Advanced English Term 1 Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the basics of technical writing, its organization, differences from creative writing, and capitalization and punctuation rules from Weeks 1-3.

Techne

A Greek word meaning technique, skill, art, method and craft.

Technical writing

An audience-centered means of communication that provides a reader with clear and easy access to information.

Golden Rule 1: Level of Language

Since the readers are not experts, we should use simple and clear language!

Golden Rule 2: Level of Information

Depends on the end user!

Audience

Who will read the text.

Purpose

The reason a piece of technical writing is created.

Clarity

Technical writing should be clear and easy to understand, with little chance of misunderstanding.

Easily Understood

Technical writers use simple words and avoid flowery writing.

Conciseness

Clear without excess verbiage; not wordy.

Precise

Technical writing describes things exactly.

Accuracy

Relies on being factual, correct, and free from any bias.

Correctness

It should follow grammatical and technical conventions.

Comprehensiveness

Contains all necessary information.

Accessibility

Includes Table of Content, headings, subheadings, and Indexes.

Introduction

Needs to tell readers what you are writing and why you are writing about it.

Body

Presents the content that your readers need to know to take action or make a decision.

Conclusion

Wraps up your argument by restating your main point (s).

Forecasting

Tells the reader what the document will discuss.

Editing

Improving writing for clarity, grammar, organization, and style; usually focuses on content and clarity and is done before proofreading.

Proofreading

The final check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors; focuses on mechanical errors.

Capitalization

The use of uppercase letters according to the convention of English Writing.

En dash (–)

Punctuation that shows a range (e.g., 1–10).

Em dash (—)

Punctuation that adds emphasis or interruption.

Ellipsis (…)

Punctuation that shows pause or missing words.