Lecture Notes on Principles of Technical Communication
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1. What Is Technical Communication?

The objective of technical communication is
to exchange technical information clearly, accurately and concisely.
Since English is the de facto standard as the universal language of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics),
English is definitely presumed in technical communication.

Technical information must be objective
and
exclude any source of subjectiveness as much as possible.
It is quite different from ordinary communication in daily life
that often intends to deliver subjective and/or emotional expressions.

Remark 1.1:
A communication theorist Albert Mehrabian revealed that the impact of a message is conveyed by
This fact implies a challenge in technical communication,
since the primary channel of technical communication is text
(irrespective of whether written or verbal)
which plays a little role (only 7%) in daily communication.
Thus, technical communication requires us to develop special skills
for expressing facts and ideas clearly, accurately and concisely.

Thus, the quality of technical communication is evaluated with the following criteria.

A vocabulary used in technical communication is also quite different from the vocabulary used by communication in a daily life.
In addition, it varies depending on a field
and is extended with an additional vocabulary specific to a topic (so-called jargon).
A vocabulary of a field or a topic is called terminology.
Each word in such a vocabulary is called a technical term.

Example 1.1:
Technical Terms in Computer Science

Remark 1.2:
Japanese people sometimes use an acronym in a way that is illogical or grammatically wrong.
For example, SNS (Social Network Service) is a commercial service for social networking.
Many Japanese people say "SNSする",
although that sounds like "doing business of providing SNS" instead of "using SNS."

Suggestion 1.1:
DO NOT use Japanese translation of technical terms (even in "Katakana").
Learn all technical terms in English and then try to learn their correct pronunciations.

Review 1.1:
Try to figure out what each of the following technical terms means in computer science
and find its correct pronunciation.
In case of an acronym, find its original phrase.
  1. carousel
  2. CC BY-NC
  3. ciphertext
  4. EULA
  5. malware
  6. peripheral
  7. phishing
  8. UX

2. Major Elements of Technical Communication
To achieve the objective of technical communication, we need the following.
  1. Logical Reasoning
  2. Mathematics
  3. Terminology
  4. Organization (e.g., Hierarchical Structure)

(a) Logical Reasoning

The most important element of technical communication is to express everything logically.
One party compiles information to be delivered with a logical way of thinking (typically, based on formal logic)
and encodes it into text (irrespective of whether text is written or spoken).
Then, another party interprets the received text
and comprehends the information from the text as precise to what the one party intended to deliver as possible.

A logical argument includes premises and a conclusion logically drawn from the premises.
  1. State each premise clearly
  2. Provide evidence for each premise that elaborates justification of the premise
  3. Present steps of logical inferences toward a conclusion explicitly
  4. State the conclusion clearly

Example 2.1:
Consider the following argument.
Non-renewable resources do not exist in infinite supply. Coal is a non-renewable resource. Resourses in finite supply will run out if they will be consumed. Therefore, coal will eventually run out as long as we continue to consume it.
Which sentences are premises?
Which sentences are evidences of a premise (if any)?
Which sentence is a conclusion?

Example 2.2:
The same principle can be applied to communication in a non-technical situation.

「同僚アリスさんの結婚祝いとしてチーム全体でプレゼントするもので何が喜んでもらえるかについて、 何か助言をお願いします」という趣旨のメールを上司に出すとします。
In technical writing (also generally in English), it is common to write a conclusion first and then elaborate on that.
This style of writing is sometimes called "bottomline first."

Example 2.3:
Logic in Argumentative Writing in Purdue OWL

Review 2.1:
次の議論をpremisesとそれに関するstatementsと結論に分類して、 論理的構成がはっきりするように書き直しなさい。
「骨髄移植は慢性骨髄性白血病，急性白血病，重症再生不良性貧血，免疫不全症などの 病気におかされた骨髄細胞を，健康なものに置き換える治療方法です。 多くの白血病や再生不良性貧血が化学療法や，免疫抑制剤などで治療可能となりましたが， 骨髄移植でしか治療が望めない患者さんが，まだ大勢います。」
Then, find English counterparts of technical terms in medicine and
write the argument in English.

(b) Mathematics

In science & engineering, mathematics is important part of the language for technical communication as well as English.
Especially, mathematics is the foundation for computer science.
Thus, terms and notations in mathematics are commonly embedded into text
and heavily used in technical writing.

Mathematics has its own style of writing, called mathematical writing.
STEM professionals need to get familiar with it.
The following tutorials are very informative and helpful for students to learn mathematical writing.

Example 2.4:
Analysis of Reliability in a Multiprocessor System for an Extraterrestrial Explorer
Assume that you are involved in the NASA Extraterrestrial Mission
and working on the reliability analysis of a multiprocessor system for motion planning of an autonomous mobile robot.

Assume that the robot has 3 identical CPUs for executing the same algorithm
which determines the next move out of the following 3 possible actions.
Let p be the probability that a CPU produces a correct output.
The robot employs the so-called majority consensus,
i.e., it chooses the majority of outputs from the 3 CPUs.
When the majority does not exist, all outputs are regarded as invalid
(although a real system may repeatedly retry to execute the algorithm on the CPUs until the system reaches the majority consensus).
For simplicity, we suppose that there is always exactly one correct action.

Show how you derive the probability ps that the entire system takes a correct action.
Does the multiprocessor system improve the reliability in comparison with a single CPU?

Solution

Review 2.2:
Write a proof for the following assertion.
For all integers m and n, if m⋅n is odd, then m and n are both odd.

Remark 2.1:
The usage of the same symbol for different variables (although grammatically correct) is often confusing.
Hence, it should be avoided in mathematical writing.

