This article quantifies specific elements of technical writing style in five award winning technical manuals where combined averages for the style elements are calculated. When these results are compared to what is generally regarded as good technical writing, the results show that the elements of style vary widely between the individual manuals examined. While attempting to define a good technical writing style, the value of such studies must be commented on.
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References
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FreisingerR. R. and PetersonB. T., Toward Defining ‘Good’ Technical Writing: A Rhetorical Analysis of Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs in 16 Industrial Scripts, in Technical Communication: Perspectives for the Eighties, MathesJ. C. and PinelliT. E. (eds.), NASA, Washington, D.C., pp. 291–304, 1981.
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RoyS. S., Stylistic Variation in the Writing of a Group of Computer Professionals Addressing Different Audiences, doctoral dissertation at the State University of New York at Albany, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor Michigan, 1986.
