Technical writing: what is the hardest part?

[JaneCops]

For me it's definitely the assumption checking. I assume too much.

I'll write something and think "obviously they'll know what this means" but they won't. They don't have my context. Last project I used the phrase "select the appropriate option" and my professor circled it and wrote "appropriate according to WHAT?" And I had no answer. Appropriate according to the situation? The user's goal? The previous step? I was being vague because I hadn't thought it through. That's the pattern I'm noticing—vagueness hides lazy thinking. When I'm precise, it's because I actually understand what I'm saying. When I'm vague, it's because I haven't done the work. This class is forcing me to think clearly or get exposed. Painful but probably good for me. Anyone else struggling with this?

 

[AlmaBust]

the hardest part for me is just getting started on a blank page. But reading your post, I think the assumption-checking is a close second. It's so easy to forget that the person reading your document hasn't been living inside your head for the past week. I had a peer reviewer on my last lab report ask me to define a term I thought was basic. Felt like an idiot, but it saved my grade. That clarity you're talking about? It’s the whole point of this major, even if it is painful.