(c) Terminology

Each field has its own vocabulary called terminology.
Without using proper terminology, we cannot deliver information to a third person precisely.

It is important to learn and use "authenticated" terminology & notations.
To do so, read periodicals (such as journals and professional magazines) published by international organizations (such as IEEE and ACM) in a field of your interest.
For example, Computer monthly published by IEEE Computer Society and Communications of ACM monthly published by ACM contain tutorial articles good for students.

When you need to quickly find a translation of a technical term from English to Japanese or vice versa, links between the English Wikipedia and Japanese Wikipedia may be useful.
For example, you can find a Japanese translation of the technical term "virtual currency" as follows.
  1. Look up "virtual currency" in Wikipedia.org.
  2. Find a link from a Web page of the technical term "virtual currency" , where such a link is listed in the left column of the Web page.
  3. By clicking the link to the Japanese Wikipedia website, find the technical term "仮想通貨" in Japanese.
In case of a translation from a Japanese term to an English term, a Web page at the Japanese Wikipedia often includes its English term.
If the English term is not given in the Japanese Wikipedia, then use a link from the Web page at the Japanese Wikipedia to the English Wikipedia.

Caveat 2.1:
Information about technical terms in Wikipedia is fairly reliable
because it may be viewed by many experts and hence "unofficially reviewed" by them.
However, Wikipedia is not an authrized source of information
because nobody takes the responsibility of the accuracy of information in the Wikipedia website.
Thus, you must be cautious when you use information from Wikipedia.

(d) Organization

An organization of contents also plays a key role in making the contents easy to comprehend.
Especially, hierarchical structures are commonly used to organize the contents.
From a viewpoint of a reader or listener, structured contents are beneficial in two ways.

3. Principles of Composition
The following principles should be applied to composition of sentences in technical communication.

The following are guidelines to be observed in composition of sentences.

Example 3.1:

When we organize paragraphs, sections or an entire document,
it is generally a good idea to apply the well-known principle of Chinese poems.
  1. 起     Introduction
  2. 承     Development
  3. 転     Transition (Twist) [This part is sometimes skipped.]
  4. 結     Conclusion

Example 3.2:
A paragraph with the 4-step composition （起承転結）
A lot of practice of logical thinking is necessary for not only scientists and engineers but alo technical writers.
As a result, they can share information accurately.
Even if a conclusion was come across by insight, its truth must objectively be verified so that the other people are convinced.
Therefore, formal logic is the common means of analysis as well as verification necessary for sharing the conclusion.
      Another Example:
Genetic algorithms (GAs) have widely been recognized as an effective solving technique for complex problems in the real world. For example, a bibliography on applications of GAs includes over 1,400 papers as of April 1996. The concept of GAs was inspired by natural breeding. As GAs are getting a larger spectrum of applications, it becomes popular to design algorithms with an analogy from nature.

Finally, but not the least,
it is important to revise a document at least several times.

Review 3.1:
Identify why the following examples of technical writing are bad.
Then, try to improve them by revising them.
  1. "This procedure enables users to document data fields described in master files that were parsed and analyzed by the program dictionary." − found in a software user's manual

  2. "In this book I have attempted an accurate but at the same time readable account of recent work on the subject of how gene controls operate, a large subject which is rapidly acquiring a central position in the biology of today and which will inevitably become even more prominent in the future, in the efforts of scientists of numerous different specialists to explain how a single organism can contain cells of many different kinds developed from a common origin."

4. Professional Code of Ethics
There are rules in a professional community that all professionals must observe.
Such rules are called professional code of ethics.

A ban on plagiarism is most critical in the code of ethics in all fields of science & engineering.
This rule is well-known though,
it is not unusual to find plagiarisms in technical documents.
Especially, some students tend to grab information on Internet and
copy & paste it to her/his report without any citation to it.
Such a practice of copy & paste is called patchwork plagiarism.

Besides the ban of plagiarism, we should observe the following.

5. Exercises
  1. Revise the following sentense.
    "Although design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its discovery in 1985."

  2. Revise the following sentense.
    "Having a model would help designers predict the effects of engine operation over all speeds."

  3. ２つの製品のマニュアルの一部を以下に掲載しています。 それらに対応する部分を英語で記述しなさい。
    1. プリンターのユーザ・マニュアル：
      「最新のドライバーに入れ替えると、パソコンの新しいOSに対応したり、 印字やスキャンなどの際のトラブルを解決できることがあります。」
    2. エコキュートの取り扱い説明書：
      「ミスト運転中にシャワーやバスタブのためにお湯を使用すると、ミスト温度が変化したり、 ミスト噴霧量が低下し、高温の水滴が落ちることがあります。」

  4. The following is a paragraph of a technical report written by a student
    for an assignment of an undergraduate course on algorithms that I taught at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    Revise the paragraph to improve its readability.
    The problem we will be focusing on in this paper is How do we create a Fault-Tolerant Network of Water Pipelines. So first this paper will give a basic introduction on the water distribution process given by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Then it will give a basic review on certain key ideas learned in the courses ICS 141, ICS 241, and ICS 311. And lastly it will use those key ideas to create a basic algorithm to solve the problem of creating a Fault-Tolerant Network of Water Pipelines.

    Remark:
    A naïve technical writer (especially, a non-native speaker) tends to write sentences as if she/he were speaking.
    For example, she/he often uses the word "so" or "and" as a conjunction at the beginning of a sentence.
    However, "so" and "and" must not be used at the beginning of a sentence in technical writing.
    Instead of "so", there are alternative words such as "Thus, ...", "Therefore, ..." and "Hence, ...".
    Instead of "and", there are alternative words and phrases such as "In addition, ...", "Furthermore, ..." and "Moreover, ...".

  5. Exercise on Style in Scientific Writing