Technical writing has roots as ancient as civilization itself. Wherever there were technical subjects needing explanation, some form of technical writing existed. The earliest humans created cave paintings and passed on oral instructions for making tools and hunting animals. Ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians, Aztecs, Babylonians, and Egyptians recorded numerous technical details—everything from the movements of the stars to lists of supplies needed for military campaigns. Great minds such as Aristotle, da Vinci, and Chaucer contributed to the field through history, turning their technical understanding into written knowledge and “infographics” passed on for the benefit of humanity.¹

Insight

Insight: How Ancient Is Technical Writing? Geoffrey Chaucer, known for The Canterbury Tales, wrote a detailed technical guide to the astrolabe in the late 1300s, considered the first English technical manual.2 This instrument was crucial for determining a ship’s position at sea. About a century later, Leonardo da Vinci filled notebooks with sketches and detailed descriptions of innovative technical devices, one of which resembled a helicopter.3 Not long after, pioneering European scientists such as Galileo, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton significantly influenced technical communication. They didn’t just invent devices, such as Boyle’s air pump, but also thoroughly explained their construction, usage, and the underlying theories.4

Technical writing today is a balance between science and storytelling, a combination of technical accuracy and persuasive prose. The best technical writers are capable of straddling both worlds—clearly communicating technical concepts through their mastery of language.

However, this wasn’t always the case. In the early twentieth century, technical writing was mostly the domain of engineers and scientists. Their writings were seen not just as instructions, but contributions to the greater pool of humanity’s knowledge, pushing progress ever onward. But in the first half of the twentieth century, with the turbulence that resulted from the technological progress and devastation of the two world wars, there was a rapid increase in new technologies that needed to be documented. Managers quickly realized the value of separating the “technical” from the “writing” and allowed engineers to focus their scarce time on science and engineering rather than writing reports.⁵

Thus the modern profession of technical writing was born and the first official job titles of “technical writer” appeared. Technical writing became more official in the 1950s with professional associations for technical writers being formed, technical communication journals being established, and later the first technical writing academic programs in the United States. The field exploded in the 1980s and 1990s when personal computers hit the market. The digital revolution changed the landscape of technical writing, leaping from the printing press and bound-and-printed manuals to online help and video tutorials. The change exponentially increased the demand for technical writers.⁶

For today’s technical writers, that tension between the “technical” and the “writing” sometimes endures. The best technical writers combine a deep curiosity about the technical with a passion for the writing and embrace the richness of both worlds.

Voice of Practitioner

Annette Role: Principal Content Strategist with 35+ years’ experience Location: California, United States  Expertise: Software documentation “When I started in ’86, there wasn’t a clear career path for technical writing. But now technical writing is critical—it’s the translation layer between the software and the customer. I think tech writers tend to bury their light a little. I’d say carry yourselves with pride and be full partners in a cross-functional team. The software can’t survive without the nexus that tech writers provide with the customer.”

1. MacKenzie, E. (2022, May 6). Guide to Technical communication: history, products, skills, education. MastersinCommunications.com. https://www.mastersincommunications.com/features/guide-to-technical-communication ↩︎
2. The Way to the Stars: Build your own Astrolabe | St John’s College, University of Cambridge. (n.d.). https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library/library_exhibitions/schoolresources/astrolabe/chaucer ↩︎
3. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks · V&A. (n.d.). Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/leonardo-da-vincis-notebooks ↩︎
4. MacKenzie, E. (2022, May 6). Guide to Technical communication: history, products, skills, education. MastersinCommunications.com. https://www.mastersincommunications.com/features/guide-to-technical-communication ↩︎
5. Longo, B. (2002). Who Makes Engineering Knowledge? Changing Identities of Technical Writers in the 20th Century United States. International Conference on Professional Communication (IPCC), Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication. https://doi.org/10.1109/ipcc.1997.637031, p. 61. ↩︎
6. Longo, B. (2002). Who Makes Engineering Knowledge? Changing Identities of Technical Writers in the 20th Century United States. International Conference on Professional Communication (IPCC), Proceedings of IPCC 97. Communication. https://doi.org/10.1109/ipcc.1997.637031, p. 62. ↩︎