The primary task of technical writers is to write. However, technical communication encompasses many fields of expertise. One field that technical writers should be familiar with is visual design, also referred to as visual communication design.
Minimalist Principles Articles
Principle Seven: Communicate Visually
Principle Six: Organize Information Logically
Unstructured text typically consists of one paragraph after another, maybe with a randomly formulated title here and there. Information presented in this way is monotonous and visually unappealing.
Principle Five: Negate with Purpose
Writers in marketing communications know that it pays to adopt a positive tone of voice. Unlike marketing content writers, software developers are often better at criticizing their work than extolling the virtues of their products.
Principle Four: Choose Verbs with Care
Principle Four: Choose Verbs with Care The power of verbs A verb is usually the word in a sentence that is essential to the structure and meaning of the sentence. Therefore, verbs and how they are used can sometimes make or break the clarity of the intended message. Verbs with multiple meanings verb + preposition […]
Principle Three: Use Active Voice
Principle Three: Use Active Voice “Whodunit?” Verbs can be used in one of two voices: active or passive. In the active voice, the subject of the verb performs the action described by the verb. Example: Passive: You are followed around online and information is collected about your browsing habits and interests. Many trackers and other […]
Principle Two: Use Parallelism
Principle Two: Use parallelism I like reading, writing, and traveling. Like sentences with simple word order, sentences that follow a pattern are easy to understand. When two or more concepts are logically equal, the same grammatical form can be repeated in a series of words, phrases, or sentences, for example, “reading, writing, and traveling”. In […]
Principle One: Keep sentences simple
Principle One: Keep sentences simple “Much to learn, you still have.” — Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back) English and other languages that are spoken and understood by many people in the world, such as Mandarin, are based on the subject + verb + object sentence structure. subject + verb + prepositional phrase is also common: […]
When More Is Less and Less Is More
Broadly speaking, minimalism is any style or technique that is characterized by an extreme reduction to necessities and radical simplification. A minimalist is a person who strives to restrict the means and ends required to achieve a goal to a minimum. Applying minimalist principles to writing can support the key objective of technical communication: to […]