Glossary
Technical Writer Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential technical writer terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key technical writer vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in technical writer training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- API
- Application programming interface.
- DITA
- An XML standard for documentation.
- Docs as code
- Managing docs like software.
- Documentation
- Written material explaining a product.
- Information architecture
- Organizing content.
- Knowledge base
- A collection of help articles.
- Localization
- Adapting content for languages.
- Procedure
- Step-by-step instructions.
- Readability
- How easy text is to read.
- Release notes
- Notes on product changes.
- Single sourcing
- Reusing content across outputs.
- SME
- Subject matter expert.
- Style guide
- Rules for writing consistency.
- Writing modular topics.
- User persona
- A profile of the reader.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Technical Writer practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Technical Writer training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.