Technical Communication and Technical Definition (Unit four)

Technical Communication

    •     Technical communication is the communication that is used by technical people or                  professionals in the world of work.

•        The language of Business Correspondence, Reports and Scientific Writings have a distinct style.

•        Practice and conventions in the world of work have shaped a writing style which is precise concise and highly objective.

•        It has also been termed as “Transactional Writing.”

•        It is characterized by a conventional format, certain formal elements such as commercial and technical vocabulary and the use of graphics and audio-visual aids.

•        It is impartial and highly objective in nature as extreme care is taken to convey information accurately and correctly.

•        It deals with various commercial, industrial/professional and scientific/engineering subjects.

•        It has comparatively high concentration of certain complex writing techniques and procedures.

•        It is a combination of Audience. Information and Purpose.

•        Thus technical communication is specific information, to a specific audience for a specific purpose.



Technical Definition

You have seen the importance of definition for a technical description. But the definition that you have come to know is only one of the three types of definitions. Actually, you have come to know the definition which has three elements, the term, the classification and the differentiation. It is in fact a sentence definition. There are two other definitions also. They are known as parenthetical definition and extended definition.

These three definitions are collectively known as technical definitions. In short, there are three types of definitions. These definitions are very useful in providing any technical description.

A technical definition may be defined as a definition used in explaining technical terminology. The three types of technical definitions are as follows:-

1. Parenthetical Definition
2. Sentence Definition
3. Extended Definition

 Parenthetical Definition

A parenthetical definition is the definition which is given in the form of a phrase (not a sentence) immediately after the term. In other words, the definition is given in the form of a parenthesis. It may be a synonym or a short description immediately after the term. The synonym or short description may be inside parenthesis or commas e.g.

Aniline a benzene ring with an amine group, is a versatile chemical used in many organic syntheses.

The genus Helogale (dwarf mongooses) contains two species.

Homo sapiens, the species to which all human beings belong, is one of the several species grouped into genus Homo.

Sentence Definition

A sentence definition is the definition that is provided in the form of a sentence. It has three elements:-

1. The Term
2. The Classification
3. The Differentiation

For example the following definition of an electric fan:-

An electric fan is an electrical appliance which is used for circulating the air of room.

In the above definition, ‘an electric fan’ is the term, ‘is an electrical appliance’ is classification and ‘is used for circulating the air of the room’ is differentiation.

Extended Definition

But sometimes you cannot explain a term in one sentence. You may have to use several sentences or sometimes several pages to explain it.

When a term requires several sentences or several pages to define, we call such a definition an extended definition.

Encyclopedias are full of extended definitions. Most of the pages in an on encyclopedia are extended definitions. An operation manual of a car or a machine is also an extended definition.

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Précis Writing


RGPV B.Tech First Year Unit 4 Technical Definition







 

Location: Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India

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