Technical professionals are often required to define or describe a technical object, concept, or process to someone who has little knowledge or experience with the subject at hand. For example, an engineering firm might write a proposal to bid on a contract to develop a helicopter for the Defense Department; one section of the proposal would be a detailed description of the product the company proposes to develop. Technical descriptions are used before products and processes are developed (as part of proposals and planning documents), during development (in progress reports, for instance), and afterwards (as part of marketing and promotional literature and technical support documents).
Choosing a Topic
This project asks you to select a product or process and write a description of it. There are two different kinds of technical descriptions to consider. Choose whichever one is appropriate, depending on your topic.
Note: It’s a good idea to select something with which you are already familiar, so you can focus on learning how to write the description rather than learning about the product or process.
A product description explains the features of a specific device, such as a scientific instrument or computer program. Possible topics include devices that are specific to your field, or devices you use in everyday life:
Manual grass clippers
Fuel cell
Battery
Catalytic converter
Manual can opener
A computer or video game
A specific car model