Messy Structure:
No doubt, the layout of the technical documents is confusing not only for the writers but also for the readers. As a technical writer, to understand the structure of the technical document is hard for you. Its reason is that there are lots of confusing things in the structure of the technical documents. If you don’t prepare an effective plan about the structure of the technical documents, you will leave lots of confusing things in the technical documents. These things will create lots of problems for readers.
Too Many Jargons:
As we have discussed earlier that technical writing is for the technical subjects. If you are writing a document about a technical subject, you will have to use lots of technical terms. These technical terms will be understandable for the subject specialist readers. On the other hand, if general audience members are reading these technical documents, they will not understand these technical terms. Therefore, you will have to limit the use of technical terms in the technical documents. To replace the technical terms with the general terms is a real challenge for the technical writers.
Poor Punctuation:
No doubt, punctuation is the main part of writing skills. If you are writing general documents, you will not have to make enough use of the punctuation. Therefore, almost all writers can create the best quality content for the general documents. On the other hand, all the writers can’t use punctuation effectively in the technical documents. Only professional writers can create the best quality content for technical subjects. For this reason, you will have to get a full grasp over the possible uses and misuses of the punctuation marks.
Inconsistency:
It is a fact that the quality of a document depends upon the consistency of the content. It means that there should be logical flow in all the paragraphs and sections of the document. In the case of technical subjects, it is hard for us to ensure consistency in the content. For the technical writers, to ensure the consistency in the content is also a real problem. Its reason is that they can’t take care of the style, layout and point of view of the document. The best way to overcome this problem is to commence the technical document writing task by creating an effective plan and outline.
Dense Presentation:
Dense presentation is also an important issue in technical writing. Its reason is that most of us use plain language while creating content for different documents. In the case of technical documents, we can’t create the best quality content by using plain language. Its reason is that you will have to face lots of stylistic limitations. If you are creating a technical document by using the plain language, you will create lots of confusions for the readers. The use of the jargon and complex concepts also adds load on the technical writers. Anyhow, as a technical writer, you can overcome the issue of a dense presentation by following lots of techniques. The best way to overcome this problem is to use short words, sentences and paragraphs.
Unclear Antecedents A word, phrase or clause which refers to another word is known as an unclear antecedent. If you are using one or two antecedents in your document, it will not create problems for you. On the other hand, if you have to use lots of antecedents in the document, you will have to face lots of problems. The main issue of the use of unclear antecedents in technical documents is ambiguity. As a technical writer, you will have to make use of lots of antecedents. You can also overcome this problem of the use of unclear antecedents by following a simple technique. After using these antecedents, you should proofread the documents effectively. While proofreading the document, you should remove unclear antecedents.