The 10 Golden Rules of Technical Writing

1. Employ Parallelism
2. Use the Imperative Mood for Instructions
3. Use Lots of Headings and Sub-Headings
4. Make Sure Your Instructions (and Your Headings) Are Meaningful Phrases
5. Keep Your Terms Consistent
6. Organize Your Information Around a Theme
7. Tell 'Em What You're Going to Say, Say It, Tell 'Em What You Said, and Then Draw Them a Picture
8. Use Lists
9. Leave Ample White Space
10. Keep Your Spacing Consistent and Your Margins Even

1. Employ Parallelism

Parallelism is a technique that enhances the absorption of information and allows the reader to focus in on content. Essentially it involves using the same syntactical structures again and again, which allows the mind to anticipate the "encryption method" and thus decode meaning more easily.  Good places to employ parallelism are in lists and in headings. Examples are given below.

Example 1: Parallel Structure in Headings.

In this example, the command form (imperative mood) for verbs is used for each heading.

• Log In to the System
• Open Files
• Enter Data

Example 2: Parallel Structure in Headings

In this example, the gerund form for verbs is used for each heading.

• Logging In to the System
• Opening Files
• Entering Data

2. Use the Imperative Mood for Instructions

When writing instructions, this Golden Rule recommends the use of the of the imperative mood or command form for verbs. The principle behind this rule is that a procedure should galvanize action, not merely describe what should take place.

Example: Cooking Rice

1. Measure 1 cup of rice and pour into a sauce pan.
2. Fill the sauce pan with water so that there is ½" of water over the rice in the sauce pan.
3. Put the sauce pan on the stove and bring the water to a boil using high heat.
4. Once the water has come to a boil, turn down the heat to medium high.
5. Let the rice simmer until all of the water has evaporated.
6. Remove the sauce pan from stove.
7. Turn off the stove.

3. Use Lots of Headings and Sub-Headings

Headings and sub-headings essentially serve to break down your subject into digestible portions for your readers. To a great extent, they also show the relationships between the different aspects of your subject to one another. And last, but not least, they allow your readers to skim your documents more easily, when searching for particular pieces of information.

As a footnote to this rule, you should make sure that your various levels of headings and sub-headings are clearly distinguishable from one another through the use of different font sizes, styles, and spacing before and after. This will provide further clues to the structure of your information for the reader.

4. Make Sure Your Instructions (and Your Headings) Are Meaningful Phrases

Task instructions and headings should be constructed in complete and meaningful phrases so as to eliminate the need for guesswork on the part of your readers. Guesswork only opens the door to failure and aggravation.

Example 1: An Instruction that Lacks Meaning

• Install Part X.

In this example, the instruction is missing so much vital information that the reader could not possibly carry out the task. The instruction begs the questions "install part X where?" and "with what?"

Example 2: A Meaningful Instruction

Below, the Example 1 instruction has been rewritten so as to be meaningful and, more importantly, useful. It answers those questions which before were left unanswered.

• Install Part X onto Part Y using two (2) soc head screws.

5. Keep Your Terms Consistent

Often times the systems you will be writing about will have many names and nicknames. The problem is, not everyone will know all of them or be able to remember them.

The fifth Golden Rule commands that you keep your terms consistent so that it will be easier for your readers to recognize what you are referring to all throughout your document. This means that if you identify a system as Unit X at the start of your document, that you should stick with the term Unit X - even if it is sometimes called Unit Y. Furthermore, it means don't alternate between Unit X and Unit Y in your document, even if you acknowledge to the reader that Unit X is sometimes called Unit Y. Just keep it simple.

6. Organize Your Information Around a Theme

Organizing your information around a theme aids reader comprehension. A theme serves to enhance understanding by providing readers with a frame of reference that they can use to make sense out of all the bits and pieces.

Common organizational themes include:

• Time
• Sequence
• Size
• Components and sub-components
• Spatial/physical relationships
• Hierarchical order from greatest to least, and vice versa
• Alphabetical order
• Numerical order

7. Tell 'Em What You're Going to Say, Say It,  Tell 'Em What You Said, and Then Draw Them a Picture

This Golden Rule is based on the time-honored principles of preparation and reinforcement to drive a point home. And that of "a picture is worth a thousand words." The repetition of the point, worded slightly differently each time, serves as a way to help the reader practice his "knowing" of the subject.

8. Use Lists

Lists provide readers with a visual aid to comprehension. Their form lets readers "grab the information and go." List items should be distinguished from one another by separating them with blank lines, the use of numbers, or the use of bullets to further aid visual intake.

9. Leave Ample White Space

White space is another visual aid to reading documentation. It limits the visual information that a reader must intake to manageable proportions and prevents it from being visually overwhelming. It also provides space for readers to make notes in, which technical audiences often appreciate.

10. Keep Your Spacing Consistent and Your Margins Even

This last Golden Rule is a final visual aid for readers. Major topics, minor topics, new paragraphs, lists, and figures will all be more easily identified if you keep the before-and-after spacing you use with each one the same. Furthermore, straight, justified margins will provide a scanning guideline for the eye. For western audiences, it will be most important that the left margin be justified, as they read from left to right.