2.0: Introduction

In the first chapter, we focused a great deal on big-picture questions about what technical writing is, how it works, where it comes from, and spent a bit of time on some solid tips to follow regarding organization. In the second chapter, we’re going to move away from looking at technical writing as something the writer/author works on, and instead look at the folks who are actually being served by the technical writing we’re doing. We’ll start by looking at the idea of audience and use, before focusing specifically on use and questions of use and how users impact our drafting process. Next, we’ll look at usability studies and participatory and user-centered design as a way to approach the question of use. After that, we’ll talk about sources and research in technical writing and how those relate to our users and their expectations. Finally, we’ll talk about writing in large organizations or institutions and how use differs in those cases.