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Q&A Can technical writing suck less

I would basically agree with the accepted answer that the main goal of technical writing is to assist someone in a task and it should focus on that. (Most of the time) you want to get a specific jo...

posted 5y ago by Sybille Peters‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:05:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41926
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Sybille Peters‭ · 2019-12-08T05:05:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
I would basically agree with the accepted answer that the main goal of technical writing is to assist someone in a task and it should focus on that. (Most of the time) you want to get a specific job done and fast. I would say most of that applies to online documentation that needs to be terse like short howtos or reference.

However I do **disagree** that this must apply to **all** technical documentation and that you must always restrict yourself to dryness. I see no harm in being informed and entertained (if possible).

I think there are several ways to put some fun into documentation.

- Use a good design that makes the docs easily readable and aesthetically pleasing
- Add images (and or videos) to visualize things
- The problem with humor is that not everyone appreciates it. But, if you know your audience well, I think there is no harm in a pun or comic once in a while if it fits, example: [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DldA\_cIXgAADj5w.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DldA_cIXgAADj5w.jpg)
- Another example for terseness and fun to look are some technical sketchnotes. The technique can come in handy for cheat sheets 
- Add analogies and images to explain things, Example: [An introduction to HTTP/2 for SEOs](https://www.distilled.net/resources/an-introduction-to-http2-for-seos/) 

* * *

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/x5EBb.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/x5EBb.png)

- Source: [https://xkcd.com/293/](https://xkcd.com/293/)
- License: [https://xkcd.com/license.html](https://xkcd.com/license.html)
#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-04T20:17:06Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 3