Technical Writing
Clear Terms
Generic Nouns - How to write more clearly using specific, instead of generic, nouns.
Weighty Nouns - Four rules for using and not using weighty nouns.
Quantity Qualifiers - Suggestions for reducing the use of unnecessary qualifiers of quantities.
Time Qualifiers - Spotting and editing redundant and unnecessary references to time.
Device Qualifiers - How and why to edit qualifiers that identify devices or equipment.
Activity Qualifiers - Learning self-restraint when using words to show how active we are.
Clear Descriptions
Emphasis Qualifiers - Learn to spot and omit small unnecessary words of emphasis.
Nature Qualifiers - Suggestions for reducing the use of qualifiers that add nothing of value.
Affectation Qualifiers - Learn to avoid overusing phrases of authority or ego.
Situation Qualifiers - Omitting certain qualifiers with keywords that, is, and use.
Pointing Qualifiers - How to spot and fix qualifiers that cause unnecessary distractions.
Qualified Qualifiers - Suggested edits for making complex qualifiers more clear.
Clear Phrasing
Bloated Prepositions - Practice spotting and fixing bloated prepositional phrases.
Unnecessary Qualifiers - Identify and rewrite troublemakers, both forceful and subtle.
Existence Claims - Learn when and when not to use words like actual, existing, and presence.
Inflated Quantities - Practice how to clearly rewrite approximate quantities.
Turgid Times - Learn how to use simpler words to describe time past, present, and future.
Stifling Nouns - Three strategies for vigor in rewriting abstract nouns.
Clear Action
Buried Action - Learn to unveil the subject and unveil the verb to uncover buried action.
Action Star 1 - Find clarity with the Leading Star and the Main Action in each sentence script.
Action Star 2 - Find Stars and Actions in sentences that use the verbs make and do.
Action Star 3 - Find Stars and Actions in sentences that use the verbs have and use.
Action Star 4 - Find Stars and Actions in sentences with the verbs give and perform.
Action Star 5 - Find Stars and Actions in sentences with the verbs cause and generic synonyms.
Simple Action
Use and Do
Have and Give - Suggestions for using have and give instead of more complex verbs.
Make and Cause - Suggestions for using make and cause instead of more complex verbs.
Check, Show, and Send - Suggestions for substituting simpler verbs check, show, and send.
Need, Buy, Get, and Keep - Suggestions for using simpler verbs need, buy, get, and keep.
Begin and End - Suggestions for substituting begin and end for more complex verbs.
Engaging Action
Spot-On Verbs 1 - Practice with spotting blurry verbs and replacing them with precise verbs.
Spot-On Verbs 2 - Replacing vague adverbs; editing stuffy verbs; rewriting weak verbs.
Helping Verbs 1 - How to improve cumbersome verb phrases by using helping verbs.
Helping Verbs 2 - How to edit unfinished thoughts into assertive statements.
Readability 1 - Suggestions for editing announcements, opinions, and silos.
Readability 2 - How to create symmetry and use promotion to make the reading easier.
Special Topics
Distracting Announcements - Practice with spotting and fixing unnecessary announcements.
Negative Expressions - Suggestions for how to use and not use negative expressions.
Helpful Explanations - Techniques for converting secondary statements into explanations.
Compound Adjectives - When to hyphenate them and when to not hyphenate them.
Numbers and Units - How to write numbers and units of measurement with consistency.
Readable Data - How to format tables so data is easily found and understood.
Author
The author of the Workplace Writing 101 series is Joseph W. Judge.
He earned degrees in engineering from Rensselaer and an MBA from Stanford. He worked in a variety of industries (power, petroleum, aerospace, software, government) in a variety of roles (engineer, analyst, manager, entrepreneur, consultant).
In the early 2000s, Mr. Judge taught a seminar, Writing with Clarity and Power in the Workplace, for the Stanford Continuing Studies Program. Since then he developed corporate workshops and now self-study workbooks to help people write better at work.