We write Manuals for Print or PDF
Scientific and Commercial and
Technical Documentation:
Manuals - Guides - Handbooks
For professional documentation
Printed manuals are suitable for Equipment and Software
applications, or for Business / Operating Procedures.
Plain English: The reader needs to understand what he sees, so the
writing must be clear, to the point, thorough and in plain English.
Targeted: Each manual is targeted at its readers, so we need to know
who they are, and what they need to know. Does the manual need to address
a number of reader groups? Are they non-technical? Technical? Graduates?
IT professionals? Engineers? Clerical staff? Reception desk? Are they even
computer literate?
Content: Manuals can include:
- Contents pages
- Diagrams
- Photographs
- Screen images (software)
- Full Index at the back
- Training Course outlines, etc.
Writing Style
I am firm believer in plain English, and use the best research resources
from Britain, Canada and the USA (but not their spelling!)
I write for the end reader, and normally the style is very different from
the way development specialists write. For example, programmers sometimes
find it hard to write for a new user.
Therefore I avoid "jargon" unless it is normal trade vocabulary for that
reader group.
What kinds of manuals?
User Manuals:
These are the easiest to read and use, often designed for the non-technical reader who wants to start with "How do I switch it on and use it?"
Technical Manuals
These are for the more technical readers, often at graduate level, and may cover the complete setup of a software system, for example.
Support Manuals
These would be for Help Desk staff, who need to know how the overall system should be set up, and including total support information. This would normally include Technical and User Manual content.
Training Manuals
Written for your training staff, providing you with material for training
other users of equipment or systems; or they may just complement your own
Customer Training process.
Working one-to-one with our clients, we are happy to discuss any variations
on these.
2000-2009