Technical Writing Lesson Plan: A Step By Step Process

Technical writing develops clarity of expression in composition. Writing about a step by step process forces students to write clearly and precisely.

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Technical Writing: Clarity Of Expression

(Published in Directory : Language Arts : Writing)

As an educator, software developer, math competition problem writer, and public speaker, I am regularly required to take pen (or keyboard) in hand, and turn out writing that is easy to understand and technically accurate. Whether it's a software help file, a geometry problem, a motivational speech, or a sermon, my writing has to be clear and to the point.

Writing should never occur 'in a vacuum'. A student who believes he is writing simply to get a grade in English class has less incentive to improve than the student who understands he will have to use those writing skills throughout his life.

When I was in high school, one of my English teachers had a creative way to introduce technical writing. He brought a block and tackle to class, and demonstrated how to reeve it*. Then, after we had seen how it was done, we were given our assignment. Write a paper explaining, in detail, how to reeve a block and tackle.

At first none of us thought this would be difficult, but as we began to write, we quickly realized that understanding how something is done is not the same as being able to put it into words. It was a challenging exercise for all of us, and it changed the way we looked at writing.

The 'block and tackle' exercise is just one of many ways to encourage clarity in writing. Any tasks--even everyday ones--can be turned into opportunities for technical writing. Here are just a few:

Tying your shoes

Playing a musical scale

Dribbling a basketball

Cooking a favorite recipe

Changing the oil in a car

Students may have ideas of their own. Teachers in other disciplines may have more ideas, and may even be interested in co-grading students papers, such as lab reports, essays, or term papers. Working with teachers across disciplines will also help students appreciate the value placed on good writing.

* If you need information or diagrams on 'reeving a block and tackle', just type 'reeving a block and tackle' into a search engine such as
Google. There are plenty of sites with information.

About the Author

Name: Douglas Twitchell

Website: http://www.jeorgethedodo.com/dougblog/

Bio: I am the designer, maintainer, and editor of this site (Articles For Educators).

I am a former educator in both elementary and secondary math and science. In addition to this site, I also built and maintain the following educational sites: The Problem Site, Tile Puzzler, and Quote Puzzler.

I'm also a ventriloquist, and you can find more about my puppets here: Jeorge The Dodo