Technical Writing in the Netherlands

Abstract

This article is about the profession of technical writing in the Netherlands. The data are mainly based on two studies. The first was directed at technical writers who work as freelancers (external writers). It was done with the objective of learning about the characteristics and backgrounds of external technical writers and about their wishes concerning the development of the profession. The second study was directed at technical writers who work inside organizations (internal writers) and focused on questions about text quality and the writing problems that threaten this quality.

We will focus on three issues. After the introduction in the first section and the description of the design of our studies in the second section, we will give a global profile of technical writers in the Netherlands. In the fourth section we will give an impression of the writing problems internal technical writers have to deal with. In the fifth section opinions concerning more professionalism in the field of technical writing are discussed. Also attention is paid to current developments in professionalism.