TC Myths

All technical communication myths in place.

Myths

  1. A technical writer with years of experience knows more than one with less experience
  2. Abbreviations can be used frequently
  3. All types of writing require the same skills
  4. Callouts should not be used in graphics
  5. Documentation is a cost center
  6. Front matter must use different page numbers than the content
  7. Good documentation can fix a bad interface or design
  8. Good technical documentation requires use of several sophisticated tools
  9. No one reads technical docs
  10. Stem sentences are not necessary in technical content
  11. Tech writing is easy
  12. Technical documentation is a writing intensive job
  13. Technical writers need a technical background and sound domain knowledge
  14. Technical writing is not creative
  15. There is an optimum number of steps
  16. Transitional text plays no role in most technical content
  17. Writing takes a lot of time
  18. You can't talk to SMEs
  19. You can't use contracted forms of verbs

Have a new myth to add? There are still 53 more myths waiting to be published! If you don't see your myth listed, add it to the list!

Myth lists

Other myth-related references

For even more myths, visit UX myths! The more myths we bust, the better!

Updated site: Aug. 25, 2018