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Q&A Does a technical writer need a technical background?

As with teaching, technical writing can be described as "the art of imparting information without knowledge." You are the advocate for the end user. Your technical skills in this case are simply t...

posted 13y ago by Orbital Bundle‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T01:22:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/2662
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Orbital Bundle‭ · 2019-12-08T01:22:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
As with teaching, technical writing can be described as "the art of imparting information without knowledge."

You are the advocate for the end user. Your technical skills in this case are simply to get the necessary information from the experts, then present that information to your readers, in a way that both the experts and the readers are pleased with the results. I kid, I kid.

Seriously, given the necessary interviewing, research and writing skills (without which you'd be one of the experts, not one of the writers), a genuine interest in the topic area is helpful. Experts generally love to talk about their favorite subjects, and welcome a sympathetic audience.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-04-29T00:57:26Z (over 13 years ago)
Original score: 0