices. Know How to Explain Things Clearly and Simply If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself - Albert Einstein. Possess Some Writing Skills‌ ‌ I believe that writers are created rather than born. And the only way to learn to write is to write. You may not realize you have the ability to write until you put pen to paper. And the only way to find out if you have some writing skills is to write. So I encourage you to begin writing right away. Some Skills Required To Become a Technical Writer INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE And of course, it is also a huge benefit to have some experience in a technical field.
9. Can You Imagine Writing Code/ Programming Without Written Contents... I think it won't be easy or might not be possible! INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
10. In a post by Edidiong Asikpo, she wrote and I quote -
11. Some Technical Writing Best Practices. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
12. Some Technical Writing Best Practices. Create an Outline Before you start writing always take out time to create an outline. It's just like creating a plan before building a house. Avoid Long Paragraphs People tend to skip long sentences because they become boring. It is always better to break these sentences into two or more paragraph as this is not a story. Write Clear Sentences Avoid so many vocabularies, this is for developers and everyone not proffessors. Use clear terms and sentences with the goal of explaining the concept well. Be Consistent Follow a single pattern, when you start with an active voice, use it through out. Be consistent with your headings, sytle of writing and lot more. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
13. Some Technical Writing Best Practices. Include Pictures A picture is worth a thousand words; use them in your content and properly attribute the images. Use Blullets and enough White Spaces If possible, use bullets to outline points rather than jamming content into paragraphs. Allow readers plenty of breathing room when reading your content. Embed codes rather than Screenshot When reading through any technical piece developers just want to copy the code and try it to see if it works.... always embeed your codes using markdown, GitHub Gists, etc. Check Grammar Nobody is perfect. Always go over your writings again and again, and use tools like Grammarly, Hemingway, and so on. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
14. Some Technical Writing Tools INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
15. - Google - Stack Overflow - Quora - And lots more Researching Tools - Notion - DropBox - Google Docs - MS Word - VS Code Writing Tools - Notion - Evernote Google Keeps Note Taking Tools Some Technical Writing Tools INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE - Dev.to - Hashnode - Medium - WordPress Publishing Tools - Grammarly - QuillBot - Hemingway Editor Editing Tools - Draw.io - ExcaliDraw - Snagit Drawing Tools - GitBook - Swagger - Docusarus Documentation Tools
16. Is everything clear? Keep all your Questions!... I'll answer at the end. Let's talk about some opportunites for Technical Writers! INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
17. I will also quote a post by Amarachi Emmanuela Azubuike - I believe this is what you really want to hear...
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19. Some Technical Writing Resources. INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
20. The Pocket Technical Writing List Getting Started with Markdown Google Technical Writing Courses Awesome Technical Writing Technical Writing A to Z Learn API Documentation Paid Community Writer Programs
21. To begin producing technical content, you do not need a degree in technical writing. While building your portfolio and gaining practical experience, you can begin writing on your personal blog. Simply put, start writing. Final Words! INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL WRITING JOEL OLAWANLE
22. Thank You!