What is "technical" and "writing"

Kristin Sutter
Dr. Teresa Fishman
ENGL 314 online
24 May 2007
I looked up the term “technical” in several different sources so that I could get the best understanding of the term possible. According to dictionary.com technical means, “using terminology or treating subject matter in a manner peculiar to a particular field, as a writer or a book”. For example a technical report for a biology class would be use language and refer to subject matter that relates specifically to biology. Some other definitions I found were, “belonging or relating to a particular subject” according to The American Heritage Dictionary or “used in or peculiar to a specific field or profession”. An example of this would be how people specialize in certain fields that use language that is specific to that field.
I think that this is what we are supposed to be thinking about when we are studying the “technical” of technical writing. To me it is important to understand the “technical” aspect of the field that I want to go into when I graduate. I think that being able to already be familiar with the technical language and the specific type of writing that my chosen field will require will make my adjustment into my field a little bit easier.
When I looked up “writing” on dictionary.com two of the definitions that I found were, “to express or communicate in writing” and, “to give a written account of”. Theses definitions are consistent with my own personal definition of what I think of when I think of writing. To me writing is the physical action of putting one’s thoughts down on a surface so that they can be visibly seen. Some examples would be writing letters, emails, books, papers, etc.
When I graduate I want to go into the real estate business. Real estate requires different types of technical writing specific to the profession. In real estate descriptive writing is a type of technical writing that is important because a realtor has to be able to describe the house/property in a way that the potential buyer can visualize it. This type of writing is very important in order for houses to be portrayed in they best way they possibly can. For example it sounds better to say the house comes with a
Whirlpool style hot tub than to just say it comes with one. Descriptive writing is also used in the hospitality field. I know this because I currently work at a restaurant. Instead of saying the burger comes with lettuce and tomatoes we have to say it comes with hand-torn lettuce and vine-ripen tomatoes. The burger and what is comes with stays the same but how things are said make all the difference.
I don’t necessarily think that the terms “technical” and “writing” mean something different to me personally than they do in the business of real estate. To me the word technical translates into specific and; the specificity is going to vary depending on the subject matter. As I already stated before to me writing is the actual physical process and this process is not going to be different because of the subject matter or profession. I do think that the types of technical writing that are important will vary from profession to profession but; I don’t think that what technical writing means to me personally varies that much from what it means in the profession I want to go into.