Ch. 19: Technical Definitions

• Appreciate the role of definition in technical communication
• Explain specialized terms/ concepts
• Definitions have to be precise for people in and out of the field
• Know how audience and purpose indicate the need for definition
• Determine how knowledgeable your audience is in that area
• Tool definitions to have appropriate technicality
• Define a term the first time you use it
• Consider the role of definitions within and beyond the workplace
• Definitions have legal, ethical, societal, and global implications.
• Legal- you are legally in charge of the documents you create
• Ethical- Just because something is right on paper doesn't mean it is ethical. Because of the bureaucracy in place, the Challenger shuttle exploded, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
• Societal- social issues
• Global implications- if your document is meant for a global audience, be mindful of what is acceptable in your document
• Be informative
• Differentiate among levels of detail in a definition
• Parenthetical
• synonyms and clarifying phrases
• Sentence
• more elaboration than a parenthetical
• Includes term, class, and distinguishing features
• Expanded
• longest explanation- ranges from a paragraph to several pages
• Select the right level of detail as your situation requires
• Definitions can be a few words or several pages
• The audience's familiarity with the subject could vary
• Write an expanded definition
• Methods of expansion
• Etymology
• History
• Negation
• Operating Principle
• Analysis of Parts
• Visuals
• Comparison and Contrast
• Required conditions
• Examples
• You can use more than one method
• Expansions might be required for semitechnical or nontechnical readers
• Place definitions effectively in your document
• The best definition is one that is easily accessible with little to no disruption to the reader
• A glossary can also be used if there are several terms that need definitions