Concepts:Definition of mechanismIn technical writing, a mechanism can be a physical device, any object used in a procedure, or a procedure itself. Descriptions of mechanisms may be found in user and maintenance manuals, in sales and reference material, and in technical journals. As is common to the chapters in this text, the author cautions the technical writer to determine the technical knowledge of the audience before deciding on the level of detail required for a description. General and specific descriptionsA general description is defined on page 259 as an overview of the device. It includes a physical description of the device, a list of its parts, the purpose and users of the device, and its general use. A specific description of a mechanism adds more detail about each part, including how the parts fit together. The author offers a model outline for writing a mechanism description. She uses the term functional description to mean the description of the parts, physical characteristics, and appearance of the mechanism. Her outline has three main parts:
This outline may be adapted to include more or less detail as required the needs of the audience of the document. Spatial, functional, and chronological orderThe description of the parts of a device may follow any of several orders. The writer has several options, and should choose an option that is most useful to the intended audience. Three methods are described in detail:
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